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Assassins Guild #1
Assassins in Love
When one killer falls for another
Agent: Misha
Profile: Highly trained in every method the assassins guild has to offer. Always goes by the book.
Agent: Rikki
Profile: Rogue assassin who kills only to rid the world of hardened criminals. Hates organizations. Always does it her way.
Love becomes a matter of life and death.
Misha's mission is to get Rikki to join the guild or give up her guns. He completely underestimated the effect she would have on him...and what heat and chaos they could bring to each other...
Agent: Misha
Profile: Highly trained in every method the assassins guild has to offer. Always goes by the book.
Agent: Rikki
Profile: Rogue assassin who kills only to rid the world of hardened criminals. Hates organizations. Always does it her way.
Love becomes a matter of life and death.
Misha's mission is to get Rikki to join the guild or give up her guns. He completely underestimated the effect she would have on him...and what heat and chaos they could bring to each other...
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2012
17 people are currently reading
687 people want to read
About the author
Kris DeLake
7 books28 followersKris DeLake is one of writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch's many pen names. In addition to writing as Kris DeLake in romance, Rusch also writes romance as Kristine Grayson (who specializes in paranormals) and Kristine Dexter (who prefers romantic suspense). In mystery, Rusch writes as Edgar- and Shamus-nominee Kris Nelscott. In science fiction and fantasy, Rusch goes by her real name. Under that name, she's a bestseller in many countries, and a double Hugo winner. To find out more about Rusch and her various names, go to her website, kristinekathrynrusch.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
March 30, 2012
Ok, so this book was really enjoyable, the problem is that the author is so good at world-building, that I CRAVED a bigger-scope story because what she built was really interesting! This is a very VERY romance book, but I felt like it was really well-written (it's no surprise, this is a pseudonym for Katherine Rusch who writes excellent straight Fantasy and Sci-Fi)
It was very much Mr. and Mrs Smith set in space. Yes, the whole assassin thing is totally played, but with a name like "Assassins in Love" I can't really fault anything that happened in the plot based on my 100% knowing what I was in for with the title, haha.
I loved that the lead character was not all Alpha bossy all the time, I loved the main character's chaotic neutral POV. Some of her backstory didn't make sense that she wasn't aware of it before, but whatever. Was I invested and stayed up too late? Yes! Did the Sci-Fi part embarrass me like most Vaginal SF? Nope! So WIN WIN WIN! Nice read! Will read more!
It was very much Mr. and Mrs Smith set in space. Yes, the whole assassin thing is totally played, but with a name like "Assassins in Love" I can't really fault anything that happened in the plot based on my 100% knowing what I was in for with the title, haha.
I loved that the lead character was not all Alpha bossy all the time, I loved the main character's chaotic neutral POV. Some of her backstory didn't make sense that she wasn't aware of it before, but whatever. Was I invested and stayed up too late? Yes! Did the Sci-Fi part embarrass me like most Vaginal SF? Nope! So WIN WIN WIN! Nice read! Will read more!
May 3, 2012
I have long held that romance writers are incapable of writing decent science fiction romance. They just... can't. Every single one I've read has been remarkably cheesy, with cliched and paper-thin worldbuilding, telepaths (there are almost always telepaths), skin-tight spacesuits (that is, if the always sexy and oddly human aliens understand the concept of "clothes" at all), and Destined Mates (which is usually an excuse for the alpha-male alien to act like a total jerkwad towards the heroine). The SF elements don't feel remotely natural; really, it's like they cribbed their sci fi from bad space opera. I've been sort of glad that it's not that common a subgenre.
That is not to say there isn't good sci fi romance (or, for that matter, romantic science fiction)-- there is. But it all seems to come from the SF side of things-- Lois McMaster Bujold, Ann Aguirre, etc. (Anne McCaffrey is borderline for me, romance-wise. Her SF is best when she's not concentrating on The Relationship; when she does, you get classic SF-Romance cheese like Petaybee, Catteni, or Acorna. Even Crystal Singer and Tower and Hive were pretty damn cheesy, despite good world-building.)
Anyway, I felt my theory getting completely blown out of the water by ASSASSINS IN LOVE. It was amazing-- realistic setting, kickass characters, high-octane nonstop action, downright volcanic chemistry, trust issues from hell (consider the title!), and a deeply moving backstory. (The revelation of Rikki's past had me literally shaking and in tears.) My only minor quibble was with the secondary characters-- I felt like the plot bit with Misha's old flame could've been drawn out a little longer, and I would've liked to delve deeper into what was going on with Rikki's foster brother Jack. (Ah, well, maybe we'll see more of Jack in a later book? Pleasepleaseplease?)
So I got to the last page, and hungrily read the author bio. Debut author, right? Not... exactly. As it turns out, Kris DeLake is (drum-roll, please) double-Hugo-winning SF author Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
HA.
(Ahem.)
Anyway, I really, really hope we see more from Rusch's Kris DeLake alias, because this one totally took the top of my head off. (Just writing the review is making my pulse speed up again.)
READ THIS BOOK.
That is not to say there isn't good sci fi romance (or, for that matter, romantic science fiction)-- there is. But it all seems to come from the SF side of things-- Lois McMaster Bujold, Ann Aguirre, etc. (Anne McCaffrey is borderline for me, romance-wise. Her SF is best when she's not concentrating on The Relationship; when she does, you get classic SF-Romance cheese like Petaybee, Catteni, or Acorna. Even Crystal Singer and Tower and Hive were pretty damn cheesy, despite good world-building.)
Anyway, I felt my theory getting completely blown out of the water by ASSASSINS IN LOVE. It was amazing-- realistic setting, kickass characters, high-octane nonstop action, downright volcanic chemistry, trust issues from hell (consider the title!), and a deeply moving backstory. (The revelation of Rikki's past had me literally shaking and in tears.) My only minor quibble was with the secondary characters-- I felt like the plot bit with Misha's old flame could've been drawn out a little longer, and I would've liked to delve deeper into what was going on with Rikki's foster brother Jack. (Ah, well, maybe we'll see more of Jack in a later book? Pleasepleaseplease?)
So I got to the last page, and hungrily read the author bio. Debut author, right? Not... exactly. As it turns out, Kris DeLake is (drum-roll, please) double-Hugo-winning SF author Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
HA.
(Ahem.)
Anyway, I really, really hope we see more from Rusch's Kris DeLake alias, because this one totally took the top of my head off. (Just writing the review is making my pulse speed up again.)
READ THIS BOOK.
December 21, 2012
Mixing genres is a tricky business, and not just because it complicates the marketing. Each genre has its own norms and expectations and these often come into conflict when you combine two strongly-defined genres like romance and sci-fi. Fortunately, Kristine Kathryn Rusch (for whom Kris DeLake is a pseudonym) is well up to the job.
There's a reason she used the Kris DeLake name to publish the book, however—it primarily adheres to the expectations of the romance genre. This was a true win, for me, so it's no wonder I liked it as well as I did.
Being Kristine Rusch, the sci-fi doesn't get short-shrift, either. The world building is superb and the technology well thought-out and consistent. My favorite piece of slight-of-hand was the setup for legal assassinations. In this universe, an assassin is treated as a tool with the onus of murder placed on whoever hired the assassin. This works as a legal framework, but, more importantly, it works as a moral framework within the novel as well*. Better, though, is that DeLake managed to give enough nuance to the setup that you can readily buy that the two main characters, Rikki and Misha, have different (and conflicting, at least on the surface) moral approaches to their job of killing people. I found these differences fascinating as well as illuminating of their motivations and inner landscape.
The book has some very well-paced action as the two work together (or not. mostly not.) to disentangle themselves from Rikki’s latest job. Misha wants to recruit Rikki and she really doesn't want to be recruited, so however well they fit emotionally and physically, there are a lot of obstacles to overcome if they are going to be together—however much they both rather want to be. It was great watching them work out the dynamics of their relationship, the culmination of which was extremely satisfying. And yes, since this is primarily romance, it's no secret that they're headed for what the romance readers call their HEA (happily ever after).
* It's not a moral framework that I endorse or adhere to, mind. But it is both consistent and a good deal better than many frameworks popular in government and university ethics courses, today.
A note about Steamy: This book falls in my mid-range for steamy content. There are a couple of explicit sex scenes and a few racy encounters. They differ from my "norm" mainly by their quality—uh, that'd be high quality...
There's a reason she used the Kris DeLake name to publish the book, however—it primarily adheres to the expectations of the romance genre. This was a true win, for me, so it's no wonder I liked it as well as I did.
Being Kristine Rusch, the sci-fi doesn't get short-shrift, either. The world building is superb and the technology well thought-out and consistent. My favorite piece of slight-of-hand was the setup for legal assassinations. In this universe, an assassin is treated as a tool with the onus of murder placed on whoever hired the assassin. This works as a legal framework, but, more importantly, it works as a moral framework within the novel as well*. Better, though, is that DeLake managed to give enough nuance to the setup that you can readily buy that the two main characters, Rikki and Misha, have different (and conflicting, at least on the surface) moral approaches to their job of killing people. I found these differences fascinating as well as illuminating of their motivations and inner landscape.
The book has some very well-paced action as the two work together (or not. mostly not.) to disentangle themselves from Rikki’s latest job. Misha wants to recruit Rikki and she really doesn't want to be recruited, so however well they fit emotionally and physically, there are a lot of obstacles to overcome if they are going to be together—however much they both rather want to be. It was great watching them work out the dynamics of their relationship, the culmination of which was extremely satisfying. And yes, since this is primarily romance, it's no secret that they're headed for what the romance readers call their HEA (happily ever after).
