Genre: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary

How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent

Published on by Charli

I received an advance copy of this book from HarperCollins to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy BrentHow to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent
Published by HarperCollins UK on 10/12/2022
Genres: Fiction / Feminist, Fiction / General, Fiction / Humorous / Black Humor, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense, Fiction / Women
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Source: HarperCollins
Amazon // Barnes & Noble // IndieBound
Goodreads

‘A MUST-READ for fans of dark fiction!’ Readers First ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘There’s a new serial killer in town’ Readers First ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Meet Kitty Collins.
FRIEND. LOVER. KILLER.

He was following me. That guy from the nightclub who wouldn’t leave me alone.

I hadn’t intended to kill him of course. But I wasn’t displeased when I did and, despite the mess I made, I appeared to get away with it.

That’s where my addiction started...

I’ve got a taste for revenge and quite frankly, I’m killing it.

A deliciously dark, hilariously twisted story about friendship, love, and murder. Fans of My Sister the Serial Killer, How to Kill Your Family and Killing Eve will love this wickedly clever novel!

Readers LOVE How to Kill Men and Get Away With It!

‘I literally couldn’t put this book down, I was just so engrossed in Kitty and what the heck she was going to do next!!’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This book has got to be my favourite so far this year.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘There are just so many good things I could say about this book. I absolutely tore (pun intended) through this read. Everyone needs to go read it.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Being a man I really shouldn't like this book. Well I didn't like it. I loved it! Oh I just couldn't stop reading this.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘How to Kill Men was an absolute treat to read, sending out American Psycho and Promising Young Women vibes.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘One word!!! AMAZING!!! Where has Kitty been all my life?’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This is one of the most clever books I have read in quite a while.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A well-rounded cast of characters, quick pace, and thrilling twists make this one of my favourites of the year!’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A twisted but witty read which will keep you up all night.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another book sent to me by my contact at HarperCollins is How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent. The cover made me laugh because at the very bottom it says “For legal purposes: a novel”.

Characters

Kitty reminds me a lot of me. She’s vegan and she doesn’t care much for human beings for the most part. Oh she loves her friends, but that’s about it. Otherwise, she seems to find dealing with other people exhausting. I quite concur with her on that. However, I don’t share her penchant for murder.

Hen strikes me as just there for the most part. It’s almost like she’s the part of the friend group that is simply there for the purpose of providing parties and the like. Nothing particularly special about her, but I didn’t really care much for her either.

Maisie is an airhead of the highest order. She’s pretty much the vapid, stupid one of the group, but is also rather sweet and at least more cordial that Hen seems to be. I liked her well enough, although we don’t see all that much of her.

Tor is probably the friend we see the most of and I love her character. She’s sweet and she’s Kitty’s best friend despite Kitty not being a huge people person. Tor has her own issues and I think that’s why she and Kitty get along so well.

Charlie is an interesting character – he’s in love with Kitty, so there’s that. We don’t see much of him that isn’t related to something going on with Kitty. He’s a nice enough fellow and I like him well enough.

Atmosphere

I kind of like the atmosphere for this book. It’s actually quite normal – it isn’t creepy, it isn’t weird, it isn’t dark. It is just normal London. It makes for an interesting read because so many mystery/thriller novels will try to make the atmosphere creepy, but this is just…. normal.

Writing

I like Katy Brent’s writing style. It is easy to read, easy to follow along with, and makes reading the book a breeze. While I can’t say that I understood all of the British lingo (I’m American), I don’t think she really used enough British lingo to actually make it difficult to read the book. I’d be willing to read more of Katy Brent’s work.

Plot

This one had an interesting plot to it. Having a murderer who does so for a specific reason but who also has to deal with a stalker is quite the interesting plot. And the twists are perfection – trust me, you’ll never guess who the stalker is!

Intrigue

Honestly, a book has to have intrigue to be a proper mystery/thriller novel and this one has it. It isn’t who is committing the murders – we know that. But the intrigue is what other secrets does Kitty have and who on earth in her stalker? The intrigue here is more subtle than most books because usually a mystery/thriller is all about who is killing the murder victims. But in this case, we have a different focus for the intrigue.

