The Kite is a steaming hot novel about two hitmen with a common enemy. It was a very fast-paced read, with just a little bit of information before the main event starts and the characters are getting hunted. Harry and Asher are the best hitmen in their field, working for different agencies, and are madly attracted to each other immediately. Definitely not a slow-burn story, but full of hot explicit (and rough) scenes between the two characters. And when I say rough, I mean no-lubrication-whatsoever-rough. Although consent is very clearly given, I am still not sure how good that really works without seriously injuring one party.
They become generally more gentle with each after they fall in love, which happened a little bit fast for me personally, considering how troubled they were in regard to relationships, but was very sweetly written.
The story has a good pace and a lot of action and death. It never really feels that the two of them are in real danger because they are overwhelmingly good at what they are doing. This could be annoying for some, I just loved how powerful they felt.
N.R. Walker always manages to have very entertaining dialogues and loveable side characters, and this is the case here as well. Although not one single woman is of any relevance to the story, which can always be a point of critic.
All in all, a very exciting read, that also has enough sweet and tender moments between the two that make you feel all warm.

Well where do I start, this is ACTION packed, this is the first book I have read from this author but it definitely won't be my last. It is so well written and had me falling of my seat from start to finish. I will definitely be recommending this book. Loved it!! I read it in one sitting. #netgalley #thekite

N.R. Walker has written some of my favorite M/M books (the Red Dirt Series, Sixty Five Hours, Learning to Feel, etc.) and as I started The Kite, I did not like it. Well, okay, I really liked the premise of two assassins working together to uncover the truth behind the hits placed on them both.

"I need proof."
"Proof of what?"
"Proof that you and I have been set up. For years, every job we took, every assignment, was for the wrong team."
Harry squinted at him. "Wrong team? What team? There are no teams - "
"The bad guys, Harry. We've been helping the bad guys." (hide spoiler)]

But the first half of the book seems an endless retread of "Asher smiled, and good fuckin lord, Harry hated him. "I want to put a gun to your head," Harry mumbled. "So fucking bad." And what did Asher do? He laughed."

Toss in a few rounds of "Shut the fuck up" and it's pretty much rinse, lather, repeat.

But then, darn it, I started caring about Harry and wondering what sort of childhood Asher had endured, and then Harry started noticing things not essential to the mission, like architecture and children .... and Asher realizes that "between arguing and laughing, seeing how the man's mind worked, sharing a bed with him, and the incredible sex - he's grown feelings for Harry."

Darn if I know how that it happened, but the last half of the book was very gripping and I desperately wanted Asher and Harry to stay alive, figure out how to get retribution, meet Asher's amazing handler, and have some sort of HFN. And the epilogue delivered in spades (and kittens) So, okay, yeah, I ended up enjoying this book. 4 stars.

4.5 stars
Honestly, you can't go wrong with N.R. Walker in my book. The Kite has some very serious Jason Bourne/Bourne Identity and Enemy of the State vibes but with two disavowed black ops assassins and sexier. Anyway, this worked for me. Hard.

I am a huge fan of the enemies to lovers trope and you honestly can't get any more enemies than the top-of-the-top competing assassins. Asher and Harry are just quite lovely. Their chemistry, gruffness, and mysterious backstories shine through all their encounters.

The tone of this book was a little bit of a departure of the N.R. Walker books I'm used to with it being a contemporary spy, action, mystery kind of vibe but it really worked for me. I was really anxious as to how far down the action vortex we were going to go, but it wasn't too bad. I get to be a bit of a nervous nelly when my beloved characters are threatened but it all turned out ok. (I would like to mention there is on-page and off-page fighting/torture-ish type activities. But no worse than what you would see in your typical above-mentioned movies. So if you have issues with that you can skim them of whathaveyou.)

As always, the sexy times were quite sexy and gave a nice reprieve of the characters running for their lives. I won't go into too much detail but Asher riling Harry until he broke and did wonderfully dirty things was a delight to read. Every. Time.

I also absolutely can't wait for the audio on this one either.... it will be delicious. I just have a feeling. And I have no idea who the narrator will be but I just can feel it in my bones.

You should definitely pick this one up, you won't be disappointed.