* It's not a moral framework that I endorse or adhere to, mind. But it is both consistent and a good deal better than many frameworks popular in government and university ethics courses, today.
A note about Steamy: This book falls in my mid-range for steamy content. There are a couple of explicit sex scenes and a few racy encounters. They differ from my "norm" mainly by their quality—uh, that'd be high quality...
September 1, 2013
3.5 stars
In an exciting sci-fi future, on an interstellar cruise ship, rogue assassin Rikki (I seriously can't remember her surname, it's not important) is trying to dump a body. While assassination is legal if you have a license and a contract, Rikki's not a member of the Assassin's Guild, and generally feels that she doesn't need anyone controlling her or regulating how she does things. A very attractive man helps her get rid of the body, and then escape the security guards on the ship. One thing leads to another, and the next morning, Rikki discovers that the hot guy, Misha, is the one who actually hired her to perform the hit - trying to observe her technique. He's the licensed assassin who's recently been blamed for most of her hits in the region, and he wants her to either join the Assassin's Guild and start observing the set guidelines, or he's planning to stop her.
This is just the first section of the book. Rikki uses underhanded methods to discover Misha's real identity, and flashes back to her childhood, when his mother, also a licensed assassin, killed Rikki's father. She becomes convinced that he's trying to kill her, as well, and drugs him so she can escape the cruise ship. He chases after her, still determined to make her join the Guild or stop being an assassin, and there's a plot to kill the head of the Assassin's Guild and various back and forth of now they trust each other, now they don't.
August 2013's theme for Vaginal Fantasy Hangout (the online book club run by Felicia Day and three of her friends) was space assassins. Having nearly burned myself out reading in July, I figured light-hearted romance was just the thing the doctor ordered. So despite my misgivings, having considered both the spectacularly awful cover (even in a genre which features a lot of bad cover art) and the dumb title, picked, I'm assuming from some sort of generic name generator. Kris DeLake is a pseudonym for Kristine Kathryn Rausch, who writes a lot of fantasy and sci fi. Goodreads also tells me that she writes straight romance under another pseudonym.
The book is not bad, but certainly not great either. Rikki and Misha spend a LOT of time in bed with each other for people who don't trust each other. There's also extremely little assassining (this is a totally valid verb that I just made up) being done, and quite a lot more exploring joint (if repressed, in Rikki's case) back story. Like the ladies on Vaginal Fantasy Hangout, I liked Misha as a character a lot more than Rikki, who just never really grew on me. He's probably the reason the book gets 3.5 stars rather than just 3. This is by no means the worst book I've read as a result of the book club, but certainly not the best either, and I don't think I'll be bothered with any more in the series.
In an exciting sci-fi future, on an interstellar cruise ship, rogue assassin Rikki (I seriously can't remember her surname, it's not important) is trying to dump a body. While assassination is legal if you have a license and a contract, Rikki's not a member of the Assassin's Guild, and generally feels that she doesn't need anyone controlling her or regulating how she does things. A very attractive man helps her get rid of the body, and then escape the security guards on the ship. One thing leads to another, and the next morning, Rikki discovers that the hot guy, Misha, is the one who actually hired her to perform the hit - trying to observe her technique. He's the licensed assassin who's recently been blamed for most of her hits in the region, and he wants her to either join the Assassin's Guild and start observing the set guidelines, or he's planning to stop her.
This is just the first section of the book. Rikki uses underhanded methods to discover Misha's real identity, and flashes back to her childhood, when his mother, also a licensed assassin, killed Rikki's father. She becomes convinced that he's trying to kill her, as well, and drugs him so she can escape the cruise ship. He chases after her, still determined to make her join the Guild or stop being an assassin, and there's a plot to kill the head of the Assassin's Guild and various back and forth of now they trust each other, now they don't.
August 2013's theme for Vaginal Fantasy Hangout (the online book club run by Felicia Day and three of her friends) was space assassins. Having nearly burned myself out reading in July, I figured light-hearted romance was just the thing the doctor ordered. So despite my misgivings, having considered both the spectacularly awful cover (even in a genre which features a lot of bad cover art) and the dumb title, picked, I'm assuming from some sort of generic name generator. Kris DeLake is a pseudonym for Kristine Kathryn Rausch, who writes a lot of fantasy and sci fi. Goodreads also tells me that she writes straight romance under another pseudonym.
The book is not bad, but certainly not great either. Rikki and Misha spend a LOT of time in bed with each other for people who don't trust each other. There's also extremely little assassining (this is a totally valid verb that I just made up) being done, and quite a lot more exploring joint (if repressed, in Rikki's case) back story. Like the ladies on Vaginal Fantasy Hangout, I liked Misha as a character a lot more than Rikki, who just never really grew on me. He's probably the reason the book gets 3.5 stars rather than just 3. This is by no means the worst book I've read as a result of the book club, but certainly not the best either, and I don't think I'll be bothered with any more in the series.
March 3, 2012
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy
ASSASSINS IN LOVE by Kris DeLake is the first book in the Assassins Guild Sci-Fi Romance series. Don’t let the Sci-Fi label scare you, there are no aliens or crazy technical jargon in this book. Apart from a few cool gadgets and some scary advanced drugs, I forgot that the story took place (primarily) on a spaceship (it could have easily been a luxury cruise ship).
At it’s best, ASSASSINS IN LOVE reminded me of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. There’s the fun/dangerous meeting were the two assassins pretend to be a couple in order to avoid the authorities, which then becomes a night of passion that neither can forget. Afterwards, identities are discovered and crushing disappointment gives way to more fun/dangerous encounters with lots of fighting, shooting, and blistering attraction. I wish the book had kept up that sexy action vibe that it started with instead of getting caught up in too many miscommunications and misguided suspicions. It knocked the fun factor down just a bit. It also could have and should have been much shorter. Cutting out one or two of the miscommunication obstacles would have made the pacing towards the end much more engaging.
Overall, ASSASSINS IN LOVE is a fun, action packed, and sexy romp through space featuring a pair of assassins alternating between trying to kill and seduce each other. Light on Sci-Fi, but heavy on romance, the Assassins Guild series is one that has the potential to woe quite a few die hard paranormal romance fans to a slightly different genre. No word yet on the sequel’s title or release date, but the author has confirmed the hero’s identity as Rikki’s best friend and fellow assassin, Jack.
Sexual Content:
Several graphic sex scenes
ASSASSINS IN LOVE by Kris DeLake is the first book in the Assassins Guild Sci-Fi Romance series. Don’t let the Sci-Fi label scare you, there are no aliens or crazy technical jargon in this book. Apart from a few cool gadgets and some scary advanced drugs, I forgot that the story took place (primarily) on a spaceship (it could have easily been a luxury cruise ship).
At it’s best, ASSASSINS IN LOVE reminded me of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. There’s the fun/dangerous meeting were the two assassins pretend to be a couple in order to avoid the authorities, which then becomes a night of passion that neither can forget. Afterwards, identities are discovered and crushing disappointment gives way to more fun/dangerous encounters with lots of fighting, shooting, and blistering attraction. I wish the book had kept up that sexy action vibe that it started with instead of getting caught up in too many miscommunications and misguided suspicions. It knocked the fun factor down just a bit. It also could have and should have been much shorter. Cutting out one or two of the miscommunication obstacles would have made the pacing towards the end much more engaging.
Overall, ASSASSINS IN LOVE is a fun, action packed, and sexy romp through space featuring a pair of assassins alternating between trying to kill and seduce each other. Light on Sci-Fi, but heavy on romance, the Assassins Guild series is one that has the potential to woe quite a few die hard paranormal romance fans to a slightly different genre. No word yet on the sequel’s title or release date, but the author has confirmed the hero’s identity as Rikki’s best friend and fellow assassin, Jack.
Sexual Content:
Several graphic sex scenes
January 3, 2013
That's right, I started the year by reading something called Assassins in Love, which is a dumb title for a book that turned out to be pretty good. Kris DeLake is a pseudonym for Kristine Kathryn Rusch, whose Retrieval Artist novels I like very much, and she doesn't put her writing ability aside when she's writing romance novels. Her main characters, Rikki and Misha, are both assassins, though Rikki is an independent who doesn't like organizations, and Misha's been part of the Guild almost his whole life. They meet and are instantly attracted to each other, have lots and lots of great sex, but realize that their attraction goes deeper than that. DeLake is good at characterization and creates a believable history for the two of them, so the book is much more than a vehicle for steamy sex scenes. I particularly like that every time one has cause to mistrust the other, they manage to talk it out rather than letting the misunderstanding drive the plot (almost always tedious and lazy). It's too slight a book to give it more than three stars (actually closer to 3.5) but I'll want to read more in this series.
August 16, 2013
The ridiculous cover made me think there would be more sexytimes than there were. I mean, there were sexytimes, but it peaked kinda early in that regard (wah-wah), and after the first couple encounters, it was all just "and then they went and did it a LOT" and that was a graphic as it got. And the plot peaked early, too. The central conflict gets resolved at like the 65-75% mark, and then they try to bring in another conflict...but it's just not too interesting, it wasn't built well and ended kinda abruptly. It almost felt like there was a required word count, so the author wrote the story, then went "oh, oops, I'm not nearly there, better add some more" then started building up the story again, only to get too close to the word count and having to end it as quickly as possible.
