Ethan Sullivan is a contract killer, and he’s good at his work. But killing for a living makes for a complicated existence, and it’s wearing on him. He’s decided to turn in his garrote and try to build a normal life. Whatever that means.Honey Foster is a small-town girl, and happy with it. Even if all the men her age are married, and the dating pool is more like a puddle, and the only lover she’s … lover she’s had in the last several months requires batteries, she loves her life. She has her friends, her community, and her big, goofy dog to keep her warm at night. And that’s enough, at least until Ethan comes along.
He’s hot and funny, and the air fairly crackles with sexual tension whenever they’re in the same room. But even though she knows he feels it too, he seems to go out of his way to get out of her way as quickly as possible. Because Ethan has resolved to stay uninvolved—after all, retired killers don’t get picket fences and happily ever afters.
Do they?
He’s trying to keep his distance, but he doesn’t realize in a town this small, he’s going to see her everywhere. Backyard barbeque? She’s there. Local tavern for a drink on Saturday night? She’s there. Pretty soon all that resolve dissolves, and suddenly that picket fence starts to feel like it’s in reach. But when the shadows of his past come calling, he’ll have to expose his secrets to deal with the danger. And Honey will have to decide if love is enough, and if a flawed, complicated man is worthy of redemption.
Honey and the Hitman is a romantic suspense with lots of laughs, heaps of sexy times, a goofy dog and a happily ever after. CW for some violence, deception, and off the page parental death. No cheating, no clifhangers.
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Ethan And Honey’s Romance Is A Sweet And Sassy Story About A Hitman In Search Of A Life With Meaning, Who Unexpectedly Finds Love And Friendship As Well As Loyalty And Acceptance In A Tiny Quirky Beach Town.
Ethan Sullivan, thirty-four, finds himself annoyed and bored as he stakes out Stanley Morgan. After twelve years as a contract killer, the handsome and charming millionaire is ready to give it all up – the international travel, the expensive call girls, etc. He isn’t happy. And although Stanley is a bad person and deserves what he has coming, like most of the jobs he accepts, Ethan can’t keep going through the motions. His days are mostly long and lonely. He isn’t connected to anyone or anything and he feels the absence of meaning in his life.
When Ethan walks away and decides to start fresh, he goes home to the only family he has left – his doting and quirky Aunt Winnie. She lives in Sweetwater, Michigan, a tiny beach town that lies on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, where gossip spreads like wild fire and nothing is private. He plans to spend the summer with his aunt, quietly biding his time until he knows what he wants for himself and how he wants to spend the remaining years of his life. What he doesn’t expect when he enters his aunt’s home is to find a strange woman, or for said strange woman to throw a bowl of sugar at his head.
Honoria Frances Foster – or Honey – has lived in Sweetwater since inheriting her grandmother’s house three years ago. The sassy twenty-nine year old blonde beauty teaches art at the local middle school as well as the community center. The love of her life is her 175 pound dog, Milo. There is no real dating scene locally since nearly everyone her age is married already, but Honey is always happy and sociable. Her girlfriends keep her busy outside of work and volunteering. They sometimes attempt to set her up with a date, but that never quite works out for long. Honey hasn’t been in an actual relationship for five years.
When Honey borrows some sugar from her neighbor, she is stunned when a strange man enters the home. She is even more stunned at the feelings he evokes when he tackles her to the floor. Ethan is attracted to his aunt’s neighbor, but Honey is a dangerous distraction. He isn’t ready for a relationship. He first needs to spend a quiet summer figuring out what he wants from life.
Ethan and Honey may have instant chemistry, but they spend a good deal of time fighting it, leading to some great tension and funny scenes. Just when things begin to take shape, an Italian job from Ethan’s past pops up as Michael O’Shae, Ethan’s only friend from his old life, reaches out to him. Ethan must juggle his old and new lives, and pray his new life isn’t destroyed in the process.
Ethan and Honey’s story is a sweet story of acceptance and new beginnings. More than a love story, it is about a gossipy little town that takes in a newly reformed hitman, offering him all the things he needs – love, family, friendship, and an honest occupation that makes him feel good about himself at the end of the day. Ethan and Honey earn their rather brief but satisfying HFN.
A few things may bother some readers. *Spoilers* First, Ethan comes across as very weak when he reluctantly accepts a job from Jacob. It is explained later, but the moment remains weak coming from a hitman. Next, it is difficult in the beginning to reconcile Ethan the quiet and reserved hit man with Ethan the nephew – who is much more talkative, affectionate, and expressive with his aunt and others than I would have expected so soon after retirement. Third, in a town that gossips, it is odd that news of two goons hanging out with Michael and Ethan hadn’t become a scandal, and hard to believe nobody witnessed any of the activity at Winnie’s and Honey’s houses that eventful night. Finally, it is not clear if Ethan plans on sharing with the inner circle more than he did with the guys, since he only held back at David’s suggestion. It feels a bit wrong for him to tell so many the complete truth. He could have worked a reasonable amount of truth into his financial planner backstory and therefore shared without putting others in as much potential risk. He puts Honey and their future children at the most risk by letting the truth out, so it isn’t a great thing to be righteous about, as good as it might feel to get it off his chest. He is simply sharing the burden.
Ethan and Honey’s romance is a sweet and sassy story about a hitman in search of a life with meaning, who unexpectedly finds love and friendship as well as loyalty and acceptance in a tiny quirky beach town. The book is well-written. The plot is complex. The characters are nicely done. Ethan’s character is deep and well-defined. The story is mostly his, and he is endearing in his search for more. Honey’s character isn’t as defined, yet she is fresh and sassy and lovable all the same. Since the story mostly belongs to Ethan, it works. The cast of characters is great. Seeing real friendships form is nearly as rewarding as Ethan and Honey’s story. The book is written in the third person and the POV alternates between Ethan and Honey, though it is predominantly Ethan’s POV. I rate this book four stars.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.