*I had the absolute privilege of getting an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley and I could not be more grateful. All thoughts and comments are my own.*

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm slowly working my way through my ARC backlog, and this was one of the ones I had approved in my list from Netgalley. The premise had me instantly intrigued because it was so different from everything else that I've read from NRW so far. And while this book was easy enough for me to get through, it fell a little flat for me.

The enemies to lovers trope wasn't done well here. I thought I missed something about why they were even enemies in the first place. Maybe I still am missing something, but I didn't love that trope here. (And it's one of my top tier tropes but it's so hard to find it done well sigh.)

This book kind of gave me Mr and Mrs Smith vibes (but gay) with some aspects of 007. Ultimately, there was not enough angst here for me. I was expecting for this book to be dark, violent, and to destroy me. But it didn't do that. It was still an enjoyable enough read though and I'm still eager to see what comes out next from NRW.

Great combination of romance and thriller. Harry and Asher are loners, but together, somehow, they make sense.

And have great chemistry.

The story is fast-paced, with little down time. Absolutely satisfying conclusion. Love this author.

Thanks Netgalley.

I have read countless books from this author and have only left stellar reviews for her. I understand this story revolves around assassins and is not normally my first choice but since I love Ms. Walker's work I wanted to give it a try. It is important to understand there can be triggers due to extreme violence.

Harry and Asher assigned by different entities are ruthless killers that have been eradicating their marks for decades. Harry believes he is killing the scum of the Earth but the ease with which they murder made me shudder. By the 50 % mark, Asher had shot 8 guys in the head. If not actually killing they are reminiscing or having flashbacks about shooting people in the head. Their everyday banter was - I should shoot you in the head - to each other over and over. It was too much. Even their first intimate encounters were brutally violent.

Asher felt more approachable than Harry and there was a tender and sweet epilogue that I just couldn't feel was attainable. If you don't mind the killings and enjoy action suspense you should give it a try. I personally can't wait for Ms. Walker's next novel even though this story didn't work for me.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book for my reading pleasure.

There is very little I wouldn't do to get my hands on a N.R. Walker title.
Sadly, I had a hard time connecting to this one.

The Kite sounded incredibly promising. Enemies to lovers, grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity? Where do I sign.
However, on the action front this ran a little thin. The plot and general premise was underdeveloped, and though this is a romance that kept me from losing myself in the story. You can't promise action and intrigue and then just sort of hope your readers will be forgiving when things don't hold together.

That said, the lack of structure would be easier to forgive if the romance had made up for it. Sadly, that wasn't the case.
Both characters were likeable enough but lacked any real depth, and consequently didn't connect with each other.
It read like enemies to lovers for the sake of it, with no real explanation as to why.
The steam was okay, but without that connection it just doesn't work for me.

I would still pay cash money to read NRW's grocery list.

I'm a sucker for a grumpy-sunshine pairing, even more when it's between two contract killers that are on the run after having hits put out on each of them. This was described as a queer Jason Bourne romantic suspense, and that is so true.

I loved the pairing of a very talkative and charming hero teamed up with a strong and grumpy giant hero. One that also turns extremely protective. A hero that will burn the world down for you is such an excellent trope. There's some hot and desperate steam, along with building that emotional vulnerability after you've already had sex.

I have highlighted so many sections, with the banter (and chemistry) between the leads, to the swoony moments. I loved how much Harry (the grumpy one) got mad at himself for doing little things for Asher (the sunshine one), and proceeded to keep doing it. Buying him his favorite mints when he's grabbing them food, care taking, spooning in the one bed.

There's also plenty of plot and action in this, if you are looking for a romantic suspense that also has heavy romance with the heavy suspense, i'd recommend this one. I loved it. (Also the epilogue was perfection and I will not be elaborating more.)

**I do want to note that I have no expertise or large knowledge of the countries discussed or the wars mentioned in the story, and was reading as someone from the US with limited knowledge of the cultures and people represented throughout their traveling.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

(Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4817868631?book_show_action=false)

This story is fast-paced and drops you right into the action from the start. Told in third person dual point of view, it follows two loner assassins who spend most of the book on the run from other varied parties after a contract is taken out on one, then both of them. Harry is a large man and a bit of grump loner. Asher is charming, talkative and likes it rough. Both have ambiguous and questionable childhoods. This would have been a great beginning to an assassin story for me, but the characters never really developed beyond these brief descriptions. I needed a little more character depth. The assassination plot was fairly straight-forward with little mystery. The villains were rather one-note. I’ve enjoyed several of this author’s previous novels and would recommend several over this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and BlueHeart Press for the free copy provided for an honest review.

