Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Hitman vs. Hitman
AUTHORS: Cari Z and L.A. Witt
NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 7 hours and 40 minutes
RELEASE DATE: November 2, 2020
BLURB:
Ricardo Torralba and August Morrison don’t agree on much besides the fact that they hate each other. According to Ricardo, August is a spoiled brat who really needs to knock off the sass, once in a while. August insists that Ricardo needs a sense of humor, a good lay, or a well-placed bullet. Maybe all three.
Fortunately, the assassin’s profession is a solitary one, and they can go about their lives without getting in each other’s way.
Usually.
When a contracted hit turns out to be a setup for both of them, they narrowly escape with their lives. Now, even if they don’t like it (spoiler: They don’t), August and Ricardo have to work together if they want a shot at survival.
In between firefights and questionable interrogation methods as they hunt down their would-be killer, the cranky assassins discover that under all that mutual loathing is a spark of chemistry they can’t ignore. They want to ignore it, they probably should ignore it, but August can’t help flirting to annoy Ricardo, and Ricardo can think of at least one way to shut him up for a while.
But they need to focus, damn it, and figure out who’s gunning for them and why. Assuming they don’t kill each other first.
Hitman vs Hitman is a stand-alone, gay romantic suspense featuring two men who’d rather chew glass than fall for each other, a whole lot of inappropriate comments, and some buttons that will need resewing.
REVIEW:
Ricardo is a hitman who has a job to do. He’s come up with an ingenious way to get himself into the house in order to complete the hit. What he doesn’t know is that August, his main competitor on the most ridiculously absurd ratings website ever, has also been hired for the same hit. For a ridiculous amount of money. When they discover each other and the impossible circumstances around the hit, they realize that they’ve been set up. And in order for them to get out of this mess, they will have to work together. That is something neither of them is at all good at.
After escaping the immediate crisis, it becomes clear to Ricardo that whoever has set them up is not going to settle for anything less than eliminating both of them. He decides to share this information with August, but August is a little reluctant to believe him – until they are attacked. A t this point, it’s obvious that they will be safer and have a better chance of figuring out who is after them if they stick together. Neither is very excited about this plan, but no one offers a better one. And when they discover that whoever it is is getting closer and closer, they come up with a rather audacious plan to draw the would be killer out. August cannot resist teasing and flirting with Ricardo while they try to figure out the best approach. However, there is a thin line between love and hate and when your throw in a highly competitive natured, well what can you expect?
August takes a chance with one potential source of their trouble. They risk walking into what could be an absolute disaster. Because this is no ordinary bad guy. Thankfully neither of them trusts anything they can see. They can only trust each other at this point. And neither of them is willing to give up 😉
OMG! I loved these two bickering hitmen. From the very beginning of this book, these two are like an old married couple, kibitzing and trying to one-up each other. When they find themselves at the same house, both contracted to hit the same mark, they know something is off. And they need to figure out who has set them up. They are both smart and once they realize that whoever has set them up will not stop until they are both dead, they begrudgingly determine that to have a chance, they are going to have to work together. The attraction, brewing over their time in close quarters, simmers delightfully with their entertaining banter and when they finally give in, it’s as explosive as expected 🙂 The resultant sharing of their pasts allows the partnership to move to a deeper level. And when the chips are down, they come through for each other in unexpected ways. I loved their relationship building throughout the story – right to the end 😀 I also really enjoyed the secondary characters – handlers, family and bad guys. What a fun mix of oddballs and bullies and entitled jerks and criminals round out the cast. As usual, Michael Ferraiuolo’s narration was divine! The accents, the characters and the craziness were so well acted by this fan favorite narrator. Highly recommended for a rollicking good time sprinkled with fire fights, outlandish schemes and surprisingly goodhearted hitmen 🙂
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Audible