The Kite

Title: The Kite

Author: N.R. Walker

Publisher:  BlueHeart Press

Release Date: June 28, 2022

Genre(s): Enemies to Lovers, Espionage / Spy thriller

Page Count: 284

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 

Read book blurb here

N.R. Walker has written some of my favorite M/M books (the Red Dirt Series, Sixty Five Hours, Learning to Feel, etc.) and as I started The Kite, I did not like it. Well, okay, I really liked the premise of two assassins working together to uncover the truth behind the hits placed on them both: 

"I need proof." 

"Proof of what?" 

"Proof that you and I have been set up. For years, every job we took, every assignment, was for the wrong team." 

Harry squinted at him. 

"Wrong team? What team? There are no teams - " 

"The bad guys, Harry. We've been helping the bad guys." 

But the first half of the book seems an endless retread of

"Asher smiled, and good fuckin lord, Harry hated him. "I want to put a gun to your head," Harry mumbled. "So fucking bad." And what did Asher do? He laughed.

Toss in a few rounds of "Shut the fuck up" and it's pretty much rinse, lather, repeat. But then, darn it, I started caring about Harry and wondering what sort of childhood Asher had endured, and then Harry started noticing things not essential to the mission, like architecture and children .... and Asher realizes that "between arguing and laughing, seeing how the man's mind worked, sharing a bed with him, and the incredible sex - he's grown feelings for Harry." 

Darn if I know how that it happened, but the last half of the book was very gripping and I desperately wanted Asher and Harry to stay alive, figure out how to get retribution, meet Asher's amazing handler, and have some sort of HFN. And the epilogue delivered in spades (and kittens). So, okay, yeah, I ended up enjoying this book. 4 stars. 

I received an ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.