What I’m Reading – Karma Patrol Review

I am so beyond excited to announce that my friend and sorority sister, Kate Miller, has written a book! Not just any book though, a slightly supernatural-ish, romantic, murder-filled, SUPER AWESOME novel that  is going to be a trilogy. The book is called Karma Patrol and well, as I said it’s fantastic.

As a karmic account enforcer, Jade Bailey makes sure that what goes around comes around. Jade has dedicated her life to Karma Division, and in return she’s expecting her own personal fairytale, complete with her dream job and love at first sight with a tall, dark, and handsome soulmate. After more than a decade of waiting, her destined soulmate still hasn’t turned up, but a stellar annual performance review from the Powers That Be puts Jade at the top of the promotion list. All she has to do is maintain her territory’s karmic balance until the selection process is over. Naturally, a deranged shooter picks the next day to start a rampage that threatens to destroy the balance of Midtown West – and, incidentally, any chance Jade has of earning that long-awaited promotion. Unwilling to give up despite warnings from her boss, who knows the shadowy Destiny Division won’t appreciate Jade’s interference, Jade starts her own investigation. In the next shooting, she nearly becomes a victim herself, but she can’t prove her near-death experience is anything but a coincidence. Detective Luke Jackson, Jade’s unwitting and extremely unwilling soulmate, arrives on the scene to investigate. Instead of falling head over heels in love with her, Luke suspects her of being involved in the murders. If Jade wants her fairytale ending, she’ll have to convince her soulmate she isn’t a killer while trying to catch the real culprit, a task made more difficult and infinitely more dangerous when Jade becomes the killer’s next target.

I really, truly thoroughly enjoyed this book (and not just because my friend wrote – scouts honor). The characters are all relatable and I feel like I know a Jade Bailey or two in my life. The whole premise of the book was so refreshing and new to me. Sure, we all think about karma, and oftentimes hope it comes back to bite people in the butt that do us wrong, but I’ve never given any thought to how karma could actually work. Now I can’t get this system out of my head – Kate did a fantastic job of making the idea of a “Karma Patrol” along with the “Powers That Be” seem like something that could actually be real. It’s a bit supernatural in the sense that there’s obviously no real-life proof that these concepts exist, yet how she describes them in the book makes them seem believable and she seemlessly blends them into “normal life.” 

All karma, fate, and powers that be aside, this was a really fun read. I love a good love story and Karma Patrol definitely has it. This love story isn’t simple though, and it has to be worked on hard throughout the book. Even the ending, though happy, leaves you knowing there is a lot more to their story that we’ll get to discover. 

Once you get through the first two chapters, the pace is steady going and there’s really not a dull or slow moment…like to the point where I just couldn’t put the book down. There were quite a few unexpected twists throughout the book as well and I honestly cannot wait to read the second one.

So here’s to Karma Patrol, which releases tomorrow, and to supporting new, amazing writers!

Does this sound like one you’d like to read? Any new author recommendations for me?