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REVIEW: Prince Of Killers by Layla Reyne
Fog City: Prince Of Killers – Layla Reyne
No indiscriminate killing. No collateral damage. No unvetted targets.
These are the rules Hawes Madigan lives by. Rules that make being Fog City’s Prince of Killers bearable. Soon, he’ll be king—of an organization of assassins—and the crown has never felt heavier. Until the mysterious Dante Perry swaggers into his life.
Dante looks like a rock god and carries himself like one too, all loose-limbed and casually confident. He also carries a concealed weapon, a private investigator’s license, and a message for the prince. Someone inside Hawes’s organization is out to kill the future king.
In the chaos that follows the timely warning, Hawes comes to depend on Dante. On his skills as an investigator, on the steadiness he offers, and on their moments alone when Hawes lets Dante take control. As alliances are tested and traitors exposed, Hawes needs Dante at his back and in his bed. But if the PI ever learns Hawes’s darkest secret, Hawes is sure to get a knife to the heart—and a bullet to the brain—instead.
There’s no shortage of twists and turns in this new romantic suspense trilogy from Layla Reyne. Prince of Killers is book one of three. Fair warning: buckle up, cliffhangers ahead!
Like many Layla Reyne fans, I was super excited to start on her new series. Obviously with all the glowing reviews, my expectations were skyhigh. Now that I’ve read it, in a word, Prince Of Killers was FAST.
So fast that I was still savoring my tour of San Francisco with the Madigans before I realized it, they were already about to do the big reveal. I hardly felt the 5+ hours of the audiobook. Even with that kind of pacing, the story didn’t feel incomplete. The author was able to establish the need-to-knows, build-up, conflict and mystery efficiently. It’s just that I was lulled by the great writing and Tristan James’ narration. I had fun listening to Hawes and his siblings going about their business. Assassins going through the step-by-steps of their jobs never failed to fascinate me and I could listen to that kind of shit all day.
I was expecting many twisty and shocking events though, but there were only one or two twists that were actually surprising.
Dante Perry literally walked into Hawes’ life and I was taken aback at how easily the Madigan scion trusted this stranger. This from the leader of a family who trusted no one. Then Dante proceeded to breeze through everything.
They started sleeping together from day one and from that point on, Hawes fantasized about his getting his HEA. He knew not everyone would be as lucky as his grandparents, Papa Cal and Rose, given his line of work. Still, can’t blame a man for being hopeful. But really? Day one? His brother Holt hasn’t even finished vetting the PI.
I liked Hawes but for a master assassin, he came across as, well, not bad-ass. I know giving him ‘weaknesses’ was intentional in order to emphasized his humanity, especially to Dante, but I share the sentiment of those who gave lower ratings. Him making this poor a decision on something as major as to who he lets into his inner circle doesn’t ring true to his character. What would Papa Cal say, Big H?
All this griping aside, I have faith in Layla Reyne and gladly suspended disbelief. One of her strong suits is creating characters you can root for and their awesome family dynamics. She did it in Agents Irish and Whiskey and its spin-off, Trouble Brewing. She also did it again here. She made me rally for the Madigans. As to Dante, I need to get inside his head first. Not warming up to him yet.
Hawes for all his weaknesses and grey morality, his heart’s in the right place. His twin, Holt, best hacker in town and father of the year. Helena, their sister, now she is bad ass. A ninja moonlighting as a lawyer. Emilia, Holt’s wife, devoted mother and their on-call nurse, is a woman who can do scary things with your pressure points. Together they form a warm, cozy family who just happened to have a deadly business on the side. I really liked how they worked together which why I had a rude awakening when they finally unmasked the traitor. Tsk tsk tsk! To think I liked that character. Too bad. A great twist nonetheless.
Which made me expect a big Madigan showdown. It was anti-climactic. The boss fight was over in a snap. I nearly missed the part and had to replay it just to be sure. Oh well, they did promise not to hurt the traitor.
Prince Of Killers is a good series opener. It’s a fun, suspenseful book that promised more action-packed goodness in the future. It did not entirely not wow me but that’s par for course with many series openers I’ve encountered including LR‘s series so no biggie. I know the next book is going to be EXPLOSIVE. I am so hyped up for King Slayer because damn that cliffhanger! Also, Dante’s POV!
I recommend the Fog City series if you like high-stakes romantic suspense stories about assassins with souls and LEOs finding love outside the law.
P.S.
Layla Reyne books here.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: Shot In The Dark
Artist: Ozzy Osbourne
Album: The Ultimate Sin -
SOUNDTRACK: Shot In The Dark By Ozzy Osbourne
Soundtrack to Fog City: Prince Of Killers by Layla Reyne
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Out on the street, I’m stalking the night,
I can hear my heavy breathing.
Paid for the kill but it doesn’t seem right;
something there I can believe in .Voices are calling from inside my head.
I can hear them, I can hear them,
vanishing memories of things that were said,
they can’t try to hurt me now.But a shot in the dark, one step away from you.
A shot in the dark, always creeping up on youTaught by the powers that preach over me
I can hear their empty reason
I wouldn’t listen I learnt how to fight
I opened up my mind to treasonBut just like the wounded and when it’s too late
They’ll remember they’ll surrender
Never a care for the people who hate
Underestimate me nowBut a shot in the dark one step away from you
A shot in the dark not a thing that you can do
A shot in the dark always creeping up on youBut just like the wounded and when it’s too late
They’ll remember they’ll surrender
Never a care for the people who hate
Underestimate me nowBut a shot in the dark one step away from you
A shot in the dark not a thing that you can do
A shot in the dark always creeping up on you -
MOVIE FEATURE: Corpo Eletrico (Body Electric)
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THE ANIMAL CROSSING BOOK TAG
I have no idea what kind of game animal crossing is. I’m guessing it’s a boardgame? Too lazy to google. Whatever it is, this seems like a fun tag to do.
