Reviews

Zero Kill by M.K. Hill

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sylvanas's review

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

dkyrisch's review

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4.0

And that’s how you do it folks! That was one of the most intense and fun book I have read so far this year. Starting on chapter one and until the end we get shot out of a cannon.

We have Elsa Zero who is on a nice date with her fiancé Joel who picks that day to propose to her. Awwwww, I knew all along that crazy couple would make it! Oh, until he excuses himself to take a phone call and when he comes back commences to beating the crap out of her. It turns out he just received a kill order on Elsa along with every single covert government agency in the world. Elsa just became the most dangerous person in the world and she has no clue why.

This book quickly moves with Elsa (who we find out is a retired covert agent), along with her two kids, trying to thwart attempt after attempt on her life. And while she is trying to stay alive she also is trying to find out why everyone wants to kill her. And bullets fly, heads explode, and twists I never see coming happen in this glorious, brutal and profane caper. Full of intense action sequences with compelling and interesting characters who are screaming for a eight episode Netflix arc.

This was almost my second five star of the year but I had to throttle back some. Mainly Elsa….. She was someone bland and emotionless for the first 75% of this book but in her defense she was running for her life for most of it. But towards the end she becomes a great character. I laughed out loud at some of her snarky comments. It just took awhile to get there.

Heads up there are a ton of negative reviews because this book is fairly cartoonish and cliche…. Literally a apocalyptic ending set up. But it just works in my opinion. Is this a book you are going to remember tomorrow? Maybe not? Is it going to kick your ass in a good way? Most definitely! A very good entertaining book and highly recommended. And I think it sets up for a sequel? Lol. I’m really not sure what I read in that last chapter.

I really appreciate Aria & Aries, Head of Zeus for giving me the opportunity to review this book for free for a honest review and it has a publication date of July 6, 2023

grasspenguin13's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

aseel_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This was a very simple and easy to tune into thriller audiobook. Nothing amazing but not bad. Sometimes the fight scenes were a bit long and the ending acted as if there was going to be another book but it looks like it's a standalone?

Content Warnings

hollymegan's review

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4.0

absolutely gripping. i devoured this

gus_reads's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 ⭐

This book has a lot of ups and downs, but overall I enjoyed it and it kept me interested most of the time. I definitely would enjoy it as a Netflix movie. It kind of reminded me of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

So, the beginning was the worst part and it lowered my expectations a lot. Let me explain: it's not bad per se, because it's interesting and it works, but you cannot try to advertise a book "for fans of Killing Eve" when it's so painfully obvious that it has been written by a man. Some of the descriptions of Elsa (the main character) made me feel really uncomfortable and I thought they were unnecessary (for example, a mention of her "camel toe" after a fight ????). Fortunately, this mostly happens at the beginning of the books. But it this hadn't been an ARC I would have probably DNF it because of that beginning.

What worked best for me was the whole plot/conspiration/reason behind the attacks on Elsa. It isn't anything really original compared to action movies (you see some of the plotwist coming), but it's developed in a way that definitely keeps you hooked. Between 10% and 70%, this book is a page-turner, perfect for a flight or for getting outside of your head for a couple days. The ending, however, is too long, it could work with less pages.

What I didn't like as much was the personality and psychological development of the characters. It was hard for me to feel empathy towards Elsa and I didn't really understand her relationship/feelings towards her children. Her relationships with other characters were weird and inconsistent. Honestly I would have preferred less details about her feelings and thoughts because they didn't bring much value and in fact made me feel confused.

So, in summary: it's not Killing Eve, it's Mr. and Mrs. Smith. If you go into this book with those expectations, you'll definitely enjoy it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.