July 25, 2017
combination of Science Fiction and romance. It definitely works.
March 21, 2018
este libro al igual que Foxhole Court lo leí porque quería leer algo diferente. Se trataba de asesinos pero también de parte romántica. Se veía muy interesante : 2 personas atraídas de forma sexual , sus diferentes puntos de vistas como llevar su profesión. Discute eso y mas por sus padres ya que ellos tiene una historia .
Es de asesinos pero tampoco “ la compañía de asesinos “ ( KILLING OF SARAI)
Es de asesinos pero tampoco “ la compañía de asesinos “ ( KILLING OF SARAI)
March 23, 2012
Originally posted at http://www.readingreality.net/2012/03...
From the cover of Assassins in Love by Kris DeLake, I was expecting something along the lines of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, or maybe Shana Galen's Lord and Lady Spy. I didn't examine that cover picture closely enough to notice the details; that gun he's holding is some kind of blaster pistol. And Kris DeLake is Kristine Kathryn Rusch's newest pen name.
Ms. Rusch writes science fiction as under Rusch, and romance under the name Kristine Grayson. The new name represented a new direction. As I started the book, I wondered what direction it would be.
Assassins in Love begins with what would be a "meet cute" for a pair of hired killers. He helps her shove a body out an airlock on a luxury cruise ship. In space, of course. Hence the airlock.
Unlike Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Rikki and Misha are not married to each other before they meet over the corpse. But they have met before. Just once. And Rikki has repressed that memory completely. For a very good reason.
Misha has been hunting Rikki down for a totally different reason. They are both assassins, but he is a member of the Guild, and Rikki operates alone. Or maybe she's a member of the rogue group that is targeting the Guild. Misha doesn't know for sure.
What he does know is that Rikki doesn't follow the rules he lives by. She isn't licensed to kill. Or properly trained to clean up her messes. And every mess she makes recently seems to get traced back to him. Not that he can't get himself out of her problems, but he's pissed about it. He wants her to clean up her act, and join the Guild.
But when they meet, all Misha can think of is that he wants her.
That dead body they just shoved out the airlock? Distracting the security guards from the airlock alarm is the perfect excuse to pretend Rikki is his date, just for a few minutes, no make that hours. Making a show of sex-crazed, drunken party-goers fools the guards into thinking they are harmless.
Only one problem. The sex-crazed act is no act, for either of them. And it's not just sex. Nor does it wear off in the morning, like it would if someone had slipped one of them an aphrodisiac. It's real, whatever it is.
Until Rikki finds out who Misha really is. Not just that he's a member of the Guild, but specifically who he is. His mother assassinated her father. Misha was there that night, and so was Rikki. She just spent one perfect night with the man who helped murdered her father. The man whose mother broke nearly every bone in her body. While he stood by and watched.
Rikki escapes from the ship, entangling Misha with security as best as she can behind her.
But Misha comes after her. He has to tell her the truth. Her childhood memory of the event is not what really happened.
But as they explore their past and see if they might possibly have a present, they take on a job together to see if they can find a way to trust each other. Little do they know that they have been caught in a web of destruction intended to bring down the entire Assassins' Guild!
Escape Rating B: The Assassins Guild takeover plot is kind of a caper/suspense twist. It gets wrapped up pretty fast at the end, but at the same time, it's part of the set up for the Assassins Guild series. Maybe now that the Guild is established in readers' mind, there won't be a need to have another mutiny?
Knowing that Rusch was the author may have set the bar higher than this story is intended to reach. I love her Retrieval Artist series, but lost interest in the romance series she writes under her Kathryn Grayson name. YMMV.
Assassins in Love mixes a caper plot with a science fiction romance with some heavy backstory about suppressed memories and trust issues and surviving abuse. For the story, Rikki and Misha needed to both be assassins and Rikki needed to have the kind of issues she did. I wonder if making the issues as bad as they were and specifically related to Misha was a little too heavy for a romance that felt like it was meant to be the lighter part of the plot?
From the cover of Assassins in Love by Kris DeLake, I was expecting something along the lines of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, or maybe Shana Galen's Lord and Lady Spy. I didn't examine that cover picture closely enough to notice the details; that gun he's holding is some kind of blaster pistol. And Kris DeLake is Kristine Kathryn Rusch's newest pen name.
Ms. Rusch writes science fiction as under Rusch, and romance under the name Kristine Grayson. The new name represented a new direction. As I started the book, I wondered what direction it would be.
Assassins in Love begins with what would be a "meet cute" for a pair of hired killers. He helps her shove a body out an airlock on a luxury cruise ship. In space, of course. Hence the airlock.
Unlike Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Rikki and Misha are not married to each other before they meet over the corpse. But they have met before. Just once. And Rikki has repressed that memory completely. For a very good reason.
Misha has been hunting Rikki down for a totally different reason. They are both assassins, but he is a member of the Guild, and Rikki operates alone. Or maybe she's a member of the rogue group that is targeting the Guild. Misha doesn't know for sure.
What he does know is that Rikki doesn't follow the rules he lives by. She isn't licensed to kill. Or properly trained to clean up her messes. And every mess she makes recently seems to get traced back to him. Not that he can't get himself out of her problems, but he's pissed about it. He wants her to clean up her act, and join the Guild.
But when they meet, all Misha can think of is that he wants her.
That dead body they just shoved out the airlock? Distracting the security guards from the airlock alarm is the perfect excuse to pretend Rikki is his date, just for a few minutes, no make that hours. Making a show of sex-crazed, drunken party-goers fools the guards into thinking they are harmless.
Only one problem. The sex-crazed act is no act, for either of them. And it's not just sex. Nor does it wear off in the morning, like it would if someone had slipped one of them an aphrodisiac. It's real, whatever it is.
Until Rikki finds out who Misha really is. Not just that he's a member of the Guild, but specifically who he is. His mother assassinated her father. Misha was there that night, and so was Rikki. She just spent one perfect night with the man who helped murdered her father. The man whose mother broke nearly every bone in her body. While he stood by and watched.
Rikki escapes from the ship, entangling Misha with security as best as she can behind her.
But Misha comes after her. He has to tell her the truth. Her childhood memory of the event is not what really happened.
But as they explore their past and see if they might possibly have a present, they take on a job together to see if they can find a way to trust each other. Little do they know that they have been caught in a web of destruction intended to bring down the entire Assassins' Guild!
Escape Rating B: The Assassins Guild takeover plot is kind of a caper/suspense twist. It gets wrapped up pretty fast at the end, but at the same time, it's part of the set up for the Assassins Guild series. Maybe now that the Guild is established in readers' mind, there won't be a need to have another mutiny?
Knowing that Rusch was the author may have set the bar higher than this story is intended to reach. I love her Retrieval Artist series, but lost interest in the romance series she writes under her Kathryn Grayson name. YMMV.
Assassins in Love mixes a caper plot with a science fiction romance with some heavy backstory about suppressed memories and trust issues and surviving abuse. For the story, Rikki and Misha needed to both be assassins and Rikki needed to have the kind of issues she did. I wonder if making the issues as bad as they were and specifically related to Misha was a little too heavy for a romance that felt like it was meant to be the lighter part of the plot?
March 17, 2012
The review that follows is a partial review. To read my full review, please visit:
http://tbqspersonalbookpalace.blogspo...
~*~*~
From page one, I had problems with Assassins in Love. Though the premise behind the story had a lot of potential (one of the reasons I was drawn to it in the first place), it fell short of those expectations, at least for me.
The story was too rushed and not fully developed in some of the areas. It seemed to suddenly head off in another direction without any reason. I felt like I was speed reading through some of the chapters due to the way the words flowed (and I don't mean that in a good way). And yet, despite the rushed feel to the story's development and writing, it was very slow to build and seemed to drag on. I kept waiting for it to get better, but instead it became more and more of a struggle for me to enjoy, and then it became almost a chore to finish reading. Neither are things that one wishes to feel while reading a book, and yet I went through both stages with this one.
To best honest, if it wasn't for the fact that I received this book to review, and therefore was expected to do so, I probably would have set it aside after the first 50 or so pages and moved on to something else.
Due to the fact that we each have differences in opinions, there will no doubt be other readers out there that love this book. And that's fine with me! But I just couldn't get into it.
The story failed to pull me in, and the characters were so annoying that I couldn't have cared less whether or not they got their HEA. And isn't that bad, when after reading a romance novel, I'm not interested in the hero? When I'm not anxious to have the heroine as my new BFF? For me, a good book, romance or otherwise, should illicit such a response from me, and Assassins in Love just didn't do it.
Misha was often described as a pretty boy type, and with some of his actions, along with the way he acted during the sex scenes (he blushes more than an innocent schoolgirl!), I kept picturing him as this very girly person. Not really who I want for a hero. And Rikki was the extreme opposite, so very hard and emotionless. I just couldn't see the connection between the two, though, apparently, she was mad for him, when, in fact, the only thing I think they had was lust, as within a handful of pages they had already banged each other, and continued to do so throughout the book. Their love scenes read more like rushed sex scenes than anything else—no connection, no real passion, and didn't get any response out of me except for the need to skim ahead.
....
~*~*~
This review is property of TBQ's Book Palace (The_Book_Queen)
http://tbqspersonalbookpalace.blogspo...
~*~*~
From page one, I had problems with Assassins in Love. Though the premise behind the story had a lot of potential (one of the reasons I was drawn to it in the first place), it fell short of those expectations, at least for me.
