Never Hollowed By The Stare

The Ferrymen: Ruthless – L. Eveland

Falling for my target was never part of the plan. Neither was killing my mentor.

LUKA
I was created to be the perfect weapon with forty-eight confirmed eliminations and counting. I’m the best in the business.

But my newest target is threatening to destroy everything. Who puts a hit out on a therapist? His biggest crime is talking to his plants every morning.

Now, instead of taking the shot, I’ve broken my contract to protect him and every Ferryman in North America is out to claim the bounty on my head.

We’ve got one chance at survival, and it means facing the man who spent twenty-six years molding me into his perfect weapon. Prometheus might have named himself after a god, but I know he’s just a man. And all men can die.

VINCENT
I knew I was in trouble when he showed up on my doorstep covered in blood and demanded I come with him.

Now, hiding in an underground world built for professional killers, he’s my only chance of survival.

Luka is dangerous, damaged, and devastatingly attractive. I should run. Instead, I can’t help but try to heal the man beneath the scars.

As assassins hunt us without reprieve, I’m learning just how far I’ll go to protect the broken man I never should have survived, let alone fallen for.

I believe monsters are made, not born. Maybe they can be unmade by love.

RUTHLESS is the first book in The Ferryman series, a dark MM romance series about a secret society of assassins and the men who fall for them.

Ruthless is the first book in The Ferrymen, an assassin romance series by L. Eveland. Each installment follows a different Ferryman on a mission that unexpectedly leads them to love.

Luca, tasked with killing trauma therapist Vincent, becomes increasingly fascinated instead, spending three weeks secretly observing him. When his boss Prometheus loses patience and assigns the job to someone else, Luca is forced to act. He kills the rival assassin and abducts Vincent for protection, as the hit on him is now open to all.

Vincent, stunned to discover his gorgeous new patient is a killer, is thrust into a hidden world of assassins governed by strict laws, hierarchies, and Greek‑mythology‑inspired customs. Together, he and Luca seek sanctuary at the Acropolis, neutral ground where no blood may be spilled, while unraveling why Prometheus is determined to destroy an ordinary therapist.

The chemistry between assassin and healer is explosive, but intimacy terrifies Luca, deeming himself too broken. Haunted by a twin sister he couldn’t save and years of abuse under Prometheus, he battles 26 years of conditioning. With Vincent’s unwavering care, Luca begins to reclaim his humanity, and perhaps even envision a future with the doctor.

I love the Ferrymen world! With nods to John Wick, assassins were paid in special coins, neutral zones were sacrosant, tribunals and judges deal with those who broke contracts. Prometheus, director of the North American region, is an extremely manipulative bastard whose long‑game schemes drive the conflict.

Plucked from war‑torn Serbia and groomed to obey, Luca’s fraught relationship with his mentor adds turmoil and darkness. While I expected a full circle moment for Luca, I was still shocked when Prometheus dropped his bomb.

Luca is both lethal and vulnerable, cocky enough to call himself a sex god, yet desperate for emotional validation. Right from the opening scene, his obsession with Vincent is deliciously thrilling, their dynamic a balance of power and healing.

Vincent helps connect Luca to the boy he once was. He’s a natural carer, whether it’s plants or his patients and his loyalty and devotion to Luca was a ray of sunshine in the murk. His fierce defense of the assassin in front of the tribunal and his graceful acceptance of his place in this shadowy world made me appreciate the good doc even more.

The writing tends to be repetitive, with multiple mentions of 26 years and sexual abuse, as well as memories retold several times, making the book unnecessarily long. Content warning: grooming, sexual abuse, physical abuse, PTSD, trauma, and violence.

Ruthless is a story of reclaiming humanity and forging healthy connections. Fierce, angsty and moving, overall, a testament to the power of empathy in this cutthroat world.

Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

Soundtrack: Kintsugi
Artist: The Bottomless
Album: Kintsugi

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RUTHLESS: Amazon UK | Audiobook

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