Sadly, had to DNF this as I just could not get into it. Nothing grabbed me and I couldn't continue. Just not my cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Super sexy! I loved the inclusion of the non-binary character! I adore books where the main characters are more morally grey, and this one did not disappoint. I enjoyed the faster pace of this book as well, and I am very much looking forward to the sequel

Love Kills Twice by Rien Gray
Fatal Fidelity #1

Dark thrilling romance that I was so happy to finally find hiding in my files. I thought I had lost out on reading this gem only to realize, once read, what I would have missed if I had not found it hiding in the files!

What I liked:
* Justine: a woman with revenge in mind seeking justice and complete and final severance from the man she was married to. An intriguing character I found compelling…in more ways than one.
* Campbell: ex-military, assassin, intense, bright, methodical, intriguing, HOT…
* Sofia: lawyer and connected to Campbell
* The way the story was told with just enough revealed at a time – loved this one – felt part of the story and could relate to more than one character.
* The vicarious thrills experienced while reading
* That it was dark…but with a bit of light
* Wondering what book two in the series might bring
* All of it, really, except…

What I didn’t like:
* Richard: Justine’s husband, professor, predator, abuser…easy to dislike him and the chairman of his department

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series/by this author? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and NineStarPress for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

I full on devoured this book, it is a kick ass noir thriller with two well written lead characters. Justine is sick of the life she settled for when she married lazy, philandering academic Richard. She sacrificed her dreams of being an artist to support his career and got nothing but contempt in return. What's a woman to do except hire an assassin?

The chapters alternate between Justine's pov and that of her hired killer, Campbell. Despite this they are a deliciously mysterious character and some awesome non-binary representation. Campbell is suave and elegant with just the right amount of dangerous charm to draw Justine in, unfortunately for her she doesn't know that her husband has hired the very same killer to do away with her.

This is a super sexy thriller that I can highly recommend.

"Love Kills Twice" is a sexy and dark-ish romance about a woman and the assassin she hires to kill her husband. This comes with the slight twist that the same assassin has been hired by her husband to kill her as well and then the wife and assassin fall in love!

Justine, the wife, and Campbell, the assassin, quickly start an affair after payment is made for the husband’s murder. Justine is looking to be noticed after years of neglect and abuse from her husband. Campbell likes that Justine knows what they do and isn’t afraid or disgusted by them.

This was fun and just dark enough to be intriguing and keep me reading. My main issue was with how quickly the ‘I love you’s’ came about. It isn’t a long book and most is dealing with the affair and plotting the murder. There wasn’t a lot of them getting to know one another well enough for that kind of emotional attachment. However, this is the first in a series so I’m hoping we get a more in depth look later.

I really enjoyed the assassin aspect and getting to know Campbell’s process. I found their reasoning and history very interesting and hope to learn even more in the next installment. I did have some reservations about Justine’s justifications in having her husband killed. Reasons were given but they seemed pretty light when she could simply get a divorce. But to each their own, I guess.

There’s also a bit of breath play involved with the sex scenes. But it’s pretty slight if that would be an issue for you.

I can’t wait for the sequel and I recommend this for anyone who likes their romance with a bit of a darker tone.

“I’m not what you expected, am I, Justine?”

An abused wife seeking the means to an end to her suffering hired a contract killer to remove the source of her agony, her
husband.

The premise certainly caught my attention, especially when said wife not only got involved with her hire, she discovered that her husband wanted her dead too.

The dark and sexually explosive nature of Justine and her hire, Campbell’s relationship has this draw that makes you crave for more of the pairing and wish they end with what they came for. A highly engaging book that keeps you trailing the story and I’m looking forward to the sequel.

I just reviewed Love Kills Twice by Rien Gray. Thank you NetGalley and NineStar Press for the ARC.

3.50 Stars. A dark and steamy read. What happens when you fall for the assassin you hired to kill you husband? That premise was enough to make me say yes please. I love a morally grey main character and in this book we actually get two of them. And while I guess you could put the crime tag on this book, this really was a steamy romance.