(assumed) assassin enemies to lovers - yes please

This was fun and hot and kept me very entertained.

I would so read a book about X and X. And I want to visit their island.

I love NR Walkers books, and they are of course an instant read but I have to admit the blurb of this one did make me think it might be a bit dark. I should have had more trust! Although the context is not exactly light and fluffy, there’s banter and chemistry between Asher and Harry from the offset.

In The Kite we meet contract killers Harry and Asher. Harry is an Australian operative who, at the very beginning of the book, finds himself the target of a hit. Enter Asher - who, instead of taking on the job, gets Harry to join him to undercover the truth behind a mountain of underhanded dealings. Under the trusty guidance of Four, Asher and Harry managed to find the answers and find something for themselves in each other.

I would say there is a content warning on this book for violence, but it doesn’t read gratuitously, but sets the scene for this underground world of espionage and extortion.

By the end of the book I was a bit in love with Asher. I don’t want to spoil anything but I’ll assure you, it has a happy ending!

When Harry and Asher realise there is a bounty on their heads they know they have to stay unmoving until they know more.



Harry and Asher are completely different in their natures but their sexual banter mostly from the mouth of Asher displays something else…

Trying to keep undercover they move from country to country.

The visualisation was impressive, their characters to me are awe- inspiring.

Extremely fast paced, action packed .

Lethal in their work not so in their time together, feelings, arousal and tenderness are growing…

N.R.Walker is a fabulous Australian author, with her writing skills she draws the reader completely into the book .

A very impressive story worth 5 stars.

This is my first book by this author and I loved it. It is a great book with so much action, adventure and intrigue. Not my usual jam, but I really enjoyed it. The characters were equally as interesting and the plot. I must admit, I was sucked in from the beginning. Though this is my first book by NR Walker, it won’t be my last.

N.R. Walker was one of the first MM authors I ever read, and she quickly became one of my favorites, so it pains me to give one of her books 1-star for the very first time.

NRW's newest release had the potential to be a new favorite. We are promised assassins, enemies to lovers, grumpy x sunshine, one-bed trope, and hate sex. However, somehow, it was these things exactly that disappointed me.

Every time I read a book that is promising a specific thing but ends up being just another loosely marketed one, it reminds me that I probably could write my own enemies to lovers with other favorite tropes and do the bare minimum for it. It would likely garner attention due to its marketing strategies. Perhaps it's because I continue having high hopes for it. Still, whenever a book is promoted as "enemies to lovers," I feel I'll finally find the one I'm looking for. But it only ends up being the same enemies to lovers book as every other one I've read: we have our two main characters who hate each other for the first 10-20%, yet still find each other very attractive, to the point where their hatred is suddenly forgotten and taken over by their attractiveness. It's such a weak structure. It shows how little development authors put into their relationship. It's even sad how someone's looks brainwash you entirely to the point where you find yourself attracted even though you hated every part of them only a little ago. Suddenly you don't know who you are, everything has changed, and you feel the need to protect them. I wish someone could explain to me how exactly this works.

Enemies to lovers trope is not a superior trope for me. It's weak, hardly ever developed, and has a repeated formula. In the case of The Kite, our two main characters, Harry and Asher, although they have a similar role, are enemies. Why? I have no idea. We are told they hate each other and have to accept it. The lack of backstory on why they hate each other is one problem I found. We spend the book following them around as they run and hide together, but we never find out why they hate each other. Before we know it, they're catching feelings. This structure is fragile, underdeveloped, and shows how little info you place on your character's arcs to let the reader get to know them more. While we learn more about both of them later on, as they tell each other part of their stories, it's at the point where both are attracted in a romantic and sexual sense. The lack of a backstory between passages didn't help the characters' non-existing chemistry. 20% in, one of Harry's inner monologues is asking himself why Asher affects him and where the patience and indifference he's prided himself in is. He asks, “What is it about Asher Garin that rankles me so much?” Honestly, I also want to know because we never really find out. Their relationship takes a 360 turn in a matter of pages and moments.