Found this on Books Are 42. This tag was created by Bookish Things and Tea.
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Confessions Of A Gay Curmudgeon by Andy V. Ambrose (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Beyond Identity by Karrie Roman (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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MANGA: Hoppe Ni Himawari
Hoppe Ni Himawari – Mita Ori
A story about a cute chubby guy in the gardening club who admires his classmate, the baseball team captain.
A rare beast in BL where the MC is chubby and loved by the seme whatever shape he’s in.
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REVIEW: The Wolf At Bay by Charlie Adhara
Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf At Bay – Charlie Adhara
Going home digs up bad memories, so it’s something Bureau of Special Investigations agent Cooper Dayton tries to avoid. When he’s guilted into a visit, Cooper brings along Oliver Park, his hot new werewolf partner, in the hopes the trip will help clarify their status as a couple…or not.
When Park’s keen shifter nose uncovers a body in the yard and Cooper’s father is the prime suspect, Cooper knows they’re on their own. Familial involvement means no sanctioned investigation. They’ll need to go rogue and solve the mystery quietly or risk seeing Cooper’s dad put behind bars.
The case may be cold, but Park and Cooper’s relationship heats up as they work. And yet if Cooper can’t figure out what’s going on between them outside of the bedroom, he’ll lose someone he… Well, he can’t quite put into words how he feels about Park. He knows one thing for sure: he’s not ready to say goodbye, though with the real killer inching ever closer…he may not have a choice.
I am currently on a shifter binge and Charlie Adhara’s wolves are my favorite wolves. Hers are simultaneously very wolfy and also not.
Case in point: Oliver Park. Proving that the seasick werewolf is the best werewolf.
Hints of him being not only just an alpha but quite possibly The Alpha. He did very alpha wolf things, like intimidate the other wolves into submission. That includes dogs. He’s also afraid of water, not good with boats and needs reading glasses he’s too embarrassed to wear in public. A refreshing change from the usual indestructible, tough guy specimens we normally get.
As much as I would like to see major wolf action (shifting, marking, etc), I also enjoyed the novelty of having a shifter book focusing on realism rather than the paranormal. The book felt like a very low-key commentary on the genre. They are serious about the whole werewolf business but there’s also a sense of not taking it too seriously. Cooper and Oliver constantly exchanged repartee that, among many things, made fun of wolfy stuff including the mate aspect. Which is probably what I would do too, if I suddenly find myself in the company of supernatural creatures.
Said exchange of repartee is what made the The Wolf At Bay come alive. I live for Cooper and Park’s banters! I could listen to them all day. Park is a normally taciturn person and I enjoyed the moments where Coop drew out his playful side. They just CLICKED!
“As you pointed out before, I’ve made my feelings clear. So.”
Silence. He glanced up and was caught in Park’s slow smile.
“What?”
The smile widened. “Papa, no! I luurve him,” Park said dramatically, and put a hand to his brow.
Also, ♡ porcupine ♡!
Obviously, I love Park. The man is a sweetheart. He’s good for Coop. I like it that they’re also really good friends aside than whatever else they were. And, yes!!! been waiting for it, the story shed some light on his background. Not too much but enough of a teaser for the third book. Still not fully shifting tho.
Cooper is more difficult. But I get him. I get the anxiety and the fears. He and Park talked about anything and everything, constantly dancing around the thing they actually wanted to talk about. Coop took baby steps. I wanted to hurry him along but these things need to be taken at one’s own pace. And Park, ever patient bless him, never failed to let him know he will be there every step of the way.
So here I am at the edge of my seat, on high alert for any tiny gesture or small words that spoke volumes of how they really felt. Until they finally took the plunge and it was all very ♡✧。(◍＞◡＜◍ ⋈ )。✧♡!!! (And in keeping with the character of the series, they joked about that moment later on too).
Like most book twos, The Wolf At Bay is a transition to the next installment but there’s so much more to it. It’s a story about coming to terms with the past and the present. Also a cleverly written mystery and just cleverly written overall. There were major strides in character development, romance and family relationships. The dialogues were sharper and wittier than ever.
The case was a really good one. I was completely in the dark until the end. It was complex and multi-layered, unearthing not only a literal skeleton but many other skeletons of the Dayton family and the rest of the neighborhood. It made you question, how well do you really know the people you grew up with?
This dreaded hometown visit was a long time coming. It took Park, and us, on an awkward tour of Cooper’s childhood. Coop had to confront childhood monsters, adolescent crushes and his own brother and father. There were ghosts that needed to be exorcised. The air (desperately) needed to be cleared. Everything eventually tied in with the werewolf business and it only got messier. Yikes!
All in all, The Wolf At Bay is a great second book. I loved it better than the first.
P.S.
Big Bad Wolf should be read in order. Book one, The Wolf At The Door here.
Other paranormal/shifter series you might be interested in:
Flesh And Bone
Hexworld
Soulbound
Green CreekRating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: I Love You
Artist: Under The Influence Of Giants
Album: Under The Influence Of Giants. -
SOUNDTRACK: I Love You by Under The Influence Of Giants
Soundtrack to Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf At Bay by Charlie Adhara