While I was really excited about the premise, I was also happy that this was a romance between a woman and a non-binary character. I have read a few books now with non-binary characters but I think the writing here was really well done. The pronouns were seamless and even the sex scenes felt right. I think readers looking for books with non-binary characters will be happy here.

While I loved the premise and the overall feel of the book, it did have a few things that didn’t click as well for me. I struggled that the wife character would have to hire a killer. Her husband is a total dick, I get it, but you really have to have him killed? I think the problem is I didn’t feel her desperation enough that having him killed was the only way out for her. Her husband seemed more like the kind of loser you could crush and not like the scary husband in the movie Enough (I love that J. Lo movie:) On the other hand, I had no problems at all with the assassin character that actually killed people for a living, so what that says about me I’m not sure.

I also had a problem with the speed of things. From the attraction to the actual L word being said, it all seemed a bit fast for me. This is a novella or maybe a short novel, I don’t know actually where the difference is, but it’s a quicker read so I do get everything moving fast. I just think I needed a little more emotion and time together before I believed that the L word had real meaning between them.

This is a steamy read and the sex scenes were pretty well done. There is a slight kink to things with some dom/sub and even a little breath play. If you are looking for more of a vanilla romance that this is not the book for you.

While this had a few bumps for me, I still enjoyed the read. This was a solid debut for Gray. There is a sequel coming and I will absolutely read it. If you are looking for a steamy romance with some morally grey characters, then this book is for you.

I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did.
For one, I appreciate the diversity in sexuality and gender rep. The plot was a bit predictable, yes, but entertaining and fun to follow. The steamy scenes were steamy for sure and the dialogue was fun. Overall, a fast and enjoyable read.

When I first read the description of this book, I thought it sounded like it was tailor written for me. Wife and husband both hire the same non binary assassin to kill each other, but said non binary assassin and wife fall in love instead. That is literally the perfect premise.

This book was a fun, quick adventure read with the perfect amount of steamy scenes. It was a little predictable, but that doesn't take away from how fun it was. The characters also felt a little flat to me, but that is a common theme in mystery/thriller books I think and it definitely wasn't a big enough deal to make me not like the book.

Overall, I would definitely suggest this book to friends as quick, fun, sexy mystery read!

This was my first by Rien Gray but not my last. This was a great story, I couldn't put it down. Can't wait to read others from this writer. On a cold night this book thrilled me and kept me warm all in one.

This is definitely along the lines of a guilty pleasure for me. I've never read a story where both the husband and wife hire the same person to kill the other one. Then the wife turns around starts sleeping around with him. There was a lot going on and I enjoyed every bit of it.

A non-binary assassin taking a job from both husband and wife and falling for the wife?? Well, of course I was interested!! I thought it was going to be a bit rushed since it was fairly short, but it managed to fill a lot of things in just a few pages.

Was this insta-lust? It was. Was this insta-love? Again, yes. But somehow it didn't feel forced. The only thing I had complains about before noticing there were going to be sequels, was that we didn't have many details about Campbell's past. Just teases and flashes and nothing more. I guess the sequel will give us more details.

I loved how vague the details were when they concerned explicit scenes (which were many). The author could have given the reader perfect details so they had someone to picture clearly, but why would you need to know what lays under the clothes to enjoy a very well crafted scene? You don't and I found that amazing.

I know I liked this book but there needed to be more pages, even if by keeping all very mysterious really helped with the character Campbell wanted to be. Someone who doesn't get involved with others.

The book has content warnings at the beginning so check them out before starting it.

I went into this novella, not knowing much about it. I was interested in the assassin angle that the main character, Campbell held as their main job and I am always a sucker for a character that lives on the edges of society. Justine, the wife who hires Campbell was also rather intriguing as someone who was so fed up with her life that she didn't have any hesitation with going through with what Campbell was hired to do.

I absolutely loved reading a character that is nonbinary (my first one in fact!) and I liked how it was so seamlessly written in. There was no awkwardness about pronouns or explaining Campbell's gender, it just was and I think authors feel like they have to explain and inform the audience when clearly they don't because Rien Gray did an amazing job with it!

I felt like the romance between Campbell and Justine was a little rushed at times. At the very end with the confession, I didn't quite believe it because they had known each other for so little time and the interactions they did have together didn't quite pan out in my opinion. I did feel the connection between them, it just needed a little more juice to it.

