I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I would consider it a novella, and novellas usually don't have the word count needed to really develop the characters the way I enjoy, or pursue the plot to a satisfying finish. That was not the case with this title. While I was left wanting more, what was there was pretty sufficient. The action is believable, the chemistry was fantastic and the MCs were characters I wouldn't mind reading more about.

1 Star! Man it hurts my soul to rate any book 1 star, but I gotta keep it real.

This book really grabbed my attention with the blurb. I love a good hit-man book. But this one fell short and I am fairly sure it had to do with how short the book itself was. There was no real character development. The book was rushed as was the relationship. There wasn't a lot going on. I figured it being a book were these guys are assassin's it would be exciting and chaotic with dangerous situations popping up everywhere. Once again, the book didn't deliver here either. There were parts that didn't make sense and I feel like that had to do with how rushed it all felt.

Disappointing.

Happy reading dolls! xx

4.5 stars

Synopsis: Rob is essentially a hired assassin. One night, while tracking his target, he runs in to a man who looks like he will be a perfect patsy for the death of his target. When the man turns out to be a hired killer who kills the intended target before Rob gets a chance to, and then takes Rob out, Rob vows to be more careful. When the two run in to each other on another job a few months after, Rob learns that his name is Kelan, and they set up a competition between themselves to finish the task first. Then Rob is compromised in his home, and when Kelan saves him, they realize that they need to work together to get to the bottom of who would be after them.
Rob takes them to a safe house, and they both use their strengths to try and figure out how to stop people from coming after them. During that time, Rob and Kelan grow closer, and the admiration and attraction become a factor in their relationship.

The good: This really surprised me. Both characters were fully realized, and their attraction, although it started when they first saw each other, was built on mutual respect and liking each other by the time they actually got around to acting on anything. Even though they were attracted to each other, they never really put themselves in danger actually doing the deed. I liked that they had such different back stories, and that they recognized each others' strengths. The fact that everything wasn't all sunshine and roses and worked out magically and perfectly was also a bonus.

The bad: ummm. Maybe the fact that they never got to figure out the case that they were working on when they decided to team up.

The verdict: this was well written with interesting characters. The ending wasn't a pat ending, and even though I would have liked more story, I didn't feel as though I was cheated, or that there was really more story to tell for both guys.

*I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

A fun ride! Dueling hit men join forces to save their own lives. The witty and sardonic banter in this book make it worth the read. The characters have some hidden depths and emotions that engage the reader. I would have liked to see some resolution to periphery plotlines but the book was enjoyable enough to forgive that abberation. I felt the pacing of the relationship worked with the characters- it wasn't insta-love and it fit in the timeframe of the plot. I would definitely read other books by this author. This was a first for me.

3,5 stars, rounded up.
From Blood to Roses is a short story about two assasins trying to learn trust and living with each other. I especially liked the begining, seeing the plotting of the main character and how him and the other main character tried to upsmart each other. That was fun.
However, this book suffers from one significant shortcoming, in my opinion - it's too short. It doesn't have enough pages to properly explore the relationship and make an interesting spy-assasins plot. The relationship felt rushed at points and the investigation too simplified.

This book is a fun read for one rainy afternoon, but I do wish the next book from this author will be longer. I utterly adored her Under the Knife, so I think she has the potentional.

Okay.

Interesting concept for a love story....hitmen to farmers. Some action, some humor and plenty of heat.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

I was positive this would be a win because I read and LOVED the author's previous work, Under the Knife, and I love me some assassins. Unfortunately... this was dull. It reads like a novel in parts with an inordinate amount of details that took up valuable page time within the confines of a novella.

Rob tells the story of how he and Kelan, two hitmen, keep getting hired for the same jobs. The rationale behind this still alludes me. Granted, I don't have half a mil in disposable income lying around but why pay that out twice? #dumb The first time Kelan bests Rob which I liked since there is a size difference between them with Kelan being on the twink side of the size scale in his cute teal teeny tiny boy shorts.

The second time they meet is on a different job locating a secret will that lands them both in a strip club and in possession of some potentially damaging pictures of a probable presidential candidate.

Then it turned into a snoozefest.

They decide to join forces after they're both targeted by some other hitmen who think they have the pics (they don't) which leads them straight into domesticity in suburbia, complete with eggs benedict and coq au vin.



The primary reason I chose the book in the first place, the assassining, flew South for the winter. These two living in domestic bliss and lounging around a safehouse dancing the slow burn dance of eternity with very little movement on their "case" bored me and tanked by enthusiasm. Then I was irked by all the dangling threads that never tied up.

I think if I had bought into their coupletry things would've been different, but I didn't. Their relationship felt clunky, forced and awkward. I can buy into the fact that they're attracted to each other and maybe some of that is the danger involved, but there's a vast difference between attraction and love and forever.

It needed either some comedy or an abundance of filthy sex to jazz it up, because what's here simply isn't very entertaining. It feels rushed and some of their actions with regard to the hitmanning were TSTL.

The sex isn't bad but it wasn't enough to pull up my rating. I will try something else by this author, and I would recommend her novel but this kind of felt like an attempt to get outside of a comfort zone and it backfired, IMO.






An ARC was provided by NetGalley.

This was an interesting book. I loved the set up, two hit man who keep running into each other. I thought that was unique and fun. I enjoyed each characters quirks and personality which the author was able to portray well via their dialogue. The chemistry in the book, was pretty hot - once it got going. Overall, this was a fun read. I would have enjoyed it more had we gotten in both of the characters head and had an alternating POV - also, little bit more angst would have made their first encounter a lot hotter.
3 stars