Title: The Hit Man Cometh, 2nd edition
Series: N/A
Author: Edward Kendrick
Genre: Paranormal / Crime & Mystery
Length: Novella (158 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-78430-313-6
Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing (December 12th, 2014 / Early Download November 14th 2014)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts
Reviewer: Leigh
Blurb: Mick is a hit man sent after Gavin. Can Gavin, an ex-conman and a shifter, convince Mick they should join forces before Mick kills him?
Mick Whalen is a hit man hired to kill Gavin Wilde. However, when he tracks Gavin to a remote mountain cabin, he discovers that killing the coyote shifter is not in the cards. Especially when Gavin offers sex as an incentive to spare his life—an offer Mick does not refuse.
At Gavin’s insistence, they find out who hired Mick before someone else is sent to finish the job. The most probable person is a vampire with an ax to grind because of something Gavin did to him in the past. With the help of Gavin’s bear shifter friend Torben, and Torben’s vampire friend Brynja, they set out to stop the vampire—perhaps permanently.
Mick and Gavin decide to join forces since, as Gavin points out, he can teleport Mick away after a hit. The contracts come, and their rough bouts of sex heat up in the process.
However, they’re almost killed on a job—a job no one knew about except Mick’s friend and handler Johnny. When Johnny is murdered, they team up with the two other hit men who also once worked for Johnny, to find and eliminate his killer as well.
With death and destruction now both men’s way of life, will it draw them closer together—or destroy what has become more than just a friendship?
Reader Advisory: This book contains light BDSM.
Purchase Link: https://www.totallybound.com/the-hit-man-cometh
Review: Gavin is a 180-year-old coyote shifter and Mick is the human assassin sent to kill him. When the planned killing goes out the window, they decide to team up and track down the person who ordered the hit. From there, things lead to an unusual partnership between Gavin and Mick. Along the way, the reader learns some interesting things about paranormals. I liked that the author gave different powers to the shifters and vampires than usual norm used in the genre. Like the ability for shifters to teleport or “air coyote” as they jokingly called it.
The relationship between Gavin and Mick is not what I would call romance. Instead, they build a partnership. At first, it is just for them to track down the person who hired Mick to kill Gavin. Once that is done, they decide to partner up in Mick’s business and to keep giving each other what they need sexually.
The sex between them is what I would term rough sex and not so much BDSM. There is mostly hard spanking, bondage, and some pain play. The sex scenes are short and to the point. There is no real build up or foreplay. And they do become repetitive to me. They are basically all the same. What does grow between them is a trust to have each other’s backs and respect for each other.
Overall, I liked the storyline idea. The writing style was very clean and concise. However, I found myself easily distracted from the book. There was no pull for me to “have” to finish the story as soon as possible. There is no real emotional aspect to this story. These men do not love each other. Gavin and Mick are not looking to be saved from a bad life by love. They purposely team up to continue killing people and having sex with each other. That is really all they are looking for, to not be alone.
I guess I am a romantic at heart. So this story did not give me the happily ever after in love feeling. I need the emotional connection and this one did not give it to me. Even with the great writing technique, I was left unsatisfied.