The assassin part of the book was very well done and I enjoyed reading about Campbell's process and how he went about his work. I honestly would have loved more of it because I found it so fascinating.

Overall this was a well done novel and sucked me in for the afternoon!

3.75 stars. This novella is so hard to rate. I loved parts, but there were also parts were my rational thought interfered. The novella has a non-binary protagonist, lets us look through the eyes of an assassin and has this dark broody and very sexy atmosphere that I enjoyed immensely!

What the book comes down to; Justine hires assassin Campbell to kill her abusive husband, but she doesn’t know that her husband hired said assassin as well. Campbell is mysterious and sexy and there is almost immediate attraction between them and Justine which leads to some pretty hot sex scenes with light BDSM elements. The story is told in the first person with alternating POVs of Justine and Campbell.

So, what did I struggle with? My moral compass was spinning at times. That’s normal, you would think, you’re in the headspace of an assassin, but no, I loved Campbell and accepted their choice of a job (even though I know how weird that sounds). It was Justine that was messing with my morals. What justifies hiring an assassin? A bad marriage? There is a simpler solution for this, it’s called a divorce. While a reason is given, I was thinking if everyone in the world would act like Justine does, the world would be an empty place. Then there are some things she absolutely hates about her husband, like his infidelity, but isn’t she doing the same thing, but now it’s ok because he did it first, right? I won’t go further in detail, but there were a couple of additional things that made me frown. The book clearly is not meant to be taken too seriously in that regard, but I sometimes can’t just turn of my line of thinking.

The writing and the atmosphere were great, the plot is interesting and the story is fast paced and I commend Gray on taking a chance with this book (both in storyline as in gender representation). The wrap-up of the romance was a bit fast for my liking, but it is a novella and I think/hope the character and romance development will be extended in the sequel. This novella might not be for everybody, but if you can tune out some rational thought you can have a great time reading this book! I look forward to reading the sequel.

It was a really great book. Gray is a nonbinary author, and they wrote a nonbinary protagonist, an assassin. I really liked Campbell, they're misterious but have a good heart. Justine is an artist who is overshadowed by a husband who abuses her and cheats on her constantly, so she decides to have him killed, and that's when Campbell comes in. Only Justine doesn't know that her husband made the same deal with the assassin to kill Justine. The attraction between Campbell e Justine is off the charts, and the sex scenes are pretty amazing.
I always like characters who brings out the best of each other, but falls in love for exacly who they are, and it happened in this story. It'll probably turn in to a series, and i'm looking forward to read more.
I received a copy from Netgalley for an honest review. 3.90 stars!

I was really surprised as to just how much I enjoyed this storyline. At first glance from the blurb I thought I’d enjoy another character on the outskirts of right and wrong (in this case, very wrong) but I was genuinely surprised just how much Gray hooked me into liking this premise.

The story centres on an assassin - Campbell - who has been hired by both a husband and wife to kill each other. The point of view in the book alternates between Campbell and Justine - the wife.

Whilst Justine is an interesting character, and the reasons for the hiring are explored in depth, Campbell is the interesting and intriguing part of the whole narrative for me. I’m keen for more non-binary characters and whilst Campbell is clearly deliberately kept a bit of a mystery to add to the intrigue there was enough here to make things really compelling.

The chemistry between the two of them is very hot, including some light BDSM and breath play.

I liked the addition of the lawyer character so Campbell doesn’t seem so completely out there, and the small glimpses into their past help with seeing why Justine could fall for them. I’m definitely hoping that we get to past more of the mystery surrounding Campbell in the second book.

The storyline does end quite abruptly, but the length of the novella/novel kept the writing really tight and I think it would have felt quite strange to have gone from where we end to the next step. The next part is due later in the year and I’m definitely looking forward to it.

If you’re fond of characters on the moral edge there’s a lot here to enjoy.

As you’d expect from the topic there are some potential triggers and the publisher has these labelled really well, including some past military trauma and some off page domestic abuse.

This does appear to be the first main published work from Gray, but there is mention of other work which I’m definitely eager to find now!

