Vipers & Roses

Hit #1

by P. Mulholland

Hit One.

There were four of them on that summer's night two years ago. And one of me.
Wracked and ruined, bloodied and scorned, I survived. But I am not defeated. I will not be defeated. Today is the day I step out of my facade and take revenge on the first name on my list.

The Lion.

In stealth, as I relentlessly pursue my target, three men pursue me - the handsome silver-haired detective who saved me, his son, a smoldering swim star who helped heal me, and the charismatic yet dangerous thief who trained me.

Hit is a dark reverse harem series with revengeful serial killer themes and explicit sex scenes.

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 26, 2024

Reviews

[Áine Foley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rae is a 19-year-old college student, who is still reeling from a SA that occurred two years earlier, involving her swimming coach and three other men. As she plots her plan of revenge she meets three men: Cormac, a fellow student, his dad Gabe, who is a police officer and Blake, a petty thief. This is quite a dark book, but the spice wasn't particularly spicy, which isn't surprising considering that this is one of at least two (and I suspect more) books. The first book usually sets the scene and allows the characters to get to know each other.

I love the book, Rae and her men are all very interesting characters and I can't wait to see how they evolve. I immediately preordered the next book in the series once I finished this one, really looking forward to reading it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Study. Eat. Sleep. Kill.

Rae is a young woman out for revenge after surviving a brutal assault that ended her swimming career aspirations. College student by day, by night she and her bestie are the crime scene cleanup crew for a mysterious serial killer. While plotting to murder one of her abusers, "The Lion", she has encounters with three interesting men - the Gabe the Detective who was on her assault case, his son Cormac who is a fellow student, and Blake the thief who teaches her how to shoot a gun and we find also works for the serial killer.

Threads between these three men become more clear as her involvement with each develops. Rae also becomes more confident in herself, more able to deal with the trauma and panic attacks that her assault caused, helped in some part by the men she is getting involved with who are all supportive and mindful. Rae sometimes has childish tantrums with them, but this doesn't seem out of character considering her past. As Book 1 comes to an end the mystery around the serial killer remains and the ending is such a cliffhanger! Without spoiling the story I needed to know more about these romantic interests, I still have questions that I hope will be answered in the next books.

There is some spice which is explicit but fairly tame for a dark romance and the reverse harem aspect I suspect will develop further in future books too. There is some spice which is explicit but fairly tame for a dark romance and the reverse harem aspect is mild and I suspect will develop further in future books too.

I look forward to the next books in the series to find out where this story goes with both Rae and the serial killer.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start to the Hit series boy I read the description and just kind of kept reading although didn’t mean to but I couldn’t stop so don’t start this one because you will keep reading until the last page is turned and this is where I say I HATE CLIFFHANGERS …I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY!!!! (okay now that I got that out of my system we can continue) Rae a sweet girl misunderstood grew up with a love for the water swimming champion from young age started college enjoyed swimming until she was assaulted by four men one being the high esteem head coach who no doubt did this to other girl her abusers they left her so broken mentally, emotionally and physically not really knowing how to heal she pulled away from everyone/everything. Finally, two years she is back in college trying to be normal slowly getting back to a life working with her best friend as a cleaner two mean interested but it has been two years since she found any man interesting. We follow her through her mental adventure of planning to take out the men who hurt her especially the ring leader the untouchable coach but with three men two her age and one well much older all wanting to be there for her but she has to first open up with the truth but where is she headed and will she accomplish her goal taking out the four men who brutalized her at last we have to wait to find out ☹!

[Merilu Keenum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m loving this story: just dislike cliffhangers and this one ends on a scary note! Rae is trying to get back to normal after her life and dreams were crushed by a most heinous crime and an act of betrayal by someone she should be able to trust implicitly. Threats to harm her family keeps her quiet, but she has a plan.

P Muholland has created a story of a young woman with tremendous strength and resilience who is starting to have feelings of attraction again. Cormac is the son of Detective Gabe and he’s a swimmer with a gorgeous body and beautiful smile. Blake is a bad boy, but he attracts her as well. I’m loving their chemistry, their patience, and the desire that emanates between them. Danger, some bad decisions, and too many secrets keep the adrenaline at a high pitch. I can’t wait for the next part!!!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[KIMBERLY R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing story...

Mulholland had me turning pages for real with this story! Quite a sexual thriller! Though, I would strongly suggest to the author to find a proper team of beta readers or editors. This has grammatical errors-O-plenty throughout. Words missing, words that don't belong, words in the wrong sequence, and even words, that by their definition, are misused. Just a tip, bamboozled does not mean confused - it just means conned. I don't remember grammar impeding my read through of The Huntsmen series, so I'm not sure what happened here. I've just finished my refresher read as the sequel is set for Friday the 23rd...YaaaY! So, to clarify, I do recommend this book. Seriously lovin the plot and Blake at this point!

[Naila C Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

🥀 Dark Romance
🥀 Why Choose Romance
🥀 College Romance
🥀 Age Gap
🥀 Lies and Secrets
🥀 Trauma
🥀 Vengence

[Check Trigger Warnings ⚠️]

This story surprised me! I had a feeling this story would end in a cliffhanger, but it was intrigued to finish this book. I enjoy reading about Rae and her guy problems. Those guys are intrigued by the mysterious Rae and her past. Reading about Rae's difficult journey, she had to face and continue facing as well. Rae keeps her own secrets to achieve her goals with dark intentions. There are so many secrets and lies between characters, but I want to know what they are. I can't wait to read the next story to this series.

[Charlotte]

This is a twistingly good read! Rae (FMC) is back in her hometown looking for revenge after events in her life that lead to traumatising assault that she suffered at the hands of four lowlifes. Rae is an interesting character. A student with and unusual side job cleaning up murder sites. Which to be honest was a dark quirk that I kinda liked. Mix into that a Policeman - Gabe, A student, swimmer & Gabe's son - Cormac and Thief - Blake. All of which brought a different flavour to this book I thought. Not to mention one hell of a cliff-hanger ending. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the next book now.

[Mulan Book Princess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was definitely dark but I so felt for Rae. She is a strong, strong young lady and I have to admire her for that. And her attraction to Gabe, Blake and Cormac is exciting as they are all very different yet all dominant in different ways. This story really took me in, and made me want to keep reading and then it ended on a cliffhanger! I cannot wait to see what happens next!.

I received a free advance reader copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving My fair and honest review.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vipers & Roses

The only thing that really ruined this for me were the amount of typos, and spelling mistakes! It can make for a confusing story if you can’t figure out what is actually trying to be said. Other than that I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to get stuck into book 2!

[Emelie ⋆·˚ ༘ * · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this! I only wish we could have gotten the guys' POVs too.