Reviewed by Valerie 

TITLE:  The Kite 

AUTHOR:  N.R. Walker

PUBLISHER:  BlueHeart Press

LENGTH:  284 pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 28, 2022

BLURB:   

Ex-Australian Specialist Response Group leader, Tim “Harry” Harrigan, has been running covert ops for almost a decade. A lone wolf, he’s single-handedly taken down terrorists and national security threats, or so he thinks. He’s been in the game far too long, and when he sees a familiar threat, he knows his time is up.

Asher Garin is a dangerous man. A man without loyalty, a man without a nationality, without a country, without a home. He’s also a mercenary for hire to the highest bidder. His next job is a face he recognises, and after a tip-off, he learns he too is a marked man.

It’s a different game now, and Harry and Asher have a better chance at surviving if they stick together. But it’s not just the game or the rules that have changed. The stakes have too.

Because on their own, they had nothing to lose. Together, they do.

REVIEW:   

The Kite is a compelling action-suspense novel about two assassins who meet under unlikely circumstances, join forces to fight for their lives, and fall for each other along the way. Despite the heavy plot, there’s a good bit of humor found in their playful banter. There are a few fun tropes here including enemies to lovers and grumpy/sunshine characters. I was immediately engrossed in the action and couldn’t put the book down. I felt the connection between these men from the very beginning.

Harry is the grumpy one: a scowling, cantankerous man with a big, intimidating presence. He’s a highly trained operative – assassin – for the Australian government, working alone in Europe for the past ten years. He has no ties to anyone. If he was killed or disappeared, no one would miss him or think to look for him. He’s one of the top two hitmen in the world.

The other is Asher, a freelance gun for hire taking jobs for the right price from various governments and agencies. He’s the sunshine: a casually charming guy who projects an air of being completely unbothered by anything. Like Harry, he’s a loner. He had no home, no family, and not even a nationality he’s aware of. He carries all his worldly possessions – comprised largely of weapons – in his duffle bag.

Harry and Asher have never met but they know each other by reputation and have been circling around each other for nearly a decade. When they realize they’ve been set up and discover some awful truths about there jobs, they know their only chance for survival is to trust each other and work together.

As they’re on the run from the bad guys, they develop a love/hate relationship. Asher annoys Harry something fierce, but Harry is also a bit intrigued and a lot attracted to him. Asher is incessantly flirty and it’s so easy for him to rankle Harry.

“I haven’t wanted to kill you for almost two weeks. Doesn’t that tell you anything? I mean, I was unconscious for some of that time, but still.”

Naturally, they hook up. A little fooling around takes the edge of their cravings, but while they both hope it will diminish the desire, it just makes it worse. Sex becomes more than a physical release. They have a meaningful connection, something neither has had before while being alone for so long, living on the edge between life and death. It’s about want and need, closeness and intimacy. For the first time in a very long time – perhaps ever – they have someone to care about and enjoy their time with, to be playful and have a little fun with, someone maybe to share a future with and have a normal life. A life without fear.

“Asher had never had feelings for anyone before. Not ever. Much to his utter dismay, he liked Harry. He would protect him. He would fight for him. For the first time in his life, Asher would now consider the thoughts and actions of someone else other than himself. It was confusing, daunting, frightening. It actually pissed Asher off.”

This is a violent book but somehow, the violence is … satisfying? The retaliation is bloody but enjoyable, lol. It’s one big race as Harry and Asher travel from Spain, across northern Africa, and to parts of the Middle East. There’s also time in Thailand and Australia. N.R. Walker’s descriptive narrative drew me into the story, leading me through places like the streets of Madrid, the Casbah in Algiers, and the desert in Oman. Several times I stopped to Google a location so I could visualize it even more.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Kite. It’s a different spin for Ms. Walker, one I love. If you like a bit of suspense along with your romance, give this entertaining book a try. You won’t be disappointed.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

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