Romance

I think the romance between Kitty and Charlie is very sweet. It’s a bit rocky for a while, but it is very sweet. I liked it a lot. Not so much Maisie and Rupert’s romance, although some of the descriptions for it made me laugh out loud. It’s just enough romance to have something soft and not so much that it should be a romance novel instead.

Ending

The ending to this one contains a plot twist that you won’t see coming. It involves Kitty’s stalker and trust me, you’ll be surprised when you find out who it is. Or maybe not… anything is possible. I did enjoy the ending though because it seems like everyone got what they deserved.

Conclusion

All in all this one was a good book and I would recommend it to those looking for a mystery/thriller that is a little bit different. I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars. I will definitely check out Katy Brent’s future works.

Protecting His Pregnant Partner by Leslie North

Published on by Charli

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Protecting His Pregnant Partner by Leslie NorthProtecting His Pregnant Partner by Leslie North
Also by this author: Protecting the Single Mother, The Sheikh's Tempting Nanny
Series: Aegis Security #3
Also in this series: Protecting the Single Mother
Published by Relay Publishing on May 6, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Military, Fiction / Romance / Suspense
Pages: 221
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley
Amazon
Goodreads

An adrenaline rush of danger and romance…

Holly Yee’s life was shattered when she witnessed the brutal murder of her ex. Now, she’s been forced into hiding from the mobsters seeking to eliminate her. Pregnant and under the protection of bodyguard and former Navy SEAL Kenton Price, she’s going a little stir crazy in his apartment.

Sitting on the sidelines really isn’t her thing Former jocks aren’t her thing either, but there’s something about Ken that makes him different from other men. Something hot. Something sexy. And…special. Most of all, she feels safe—until the mob targets Ken, putting both their lives in danger.

Despite the threat to himself, Ken’s priority is protecting Holly and her unborn baby. In the short time they’ve spent together, she’s become important to him. Too important. Holly is as smart as she is gorgeous and he can’t deny the growing attraction between them. He knows that’s a line he shouldn’t cross. But despite his resolve to keep his distance, he just can't seem to resist her.

He tells himself—and her—it’s just a fling. Too bad his heart isn’t listening…

It’s been a minute since I’ve reviewed a Leslie North book and I’m not sure why because when it comes to romance books, I absolutely love hers. Like I’ve said before – not big on romance, but certain authors are must-reads for me and Leslie North is one of them.

Protecting His Pregnant Partner is the third book in the Aegis Security trilogy. Unfortunately, I somehow missed reading the second book, Protecting His Fake Wife, but fortunately, you get enough details to help you get through the books even if you don’t read them in order.

In this installment, we get to follow Ken and his client, Holly Yee. Her ex-boyfriend and father of her child, Zak Bryant, was killed in a mob hit. Holly and her two friends, Charlotte and Nicole, are now under the protection of Aegis Security until the killer(s) can be caught.

One of the things I enjoy with Leslie North’s books is while yes, there is sex in them, it’s not over done. These books have substance and aren’t just straight smut. There’s nothing wrong with straight smut, but it’s not my first choice in reading material.[mfn]Just a personal preference. I have plenty of friends who love the straight smut romances.[/mfn]

I like Holly. She’s intelligent, snarky, and funny. She also talks constantly, which I admit, I do as well. I’d most likely have driven Ken bananas myself. I also like Ken, even though he starts out obnoxious as all get out. I probably would have strangled him at some point if I’d been stuck in an apartment with him for weeks on end. I’m just saying.

This book was very fast paced, easy to follow, and didn’t really require you to have read the other two books first. Yes, it is a trilogy and you technically should read the books in order, but if you don’t, it’s not a huge deal. At least not for this trilogy. I’d read the first book, but missed the second book, and I didn’t find myself lost or confused in any way. Leslie North’s writing style makes her books enjoyable and is one of the reasons I keep going back to her for romance novels when I do want to read one.

I will say, if you’re not into romantic suspense or military/ex-military romance novels, you won’t be particularly interested in this book or this trilogy. These guys are ex-Navy SEALS and it’s mentioned more than once. However, if you’re curious about military/ex-military romance novels or romantic suspense novels, I’d say these would be a good start for you.