There is no development as they run and hide together. Every moment is either sexual, formed through the desire and arousal they have, or the fact that they're running because they're being followed to be killed. Yet, in between those moments, there is nothing else being offered. Even though they are entirely and provably sexually attracted to an extreme (which I would have appreciated, along with the "hate sex" if it wasn't the only thing they could do), the sexual tension between the two is primarily negative in the sense that it feels shameful at first (such as how Harry hates that he wants Asher physically, and Asher even gets mad at Harry because he won't give in even though they both know he wants to). I'm not a fan of this kind of attraction. Look, I get it. They're both men in their 30s, have some pent-up anger they want to release, and their hormones act like teenagers again. They don't think with their mind but their body most of the time, and it takes only a couple of seconds to get them going. Yet, when it comes to sexual tension, which can lead to the emotional connection, especially in enemies to lovers, I expect it to be more, you know, tense? In my opinion, there was no sexual tension. There were none of those moments that books tease us with–eye contact, desire but not giving in, getting closer to each other, wishing for a kiss, subtly making physical contact, admiration, and more. There weren't any moments that made me believe in growing feelings between the two as we're more perceptive of the character's emotions.

I believe this book had a promising start when we met both Harry and Asher. Harry is the grump, always scowling, wishing Asher would shut up, and hardly ever smiles. His cold demeanor comes from the lack of connection he has to the world. He has a job to fulfill, missions to complete, and targets to get rid of. So he does as he says and moves on.

On the other hand, Asher is the polar opposite–while not entirely a sunshine personality, his bright self is more prominent. Instead of scowling all the time, he maintains his bright smile to earn himself a good reputation. While he also has a role in fulfilling tasks to care for, he carries scars from his past. Having no loyalty, nationality, family, or home, he sticks to himself with the help of his informant. What starts as a back and forth, push and pull, teasing, bickering, and even fun banter turns into annoyance, repetition, and confusion. Even with suspension of disbelief, which I didn't need to do here (mostly because I'm used to it already when it comes to military/action media), I couldn't get behind the relationship. No matter how fun, entertaining, and funny the banter between our protagonists is, it adds nothing when it doesn't further the attraction they're trying to deny. Most of it is because it only started a certain way. Still, once things began changing gears and getting steamier, most of their conversations felt the same, with sex added to it. Asher started to push Harry's buttons sexually, and Harry wanted to deny his sexual attraction but couldn't resist. Most of the time they spend together is either of them having sex or figuring out their following location to run away to.

I've said this before, but for two opposites and “enemies,” the relationship was fast-paced. Not only with the lack of development, but I couldn't figure out what exactly the two characters liked from each other. It felt like they only acted like their personality traits, and there wasn't anything else they could offer. It happened too quickly. Sex is also not something that verifies a connection between the characters. Instead, it makes it less believable, underwhelming, and more disappointing overall. If you're not going to give me a reason to believe in two characters falling in love, especially two men who had never fallen in love before, had trust issues the entire beginning of the book, and have roles that aren't the exact best spot to be in when you're vulnerable, I'm not going to be rooting for the couple at all. I know N.R. Walker is known for her low-angst, enjoyable reads that make love seem easy. Still, considering how she decided to take a different route in her writing here and write something new, it should be expected that there needs to be more growth added. I've read books from this author that are shorter and longer than I've enjoyed, and I believe in the love between the characters. So there's no excuse, but it all feels lazy at this point. It's weak, lacks a lot of substance, and holds no actual value to what the book is trying to pinpoint, mean, and show.

So far, this is my least favorite book by this author. It was underwhelming, disappointing, and didn't offer anything it promised to give. However, even with the suspension of disbelief, I couldn't get behind accepting and loving the characters and the relationship. But for anyone who does want to read anything by her, I love and highly recommend The Weight of It All, Galaxies and Oceans, On Davis Row, Missing Pieces trilogy, and Exchange of Hearts.

The good
+ The action movie vibes
+ The trust Harry and Asher built between each other
+ Their skills. Sometimes it's just so satisfying to read a book where the main characters are clearly much more skilled than their opponents
+ Harry's softness in the end. What a teddy bear
+ No drama about their feelings. They're both just down to earth
+ The epilogue. It's a perfect ending for both of them
+ "Asher, I don't know what we are. You and me. I don't know the first thing about . . . that or where to even start, really. But I'll stick with you until you tell me you don't want me around anymore. If that's okay with you."

