Book Review: Killer Heart
Original review written 8/28/21
Title: Killer Heart
Author: Rhys Lawless
What's it about?
All the world may not be as it seems, as Wade and Caleb are about to find out! Wade is a witch hunter who has proven himself a lone ranger of sorts; actively keeping the people in his life at a distance. Of course, his bloody cursed heart sure helps him with that.
Caleb is a somewhat angry witch who's gained the respect of the high Priest in his coven and has managed to create himself a family...or, at least the illusion of one.
But when they are forced to come together to uncover the the moles and traitors in their mist, one working for the coven, the other for the Blade force (or, at least, that's what they want us to think), all bets are off. They must struggle to form a working relationship built upon a lack of trust, respect and a desire to be done with the other as soon as possible. Yet, something changes as their "working relationship" begins to grow into friendship and, maybe, if they aren't careful, maybe even more. Will they find companionship between them? And can what ever relationship they can form survive secrets from the past and even the present? Or will they part ways at the first sign or defeat?
Favorites:
Favorite Character: I had a couple. I know! You're shocked, right?
The first one was Nora. She's this sweet, wise, loving, nurturing little girl who I feels like needs to be around more. We need more Nora!
My second favorite character (listed in no significant order) is Caleb. Caleb encompasses two of my favorite "monsters", witch and vampire. On top of that, he's sweet, loving, sarcastic and smart butt individual. He wasn't perfect, but I liked him...a lot.
Least Favorite Character: Well, this is going to another time when I skirt around what I really want to say because...well...spoilers. My least favorite character was...a bad guy. This person was cruel, heartless, sadistic and just plain evil. What's not to hate?
Favorite Part: I don't even know why I even include this part! It's so hard most of the time! But, I'm going to say the final battle. It didn't feel like the same old final battle like some books do (which doesn't mean they aren't good battles) but mostly, I loved seeing all the pieces come together.
Favorite Part: The first chapter. Now, don't write this book off just yet! (haha! See what I did there?) The only reason I didn't like it was because Wade enters the scene crass and slightly lude. While it didn't follow him through the book with the same strength, I found it slightly shocking and, I'm going to be honest, a little worried about what was to come.
Favorite Quotes:
"He wasn't a bad apple. He'd just fallen from a bad tree." (pg. 137) I love this because so many people are considered "bad" or "a lost cause". However, it's not that they are bad people, but they are a product of their environment. It's how they were raised. It's how they were taught. It's what they know.
Other Thoughts:
I received my copy of this book for my birthday. I had never heard of it before but it's my favorite genre and it started with "K" ( and I needed a book that starts with k for my Book Bingo card). One of the first things I noticed was a comment on the back of the book. "Killer heart is an MM urban fantasy with lots of magic, powerful emotions, a passionate blooming romance and a touch of kink." I have to admit, I was a little...scared. I'm not normally one for "kink". But I got it for my birthday and the story sounded good, so I decided to try it.
What I found was NOT much, if any, kink unless you count the sex scenes that, while between two men, wasn't much worse then a number of scenes of a man and a woman making love or having sex. At some points, I did find it slightly uncomfortable but, to be fair, I've been known to be called a prude.
All in all, I really enjoyed the story and, while personally, I didn't NEED the sex scenes, I loved seeing Caleb and Wade grow closer. I loved getting to know them better, their past and where they came from. I also really appreciated Wade's struggle as he questioned his own sexuality (was he straight? Could you be straight when you felt that way about another person of the same sex? Was he bisexual? Was he gay?) as his feelings for Caleb grew. His questions and confusions made sense to me and I appreciated it wasn't this smooth transition.
I really enjoyed this book and am excited to read more about Caleb and Wade in future books (The series has 4 all together so far) and I was happy to see a same sex couple done so well and so casually and I look forward to seeing that relationship grow stronger as well as the characters grow as people!
What do I rate it?
I give this book a
7
out of
10 spells!
But that's just what I think! What do you think? Did you love it? Did you prefer Wade over Caleb? Let us know in the comments?