The story was too rushed and not fully developed in some of the areas. It seemed to suddenly head off in another direction without any reason. I felt like I was speed reading through some of the chapters due to the way the words flowed (and I don't mean that in a good way). And yet, despite the rushed feel to the story's development and writing, it was very slow to build and seemed to drag on. I kept waiting for it to get better, but instead it became more and more of a struggle for me to enjoy, and then it became almost a chore to finish reading. Neither are things that one wishes to feel while reading a book, and yet I went through both stages with this one.
To best honest, if it wasn't for the fact that I received this book to review, and therefore was expected to do so, I probably would have set it aside after the first 50 or so pages and moved on to something else.
Due to the fact that we each have differences in opinions, there will no doubt be other readers out there that love this book. And that's fine with me! But I just couldn't get into it.
The story failed to pull me in, and the characters were so annoying that I couldn't have cared less whether or not they got their HEA. And isn't that bad, when after reading a romance novel, I'm not interested in the hero? When I'm not anxious to have the heroine as my new BFF? For me, a good book, romance or otherwise, should illicit such a response from me, and Assassins in Love just didn't do it.
Misha was often described as a pretty boy type, and with some of his actions, along with the way he acted during the sex scenes (he blushes more than an innocent schoolgirl!), I kept picturing him as this very girly person. Not really who I want for a hero. And Rikki was the extreme opposite, so very hard and emotionless. I just couldn't see the connection between the two, though, apparently, she was mad for him, when, in fact, the only thing I think they had was lust, as within a handful of pages they had already banged each other, and continued to do so throughout the book. Their love scenes read more like rushed sex scenes than anything else—no connection, no real passion, and didn't get any response out of me except for the need to skim ahead.
....
~*~*~
This review is property of TBQ's Book Palace (The_Book_Queen)
March 4, 2012
A good assassin must always be alert but shouldn't have much to fear. Authorities can be avoided or bought, blending into a crowd comes in handy for errands, and living by yourself in a fortress has its perks. What one would worry about though is if another assassin comes knocking.
Misha is a golden boy, always does things the right way. Rikki is a risk, does things her way and doesn't handle authority well. The reasons behind their work methods is explained by their pasts and by default, their parents. DeLake has them meet years ago when Rikki was a kid, the emotional scars from that event color her view of the world until Misha helps fill in her gaps. In the end their goals might rub each other the wrong way but their attraction to each other certainly rubs the right way, in many different ways.
More than just entertainment and emotional healing there is a great plot line going on that Misha and Rikki find themselves stuck in the middle of. Each of their employers are involved but the people pulling the strings are hidden till the end. What spy novel would be complete without weapons, hidden rooms, and sneaky villains. Well timed surprises keep things moving and pages turning.
Assassins In Love is a great mix of sci-fi, spy mystery, and romance. Throw all that together with an author like DeLake and you have a smashing success! This entertaining read will take you along for a ride on a space cruise ship, across galaxies and planets, only to end up in the bedroom more often than not. For our hero and heroine their goals might rub each other the wrong way but their attraction to each other certainly rubs the right way, in many different ways.
Review to be posted at Reading Between the Wines blog.
September 1, 2013
Original review on rabidgummibear.wordpress.com
I find that a most sci-fi space themed romance novels aren’t in worlds that are well built or interesting. Assassin’s in Love was the exception for the rule of just avoid most sci-fi romance.
The story revolves around Rikki and Misha both assassin’s one with a guild one not. For a chunk of the book Misha is tracking Rikki down because he was getting framed for her kills. Then things take a crazy twist and we go on a pretty wild adventure that involves some revelations about the characters and their pasts.
I’m going to say that I really enjoyed the characters in this book. I felt like Rikki was pretty reasonable compared to other romance heroines. She was pretty badass which is what you’d want from an assassin. I loved how interesting DeLake made the world seem engaging and real. I even found myself enjoying the male lead way more than I thought I would. They both used what would seem like proper protocol with future weapons and were deadly but not to a fault. They both even had some flaws.
I have a few things I disliked though because the book starts to feel a little long and pretty dry in a few spots. I kept wishing the plot would move forward a bit more instead of going at a snails pace after the halfway point. Another thing was they jumped into the sexytimes which was great but then it disappeared quickly for a while which sucked.
Overall I think this book is well worth the read if you love romance novels and sci-fi! 4 out of 5 stars it is well worth the cash.
I find that a most sci-fi space themed romance novels aren’t in worlds that are well built or interesting. Assassin’s in Love was the exception for the rule of just avoid most sci-fi romance.
The story revolves around Rikki and Misha both assassin’s one with a guild one not. For a chunk of the book Misha is tracking Rikki down because he was getting framed for her kills. Then things take a crazy twist and we go on a pretty wild adventure that involves some revelations about the characters and their pasts.
I’m going to say that I really enjoyed the characters in this book. I felt like Rikki was pretty reasonable compared to other romance heroines. She was pretty badass which is what you’d want from an assassin. I loved how interesting DeLake made the world seem engaging and real. I even found myself enjoying the male lead way more than I thought I would. They both used what would seem like proper protocol with future weapons and were deadly but not to a fault. They both even had some flaws.
I have a few things I disliked though because the book starts to feel a little long and pretty dry in a few spots. I kept wishing the plot would move forward a bit more instead of going at a snails pace after the halfway point. Another thing was they jumped into the sexytimes which was great but then it disappeared quickly for a while which sucked.
Overall I think this book is well worth the read if you love romance novels and sci-fi! 4 out of 5 stars it is well worth the cash.
September 14, 2013
2, maybe 2.5 stars. It was pretty good, but it didn't really grab me. There wasn't a lot of action or intrigue for a book about assassins. Unless you mean in the bedroom. It didn't really pick up for me until part 4 when they went inside the Guild. But then the final chapter was pretty weak and cheesy.
I could've used more substance.
I could've used more substance.
August 17, 2013
Nice easy read to help take my mind off the stress of moving!!
Read
February 2, 2014Not campy enough to warrant that title, and not enough assassinating. The loving was pretty lame too, come to think of it. DNF
December 5, 2022
I wavered on the edge of just not finishing this book so many times. The hero is a misogynistic creep. Both characters are honestly pretty bland. And for a book about assassination, there's very little actual assassinations, or really any action at all, occurring.
Misha seeks out Rikki 18 years after saving her from the burning wreckage of her home after his mother assassinates her father. Since then, Misha's basically been in love with Rikki. I'm not sure exactly how old Rikki is, but after her father died, she was placed in government child care. Misha was in his twenties when he saved her. That's pedophilia right there. He goes out of his way to say that he wasn't interested in her during that time, but that she changed his life and he never went a day without thinking of her since... At one point in his internal monologue he asks:
I think it's pretty clear that makes you a sexual predator, Misha.
The romance between the 2 characters is insta-lust turned to insta-love pretty quickly. They go through a couple rounds of sex -> finding a reason to distrust the other -> sex -> more reasons to distrust, etc. Eventually, they foil a plot to kill the guild's director :shrug: Not really sure what Rikki got out of that, but okay.
The plot is pretty boring, not much to say about it. There are some pretty massive holes that were really hard to ignore. For instance, after Rikki escapes from the (space) cruiseship where she first encounters Misha, he needs to track her down because *reasons*. He monitors security footage to figure out what ship she gets onto at each port (since she's trying to shake him, she uses multiple routes to get to her final destination). So essentially, he's behind her the whole time and tracking her with video footage. Then, somehow manages to get to her final destination an ENTIRE WEEK ahead of her. That is some epic space-assassin magic.
Worse than the plot holes -- Misha is a complete asshole to Rikki the entire time. His initial reason for seeking her out is to convince her that she needs more assassin training; when she angrily tells him to fuck off, he's shocked that she's not grateful to him for the opportunity. He's condescending to every woman he encounters (calls his bff a trainwreck; tells his ex that he lost all passion for her 6-months into their 5-year relationship).
When he confronts Rikki about her missing memories (about how he saved her) and her memories start coming back, she's very naturally re-living her past trauma. And while she's doing that, he's downgrading his opinion of her to victim instead of competent assassin (even though he never thought she was competent...). I'm sitting here reading this like, I'm sorry, she can't be both things? Being a victim and having a natural emotional response to trauma means she can't be a competent badass assassin??
I could go on, but honestly, this book is not worth it.
Misha seeks out Rikki 18 years after saving her from the burning wreckage of her home after his mother assassinates her father. Since then, Misha's basically been in love with Rikki. I'm not sure exactly how old Rikki is, but after her father died, she was placed in government child care. Misha was in his twenties when he saved her. That's pedophilia right there. He goes out of his way to say that he wasn't interested in her during that time, but that she changed his life and he never went a day without thinking of her since... At one point in his internal monologue he asks:
What would their lives have been like if he had stayed with her in the hospital and refused to go with his mother, refused to go back to the Guild? Who would have been then?
I think it's pretty clear that makes you a sexual predator, Misha.
The romance between the 2 characters is insta-lust turned to insta-love pretty quickly. They go through a couple rounds of sex -> finding a reason to distrust the other -> sex -> more reasons to distrust, etc. Eventually, they foil a plot to kill the guild's director :shrug: Not really sure what Rikki got out of that, but okay.
