scrollsofdragons's review
4.0
old review: 4.5 came so close but I'm seriously being a harsh reviewer this year.
leelah's review
3.0
3,5 stars
First things first: This book is part of the Chance Assassin universe, but it can be read as standalone. But, if you read it before [b:Les Recidivists|21902480|Les Recidivists (Chance Assassin, #2)|Nicole Castle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400422527s/21902480.jpg|41197344], than this may spoil the ending for you to a degree, since plot of both books overlap at the end.
****
Our merry band of assassins just got bigger...
This book follows Miko, one of Silva's assassins-group of elite contract killers. Due to tragic accident in his childhood that cost him more than his fingers, Miko developed several quirks: he constantly chews cinnamon candies, he has to make special sleeping arrangements and he is squeamish. He also has a reputation of a terrible bloodthirsty killer that's not really true, because he really didn't plan to kill his marks the way he did- it happened. :| After one of his assignments, he goes out and picks up a guy. That's how he meets Toby with whom he eventually starts a relationship.
Now, I know this is not a new, never-heard-before plot...( Hmm, [b:Warrior's Cross|6782412|Warrior's Cross|Madeleine Urban|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355864076s/6782412.jpg|6916543] comes to mind, for example) and Miko and Toby face all the same issues these couples have, the biggest being lying about his true vocation.
But what makes this book standing out is the weirdness, quirkiness of main character....who doesn't get miraculously cured with the love of fine man. This is what I like about Nicole Castle: she takes a character, she fucks him up beyond recognition and then she makes him fall in love with another man who doesn't really try to fix him- he kind of works around these character glitches, doesn't try to point the moral of things and in some occasion even hone them (Vincent, we are looking at you). It also happens here- For example,
We also get several chapters of Miko's past and people who trained him and these were my favorite, especially scenes with Nasir.
As much as I liked Miko I didn't have any opinion on Toby. I don't feel like we really get to know much about him. Maybe it was because Miko was so peculiar, so he steals every scene, but I needed some balance thrown in. I also didn't expect it to end with a cliffie, so I was sorry when I reached end.
Fans of Chance Assassin series know that Castle changed her style with second book- kind of like zooming out her lens, so focus can be shifted to include bunch of other characters beside Frank and Vincent.
And it wasn't just that: Stylistically, tone-wise and narrative-wise book #1 and book #2 couldn't be more different.
The Consequences of High Caliber? Again, a whole new beast.
This is not warped and twisted like CH nor satirical like LR. This book is actually following the usual mm romance formula - we have a Meet Cute. A Big Mis. And a HEA (Or HFN since it ends on a cliffie and sequel is expected). Thus, it's what makes it predictable in few places. -__- I also wasn't really sold on Miko's bff plot and her lack of options, but I ended up going with it because of where it took us- it opened an interesting plot to be handled in second book. (I know, I am a terrible person).
tl;dr- It's a short, fast-paced read you can gobble in few hours.
First things first: This book is part of the Chance Assassin universe, but it can be read as standalone. But, if you read it before [b:Les Recidivists|21902480|Les Recidivists (Chance Assassin, #2)|Nicole Castle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400422527s/21902480.jpg|41197344], than this may spoil the ending for you to a degree, since plot of both books overlap at the end.
****
Our merry band of assassins just got bigger...
This book follows Miko, one of Silva's assassins-group of elite contract killers. Due to tragic accident in his childhood that cost him more than his fingers, Miko developed several quirks: he constantly chews cinnamon candies, he has to make special sleeping arrangements and he is squeamish. He also has a reputation of a terrible bloodthirsty killer that's not really true, because he really didn't plan to kill his marks the way he did- it happened. :| After one of his assignments, he goes out and picks up a guy. That's how he meets Toby with whom he eventually starts a relationship.
Now, I know this is not a new, never-heard-before plot...( Hmm, [b:Warrior's Cross|6782412|Warrior's Cross|Madeleine Urban|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355864076s/6782412.jpg|6916543] comes to mind, for example) and Miko and Toby face all the same issues these couples have, the biggest being lying about his true vocation.
