Kairo’s Billionaire slightly backtracks into the last pages of Charlie’s Doctor, recounting the events that happened to launch this story.
That would be the kidnapping of Kairo by unknown persons as he exited the bar where everyone was celebrating the success of the team’s mission.
I’m fully enjoying this series. Even though I’m aware of some of the issues with the realism of two billionaires kidnapped and no one realizes, the easiest escape ever, and other things that are still a wee bit of a stretch to believe in, it’s all such fun entertainment that I am willing to take it as such.
I just enjoy the characters, their relationships, the fact there’s a ferret element, a family of assassins (those that kill together ). I mean it’s just a general sense of mayhem on the loose I find so ingratiatingly satisfying.
Plus love , and HEA , is found for Kairos Jones and the billionaire Isidore Panopoulos. It’s a interesting dynamic . We get to know both men under duress, as well as Izzy’s sister, another wonderful character. This situation makes the quick development in their relationship believable as they are forced into learning about each other and having to trust each other to make decisions to ensure their escape.
The ending sets up Ed’s story, Edison’s Professor, as well as giving us a deeper perspective on Kairo’s life.
I’m looking forward to it.
If you’re a reader who enjoys action packed , ex military, espionage type of romance novels, then this is a entertaining and enjoyable book and series for you.
They should be read in order to understand the relationships and events that have happened.
Someone of his skill should not have been kidnapped at all. Let alone so easily.
But when Kairo Jones wakes up halfway around the world with a reclusive billionaire begging for his help, the mercenary knows he can’t say no.
He also knows that he might be in over his head.
While Charlie and the rest of the team race to locate their missing member, Kairo fights to keep the sexy man with the sad eyes alive long enough to get some answers.
Kairo’s Billionaire is the second full-length novel in the Shadow Elite series and features mercenaries, assassins, danger, explosions, a brooding billionaire with a battered heart, and love on the run in Greece.
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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer
The Hitman’s Guide to Righting Wrongs While Causing Mayhem is the fourth book in Alice Winters series about a retired hitman who’s now happily married and in business with his PI husband. We’ve followed their hilarious , zany, sometimes murder-filled lives, from the meeting at the infamous and now enshrined Fence all the way through their engagement and marriage.
I have adored every second of every bit of the time I’ve spent getting to know former hitman Leland and his now husband Jackson, chief of police, Henry, who’s basically stepped in as father figures for Leland, fellow former hitman Cassel, and his boyfriend cop , Jeremy, dogs Cayenne and Sarge, …. I mean the cast of fantastic characters is huge! And they weave in and out of every story, regardless of what that particular book’s theme is. You can count on certain people and animals to be a part of the investigations and whatever shenanigans that ensues.
Leland’s ( and Cassel’s ) adolescence and twisted mentorship under Lucas has also been a constant dark thread in the series. Sometimes it manifests itself as Leland’s inability to connect in a “normal’ to established family celebrations or traditions. They physically make him hurt as something so warm and loving is so outside of his universe. Lucas manipulated him and all his “boys” in a utterly, cruel way. Hand picking abused, starved boys at their worst then narrowing their world down to Lucas, their kill, their training, and their next target. Those that didn’t live up to Lucas’s standards, were “gone “.
That past gets reflected through Leland’s actions and remarks through every story too. And Jackson is there supporting and helping Leland with the pain and growth.
I love that element.
This couple is hilarious, loving, but the substance is always present.
This was an especially complicated investigation. Of course, it starts with someone from Leland’s past coming for Leland and his special “talents”.
Naturally, the case goes sideways right from the start with bodies piling up, false identities, porn names, and the reappearance of the Sasquatch!
It’s fast moving, often over the top action, matched by equally snappy,snarky dialogue . Lots of shooting, and explosions!
Lucas makes several important appearances here. The deep damage done as he molded both as youth into assassins, damage that’s left both Leland and Cassel traumatized, is clear here. So is the influence he continues to have on both men even from prison.
This is the one major element that is only partially dealt with. Lucas has been THE major bad for the entire series, deservedly so. He’s a fully developed, multidimensional villain. There’s a reason he’s to be feared.
At one point Leland gets his moment of revelation about himself and his emotional growth. It’s allowing him to move forward.
However, and this is a huge however, this gigantic emotional step forward isn’t complete because the story doesn’t allow it to be. Unless there’s another book to come. Leland never goes to see Lucas to see if Lucas can still get to him.
Lucas and his part in Leland and Cassel’s lives needs a closure.
While he’s still in prison pulling strings , no one is getting any. Leland , no matter what happened during that case, has been unable to face him without being traumatized. Cassel can’t face him at all.
The series needs to address that.
Plus Ava, that strong AF mother in law, who went through so much? You can’t tell me there aren’t some emotional fallout elements to come there. There should be. Because there always been some very truthful threads underneath the caustic comedy routine between Ava and Leland. We need to see what happens next.
So I’m hoping this isn’t the end of the series because while it’s a terrific story, there’s still much important stuff left to bring to closure.
It should be clear how very much I love this universe and series. These people are so close to my heart. I want nothing less than the absolute best. Because the way Alice Winters wrote and created them? They are deserving of nothing less.
What a series! What a wonderful story! I’m highly recommending them all . And honestly waiting for the next.
