Review: Becoming Rain by K.A. Tucker (Burying Water #2)

Becoming Rain by K.A. Tucker 
Series: Burying Water #2 
Published by: Atria Books 
Date of Publication: March 3rd, 2015
Genres: New Adult; Contemporary 
Pages: 370
Format: e-book
Rating:★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:
Luke Boone doesn’t know exactly what his uncle Rust is involved in but he wants in on it-the cars, the money, the women. And it looks like he’s finally getting his wish. When Rust hands him the managerial keys to the garage, they come with a second set—one that opens up the door to tons of cash and opportunity. Though it’s not exactly legal, Luke’s never been one to worry about that sort of thing. Especially when it puts him behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 and onto the radar of gorgeous socialite named Rain.

Clara Bertelli is at the top of her game—at only twenty-six years old, she’s one of the most successful undercover officers in the Washington D.C. major crime unit, and she’s just been handed a case that could catapult her career and expose one of the west coast’s most notorious car theft rings. But, in order to do it, she’ll need to go deep undercover as Rain Martines. Her target? The twenty-four-year old nephew of a key player who appears ready to follow in his uncle’s footsteps.

As Clara drifts deeper into the luxurious lifestyle of Rain, and further into the arms of her very attractive and charming target, the lines between right and wrong start to blur, making her wonder if she’ll be able to leave it all behind. Or if she’ll even wan to.

Becoming Rain is the story of Luke Boone the nephew of a big timer involved with running a car theft operating ring. Luke is also the person the FBI has decided to (unbeknownst to him) use as their pawn to take down the heavy hitters. We are first introduced to Luke as one of the characters from book 1 in this companion series. Considering that I had some background story from book 1 with Luke, I knew that he was overall a nice guy with just a little hint of greed. So, Luke was basically raised by his uncle Rust after his dad walked out on him, his sister, and mother. Rust took him in as his son & groomed him to one day take over his businesses/ventures both legal & illegal. Throughout the story, Rust pretty much keeps Luke in the shadows, not really telling him much but just enough to make him earn his plate. Luke puts in time at Rust’s garage as a mechanic with hopes that his uncle will soon move him up to manager. When Rust decides to let Luke in on his illegal dealings bit by bit I was genuinely scared for Luke who was in clearly over his head.
Enter Clara Bettelli aka Rain Martinez—>a cop trying but failing to get into the FBI who by chance, happens to fit the description of the female they want to go undercover & gain Luke’s trust. Rain can’t help but be attracted to her target & in the process of trying to extract information & gain Luke’s confidence, she begins to fall for him. This was made only easier by the fact that it was clear throughout the book that Luke did Not have full knowledge on the extent of all the illegal dealings taking place. Especially none where innocents were being hurt/killed…

I enjoyed these two characters immensely! Everything from the chemistry, sexual tension, and walks/jogs in the park with their un-athletic canine counterparts was enjoyable. The entire book was done undercover with a wire tap & all. The moments where Rain switched off her wire to get into some trouble were nerve racking but oh so GOOD! I kept thinking her team would barge in any minute & take them both in for questioning. This book had me at the edge of seat on more than one occasion OR peering up from my book to make sure no one was reading THOSE scenes above my shoulder on a crowded NYC train 😂 a steamy & very well done fast paced read.

I’ve been really enjoying K.A Tucker’s writing style and her ability to interweave multiple story lines into a single plot. Also, her characters are all so complex and richly layered that it makes getting to know them an interesting ride. In the end I’m always left with the feeling that I need to know what happens to these characters after the last line in each book. You get to know these characters intimately & love them flaws and all. This was even better than Burying Water & that in and of itself tells me that I’ll be finishing all 4 books in the series soon 😉