But what makes this book standing out is the weirdness, quirkiness of main character....who doesn't get miraculously cured with the love of fine man. This is what I like about Nicole Castle: she takes a character, she fucks him up beyond recognition and then she makes him fall in love with another man who doesn't really try to fix him- he kind of works around these character glitches, doesn't try to point the moral of things and in some occasion even hone them (Vincent, we are looking at you). It also happens here- For example,
Spoiler
Miko didn't let Toby see his fingers for entirety of book. He's embarrassed and he doesn't want to. He probably planned to keep it hidden for the rest of his life. Now, in works of fiction we would get a scene where romantic interest kissed scars to show he/she doesn't care about it, but Castle doesn't work that way. Miko is fucked up about it and Toby doesn't push it.We also get several chapters of Miko's past and people who trained him and these were my favorite, especially scenes with Nasir.
As much as I liked Miko I didn't have any opinion on Toby. I don't feel like we really get to know much about him. Maybe it was because Miko was so peculiar, so he steals every scene, but I needed some balance thrown in. I also didn't expect it to end with a cliffie, so I was sorry when I reached end.
Fans of Chance Assassin series know that Castle changed her style with second book- kind of like zooming out her lens, so focus can be shifted to include bunch of other characters beside Frank and Vincent.
And it wasn't just that: Stylistically, tone-wise and narrative-wise book #1 and book #2 couldn't be more different.
The Consequences of High Caliber? Again, a whole new beast.
This is not warped and twisted like CH nor satirical like LR. This book is actually following the usual mm romance formula - we have a Meet Cute. A Big Mis. And a HEA (Or HFN since it ends on a cliffie and sequel is expected). Thus, it's what makes it predictable in few places. -__- I also wasn't really sold on Miko's bff plot and her lack of options, but I ended up going with it because of where it took us- it opened an interesting plot to be handled in second book. (I know, I am a terrible person).
tl;dr- It's a short, fast-paced read you can gobble in few hours.
the_novel_approach's review
5.0
~ 4.5 Stars ~
The Consequence of High Caliber is author Nicole Castle’s third published book, and I’ve read all three of them. She is now an author who is on my absolutely-must-read list, and it’s all because she has a knack for bringing to life characters that are broken to the point of being irredeemable—or should be—then somehow makes you relate to them in ways that shouldn’t be possible. Her characters’ psychopathy is their charm, if you can believe that: dangerous, deadly, flawed, funny and sympathetic all at once. There’s never been a more appealing group of assassins in all of fiction, and a great part of the fun of the books is trying to figure these people out.
Fair warning, I’m going to use the “C” word in this review. Yes…cliffhanger. Miko may well be one of this authors more heartbreaking characters, and is as deserving of a happy ending as any character I’ve ever read. He has a laundry list of emotional and psychological afflictions that began in childhood, and the way he came by all of them is the true sorrow because they’ve left him not only scarred but almost childlike in some ways. His heart is in the right place, but his actions are so skewed by his warped sense of right and wrong that he’s a walking contradiction, but one you can’t help but love.
The story is told in the present and past, which makes this sensitive and brutal man even more enigmatic as we are offered bits and pieces of his history and character, but must keep reading to put them all together. Then, just when things might be looking up, Nicole Castle throws in a big NOT and slams the door on the book at a critical point in Miko’s relationship with Toby, the man Miko needs more than anyone else in the world right now, and always. That darn “C” word…
If there has ever been a better example of “opposites attract”, Toby would best be described as Miko’s paradox. There’s a line drawn between these two men, one of them so sickened by violence that he does everything he can to avoid it, the other sickened by violence yet lives hand-in-hand with it as a way of life. Their two extremes do eventually collide, and it throws into evidence how very much Miko needs Toby as a touchstone to his humanity, if not his sanity, when Toby sends Miko away.
One of the more delightful aspects of this world Nicole Castle has created is the moral ambiguity experienced as we root for these characters. They shouldn’t be as loveable as they are. They are murderers with a twisted sort of logic, cold-blooded killers for hire who, with all their idiosyncrasies and sociopathic behavior and code of un-ethics, still manage to hold to their own brand of honor. Being completely enamored of such aberrant people probably says more about me than it does about the characters, but I am one-hundred percent hooked on them and their murderous ways.
