REVIEWED by Jen B.

TITLE: Bad Habits

SERIES: The Wages of Sin

AUTHORS: Onley James and Neve Wilder

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 281 Pages

RELEASE DATE: October 13, 2020

BLURB:

Jonah taught Cas a million ways to protect his body but not one to protect his heart.

Smart-mouthed hacker Caspian escaped an abusive home at 16. Now he’s one of the most sought-after black hat hackers in the world.

Jonah is a ruthless contract killer with only one weakness, the vibrant runaway he took in years ago: Caspian.

But Cas bailed when he turned 18 and Jonah has maintained a steady diet of eat, kill, sleep since then.

Jonah had always been the fatal flaw in Cas’s code, the bug that froze the part of his brain separating logic from emotion.

A threat to Cas’s life brings him back years later—not as the boy Jonah remembers, but as a hardened computer hacker with a price on his head and a list of names everybody wants.

The chemistry between them is as undeniable as it is dangerous.

In a world of secrets and murder, trust is a liability and feelings can get you killed. But Jonah let Cas go once, and he’s not willing to do it again. Even if it means confronting his past, solving a twisted puzzle, and taking out half of New York city’s seedy underbelly to keep Cas safe.

Bad Habits is a steamy, action-packed thrill ride of a romance with a HEA and no cliffhangers. It features morally ambiguous men, dirty, dirty lovin’, pancakes drizzled with snark, chosen family, drive-in movies, and the kind of love that drives a guy to murder in order to protect. In short: all the emo, heat, and sarcasm you’d probably expect from an Onley/Neve collab. This is book 1 in the Wages of Sin series. Each book will follow a new couple.

REVIEW: Jonah grew up on the streets until he was basically forced to become who he is today. He never really did anything else career-wise, and he has done pretty well for himself as an assassin. When he stumbles upon a young Cas looking like he’s heading down a similarly bad road, he steps in to help. Cas niggles his way right into Jonah’s life – one night on the couch turns into weeks, then months, etc.

A few years go by and Jonah still looked out for Cas, but Cas harbored a pretty big crush on Jonah. When Cas realizes (through his own deductions, as well as some pushing from a “friend”) that he doesn’t ever stand a chance of anything with Jonah, he leaves – rather abruptly. Cas makes his own way as a hacker that eventually ends up getting him in some trouble. He returns to the City which is where he and Jonah re-connect. With a bounty now on Cas’ head, Jonah doesn’t hesitate to try and help – but first, they must solve the mystery of who is behind it all.

The Cas that returns to Jonah is not the same kid Jonah took in all those years ago. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for him to realize this. Just as Cas wiggled his way into Jonah’s life that first time, it naturally happens again this time around. These two have great chemistry with humorous banter and steamy sexual tension. I loved them both and even more so together. They go through some struggles as they try and get Cas cleared, lose some friends along the way and face some betrayals. I was rooting for them all along and wanted to see them succeed to a future of a peaceful life. We get that and more, and I am happy to say this is a great start to a new series. I can’t wait for the next installment which looks to be Madigan’s story!

RATING:

BUY LINK:

Amazon