I end problems. Then I walk into a flower shop and see her—tired eyes, sharp mouth, and a baby who doesn’t trust anyone.
Except me.
I’m supposed to be watching my new mark. Instead, I’m watching the way she locks the door twice. The way she holds her kid like the world already tried to take him once.
The way my pulse goes feral and decides they’re both mine.
But she’s cautious. Suspicious. Rightfully wary of men like me.
I’ve never wanted anyone badly enough to wait. To soften my voice. To learn patience instead of blood.
But I want her. And her son.
I’m not safe. I’m not good. I’m not normal. But I’m a killer who protects his family.
And once I’m your daddy, there’s no undoing it. Touch her or the kid, and you’ll die by my hand.
And then I’ll go back to making pancakes.
Read on for unhinged obsession, single-mom danger heat, found family chaos, dark rom-com violence, and a killer who only softens for his girl. HEA Guaranteed!
I don’t know what exactly it was about this book that made me think it was AI, but I read the reviews and folks were talking about the repetitive phrases and the inconsistencies. These are classic signs of AI and I believe I’m right. To start my review, I’ll give an abbreviated summary. Saint is a contract killer and during his stake out of his target, he sees Zaria and basically instantly falls in love. Zaria is a single mom, worked to the bone and barely making ends meet. Romance follows, blah, blah, blah. This book just didn’t have an emotional depth to me. There was a ton of Zaria saying you don’t know me and Saint responding I know you like coffee with too much creamer, etc. This scene is repeated about three times and many of the things he knows about her are repeated. There’s timeline issues where a character with little money buys an orchid but is suddenly also buying flowers for her daughters wedding and her daughters graduation although a few chapters before it was her grandsons graduation. There is also a timeline inconsistency where his target takes the baby and tries to sell him to pay off her debts. Zaria suddenly knows this information without Saint telling her. I vaguely remember the listing of things in a numbered format which is common with AI. Some of the word usage just didn’t feel natural and there was that tone I’ve come to associate with AI. It’s technical in an unnatural way that disrupts the story. I’m sure there are other issues, but once I confirm to myself a book is written by AI, I start to heavily skim. I try to finish because I want to write a review and try to stop the spread of AI and the blatant stealing of authors hard work. It floods the market and takes money away from the real authors. This is a one star review. AI written books are always a one star review for me.
On one hand, this was cute in that unhinged way that I love. I adore Saint!!
On the other, I don't think the timeline always made sense, various things actually didn't make sense, and there were a few spelling/grammatical/etc errors that really weren't a big deal, but when it's this short of a story, there shouldn't be. It also shouldn't have been so repetitive, given the length. But, oh well.
The blurb is misleading. It sounds like it would be more of a hurt/comfort book but that’s not the case. The FMC isn’t really even in any actual danger herself. She’s a tired single mother but she lives a fairly innocuous life at the start of this book. Her association with her friend/babysitter is why the MMC even knows who she is.
Also she isn’t really all that cautious before meeting the MMC. The most cautious thing about her is that she hid the fact that she had a son, but as soon as the MMC found that out, she let him in completely. Having unprotected sex with a man you’ve known for like a month seems a bit reckless. If she was soooo distrustful of men like the blurb indicates, there’s no way that makes sense for her character.
The only real point of contention was the MMCs profession, and, even then, the FMC already seemed to be wavering on her decision to end things because of it even before her son was abducted. Yes, he’s a killer. HOWEVER, he’s hot and he memorized her coffee order so it’s ok, right?
The FMC somehow knew that her babysitter was in a room with 2 men discussing potentially selling her baby despite the MMC never telling her that. He intentionally made the decision to not call her after the baby was rescued so there is no possible way she could have known what happened unless she was either a psychic or a super good guesser.
For some reason, I was under the impression that the FMC owned the flower shop the entire time. She opens the store 6 days a week, does the ordering, receives the inventory, and makes the decision to close early multiple times yet she isn’t the owner? Apparently she’s just the most hands on employee in the world because it’s mentioned that the MMC buys her the store in the epilogue.
