Reviewed by Jen
TITLE: Touch
AUTHOR: A.W. Scott
PUBLISHER: Independent
LENGTH: 229 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2026
BLURB:
“Pip is one of the best assassins in the business. He is loyal to no one..”
Forever a loner, I’ve spent my life focusing on the money I can make and the bodies I can drop along the way. It’s not a fun time if someone doesn’t meet their maker.
And then I met Henny.
His uptight attitude has me wanting to smile like an idiot every moment we’re together. I annoy him to no end simply by existing. Or so he says.
I’ll wear him down soon enough. If I don’t, well then, there’s always love by force. That’s totally how you get to happily ever after, right?
Touch features a chaos gremlin who has eyes for only one man, the type-A second-in-command who has to be in control, a found family of mafia men, and the journey to love. There is no third act breakup here since Pip is dedicated to claiming his Henny and won’t stand for anything less than happily ever after.
REVIEW:
I love me a good mafia story, so I grabbed this one right away. Pip is the dark horse here. He’s an assassin who revels in his job and the blood and gore of it, especially when it’s taking out bad guys. He had a pretty awful childhood which directly sent him down the career path he is now on. When he takes a job for Pharrel, the head of the Vegas mafia family, a new family he does end up finding. He sets his sights on the right hand man, Henri, whom he calls Henny, although it takes a few years before he actually pursues anything.
Over this time, Pip gains the trust of Pharrel, and in turn, Henny. Eventually, Pip pushes enough that their mutual attraction is no longer a secret to either of them. It’s all about control with these two, although it ends up being a bit different than expected. Henny is always in control, manages and organizes everything and Pip is no different. Pip has to convince Henny that he is ok with Henny taking control and this goes a bit deeper when the joking “Daddy” stuff comes out. Turns out Pip is all on board with taking the Daddy/Boy stuff seriously. One of Henny’s other hang-ups about taking things further with Pip concerns their work and having to remain focused on that. The Daddy name calling got a bit too much for me at times which made it feel less genuine, but that is probably just my issue.
As far as the work goes, it is really more interspersed throughout the Pip/Henny interactions. There are some issues going on within the mafia world that require some major focus, as the danger is ramped up for all involved and Pip’s services are needed. I was really hoping this aspect of the story was more involved, and I really wanted more details on Pharrel and Ricardo’s relationship. Ricardo is brought in to be Pharrel’s second, but we never really find out why or that they even have something more going on, although Pip hints at it often enough. Perhaps there will be more to come in this world where we will delve deeper into the family. For now, I found this to be an enjoyable read, violence and gore aside, and look forward to more from this author.
RATING: 
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