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review – thanks so much to Netgalley for sending this to me!

Love Kills Twice by Rien Gray is a book so far up my street that I pretty much live there. We have a non-binary assassin who is hired to take out the cheating scumbag husband of an art dealer, only to end up seducing her at the same time – a concept that hits so many buzzwords it made my head spin. Vengeance on a terrible husband! Assassin! BDSM!! It’s like the author took my dream concept and made it a thing, and I was obsessed.

One thing I’ve come to learn about myself is that while I love romance with dark themes, I’m not a fan of Dark Romance. That may seem like a contradiction, but to me, Dark Romance is twisted, unhealthy, sinister in nature, and I’m not personally into that. I prefer what I think of as a more fanfiction-y take on things – yes, the love interest may be a murderer, or a thief, or an assassin, but they have a soft and squishy core. They’re not necessarily a good person, but they have redeeming features (other than being super hot) and while they may be twisted in some of what they do, when it comes to the relationship, they’re a good partner nevertheless. It’s not as realistic, but bold of you to assume realism matters to me. I like the debonair thief, the sensual assassin. I’m a sucker for it, and this book definitely delivered.

Love Kills Twice was honestly a pleasure to read. It was well-paced, constantly keeping me on my toes. It’s a very quick book to get through, almost an in-one-sitting kind of deal. The plot is simple but intriguing, and mostly a character study of Justine and Campbell. It’s a sexy, steamy rollercoaster, one that doesn’t require too much effort from the reader, just for you to go with the flow – in short, a perfect read for the current climate, when it feels like one’s head will explode if required to string together two or more coherent thoughts. The third-act twist was well done and made sense, which is always nice; it’s the make-or-break point of a romance for me, and I liked that it was reasonable and resolved quickly.

My one sticking point was that I felt the book was perhaps a little too quick. Justine and Campbell become very quickly entangled, but I wasn’t entirely sold on them as a couple yet – I felt they didn’t know each other that well and hadn’t really had the time to fully develop as a pair. However, this made much more sense when I discovered that this isn’t a standalone romance, but a series, and their adventures will continue for another instalment. I’m honestly thrilled about that, and I’m definitely interested in seeing where they go from here – they had a great foundation and I think there’s a really fascinating dynamic building here. I’d love to see where they go next, and I’m intrigued, because honestly I have no idea what the plot of the next book could possibly be. I sure hope I get to find out!

Overall, this was a really fun, solid book, I had a whale of a time reading it, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on what this author releases in the future.

A great read, I was looking for a romantic thriller for a while and this was so enjoyable !!! Loved the characters and the atmosphere of this story. Really enjoyed the writing and the world building, would totally recommend to thriller lovers !!!

I loved the HECK out of this. A super sexy romantic suspense novel between an artist and the suave assassin that she hires to kill her cheating, abusive husband. The only catch? Her husband hired the same assassin to kill her.

This had me hooked from the very beginning, with smooth prose and compelling dialogue. I sympathised and identified with Justine so much, and omg Campbell. I fell head over swoon for them from the first moment. They felt dangerous but charming, and you really understood why Justine was drawn to them. This is a pretty short book, and I have to admire the character work that Gray does in so little time? Both characters are grappling with different types of trauma, and I love how they bonded and clicked. There was so much intensity between them, and it was sooooo good. This is kiiiiiiinda insta-lovey, but I don't mind, seeing as I enjoyed it overall so much.

The plot was really fun; I would have probably enjoyed it ever more in a longer book, but I did so enjoy what the author managed to deliver here. Even though the intrigue wasn't that deep, my eyes were still glued to the pages. The readers are aware of the double-hire twist from the beginning, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment at all. And I don't read a lot of suspense/intrigue/spy-esque stuff, so for me at least, it was all really refreshing and fun, and seemed well researched!

I didn't love how the ending wrapped up; it was just a teensy bit anticlimactic? And I did love the romance, but I wanted more, at least in the ending, to give a better sense of fullness/completeness.

But I still really really liked this! I think it was my first f/nb romance, and I'm super looking forward to whatever the author writes next. Serious kudos!