Assassin Games by Sidney Bristol
Published by: Entangled Publishing, LLC.
Publication Date: July 23, 2018
Series Information: Tarnished Heroes book 2
Other books in this series include:
Spy Games published November 27,2017
Genres: Romance, contemporary romance, suspense romance, assassin romance, spy romance, action romance
Formats: Ebook
Pages: 338
My Ranking:
Where To Buy:
My Review:
Warning, though I try my best to avoid this, all reviews can contain spoilers of some kind. If you would like to know just my overall opinion of the book, and otherwise go into reading it blind, please scroll down to my overall and would I recommend it section.
I Voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book given to me by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Take this gun? Why would you give me a gun? I don’t know how to use a gun! Oh no, what was that? Dive under the couch, dive under the couch now! Oh wait, it’s a book, I’m not actually being pursued by hired assassins, but dang what a suspenseful ride. Honestly, make sure you are not reading this one next to your man because you might just jump and grab him in a Kung fu book death grip.
Our story starts with our hero Andy in the middle of a meeting call with his handler and fellow agents, discussing their current project and how best to keep the most important chess piece, Carol, safe until this new pawn on the board completes her task. Andy is one hell top shot player in his game; when he takes a case emotions get shut down and things get done. Unfortunately for Andy this chess piece is in no way a pawn in his eyes, but rather a queen.
Carol is a sweet girl who takes a desk job with the CIA gathering information and working on the things that won’t put her right in the action. This job is everything she has ever wanted, but when Carol stumbles across something she wasn’t supposed to, she get pulled into a task that buries her in work not to mention danger. Top it all off with getting kidnapped by some beautiful jerk with a tendency to scare the daylights out of her and that dream job suddenly turns into a walking night terror. Will she be able to finish her project before some other assassin catches up, and if so what the hack does she do then?
Yeah... this wasn’t an on the edge of the couch book at all; more like a hit the floor while reading one. I must say the amount of research that want into this one was amazing. How the project Carol is working on works, and the many different complex ways the government works is really well done in this book and is what makes the suspense so dang good. Andy’s character is spot on with this part of the story. His confident yet realistic nature mixes so well with that cold as ice agent persona, well ok, so cold as melting ice after he meets Carol. I will say that this side of him can be scary at times though.
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| Excerpt from Assassin Games by Sidney Bristol |
Now while I adore my husband and he is the only man for me, I do so enjoy a book where I can just fit right into the heroine’s shoes and live her life for a short time. Carol’s character, despite being super smart and having a confusing job, is actually so relatable it made those shoes a comfortable fit. Carol is petrified about her current situation with not only Andy kidnapping her, but also the assassins gunning to, well, gun her down. She has moments of panic but she pushes through it and does everything in her power to help Andy save her life. I found this to not only make her relatable during her freak out moments but also really admirable. She’s a strong woman without being super strong or amazing combat skills. Go go girl power!
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| Excerpt from Assassin Games by Sidney Bristol |
While all this action packed spy assassin type adventure is very well done and gripping, it really felt as though the romance part of this romance novel was lost in in this action suspense. I know that most romance books in this sub-genre are not hearts and candy type romances. However, there is usually a lot of relationship build up and interactions between the two characters that go above and beyond work while the action is going on. Apart from denying that they can be together despite their attraction, there is no real start to their relationship until more than half way through. For me, this really threw me out of the book and not because it wasn’t written well but because I was expecting a lot more focus on the relationship between the two characters than what was given.
Now, lets crawl back up onto the couch and light some scented candles while we sip on wine and focus on the hotter side of this book. During the moments that we get to see their relationship flash to life, Andy is just heart stoping.
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| Excerpt from Assassin Games by Sidney Bristol |
Yup, getting kidnapped by a hot assassin spy has it’s ups and downs but it is worth the ride. Honestly, the whole if I can’t save you I’ll kill you mindset that Andy has towards Carol is very alluring. It’s the perfect fit for the characters in this book and the way they think. Despite the lack of romance, the characters are very well done.
Overall:
This is a very engaging suspenseful book that follows the tangled life of people who work for the CIA and the many dangerous roads that job can lead them down. The characters in the book are very well done and give an amazingly spot on action packed read. The only problem is that this book does not focus on the relationship between Andy and Carol until over half way through, making it feel more like a action packed thriller with a slow burn romance mixed in rather than a romance based in an assassin’s world.
Otherwise, this book is well written and really does push you to the end of your seat and beyond with suspense. Once you get to the hotter scenes in this book you may want to make sure you have a glass of water handy as well.
Would I Recommend It:
Yes but only if you really are into action packed thrillers. If you’re looking for a romance book that is based in the world of an assassin then I would hesitate to tel you to run out and get this book. Please don’t take that to mean the book is not good by any means, it just simply is not for every romance reader.
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Let me know what you thought about this book, or let me know what you’re most excited to read about in it.
As always, happy reading.
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