The plot is pretty boring, not much to say about it. There are some pretty massive holes that were really hard to ignore. For instance, after Rikki escapes from the (space) cruiseship where she first encounters Misha, he needs to track her down because *reasons*. He monitors security footage to figure out what ship she gets onto at each port (since she's trying to shake him, she uses multiple routes to get to her final destination). So essentially, he's behind her the whole time and tracking her with video footage. Then, somehow manages to get to her final destination an ENTIRE WEEK ahead of her. That is some epic space-assassin magic.
Worse than the plot holes -- Misha is a complete asshole to Rikki the entire time. His initial reason for seeking her out is to convince her that she needs more assassin training; when she angrily tells him to fuck off, he's shocked that she's not grateful to him for the opportunity. He's condescending to every woman he encounters (calls his bff a trainwreck; tells his ex that he lost all passion for her 6-months into their 5-year relationship).
When he confronts Rikki about her missing memories (about how he saved her) and her memories start coming back, she's very naturally re-living her past trauma. And while she's doing that, he's downgrading his opinion of her to victim instead of competent assassin (even though he never thought she was competent...). I'm sitting here reading this like, I'm sorry, she can't be both things? Being a victim and having a natural emotional response to trauma means she can't be a competent badass assassin??
I could go on, but honestly, this book is not worth it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2012
A Deadly Debut
Rikki Bastogne kills people for a living. She's good at it. She does so legally, more or less, careful of the jobs she takes and the locations in which she works. Even so, it's not like her occupation is the most risk-free, nor do her targets line up with a relaxed smile and wait to be removed from existence. It's a dangerous, solitary life of secrecy and hypervigilance.
One thing is absolute for Rikki. She wants nothing to do with the Assassins Guild. She's not a joiner, the only rules she follows are her own, and she's damned if she's going to turn over any of her money to an organization that requires one and demands the other.
That's why she's traversing the NetherRealm on a spaceship cruise, trying to get her latest target out the airlock. And she's none too happy to be interrupted by one of the most gorgeous men she's ever seen while she's doing it. Her level of happiness isn't destined to get any higher when the man pushes her out of the way, completes her task, and sweeps her up as he makes his suddenly drunk-appearing way through the ship in as public a manner as possible.
Nothing covert about that. He's going to get them both arrested. And that's her greatest concern until she finds out exactly who he is. After that she's just convinced he's there to kill her.
Misha doesn't know if Rikki is immoral or just incompetent, but whichever it is, he's tired of getting picked up and questioned for jobs she's done. As an Assassins Guild member, rules and control are his religion and her actions are starting to affect his excellent reputation. That's why he's hired Rikki for the job on this ship. He had planned to yank her in and nail her down, find out if she's trying to ruin him or if she just needs his help, and either get her into the Guild or out of the business.
Misha had no idea how instant and intense his attraction would be for the fiery woman, or how memories of their past would affect his behavior. Maybe if he had, he would have done something different. Maybe if he had, he wouldn't have spent an unforgettable night with her, then let her get the better of him. Maybe he wouldn't have had to track her halfway across the galaxy all over again. Maybe. But after that one night, just one night of feeling her, tasting her, having her...Misha definitely had his doubts.
Fortunately for him, as an assassin, he's especially excellent at tracking a target down. Unfortunately, as an assassin, Rikki is especially excellent at staying hidden. Let the best one win.
~*~
If the name Kris DeLake isn't familiar to you, maybe Kristine Kathryn Rusch rings a few bells, or a couple of the award-winning author's other pen names, Kristine Grayson (romance) or Kris Nelscott (mystery). If not, then I have to admit, you're not alone. They were new to me, too. Explains a few things, though, because this book sure didn't read like an authorial debut.
Tight writing, an imaginative, futuristic SciFi world of mayhem, death, and hot sex among the stars, great characters, and a layered plot gave this novel a wonderfully robust balance of fun and chaos that appealed to me from the first paragraph. It's an odd story, I'll say that. Or maybe unique is a better word - less negative connotations. Quirky, even.
The hard-as-nails Rikki and the chameleon Misha are far more complex and in-depth characters than those easily attached adjectives would indicate. In fact, Rikki's past and her insecurities go a long way in defining her, just as Misha's resolute dedication to his code of honor does him. In them, DeLake has crafted two memorable characters with the sort of chemistry that approaches the level of incendiary...then tossed in the match. They were fun, sexy to the point of sizzle, and oh-so-deadly.
What impressed me the most about them, and about the book, actually, is how cleverly written their interpersonal journey was. The prickly lack of trust and wariness that ebbed and flowed between them as the story progressed perfectly suited the characters and their personalities and became an organic extension of their inherent natures. It was a little frustrating on a romantic level, because you can't really grow depth of emotion in soil made rocky by distrust, but it was just right for the story and felt very realistic. Plus, by the time those trust issues started to finally be firmly resolved, several major story elements surrounding them had been kicked off and nicely fleshed out, providing a well-rounded tale that fit perfectly with the characters featured in it.
I wasn't completely sold on how the timeline of the plot and the plot itself had been laid out. There was more than one plot thread throughout the book, and it seemed the three major ones were segregated into the beginning, middle, and end of the book instead of being more cohesively blended together throughout. Each of those parts was told well enough, but the number of them prevented each from being fully developed in the page time they were given.
Especially disappointing to me was the almost perfunctory plot thread surrounding the Guild in the latter part of the book. I would have loved to have seen more of that plotline and the secondary characters introduced in it and less of the cruise ship shenanigans in the beginning. I felt the late-page introduction short-changed the ending quarter of the book just enough to keep that aspect from fully satisfying. The resolution, too, was a bit anticlimactic.
Still a very fun read overall, though.
That really sums up the whole experience of the book, too. It was fun. A lot of fun. There was originality in story, a healthy dose of sizzle in the relationship, and two damaged souls that find each other, feel each other's hearts, and realize they need each other to claim their happiness as they dodge massive meteor-sized space drama. Together.
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Sourcebooks Casablanca publisher Sourcebooks via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.
~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
Rikki Bastogne kills people for a living. She's good at it. She does so legally, more or less, careful of the jobs she takes and the locations in which she works. Even so, it's not like her occupation is the most risk-free, nor do her targets line up with a relaxed smile and wait to be removed from existence. It's a dangerous, solitary life of secrecy and hypervigilance.
One thing is absolute for Rikki. She wants nothing to do with the Assassins Guild. She's not a joiner, the only rules she follows are her own, and she's damned if she's going to turn over any of her money to an organization that requires one and demands the other.
That's why she's traversing the NetherRealm on a spaceship cruise, trying to get her latest target out the airlock. And she's none too happy to be interrupted by one of the most gorgeous men she's ever seen while she's doing it. Her level of happiness isn't destined to get any higher when the man pushes her out of the way, completes her task, and sweeps her up as he makes his suddenly drunk-appearing way through the ship in as public a manner as possible.
Nothing covert about that. He's going to get them both arrested. And that's her greatest concern until she finds out exactly who he is. After that she's just convinced he's there to kill her.
Misha doesn't know if Rikki is immoral or just incompetent, but whichever it is, he's tired of getting picked up and questioned for jobs she's done. As an Assassins Guild member, rules and control are his religion and her actions are starting to affect his excellent reputation. That's why he's hired Rikki for the job on this ship. He had planned to yank her in and nail her down, find out if she's trying to ruin him or if she just needs his help, and either get her into the Guild or out of the business.
Misha had no idea how instant and intense his attraction would be for the fiery woman, or how memories of their past would affect his behavior. Maybe if he had, he would have done something different. Maybe if he had, he wouldn't have spent an unforgettable night with her, then let her get the better of him. Maybe he wouldn't have had to track her halfway across the galaxy all over again. Maybe. But after that one night, just one night of feeling her, tasting her, having her...Misha definitely had his doubts.
Fortunately for him, as an assassin, he's especially excellent at tracking a target down. Unfortunately, as an assassin, Rikki is especially excellent at staying hidden. Let the best one win.
~*~
If the name Kris DeLake isn't familiar to you, maybe Kristine Kathryn Rusch rings a few bells, or a couple of the award-winning author's other pen names, Kristine Grayson (romance) or Kris Nelscott (mystery). If not, then I have to admit, you're not alone. They were new to me, too. Explains a few things, though, because this book sure didn't read like an authorial debut.
Tight writing, an imaginative, futuristic SciFi world of mayhem, death, and hot sex among the stars, great characters, and a layered plot gave this novel a wonderfully robust balance of fun and chaos that appealed to me from the first paragraph. It's an odd story, I'll say that. Or maybe unique is a better word - less negative connotations. Quirky, even.
The hard-as-nails Rikki and the chameleon Misha are far more complex and in-depth characters than those easily attached adjectives would indicate. In fact, Rikki's past and her insecurities go a long way in defining her, just as Misha's resolute dedication to his code of honor does him. In them, DeLake has crafted two memorable characters with the sort of chemistry that approaches the level of incendiary...then tossed in the match. They were fun, sexy to the point of sizzle, and oh-so-deadly.
What impressed me the most about them, and about the book, actually, is how cleverly written their interpersonal journey was. The prickly lack of trust and wariness that ebbed and flowed between them as the story progressed perfectly suited the characters and their personalities and became an organic extension of their inherent natures. It was a little frustrating on a romantic level, because you can't really grow depth of emotion in soil made rocky by distrust, but it was just right for the story and felt very realistic. Plus, by the time those trust issues started to finally be firmly resolved, several major story elements surrounding them had been kicked off and nicely fleshed out, providing a well-rounded tale that fit perfectly with the characters featured in it.