The writing was not good. The characters were inconsistent. Some chapters were redundant. The plot was boring. I legitimately don’t understand how this book has such good reviews.
Oh and also the MMC has magical baby whispering powers but only because he can speak Italian…?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
How can one say that they are in love with a professional killer? Well… our beloved authors managed to make me (and Zaria of course!) say just that! I literally devoured this story – and I would keep reading if there was more! I loved Zaria and Saint. Zaria is a single mother of a one-year-old cute as a button little boy, Ezra. She is a florist. Life is hard but she does her best. Her past pain hasn’t made her jaded, just cautious. Saint follows a target – his next contract hit – and it leads him to Zaria’s shop. He is captivated by her from the get go. He doesn’t understand emotions like the rest of (the sane) people do. His only social life revolves around his beloved blades – Betty and Margaret. But he courts (his searching methods on how to do that were hilarious) and pursues Zaria and makes his intentions known and at the same time he respects her boundaries. When he finds out about Ezra, not only the cute little boy doesn’t deter him but he sees him as his own. His boy, like his mother is his. The patience, the genuine care and the fierce protectiveness is there not only for Zaria but for Ezra too. Their blooming relationship and Ezra’s trust towards him melt my heart. Saint is contradictive – a killer by profession, but honest towards Zaria and wanting to form a genuine connection with her and Ezra (the way he speaks Italian to Ezra made me swoon!). When danger knocks on Zaria’s door, he is there to protect what came to mean the world to him, no questions or regrets. 5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review
MMC is a total anti hero, he’s some variation of psychotic, contract killer who’s obsessed with the local florist and is a total sweetheart… So sanction (saint) is on a job and his reconnaissance leads him to Zarias flower shop and to say it’s instalove on his part would be a understatement, Zaria is wary, she doesn’t trust easily and saint gives off a dangerous vibe but the longer he keeps going in the more she starts to trust him. She sets boundaries and he goes away to do research on how to date, how to be a good partner, how to be a green flag. He fixes doors instead of giving extravagant gifts, brings coffee daily. So when zarias babysitter can’t work she has to take her baby to work and when saint meets him que the insta love again, he helps Zaria with the baby, he’s a natural with him. They start to date right up until zarias babysitter announces that she’s being followed by saint which leads to a difficult conversation between Zaria and saint because he’s a contract killer and his mark…the babysitter, she kicks him out tells him not to come back he’s dangerous but saint can’t abandon them so he helps from the shadows until the babysitter he warned her about kidnaps Zarias baby. Then the only person to rescue him is the man who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty…
Fantastic book, had me hooked from the first page, well written I loved it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
2.5/5 but rounded up as this may have been a me issue.
I really enjoyed Saint’s character but found Zaria very aggravating. She continually repeats questions that she just asked a few pages prior.
Aside from the repetition, there are several issues with the flow. Just to list a couple but there are way more - in the introductions of the MCs, Zaria only says her first name but when Saint leaves the store, he suddenly knows her last name too. If he did recon on her prior to that because of his mark, he would have known she also has a son. The second one was towards the end & Zaria just “assumed” that Rivers was selling her son but she hadn’t spoken to Saint yet.
This wasn’t something that I saw a post or an ad for, I just so happened to look at the recommendations on my kindle lol. I would not read again & I wouldn’t recommend. This wasn’t super hard for me to want to finish, despite the length.
Killer Daddy features Saint, a cold-blooded hitman whose social circle is limited to his favorite blades, Betty and Margaret. His clinical approach to murder is thrown into chaos when a routine job leads him to Zaria, a weary florist, and her infant son, Ezra. And when he finds out his mark and Zaria are not only co-workers but friends, that’s when the real tension begins.
The story falls into a repetitive cycle that hinders the overall flow. And the wonderful dark humor at the beginning—it essentially evaporates, taking the quirky charm along with it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I'm enjoying these dark stories where I actually root for the bad guy. Zaria and Saint's journey to their HEA wasn't an easy one but love helps them find a way.
