This book was written by someone who, according to the about section found at the end of this novel, has a background in screenwriting and journalism and wrote this novel to specifically seek out a TV adaptation. This definitely shows within her prose. Could barely tell you what these characters looked like half the time save for the female lead being pale and dark-haired while the male lead had dark hair and blue eyes. The internal monologues of the characters themselves are rather amateurish, with very overdramatic sentiments such as:

"I am treacherously hollow, verging on soulless. When she kisses me, that single drop of lust in an empty shell is everything at once."

And the melodrama of it all is an essential to romance books, but never should it be wielded so cavalierly nor as often as it is here. It's purple prose but with an even poorer execution than what I'm used to.

Then there come the characters. It's a clear, ambitious goal this author has, trying to humanize these hitmen whilst also showcasing that they are still incredibly dangerous and have an unhealthy love of bloodshed. I do not envy anyone who attempts to walk this tightrope. The fact they both had a lackadaisical approach to the work actually helped in this approach, as well as the traumatic backgrounds to match. Their lack of self-preservation being reinforced throughout the book helped smooth out a lot of decisions that would've felt out of character in another work.

However, I do have my complaints, especially towards the end of the novel where the ending was clearly meant to be explosive and dramatic...and the logic of the characters kinda crumbled in order to lay that groundwork. Not for any particular reason, either. I had originally planned on giving this novel a three star rating since, despite its faults, it compensated with a fun (though predictable) plot and characters that were a mix of grounded and ridiculous that worked for me personally. That changed towards the last 50 pages of the novel, and is the reason this sits at a two star now.

This was a fun premise, I imagine it could be a fun enough movie considering its pacing is far more aligned with that than of a book. I will not be checking out any more of this author's work until improvement has been significant and noted, however.

This is a debut novel, and I think the experience reading this novel is bettered when the reader keeps that knowledge in mind. The first fifty pages or so of this book I personally found to be a slog; about twenty proper nouns are thrown at you within the first two chapters, all while you're being info-dumped about this world every other page. As someone who typically isn't even that bothered by obvious exposition, this was a rough start.

However, once the dust settles and the book is allowed to breathe, it's quite good. The writing is serviceable—if a bit too reliant on telling—to ensure that you, the reader, understand the characters' mindsets quite thoroughly. Emotional scenes are done quite well, conflicts never feel out of left-field or out of character, and all in all tone is understood quite well. The side characters aren't particularly interesting, but the relationship between our two leads is compelling enough to compensate for that. Their clear affection and respect for each other, their worries and doubts over their relationship all feel genuine, and their loyalty is showcased throughout the novel. Their love for each other never feels empty, nor does it feel underdeveloped.

The plot is fairly generic, all things considered, but the care and consideration given to the characters' backgrounds is also ingrained into their decision-making (and the clear and immediate consequences of said decision-making) and livens up what is a common story in fantasy. It's not a perfect title, but its strengths outway its weaknesses, and there is a clear upward trajectory for this author.