I wasn't completely sold on how the timeline of the plot and the plot itself had been laid out. There was more than one plot thread throughout the book, and it seemed the three major ones were segregated into the beginning, middle, and end of the book instead of being more cohesively blended together throughout. Each of those parts was told well enough, but the number of them prevented each from being fully developed in the page time they were given.
Especially disappointing to me was the almost perfunctory plot thread surrounding the Guild in the latter part of the book. I would have loved to have seen more of that plotline and the secondary characters introduced in it and less of the cruise ship shenanigans in the beginning. I felt the late-page introduction short-changed the ending quarter of the book just enough to keep that aspect from fully satisfying. The resolution, too, was a bit anticlimactic.
Still a very fun read overall, though.
That really sums up the whole experience of the book, too. It was fun. A lot of fun. There was originality in story, a healthy dose of sizzle in the relationship, and two damaged souls that find each other, feel each other's hearts, and realize they need each other to claim their happiness as they dodge massive meteor-sized space drama. Together.
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Sourcebooks Casablanca publisher Sourcebooks via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.
~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
May 27, 2017
This wasn't half-bad, really... it just wasn't great. It took me until about halfway through before I really got into it and then it just kind of ended. And I have to admit, I was annoyed that she brings you in with a few explicit scenes at the beginning, then just skips over them after. Lastly, all that 'Misha, ugh, I mean Mikail'... blah blah was annoying.... we got her point; no need to belabour it!
But I did like the world, and the sci-fi setting. I liked that she made it seem like a real thing, by not overexplaining tech or worlds or using comparisons to our modern day life (which so many sci-fi authors do. I also didn't mind thr characters. I didn't really believe that Rikki would admit to loving him by the end, but otherwise, they were believable.
(Also that she didn't remember her backstory... totally weird.)
But I did like the world, and the sci-fi setting. I liked that she made it seem like a real thing, by not overexplaining tech or worlds or using comparisons to our modern day life (which so many sci-fi authors do. I also didn't mind thr characters. I didn't really believe that Rikki would admit to loving him by the end, but otherwise, they were believable.
(Also that she didn't remember her backstory... totally weird.)
August 20, 2013
The title is a gimme that this is going to be light fair. That's not necessarily bad, of course. I did get through the thing in under 16 hours, including a night of insomnia and a couple of cat-naps, so as a diversion it did... well, divert.
This book opens well. The first 70-80 pages are entertaining stuff, fast paced, conflict driven with a(n in)decent amount of action, intrigue and sex.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book is a long, meandering third person subjective expository slog that shifts back and forth between the POV of the two main characters between chapters and then more or less at random, and more than enough to be redundant. For example, we get her description of her outfit, and then his description of the same outfit in the next chapter. In the next couple chapters, we get her investigation of his identity, and then we get his summary of her investigation of his identity. It goes on like that for the next couple hundred pages without really anything more dramatic happening than a few lunch dates. It's not just boring, the "she thought, he thought" format makes it TWICE as boring as it need be.
And the talking. It's meant to be angst ridden, lust repressed banter, but to me it just read like joyless bickering, so when it turns to flirtation the transition is weird and awkward. Personally, I didn't buy it.
The climax is a dramatically unclimactic, predictable snooze with the villain really only introduced at the end in order to wrap things up. There's no real opportunity for the reader to figure out the mystery on his/her own, which is one of those things that always leaves me feeling cheated. I don't need to have all the clues laid out for me Agatha Christie style, but when the villain gets introduced as a character (rather than just mentioned by one of the protagonists in passing) in the last few chapters, I think the reader is justified in feeling a little duped. In this case, the villain is introduced, and the plot is resolved in a few pages. Oh, glad we went through a hundred pages of setting that up.
Lastly, I can't say much for Ms. DeLake/Rusch's writing of male characters. In fact, I think this is a particular weakness. Her main male protagonist, Misha (Mikael) Yurinovich Orlinski, is really a woman in a man's body. Throughout the book he berates himself in terms that men just don't use. And physically? Well, I imagine he is written how a woman imagines she would behave if she had broad shoulders and square pecs instead of more gentle curves. This weakness shows up in little ways throughout the book, but most noticeably in a love scene in which Misha has difficulty standing up because of their lovemaking... and not for the ::cough, cough:: real reason men sometimes have difficulty standing at such a time.
OK, here's a little secret for the ladies who might be reading this. You know how that certain someone can plant a kiss on you that sucks your breath away and hits you right in the knees? Sparks fly and suddenly you are standing on soft noodles for legs, wondering why the deck of the ship is swaying so much. Did we hit an iceberg? Well, we don't get that. That is, we (men) don't go weak in the knees from getting amorous. Oh, it hits us in several other ways, but it just doesn't affect our lower extremities in that adorable "I'm a fainting princess" way that you gals get.
Now, now. Don't call the National Organization of Women on me. I'm not saying you ladies shouldn't get equal pay or can't operate heavy machinery. You've come a long way, baby. I hear you roar. Etc. I'm merely saying that our physicality does not respond to a liplock in the same way. We're not all Rhett Butler, but neither do we turn into Scarlet O'Hara at the brush of your ruby lips. It's not a difference; it's a complement. Our legs actually get stronger in that moment. After all, we have to support your limp, waifish little legless body too, dip you like Fred dipped Ginger, and coordinate the whole thing with lips, tongue and--if done properly--a two-finger snap bra release that'd make Houdini cheer. It requires a strong foundation in the lower limbs.
Maybe that's the root of the vampire myth.... The different physical reactions we have to a kiss. It isn't Nosferatu... it should be Kissfertwo.
In any case, when Misha goes all weak in the knees--over the course of several pages, and to the amusement of his lover--I hope you'll understand that I was completely thrown out of the book. Is that a man she's writing about? No way. We don't do that. That's combat boots on a duck.
There are other examples of that same kind of thing that pepper the book here and there with just enough misandropropisms (if I might coin a word) that it made it difficult to accept that character as believable.
So, overall, I can't recommend this one. I gave it two stars because that first quarter of the book was good, but the remainder drops off rapidly. I understand this is the first in a series. Sometimes a first book isn't up to snuff compared to the others, and that might be the case for this one. I was rather put off by this installment, though, so I'll not be checking out the others unless somebody I trust recommends them highly.
This book opens well. The first 70-80 pages are entertaining stuff, fast paced, conflict driven with a(n in)decent amount of action, intrigue and sex.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book is a long, meandering third person subjective expository slog that shifts back and forth between the POV of the two main characters between chapters and then more or less at random, and more than enough to be redundant. For example, we get her description of her outfit, and then his description of the same outfit in the next chapter. In the next couple chapters, we get her investigation of his identity, and then we get his summary of her investigation of his identity. It goes on like that for the next couple hundred pages without really anything more dramatic happening than a few lunch dates. It's not just boring, the "she thought, he thought" format makes it TWICE as boring as it need be.
And the talking. It's meant to be angst ridden, lust repressed banter, but to me it just read like joyless bickering, so when it turns to flirtation the transition is weird and awkward. Personally, I didn't buy it.
The climax is a dramatically unclimactic, predictable snooze with the villain really only introduced at the end in order to wrap things up. There's no real opportunity for the reader to figure out the mystery on his/her own, which is one of those things that always leaves me feeling cheated. I don't need to have all the clues laid out for me Agatha Christie style, but when the villain gets introduced as a character (rather than just mentioned by one of the protagonists in passing) in the last few chapters, I think the reader is justified in feeling a little duped. In this case, the villain is introduced, and the plot is resolved in a few pages. Oh, glad we went through a hundred pages of setting that up.
Lastly, I can't say much for Ms. DeLake/Rusch's writing of male characters. In fact, I think this is a particular weakness. Her main male protagonist, Misha (Mikael) Yurinovich Orlinski, is really a woman in a man's body. Throughout the book he berates himself in terms that men just don't use. And physically? Well, I imagine he is written how a woman imagines she would behave if she had broad shoulders and square pecs instead of more gentle curves. This weakness shows up in little ways throughout the book, but most noticeably in a love scene in which Misha has difficulty standing up because of their lovemaking... and not for the ::cough, cough:: real reason men sometimes have difficulty standing at such a time.
OK, here's a little secret for the ladies who might be reading this. You know how that certain someone can plant a kiss on you that sucks your breath away and hits you right in the knees? Sparks fly and suddenly you are standing on soft noodles for legs, wondering why the deck of the ship is swaying so much. Did we hit an iceberg? Well, we don't get that. That is, we (men) don't go weak in the knees from getting amorous. Oh, it hits us in several other ways, but it just doesn't affect our lower extremities in that adorable "I'm a fainting princess" way that you gals get.
Now, now. Don't call the National Organization of Women on me. I'm not saying you ladies shouldn't get equal pay or can't operate heavy machinery. You've come a long way, baby. I hear you roar. Etc. I'm merely saying that our physicality does not respond to a liplock in the same way. We're not all Rhett Butler, but neither do we turn into Scarlet O'Hara at the brush of your ruby lips. It's not a difference; it's a complement. Our legs actually get stronger in that moment. After all, we have to support your limp, waifish little legless body too, dip you like Fred dipped Ginger, and coordinate the whole thing with lips, tongue and--if done properly--a two-finger snap bra release that'd make Houdini cheer. It requires a strong foundation in the lower limbs.
