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A review by bookish_notes
Enemies with Benefits by Annika Martin, Joanna Chambers
2.0
I know this is intended as a short short to introduce the characters in the full-length novel that's being published next month, Enemies Like You. Even as far as shorts go, I can see the potential for the main story, but I'm just not really feeling the connection between Will and Kit. The way we're introduced to Kit is confusing and I hope that more is explained in the novel of how he got his job as a Russian billionaire's bodyguard.
We first meet Will. He's an ex-military man who is now CIA's plan B to kill the Russian billionaire, Polzin. He has no experience as a spy, but after many of the world's best professional hitmen failed in their tasks to kill Polzin, Will's personal vendetta against the man works out in the CIA's favor. They now have someone willing to walk into something akin to a suicide mission to kill Polzin.
The real danger to Will is that there are rumors as to who Polzin's bodyguard is. Someone ruthless and lethal. But no one knows what the bodyguard looks like. Kit isn't what I expected, judging from the descriptions of him and the cover of the full-length novel. Kit's story is more intriguing than Will's, but his...role as Polzin's bodyguard is confusing to me. Or rather, how he got his role playing Polzin's model girlfriend? I thought that we were going to be introduced to a gender fluid character, but it doesn't seem like it after reading Kit's role in this whole thing.
This story isn't quite an enemies-to-lovers storyline. It's building up to be an insta-lust story between the two men who should be enemies. I just really wouldn't say it's an enemies-to-lovers trope from what I've read this this prequel/prologue. The sex scenes are okay?Personally, I just feel like it escalated very quickly between the two characters while there's still so much backstory to unpack. I just found myself skimming towards the end of this story.
One thing to note is that the stories are in first person, and Will (American) has Americanized spellings in his chapters, and Kit (British) has British spellings in his chapters. It kind of throws me off, but I guess I understand why the authors chose to do this.
I'll probably still pick up the full-length novel when it's released May 15, 2017, but so far, I'm not fully convinced of Will and Kit's relationship in this prequel. Maybe Enemies Like You will be able to draw me back into a world of spies and assassins.
We first meet Will. He's an ex-military man who is now CIA's plan B to kill the Russian billionaire, Polzin. He has no experience as a spy, but after many of the world's best professional hitmen failed in their tasks to kill Polzin, Will's personal vendetta against the man works out in the CIA's favor. They now have someone willing to walk into something akin to a suicide mission to kill Polzin.
The real danger to Will is that there are rumors as to who Polzin's bodyguard is. Someone ruthless and lethal. But no one knows what the bodyguard looks like. Kit isn't what I expected, judging from the descriptions of him and the cover of the full-length novel. Kit's story is more intriguing than Will's, but his...role as Polzin's bodyguard is confusing to me. Or rather, how he got his role playing Polzin's model girlfriend? I thought that we were going to be introduced to a gender fluid character, but it doesn't seem like it after reading Kit's role in this whole thing.
This story isn't quite an enemies-to-lovers storyline. It's building up to be an insta-lust story between the two men who should be enemies. I just really wouldn't say it's an enemies-to-lovers trope from what I've read this this prequel/prologue. The sex scenes are okay?Personally, I just feel like it escalated very quickly between the two characters while there's still so much backstory to unpack. I just found myself skimming towards the end of this story.
One thing to note is that the stories are in first person, and Will (American) has Americanized spellings in his chapters, and Kit (British) has British spellings in his chapters. It kind of throws me off, but I guess I understand why the authors chose to do this.
I'll probably still pick up the full-length novel when it's released May 15, 2017, but so far, I'm not fully convinced of Will and Kit's relationship in this prequel. Maybe Enemies Like You will be able to draw me back into a world of spies and assassins.