The Hitman’s Guide series:
✓ The Hitman’s Guide to Making Friends and Finding Love #1
✓ The Hitman’s Guide to Staying Alive Despite Past Mistakes #2
✓ The Hitman’s Guide to Tying the Knot Without Getting Shot #3
✓ The Hitman’s Guide to Righting Wrongs While Causing Mayhem #4
Side Story:
😎The Former Assassin’s Guide to Snagging a Reluctant Boyfriend
Growing up, I was taught that getting too close to someone would be my downfall. But I’ve proven that wrong now that I’m happily married to Jackson, the greatest man in the world. The issue is that mayhem always seems to find me (which is definitely not my fault), and this time, it comes in the form of a woman looking for her daughter. What starts as a simple missing persons case turns into so much more, forcing me to rely on my found family and others, including a muscley “bear” who will definitely not whisk away my husband with his irritatingly sexy accent—I mean, yes, I’m very focused on this case… Jackson, don’t look at me like that.
Jackson
While Leland is “code potatoing” (whatever that means on his strange cheat sheet), I’m left questioning what he’s gotten himself into this time. At least he’s willing to let me assist him, even if he’s still positive that I should just “sit pretty” and let him handle everything. But with the girl missing, he knows we need to work together to determine whose game we’re playing because not everything is as it seems. Of course, when one gets involved with Leland, nothing is ever simple. But maybe that’s just the way I like it.
Contains: speed walking up way too many stairs while holding pointy objects, feel-better cookies that didn’t turn out quite right, Spanish that definitely isn’t Spanish, and lots of long-suffering people being swept up in Leland’s shenanigans once more
When I find a author I love , I’m like someone who’s been given a wonderful gift! So it’s with an unbridled enthusiasm that I attack everything in their catalog!
That’s the manner in which I came upon A.J. Sherwood’s Unholy Trifecta series! Honestly I wish I had more control because I binge read them all in one night.
Sigh.
But what a great night that was!
Each book gives a very memorable team member their happy ever after.
It sort of reads like a off bar joke..
There was an assassin, a thief, and a hacker…..
But in this case they form a found family….of criminals.
First up is Malvagio . Italian for Wicked. Also known as Ari Benelli, expert assassin.
When we meet him, he’s completing a job in Memphis and being followed. But the surprise is who is following him. It’s a 8-year old girl. One who’s been badly beaten.
The child abuse in the story has already occurred. We see the results scattered across the child’s face and body. Our imaginations fill in the rest.
This is also our first meeting with the girl who will become the glue to pull together the found family that’s to come. She’s Remi. Or will become Remi.
Events escalate quickly as Ari acquires a daughter and Remi a dad. I’ll let the reader find out how.
One aspect of this story is that the emotional damage Remi has experienced is never made light of. Throughout the story, her actions and words , which indicate to others that she’s still deeply traumatized , are taken notice of. And it’s mentioned that she’s in need of more help then they are giving her. I think that such a responsibility to show that the damage inflicted by child abuse doesn’t just vanish because they’ve been given a better living situation.
Kudos to the author here for that aspect of the story and her character.
The other members of the found family are folded in, Eidolon or Ivan the thief, and K or Kyou the Hacker. We get a great feeling and read on all of them through their interactions with the new family of Ari and Remi.
As all that is happening, so is the overall story arc of of art theft and new character intro of mercenary, Carter Harrison. That’s Ari’s love interest and he’s a wonderful one.
Carter’s a grand character who’s chemistry with the walled up Ari is perfect. This couple is so able to pull you into their world it’s hard to remember, one’s a mercenary and the other an assassin, with a daughter.
The crime is complicated, well thought out, and intelligent. I loved reading it and could see it acted out on screen. It’s a white knuckle hold your breath deal!
The ending was a little soft as I kept thinking something else was going to happen. But it’s just as well. Because the author has plans for it later on.
Suspense, humor, pathos, relationship dynamics that resonates…Sherwood put it all out there… in a criminal found family.
What a great suspenseful story and fantastic romance! Love the couple and found family, especially Remi.
Add this book and series to your TBR list. I’m highly recommending them.
Oh, make sure to read the short after the ending. It’s Remi’s POV on that night. Stunning.
Ari had a game plan for life. Shoot people. Get money. Hang out with fellow criminal friends. He saw absolutely no reason to change that plan until one dark night in Memphis, when a little girl reached out to him with pocket change and a desperate plea for him to help her.
Adopting an abused little girl off the streets was, needless to say, not part of the plan.
Ari has no idea what to do with an eight year old. Things get more complicated when a mercenary, Carter Harrison, approaches him with a job. He needs Ari’s expertise to get into the very high-security museum and steal back Monet’s “Water Lily Pond.”
The job isn’t an easy one. It will take more than the two of them to make it happen. The situation is further complicated because Ari’s not sure what to do with his new daughter while working this job. And for that matter, how’s he supposed to handle the sexy mercenary?
Tags:
Not child safe but child approved, children know best, Remi approves this book, idiots in love, but Remi loves them anyway, criminals make the best uncles, family of choice, Ari acknowledges Remi as the smarter one, Carter admits his own insanity, nothing blows up, Ivan is very disappointed by this, Kyou has PLANS for Remi, licking solves all problems, bedsheets, lifeskills, children should come with warning labels, it’s not stealing if you’re stealing it BACK, right?, the author once again regrets nothing
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 