Stevie’s review of A Spy to Die for (Assassian’s Guild, Book 2) by Kris DeLake
SciFi Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 2 Jul 13
I started out as a Science Fiction fan, and specifically a fan of Space Opera with ambiguous, and not-always-skilled, protagonists (think Blakes 7 or, more recently, Firefly), so when I saw this book described as ‘Mr. and Mr. Smith meets Firefly’, I was forced to overcome my objections to reading the second in a series without having any knowledge of the first book and grab hold of it.
The prose in this one isn’t stunning, but I love the concept of two outcasts who join opposing associations of assassins only to find that they can’t actually face killing their targets. On the other hand, both have a particular talent for investigation and have turned their skills to checking out the targets their organisations have been hired to bring down in order to ensure only the real bad guys get bumped off.
Skye and Jack hook up for a one-night stand on a space station, and I do love both the awfulness of the fast-food joint where they first meet and the fact that tall people like Jack just aren’t suited to life in space – where everything is designed for short people like Skye (and me). I also like that Jack, while having the more traumatic childhood in some respects, is also the one who actually admits to having friends and is prepared to go out of his way to make sure they’re okay. Skye, on the other hand, claims not to have friends, even when Jack points out that she does seem to have got on rather well with some of her classmates at the assassins school.
This story has some reasonable thought put into the world-building aspects, although I would have liked more details about how various aspects of the universe worked. Also, the ending feels a little too rushed and convenient for my tastes. Not bad, just not stunning either.
Grade: C
Read Veena’s review here.
Summary:
Mr. and Mr. Smith meets Firefly in this sexy, clever, futuristic/sci-fi romance
Jack Hunter and Skye Jones are not the most competent assassins. Thrown together on the Krell space station during an important Assassins Guild meeting, each is determined to get to the truth and prevent catastrophe. But when Jack and Skye are matched against two master killers, they find themselves caught in the crosshairs between their willingness to trust each other and the undeniable attraction coursing through them. Both know that a long-term relationship is tough in their profession, but the chemistry they’ve got is too good to deny. Now all they have to do is stay alive.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