A Consequence of High Caliber is a tightly paced one-hundred and sixty-eight pages, not quite as much action as the books in the Chance Assassin series (this book’s cousin), but every bit as irresistible because of its characters. If you’re looking for something that’s more than just a bit different from the norm, this book and its author won’t disappoint.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach
The Consequence of High Caliber is author Nicole Castle’s third published book, and I’ve read all three of them. She is now an author who is on my absolutely-must-read list, and it’s all because she has a knack for bringing to life characters that are broken to the point of being irredeemable—or should be—then somehow makes you relate to them in ways that shouldn’t be possible. Her characters’ psychopathy is their charm, if you can believe that: dangerous, deadly, flawed, funny and sympathetic all at once. There’s never been a more appealing group of assassins in all of fiction, and a great part of the fun of the books is trying to figure these people out.
Fair warning, I’m going to use the “C” word in this review. Yes…cliffhanger. Miko may well be one of this authors more heartbreaking characters, and is as deserving of a happy ending as any character I’ve ever read. He has a laundry list of emotional and psychological afflictions that began in childhood, and the way he came by all of them is the true sorrow because they’ve left him not only scarred but almost childlike in some ways. His heart is in the right place, but his actions are so skewed by his warped sense of right and wrong that he’s a walking contradiction, but one you can’t help but love.
The story is told in the present and past, which makes this sensitive and brutal man even more enigmatic as we are offered bits and pieces of his history and character, but must keep reading to put them all together. Then, just when things might be looking up, Nicole Castle throws in a big NOT and slams the door on the book at a critical point in Miko’s relationship with Toby, the man Miko needs more than anyone else in the world right now, and always. That darn “C” word…
If there has ever been a better example of “opposites attract”, Toby would best be described as Miko’s paradox. There’s a line drawn between these two men, one of them so sickened by violence that he does everything he can to avoid it, the other sickened by violence yet lives hand-in-hand with it as a way of life. Their two extremes do eventually collide, and it throws into evidence how very much Miko needs Toby as a touchstone to his humanity, if not his sanity, when Toby sends Miko away.
One of the more delightful aspects of this world Nicole Castle has created is the moral ambiguity experienced as we root for these characters. They shouldn’t be as loveable as they are. They are murderers with a twisted sort of logic, cold-blooded killers for hire who, with all their idiosyncrasies and sociopathic behavior and code of un-ethics, still manage to hold to their own brand of honor. Being completely enamored of such aberrant people probably says more about me than it does about the characters, but I am one-hundred percent hooked on them and their murderous ways.
A Consequence of High Caliber is a tightly paced one-hundred and sixty-eight pages, not quite as much action as the books in the Chance Assassin series (this book’s cousin), but every bit as irresistible because of its characters. If you’re looking for something that’s more than just a bit different from the norm, this book and its author won’t disappoint.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach
gabi90's review
5.0
Phenomenal. This book was every bit as dark, as funny and a whole lotta strange.
A needed something challenging. Something out of my comfort zone, I read the sample of this book back in January, I guess I wasn't ready for the whole experience then. I felt ready now. It was worth every minute of my time.
Miko is a very troubled assassin. He hates blood, he's vegetarian, and he's the worst liar ever. He's whole personality is very controversial, and that made the story a bit humorous. Which is a good thing. Otherwise it was gruesome, there was no skipping the killing scenes, they were very detailed.
Miko fell in love with sweet Toby. Their relationship was not at the forefront of the story, but it was present all the way to the end.
I don't know if I can use this word to describe the writing style, but it was very sophisticated.
A needed something challenging. Something out of my comfort zone, I read the sample of this book back in January, I guess I wasn't ready for the whole experience then. I felt ready now. It was worth every minute of my time.
Miko is a very troubled assassin. He hates blood, he's vegetarian, and he's the worst liar ever. He's whole personality is very controversial, and that made the story a bit humorous. Which is a good thing. Otherwise it was gruesome, there was no skipping the killing scenes, they were very detailed.
Miko fell in love with sweet Toby. Their relationship was not at the forefront of the story, but it was present all the way to the end.
I don't know if I can use this word to describe the writing style, but it was very sophisticated.
More...