I loved the HECK out of this. A super sexy romantic suspense novel between an artist and the suave assassin that she hires to kill her cheating, abusive husband. The only catch? Her husband hired the same assassin to kill her.

This had me hooked from the very beginning, with smooth prose and compelling dialogue. I sympathised and identified with Justine so much, and omg Campbell. I fell head over swoon for them from the first moment. They felt dangerous but charming, and you really understood why Justine was drawn to them. This is a pretty short book, and I have to admire the character work that Gray does in so little time? Both characters are grappling with different types of trauma, and I love how they bonded and clicked. There was so much intensity between them, and it was sooooo good. This is kiiiiiiinda insta-lovey, but I don't mind, seeing as I enjoyed it overall so much.

The plot was really fun; I would have probably enjoyed it ever more in a longer book, but I did so enjoy what the author managed to deliver here. Even though the intrigue wasn't that deep, my eyes were still glued to the pages. The readers are aware of the double-hire twist from the beginning, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment at all. And I don't read a lot of suspense/intrigue/spy-esque stuff, so for me at least, it was all really refreshing and fun, and seemed well researched!

I didn't love how the ending wrapped up; it was just a teensy bit anticlimactic? And I did love the romance, but I wanted more, at least in the ending, to give a better sense of fullness/completeness.

But I still really really liked this! I think it was my first f/nb romance, and I'm super looking forward to whatever the author writes next. Serious kudos!

3.5 stars rounded to four

So this wasn't really what I expected given the description but was a fun little story nonetheless. For anyone else thinking of reading this, it is a lot more focused on the romance than I expected and contains explicit scenes. I've rounded up because I think going in with the right expectation would give you a better experience.

I enjoyed that this had queer and nonbinary rep without it being essential to the plot. It just was what it was. I felt the two leads had decent chemistry but the romance itself felt a little rushed. Especially the ending.

The summary of my thoughts is that this felt like well written fanfiction which isn't a slight by any means, I've read some fantastic fanfiction in my time. It's just the pace of the story is straight to the point, there's not a huge chunk of time dedicated not introducing the characters or to a huge amount of introspection. It's just a fun, quick, sexy story which is really enjoyable if that's what you're looking for.

There's an upcoming sequel which I will likely check out as well.

Thank you to Net Galley for letting me read this before the release date.

I sped through this book because it was fast paced, and I enjoyed it. The romance was super steamy and it never felt forced. The tension between these characters was insane and I shipped them right off the bat. This book is a great read if you are looking to escape the real world for a few hours.

I really adored the nonbinary representation in this book. Campbell was such a badass character. I wish that we got a little bit more info on their past, because I feel that it was glossed over. I know that was not the main purpose of this book, but I feel like it would have made me sympathize with Campbell more.

I can't wait to read book 2, Love Bleeds Deep!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this novella.

I’ve been wanting to read more queer thriller type books, so when I saw this one on NG and saw it had bi and genderqueer rep, I instantly hit request.

I really liked the writing style and this won’t be my last book by this author! But mostly I just didn’t gel with the storyline or the characters for the most part. Maybe because its a novella, maybe it just wasn’t for me, but mostly I was a bit bored, the twists and turns didn’t really do it for me, unfortunately.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend checking out other reviews as this is mainly a “me not you” situation!

What are the odds of a husband and a wife both hiring the same assassin to get rid of the other? And what are the odds that the wife will fall for the assassin?

Love Kills Twice is a dark and very hot first book – its length puts it right at the limit between novella and novel, so call it what you will – in a new series and, I think, a debut (there’s a link to a very well-written short story on the author’s website).

The writing is really good and I absolutely loved the atmosphere. It took me a little longer to love the characters, for two reasons. The first is my own moral sense, which struggled with liking killers. I knew what I was getting into though, so once I got over myself, it was fine. The other reason is how mysterious Campbell, the non-binary assassin, remains for most of the story. I liked how they looked at and saw Justine (their client and potential victim) from the start but it wasn’t enough for me to get a real feel as to who they are. Which was kind of exciting in itself. There’s a capacity for passion hidden behind the cold facade that explains a lot once it’s unveiled.

Justine, on the other hand, is also complex but in a very different way. When we meet her, she’s already decided to have her husband killed, after years of him mistreating her, cheating on her and extinguishing her light and passion. So yes, she’s already decided to take action, in the most radical way. Yet as the relationship with Campbell evolves, we see her stand straighter, become more assertive, take what she wants.

As you’ll probably get from the premise, there are a few potential triggers in this book. Here are the warnings listed on the publisher’s website: on-page murder of a side character, cheating and power imbalance by a side character; off-page domestic abuse of an MC, mention of past war-time trauma of an MC.

A second book in the series is announced in a more or less near future. I’ll be very interested in seeing what happens to Campbell and Justine next.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Love the nonbinary representation. It was a fun ride that went by quickly. Was a bit predictable, but I am not mad at it.

*3.5

I sped through this book, it took me a couple of hours to finish. I enjoyed this book, the premise was interesting. I think the characters were interesting enough. I'm not always the biggest fan of explicit scenes because often times I don't like how it's written but the author did very well. They managed to make it sexy and not cringy in my opinion. Sometimes you just need a book that isn't too complicated and this was just that. I saw there's going to be a sequel as we got a preview of that at the end of the ebook and I will definitely be reading this as well.