The Accidental Assassin by Nichole Chase ~ Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

I purchased The Accidental Assassin back in April and decided it was time to read it when the tour came up. I am so glad I finally picked it up, because it was a fun read, and left me wanting more!!

Title: The Accidental Assassin

Author: Nichole Chase

Series: The Assassins #1

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: December 4th 2014

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Ava McKenzie is a creature of habit. Life is passing her by and she has nothing to show for it. She’s had the same job since she started college, she orders the same dish every time she goes to her favorite restaurant, and only reads books from authors she knows. There is nothing new or surprising in her life… until her best friend marries a man from London. When her newlywed friend asks her to house-sit while she honeymoons, Ava jumps at the chance. She thinks this could be the very thing she needs to shake up her life. Ava throws herself head first into her new lifestyle; she wants to try everything, go everywhere, and never get stuck in a rut again. Of course, offing a man in a car garage hadn’t been one of the things on her list to try.

Owen Walker spends every day in a new place with a new case. As one of the most renowned assassins in the world, he has his choice of marks—and he’s never failed in a mission. When a new hit takes him back to his hometown, he looks forward to spending time somewhere familiar. What he isn’t expecting is to help an attractive, confused American woman find out how she’s ended up on a hit man’s list.

As Ava and Owen dodge bullets, will they be able to escape their undeniable attraction to each other? Or will all of that chemistry blow up in a shower of hot and dangerous sparks?

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I dived into this book, but it was nice to read something that was a bit lighter than a few of the books that I have been reading lately. The Accidental Assassin was a quirky read about Ava, who is in London to shake her life up and accidently lands in Owen’s complicated and dangerous world.

Ava was such a delight to read about! She’s looking to change her life around and do things outside of her comfort zone. House-sitting for her friend and her new husband sounds like a good start, but she was never prepared for what was coming. She was soon on the run with the hot, British assassin who was trying to keep her alive. Ava adjusted to her life on the run after her initial freak outs. She worked well under pressure and her feelings for Owen grew throughout the journey.

I liked Owen right from the beginning; he was cute and did a few sweet things for Ava, while doing what he knows best: killing people and getting out alive. He opened up a lot throughout the story and let a few people past his well constructed walls… especially Ava. She showed him that he isn’t as cold hearted as he thought and he saw a lot of things differently with Ava in his life.

Ava and Owen were an entertaining couple to read about. I enjoyed being in their fast paced world and meeting the few allies they could count on. Ava and Owen were attracted to each other from the start, and the chemistry between them grew throughout the book. The storyline was deeper than I thought it would be and will carry on into the next book in the series, but for now I am happy with how it ended and to see how their worlds are connected. This was a good start to a new series and I am keen to get more and get deeper insight to all the characters introduced.

The soup from earlier hadn’t really cut it and I was craving something more substantial. In fact, I was starting to hate the thought of soup. I’d probably never eat the stuff again. There were canned beans, vegetables, and some kind of tinned meat that scared me. I did find some crackers and a can of beef stew. It would probably taste like dog food, but at this point I wasn’t going to be too picky. I picked up the can opener from the counter and started working on the beef stew.

Something moved out back by a shed and I froze. It was dark out, but I could have sworn I saw a person. I ducked out of sight of the window and tried to catch my breath. A moment later I peeked back around the cabinets but couldn’t see anything. Taking a deep breath I walked into the living room with my can and can opener still clutched in my hands. I tiptoed across the carpet and lifted one of the blinds with a finger. The crunch of gravel drew my attention to the road and I saw a dark car with no lights making its way toward the house.

I jerked back around and dove for the chair where my gun was still lying. I threw the beef stew on the couch and wrapped my fingers around the pistol’s grip. My body was moving without thought, some kind of survival instinct kicking in. Every cell practically screamed, “Don’t die! Don’t die!” I sort of floated to the bathroom door. It didn’t feel like my feet ever touched the ground. One minute I was scrambling for my gun and the next I was pressed against the wooden door. Not sure if anyone was listening to what was going on in the house, I rapped gently with my knuckles.

“Owen! There’s someone here!” I hissed the words and increased my rapping when he didn’t answer right away. “Owen! Damn it! Answer the door!”

The bathroom door opened and I practically fell into his wet arms. My body slid against his in a delicious tangle of damp skin that I shouldn’t have even noticed. The shower was still running, but he’d taken the time to wrap a towel around his waist. I looked up at him, water dripping from his hair onto my face.

“There’s someone here!” I whispered as I stood up and pointed to the front door. “And in the back!” I swung my arm behind me.

Without a word he turned around and dropped the towel. My mouth fell open at the view and I felt my head tilt to the side as he bent over to grab his underwear. The man had a lot to work with. He pulled the tight shorts up and I wondered why all men didn’t wear those.

Probably because they wouldn’t all look like Owen in them.

Nichole Chase is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Suddenly Royal, Flukes, The Dark Betrayal Trilogy, and several short stories. She is also the instructor of Say What? a dialogue class at the Romance Academy.

Nichole lives in Georgia with her husband, energetic daughter, superhero dog, Sulcata tortoise, and two cats. When not writing, you may find her reading, painting, crafting, or chasing her daughter around the house while making monster noises.

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