I like Saint's character. He definitely has a mental illness but I like how it manifests. He lacks social cues and is brutally honest. You have to laugh when he does research to win Zaria's affection.
Though cautious and despite her inner self's warnings, Zaria can't help but fall for Saint.
The two, plus baby, are good for each other.
Good storyline, humor, secrets, and betrayal make for a good read.
🌺 Contract Killer X Florist 🌺 Slow burn 🌺 Touch them & ☠️ 🌺 Mild bløød play
"I'll never let you go. Neither of you. You're mine now."❤️
Saint is a contract killer and while looking in the next target he sees Zaria, manager of the flower shop 'Lavender & Lace'. One look at her and he has become obsessed! He follows her and learns everything about her. When someone threatens her family...she learns exactly what he will do in order to keep her safe.
"My sweet girl. I would carve my heart out for you."
I enjoyed the story. We follow a single mother, Zaria, and a hitman. She is initially his target, but along the way, he sees signs that something else is going on. However, we only find out how much Saint cares about her when she and her son are in danger and he does everything he can to protect her and keep her safe. Then there's the threat that if you touch them, you're dead—wonderful. Highly recommended reading.
I received an Advance Reader copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Kelani has done it again. Nothing like an Alpha man who sees a woman who worms her way into his heart and he will do anything to protect her and her kid. I love these stories when a woman is running scared and always feels like any day she can lose what little safety she has found and then along comes this protective sexy man who decides she is his and he will do anything to protect her and make her his. The chemistry is hot and the action is non-stop. This is a must read!
Not sure why I liked this book so much - because he treats his knives well? Sense of humor? Says the absolute truth (most of the time) in a frank way that seems neurotypical? idk but I love Saint as a character. He tries his absolute hardest to understand what he can do to win over Zaria, given golden retriever and stalker energy.
While I enjoyed the story, (spoiler alert) I did not like the blade play during the lovemaking scenes. Too far out for my taste. I did like his willingness to learn and his consideration of her needs. I would like to know more about his background as he is quite an interesting character.
Where to start! He falls fast. He has all the right green flags. He listens, he tries. He has some lovely dark pink ones, because we all know they aren't really red, right? She is once bit twice shy trying to be slow and careful, but he is too entrancing and amazing.
Killer Daddy was okay. It didn’t really deliver dark, stalker vibes—more of an obsessive tone with an assassin. He respected her boundaries, even when he didn’t want to, which I appreciated. Overall, it was pretty cute.
Saint and Ezra were adorable, and Ezra taking his first steps in that scene was both surprising and really sweet.
I truly have to put this book on par with my top 10 favorite books, -it’s spicy -it’s well written -the HEA was 10/10 The storyline was 9/10 I think the only thing I was missing was a little more about the bio-dad, maybe confirmation that he was a dead beat, but other wise this was an amazing-well written- read:
I loved it! Keloni and Sasha never disappoints..it was great from beginning to end! Saint is my new favorite and Zaria and Ezra , beautiful family. The story is action from the first page!
This would have been a terrific read if it didn't have so much redundancy. The story and plot was actually good but to keep saying the same thing practically every page is very annoying. I hope you remember in your next book.
I loved this book! It's the right balance of fun and unhinged. I really got into the characters, including Margaret and Betty, his knives, as they each have their own personality. Really sweet read. Definitely recommend it.
Loved this! This guy falls fast and hard and I loved how committed he was to the object of his desire even before he finds out about the kid in the picture. There is a touch of suspense because we don't know who the mark is for a while. Good read!
This is a fun interesting romance book. Definitely different and a little more dark due to the MMC's career, but still light hearted and fun. If you like slow burn, he falls first troupes then you should read this book!
Honestly the plot is amazing and the story over all is a solid 8. My only issue is a lot of statements are repetitive and i would have like them worded different.
Not your usual romance by any means. Not a lot of spice. More about the relationship and the characters. Good writer and good story, but just not typical.