REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Dealing in Death
SERIES: Death and the Devil
AUTHOR: L.J. Hayward
PUBLISHER: L.J. Hayward
LENGTH: 176 Pages
RELEASE DATE: August 30, 2019
BLURB:
Ethan Blade—assassin extraordinaire, cold-blooded killer, heartless monster, and . . . retiree?
I’ve spent my whole life dealing in death, efficiently eliminating targets while fighting to preserve a sense of self and morality, to avoid becoming as detached and ruthless as my siblings. I thought I had succeeded. Then I met Jack Reardon—contrary, handsome, forgiving, and far too good for the likes of me—and my life was tipped upside down. When he asked me to move in with him, he didn’t specify that I had to quit my job, but I wanted to—for myself, not for him. I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.
My old instincts—“Ethan Blade”—are soon tempted out of retirement by a job offer I can’t afford to refuse and by an old hook-up of Jack’s he’d be a fool to refuse. While falling prey to my own temptation, Jack struggles with his. Which is precisely when the true danger exposes itself—one of my siblings with no such sense of self or morality. Only pain. And he is prepared to rain it down on me and Jack, unless I can square the Ethan Blade I want to be with the one I need to be, in time to save us both.
REVIEW:
Boy was I excited to see this one pop up – love me some Ethan and Jack! And bonus, this one is in Ethan’s POV! We learned a lot about Ethan’s past recently, and it is still wreaking havoc on his life now. He has been adjusting to life with Jack, though he still struggles a lot. Hard to turn off years and years of having a system that has helped him survive to now not utilize many aspects that have become second nature. It certainly doesn’t help when his “siblings” still cause trouble, some more than others. Ethan’s life has an “Umbrella Academy” vibe to it. Think assassins instead of super heroes, each orphan given a number instead of a name. Needless to say, he did not grow up with much love or affection. It makes it much easier to understand Ethan and his actions, as well as how much of a big deal it is that he trusts Jack and was able to let him past his walls.
Anyhoo, this installment is fully of excitement as Ethan works on giving up his career so he can move forward with Jack. He wants so badly to do just that, but he is inevitably pulled back in. It then becomes more important that he take care of things so that he can keep Jack safe.
I have loved this series from the get go, and even more so after spending time with these guys, learning more about what makes them tick and then wanting to see them succeed. There is mystery, excitement and plenty of feelings to keep you engrossed. There is an added bonus of fabulous banter and amazing chemistry underneath all of their difficulties. Learning more about Ethan, his siblings and their upbringing with the Cabal had me quickly turning pages and longing for more at the end. You’ll definitely need to read this from the beginning, as you would be a bit lost picking it up from here. Plus, you’d miss an awful lot of good stuff along the way, so I highly recommend you grab book 1 and catch on up. I can’t wait for the next one!
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