The neutral
o I was kindly provided with an ARC. My review remains honest and unbiased
o As I said, this book reads like an action movie. This means you have to suspend your disbelief to truly enjoy it
o "His lats and serratus anterior muscles defined and so damned sexy" is not an inner thought many people would have... Who actually does that? Just call it "boxer's muscles" or something

The bad
- "The process of turning physics into engineering is complicated to summarise. Basically alternative energy resources to hydrocarbon fundamentals." I'm not even going to explain how wrong this is, but you get the gist
- Their first time penetrative sex. It felt very non-consensual to me
- At the end of the book, something slightly supernatural was mentioned, which I don't really like. I liked the sentiment, but I would have preferred it without the sort of magical aspect


This book was basically an action movie with an extensive romance. I enjoyed it a lot, as I really needed something I could read with my tired brain. However, their first time penetrative sex really ruined the experience for me. I had to put the book away and didn't get back to it for days because of the disgusting feeling it left, and I only continued because it was clearly the author's intention that both characters had a good time. But afterwards, the action really started, and I read it in one sitting. Would recommend if your brain is tired and you just want to watch (read) an action movie with gay assassins.



This is a copy of my original Goodreads review (found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4817078164). Any spoilers have been removed.

A fast pacing story with smoking hot romance in N.R Walkers new book.
Sunshine/grumpy and enemies to lovers.
It’s fun and lovely as well as dark and action filled. I would have liked a bit more story wise but it was still so good. And in this story I actually wanted a bit more complication in the relationship, I think it would have fit in with the rest of the story.

The Kite is a romantic suspense by author N.R.Walker. Two assassins with a bounty on their heads and trying to take down the man who put it there. I think this is a contender for one of my favorite N.R. Walker books I’ve had the pleasure of reading.

I loved so much about this book! Harry, Harry, Harry, grumpy and deadly, was just a fantastic character. He did everything for his country and had his life thrown off axis to have them betray him. Asher was the sunshine to his grumpy, but that didn’t make him any less deadly. He was high energy, full of endless sexual innuendos, and craved the sting of pain with his sex. I lived for their banter and the overly charged sexual encounters between them. Even when the banter continues but their intimacy turned sweet and caring, I was just as invested in these two.

I wasn’t expecting to have my heart melted by two top assassins, but that’s exactly what happened. When Harry accepts his feelings for Asher and starts with the terms of endearment and the way he cares for Asher when he’s hurt. Also, I was not prepared for Asher’s heart crushing backstory, damn it! It made me want to smoother Asher in love, and I am so glad that Harry was a secret teddy bear who could fill that void in Asher’s life. The two turned into the precious couple I look forward to when I read an N.R. Walker book, with a sweet and adorable epilogue that I was so happy with.

Overall , The Kite by N.R. Walker was a winner and I highly expected to reread it in the future and really look forward to hearing it in audio. A suspenseful hate to love romance between two assassins filled with dual POV, action, danger, violence, sexual innuendos, admiring the scenery, dirty talk, and entertaining banter.

**4.5 Stars**

The Kite is an action packed book about Harry, who is well trained in dangerous covert operations, but suddenly finds himself in trouble when the game as he has always known it has changed and he is on the wrong side. Asher is also familiar with covert operations, but has ties to no one and now he wants to join forces with Harry to hopefuly keep them both alive.

I really liked both Harry and Asher. Harry was just no nonsense and Asher had a sense of humor and tried to push all of Harry's buttons, which made him extremely endearing. I adored how much they complemented each other, even if it took a little while to get there.

I enjoyed the mix of both action and romance in this story. The story line kept me invested from beginning to end and I enjoyed traveling along with Harry and Asher as they worked through the nightmare they found themselves in, and how their relationship evolved over the course of the book. I also enjoyed Four's role in the story. I am fairly new to this author but highly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up

Reading this book is like watching an action movie with an extra dose of queer. It was a lot of fun to adventure around with the assassins on the run and watch them fall in love. The grumpy one gets soft for the sunshine one! The grumpy one murders everyone around but protects the sunshine one!!

While this wasn't anything particularly groundbreaking or new it was an enjoyable read. I highly recommend not thinking too hard about the details or continuity or realism. Just sit back with your popcorn and enjoy the action.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.