Maybe that's the root of the vampire myth.... The different physical reactions we have to a kiss. It isn't Nosferatu... it should be Kissfertwo.
In any case, when Misha goes all weak in the knees--over the course of several pages, and to the amusement of his lover--I hope you'll understand that I was completely thrown out of the book. Is that a man she's writing about? No way. We don't do that. That's combat boots on a duck.
There are other examples of that same kind of thing that pepper the book here and there with just enough misandropropisms (if I might coin a word) that it made it difficult to accept that character as believable.
So, overall, I can't recommend this one. I gave it two stars because that first quarter of the book was good, but the remainder drops off rapidly. I understand this is the first in a series. Sometimes a first book isn't up to snuff compared to the others, and that might be the case for this one. I was rather put off by this installment, though, so I'll not be checking out the others unless somebody I trust recommends them highly.
April 11, 2020
More romance than science fiction, a bit more explicit in sex scenes than other books written by this author under other names, but I enjoyed it as other books by her. Interesting characters as usual.
March 30, 2021
Very rushed ending. I'm not sure why the final plot was even thrown in, it seemed very out of place. I never felt any connection between the characters and they were way too wishy washy about whether or not they trusted each other. There could have been more build up of the relationship.
February 24, 2023
2.5
2 characters who consistently didn’t trust each other and even by the end, I’m not convinced that they do. Also, Misha kept talking about how smart Rikki was and to me, she felt like a pretty incompetent assassin.
I will say tho, if someone is wanting to get into as Sci Fi romance, this is a good place to start; the worlds feel very similar to ours and the plot is easy to follow.
2 characters who consistently didn’t trust each other and even by the end, I’m not convinced that they do. Also, Misha kept talking about how smart Rikki was and to me, she felt like a pretty incompetent assassin.
I will say tho, if someone is wanting to get into as Sci Fi romance, this is a good place to start; the worlds feel very similar to ours and the plot is easy to follow.
December 29, 2018
Nice dialogue and world building. Bit saucy.
Ending felt rushed.
Ending felt rushed.
August 7, 2020
I'm not a fan of assassins, even if they are "good" guys, and in love and in rut.
YMMV
I do like the author, Kris DeLake is Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
YMMV
I do like the author, Kris DeLake is Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Read
May 30, 2024the conflict is quite stupid
August 24, 2013
Rikki is an assassin. In space! 'Love' opens with her fumbling attempts to open the airlock so she can dump the corpse at her feet out into space. Poor old Rikki is having a little crisis of confidence, reflecting that she is barely competent at her chosen profession, that perhaps she needs more skills in airlock-lock picking and knowing her way around luxury liner spacecrafts. I guess her complaining is meant to engage my sympathies, because killing people and disposing of corpses is hard, dirty work, you know!
Here she is, attempting to commit the perfect crime. Confusingly though it's not a crime. According to the rules of Kris DeLake's universe, Rikki might have a spot of legal bother if she is caught red-handed, or caught plying her trade in Assassin's Guild licensed territory. Fortunately for Rikki, a blonde god soon shows up to take care of all her problems, get her expensively drunk and then roger her senseless on expensive sheets.
The next morning brings breakfast pastries and revelations. Blonde god is a member of the Assassin's Guild, her most recent employer for her most recent corpse work, and he wants to bring her into the fold. Rikki doesn't join stuff, she's not that kind of girl. Frustratingly, this attitude is in complete conflict with every other element of her personality: she's detail focused, she wishes for uniformity and is demonstrably not that great at adjusting to change. She would make a very good bureaucrat. I can imagine her taking a red pen to an underling's report with fiendish glee.
Although more to the point, blonde god thinks that while she's a good lay she's an incompetent assassin and probably she's been trying to pin recent corpse jobs on him for reasons that are never explained. So out Rikki flounces, later regretting that she did not have the foresight to snatch a couple of extra danishes, and blonde god is left wondering if Rikki might be a mean girl corpse maker rather than an adorable klutz.
Rikki and blonde god have a past together, and when Rikki discovers it she runs. Blonde god gives chase, there's minimal work done on their trust issues and then they're both slapped with sufficient plot to get them through to the end of the book. Any possibility that I might like Rikki is lost when she comes up with the plan that leads to her discovery of blonde god's past. Any possibility that I might engage with the plot is lost in its stupidity.
I will sabotage any possibility that anyone reading this review will take it seriously by stating that I am not in favour of assassin romances, in space or otherwise. I do try to like them, because assassins are presented as sexy, fashionable people with sleek and sexy weapons. When I read, I really do try. I imagine an awesome soundtrack and nonchalant walks away from explosions that gently ruffle perfectly arranged hair. I think about abs and toned arms and women with insanely gorgeous eye makeup and how each character has glossy lips that at just the right moment will curve into a perfect sexy smirk, but none of it helps.
The profession itself is problematic. Rikki is in the profession because she thinks this is where her talents lie. Those talents appear to be research, planning and boobs. And ultimately, the ability to stick the knife in. This is where I think assassins and romance have serious compatibility issues, because to go in for the kill you have to be able to think about people in such a way that you causing their death is justifiable and is not leaving an indelible stain on your soul. You have to crush all hope and trust in your heart. The point is - assassins work in romances if they are on the point of retiring. And in a romance, either the hero or heroine has to be, or want to be, the nice hopeful optimistic one.
Assassination is a tool of fear, not justice. Even if Rikki is super careful to only kill bad people who, according to her sense of justice, deserve to die, she's contributing to a culture that governs through fear of cloak and dagger reprisal.
Reading this book was a frustrating experience. There's no substance to the plot, the characters or the setting, nothing beneath surface, no internal logic that makes Rikki's world make sense. I'm sure there's assassin romance out there that I can like, but this isn't it.
Here she is, attempting to commit the perfect crime. Confusingly though it's not a crime. According to the rules of Kris DeLake's universe, Rikki might have a spot of legal bother if she is caught red-handed, or caught plying her trade in Assassin's Guild licensed territory. Fortunately for Rikki, a blonde god soon shows up to take care of all her problems, get her expensively drunk and then roger her senseless on expensive sheets.
The next morning brings breakfast pastries and revelations. Blonde god is a member of the Assassin's Guild, her most recent employer for her most recent corpse work, and he wants to bring her into the fold. Rikki doesn't join stuff, she's not that kind of girl. Frustratingly, this attitude is in complete conflict with every other element of her personality: she's detail focused, she wishes for uniformity and is demonstrably not that great at adjusting to change. She would make a very good bureaucrat. I can imagine her taking a red pen to an underling's report with fiendish glee.
Although more to the point, blonde god thinks that while she's a good lay she's an incompetent assassin and probably she's been trying to pin recent corpse jobs on him for reasons that are never explained. So out Rikki flounces, later regretting that she did not have the foresight to snatch a couple of extra danishes, and blonde god is left wondering if Rikki might be a mean girl corpse maker rather than an adorable klutz.
Rikki and blonde god have a past together, and when Rikki discovers it she runs. Blonde god gives chase, there's minimal work done on their trust issues and then they're both slapped with sufficient plot to get them through to the end of the book. Any possibility that I might like Rikki is lost when she comes up with the plan that leads to her discovery of blonde god's past. Any possibility that I might engage with the plot is lost in its stupidity.
I will sabotage any possibility that anyone reading this review will take it seriously by stating that I am not in favour of assassin romances, in space or otherwise. I do try to like them, because assassins are presented as sexy, fashionable people with sleek and sexy weapons. When I read, I really do try. I imagine an awesome soundtrack and nonchalant walks away from explosions that gently ruffle perfectly arranged hair. I think about abs and toned arms and women with insanely gorgeous eye makeup and how each character has glossy lips that at just the right moment will curve into a perfect sexy smirk, but none of it helps.
The profession itself is problematic. Rikki is in the profession because she thinks this is where her talents lie. Those talents appear to be research, planning and boobs. And ultimately, the ability to stick the knife in. This is where I think assassins and romance have serious compatibility issues, because to go in for the kill you have to be able to think about people in such a way that you causing their death is justifiable and is not leaving an indelible stain on your soul. You have to crush all hope and trust in your heart. The point is - assassins work in romances if they are on the point of retiring. And in a romance, either the hero or heroine has to be, or want to be, the nice hopeful optimistic one.
Assassination is a tool of fear, not justice. Even if Rikki is super careful to only kill bad people who, according to her sense of justice, deserve to die, she's contributing to a culture that governs through fear of cloak and dagger reprisal.
Reading this book was a frustrating experience. There's no substance to the plot, the characters or the setting, nothing beneath surface, no internal logic that makes Rikki's world make sense. I'm sure there's assassin romance out there that I can like, but this isn't it.
July 26, 2023
Cheesy cheese. Fun and ridiculous, but with some big issues. Writers do not have a female character cry rape. Do not. Literally any other scenario could have been used to have Nikki run his DNA. Also, waking up your significant other with kisses and touches is perfectly fine - going anywhere past that until your significant other is fully conscious and inviting you to continue is NOT okay.
February 24, 2012
3.49 stars
Favorite Lines: “She turned, assessing her options as she did. One knife. (People were afraid of knives, which was good. But knives were messy, hard to clean up the blood, which was bad. Two laser pistols. (One tiny, against her ankle, hard to reach. The other on her hip, obvious, but laser blasts in a corridor–dangerous. They’d bounce off the walls, might hit her.) Fists. (Might break a bone, hands already shaking. Didn’t need the additional risk.) Then stopped assessing when she saw him. He wasn’t what she expected.” (p. 10, egalley)
Hmmm, how to describe book one in the Assassins Guild series written by Kris DeLake, aka Kristine Kathryn Rusch–the author of a ton of books. It’s a futuristic, action packed, sensual romance featuring two killers who make no apologies for doing their jobs.
The hero, Misha, is a by-the-rules type of man and the heroine, Rikki, is a fly by your pants type of woman. Both are great at their jobs as assassins. Their paths just seem to keep running a bit too close. Misha keeps getting jammed up by Rikki’s kills; he’s been arrested three times for deaths attributed to her. He is determined to find out if Rikki is out to get him.
Rikki, on the other hand, could care less. Every time she is hired to “off” someone she researches the target. She doesn’ t kill people so heirs can inherit property or because of silly feuds. She only takes cases which involve people who deserve to die. So when Rikki is hired to kill a high ranking official, she knows that she is being set up. It’s the perfect time for the rule loving Misha to help Rikki. He can also help her examine the role he played in her past.
Assassins in Love is a quick read that sometimes made me wonder how the heroine managed to thrive as an assassin. Rikki came across as bumbling and irrational at times which interrupted the flow of the story. Every time she did something like a novice, I rolled my eyes. I mean she’s caught on film, doesn’t always observe her environment and leaves a witness alive, all of which add up to a not so proficient killer. I don’t know how she’s been so successful that she’s considering retirement.
Despite my issues with the heroine, the passion filled story was a fun and light read. (Odd that a book about death avoided becoming dark.) It doesn’t portray an overnight type of love, but one in which a couple meet and separate, before reuniting. Through that time they simmer in a mixture of wonderment, lust and distrust. Unintentionally, Rikki and Misha take time to weave together the bonds needed for a lasting relationship. The story makes it simple to follow Rikki and Misha through time because it is divided into three, clearly marked sections.
I don’t see myself re-reading Assassins in Love; it’s not one of my favorite books of the year. However, reading about the worlds DeLake envisions made reading the book worthwhile. In DeLake’s world, people travel on spaceships similar to the way people travel on cruise ships today. Credit card implants are used as currency and real meat is a thing only the rich can afford. It’s not calm like Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series. It’s not dark like Jory Strong’s Ghostland World series. It’s not silly, funny or scary. It’s different in a way that makes it slightly better than an average romance.
Scooper Speaks
Favorite Lines: “She turned, assessing her options as she did. One knife. (People were afraid of knives, which was good. But knives were messy, hard to clean up the blood, which was bad. Two laser pistols. (One tiny, against her ankle, hard to reach. The other on her hip, obvious, but laser blasts in a corridor–dangerous. They’d bounce off the walls, might hit her.) Fists. (Might break a bone, hands already shaking. Didn’t need the additional risk.) Then stopped assessing when she saw him. He wasn’t what she expected.” (p. 10, egalley)
Hmmm, how to describe book one in the Assassins Guild series written by Kris DeLake, aka Kristine Kathryn Rusch–the author of a ton of books. It’s a futuristic, action packed, sensual romance featuring two killers who make no apologies for doing their jobs.
The hero, Misha, is a by-the-rules type of man and the heroine, Rikki, is a fly by your pants type of woman. Both are great at their jobs as assassins. Their paths just seem to keep running a bit too close. Misha keeps getting jammed up by Rikki’s kills; he’s been arrested three times for deaths attributed to her. He is determined to find out if Rikki is out to get him.
Rikki, on the other hand, could care less. Every time she is hired to “off” someone she researches the target. She doesn’ t kill people so heirs can inherit property or because of silly feuds. She only takes cases which involve people who deserve to die. So when Rikki is hired to kill a high ranking official, she knows that she is being set up. It’s the perfect time for the rule loving Misha to help Rikki. He can also help her examine the role he played in her past.
Assassins in Love is a quick read that sometimes made me wonder how the heroine managed to thrive as an assassin. Rikki came across as bumbling and irrational at times which interrupted the flow of the story. Every time she did something like a novice, I rolled my eyes. I mean she’s caught on film, doesn’t always observe her environment and leaves a witness alive, all of which add up to a not so proficient killer. I don’t know how she’s been so successful that she’s considering retirement.
Despite my issues with the heroine, the passion filled story was a fun and light read. (Odd that a book about death avoided becoming dark.) It doesn’t portray an overnight type of love, but one in which a couple meet and separate, before reuniting. Through that time they simmer in a mixture of wonderment, lust and distrust. Unintentionally, Rikki and Misha take time to weave together the bonds needed for a lasting relationship. The story makes it simple to follow Rikki and Misha through time because it is divided into three, clearly marked sections.
I don’t see myself re-reading Assassins in Love; it’s not one of my favorite books of the year. However, reading about the worlds DeLake envisions made reading the book worthwhile. In DeLake’s world, people travel on spaceships similar to the way people travel on cruise ships today. Credit card implants are used as currency and real meat is a thing only the rich can afford. It’s not calm like Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series. It’s not dark like Jory Strong’s Ghostland World series. It’s not silly, funny or scary. It’s different in a way that makes it slightly better than an average romance.
Scooper Speaks
March 17, 2012
A sultry futuristic thrill ride!
Two trained assassins from different worlds collide when fate brings them together...again. Rikki is a skilled assassin who prefers to work alone when she kills, a freelancer if you will. When her latest hit goes a little awry above a spaceship and her cover's almost blown, she's "rescued" by Misha, another assassin who works for an organization called the Guild. Misha has been on Rikki's tracks, hoping he can convince her to join the Guild for her protection but never expected the immense attraction he feels for the rebel assassin. Things between the two highly trained killers quickly heat up but when secrets from the past and a conspiracy are revealed, Rikki and Misha must conquer their toughest job yet...trusting each other.
This book is not the science fiction romance you might typically envision. It's set in a futuristic world with some sci-fi elements but you won't find any aliens here! What you'll get is an exciting and dangerous adventure that will keep you turning the pages in anticipation. The story has a sexy 007 feel to it that I absolutely love.
Rikki is a feisty heroine that has her guard up and always has a witty comeback. In a world where hired assassins are a commodity, she plays by her own set of rules and doesn't apologize for it. Even with her painful past, she manages to have a softer side underneath that tough exterior, that to me makes her an alluring character. Misha is the complete opposite of Rikki. He never takes risks and follows the rules at all costs, until he meets Rikki of course. Misha is a dashing hero who you instantly fall for, he has a protective nature, is extremely charismatic and sexy as hell! He, like Rikki struggles with his past and how it has molded him into the perfect assassin.
My favorite scene in the book is when the two play a little game of seduction with each other in the ships ballroom, the author's imagery was enough to make me feel like a voyeur watching their every move on the dance floor! The romance that develops between Misha and Rikki is hot and exhilarating but overshadowed by the secrets and suspense. I would have loved to have seen these two spend more alone time together!
Assassins in Love is filled with action, intrigue with the added bonus of a sexy romance and a little danger. Kris DeLake's intriguing and unique futuristic world will introduce you to a pair of fascinating characters and a plot that will keep you enthralled until the last word. Misha and Rikki's story is one that will certainly entice readers beyond the genre of science fiction!
{ebook courtesy of NetGalley for review}
Original Romancing the Darkside review:
http://romancingthedarkside.blogspot....
Two trained assassins from different worlds collide when fate brings them together...again. Rikki is a skilled assassin who prefers to work alone when she kills, a freelancer if you will. When her latest hit goes a little awry above a spaceship and her cover's almost blown, she's "rescued" by Misha, another assassin who works for an organization called the Guild. Misha has been on Rikki's tracks, hoping he can convince her to join the Guild for her protection but never expected the immense attraction he feels for the rebel assassin. Things between the two highly trained killers quickly heat up but when secrets from the past and a conspiracy are revealed, Rikki and Misha must conquer their toughest job yet...trusting each other.
This book is not the science fiction romance you might typically envision. It's set in a futuristic world with some sci-fi elements but you won't find any aliens here! What you'll get is an exciting and dangerous adventure that will keep you turning the pages in anticipation. The story has a sexy 007 feel to it that I absolutely love.
Rikki is a feisty heroine that has her guard up and always has a witty comeback. In a world where hired assassins are a commodity, she plays by her own set of rules and doesn't apologize for it. Even with her painful past, she manages to have a softer side underneath that tough exterior, that to me makes her an alluring character. Misha is the complete opposite of Rikki. He never takes risks and follows the rules at all costs, until he meets Rikki of course. Misha is a dashing hero who you instantly fall for, he has a protective nature, is extremely charismatic and sexy as hell! He, like Rikki struggles with his past and how it has molded him into the perfect assassin.
My favorite scene in the book is when the two play a little game of seduction with each other in the ships ballroom, the author's imagery was enough to make me feel like a voyeur watching their every move on the dance floor! The romance that develops between Misha and Rikki is hot and exhilarating but overshadowed by the secrets and suspense. I would have loved to have seen these two spend more alone time together!
Assassins in Love is filled with action, intrigue with the added bonus of a sexy romance and a little danger. Kris DeLake's intriguing and unique futuristic world will introduce you to a pair of fascinating characters and a plot that will keep you enthralled until the last word. Misha and Rikki's story is one that will certainly entice readers beyond the genre of science fiction!
{ebook courtesy of NetGalley for review}
Original Romancing the Darkside review:
http://romancingthedarkside.blogspot....
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