Cover Image: Kiss Me, Kill Me

Kiss Me, Kill Me

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Member Reviews

Thank you to the author, Aria & Aries, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy crime thrillers, and don't necessarily feel that a protagonist has to be likeable, so this should have ticked the right boxes for me. Unfortunately, I found it really hard to get into the flow of the story - it was very choppy and fractured. It felt kind of like the file cards with plot points had been mixed and assembled without concern for the order, or maybe a few had been lost and not replaced.

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Whoa, this book was so fast! I read it in one sitting, just to keep up. So many twists and turns, many of which I did not see coming. I love how well developed the characters were and I especially loved as their relationships together unfolded. Highly recommend.

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I really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed going through the mystery. I had fun trying to figure out what was going on.
The setting was good. This was a fast paced read with lots of amazing twists.
this was a great psychological thriller that will keep you gripped from the first page until the end!

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This was a fast paced and interesting read. I devoured in an evening as I had to know exactly what was going to happen to Bethan.

The first half of the book alternates between three characters (or what you believe may be three characters): Mel, Locke and Bethan. Bethan is married to Humphrey, an elderly rich man , and can't wait for the day that he dies. She has made many attempts on his life so when he dies in an accident, will anyone believe her?

The backstory of how Bethan came to be who she is today was intriguing and made for gripping reading = you understood how she came to be the fragile, disturbed woman she is today.

I didn't realise this was the second book in the series and will definitely be checking out the first. However this would work well as a standalone book. This is the first book I have read by the author and I will definitely be looking at reading more.

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This was a pretty average book. It was not that interesting and a lot of it was predictable too. The plot was promising but unfortunately it was not well done.

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I haven't read the previous books of this series, but basing my rating on this one, it's decent. The writing can be a bit clinical, but effective. I like the concept of the plotline since I love gold digger trope in stories and especially if it included their triumph. This has a lot of potential. I just wish I got more.

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Ah! The perfect book I was looking for. Loved reading this one. Enjoyed it so much about their identities and the ending was great. Thanks for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I did enjoy this one however, I did find the first half far more exciting than the second half. On the whole it was a typical poor girl uses rich man storyline. I did enjoy the twist of swapped identity towards the Ed but on the whole this was nothing new or ground breaking.

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This was a good thriller. I found it somewhat predictable, but it was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

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Bethan is a very spoilt character and she's wanting her husband dead for his money. She tries to murder him but he survives. But he ends up dying whilst on holiday. She could have helped him but she just left him to die, Someone saw her walk away so she has to cover up her failed attempts to kill him by pretending that he is alive.

The author makes you really want to hate Bethan and she did an amazing job with that. The story flits from then and now and is told from different characters points of view. Normally I love this style of writing but it didn't seem to work in this case. The story is actually quite good in spite of it being a bit chaotic and defiantly worth reading but I would advice you read book one in the series first.

** not part of my review - I wasn't aware of this when I selected this book that is is the second book in the series but I am not going to mark it down on this point.

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NOTE TO SELF: It’s usually not a wise decision to request an ARC for a book that has no reviews at that time, when it’s by an author you have never heard of. There are, however, exceptions to the rule. I can’t say I was thrilled with this book, but it wasn’t a total disappointment either.

Bethan wants her husband, Humphrey, dead. Why? Because he’s rich and elderly, and this young vixen wants his money. She’s been plotting his demise for quite sometime, and can’t possibly hide her disdain and disgust for him. After careful planning, she is ready for him to die...but things backfire when he survives.

This pisses Bethan off to no end. Angry and plotting her next move, Humphrey has a freak accident while the two of them are on vacation together in Snowdonia. She should be thrilled as she leaves his pulseless body...until she realizes that someone witnessed her leaving him for dead.

It is my belief that that there are some major issues issues with this book. First, the plot occasionally seems to skip from the middle of one scene to the middle of another one. I have to hope this issue is because the version I read is an uncorrected proof, and will be fixed by the publication date. Otherwise, there really needs to be another round of editing. There are also some major plot holes that left me scratching my head, as some revelations make no sense - and other ones are left unexplained.

There is also a parallel story involving DI Emma Locke, who is on the hunt for a killer who left a dead body in a suitcase. Apparently, this is book #2 in the Emma Locke series, but that wasn’t mentioned anywhere when I first received it. I couldn’t help but wonder what the point of her storyline was until over halfway through, when she finally becomes involved in Bethan’s plot line. Until then, I thought the random secondary storyline tied with something from the first book, but I don’t think that‘s the case. I won’t say if the earlier part of Emma’s storyline ties into the whole book, but it feels a bit disjointed.

So why am I rating this 2.5 stars and rounding up to 3, you ask? Because something about KISS ME, KILL ME is so compulsively addicting, that I couldn’t help but turn the pages and try to make sense of everything my eyes were seeing on the pages. Bethan is a terrible person, the witchiest of witches (or switch the W’s for B’s), and yet her actions are outrageously entertaining to read. I wanted to see her pay the price for her horrific behavior...or did I? Her interactions with every character are interesting...almost like a train wreck you can’t turn away from. I also enjoyed another storyline that takes place in the past. Although I knew where most of it was going and how it would tie in, it was still compelling.

The ending is a bit lackluster for my taste, but there is just something about this one that kept me glued. Author Louise Mullins clearly has talent, and has written a number of books. I would absolutely read another one, given that it won’t have the type of problems I found in this one (some of which may be unintentional).

Thank you to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com

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I found this book to be a little too predictable. The main character was not likable at all. I won't say this book was horrible because I was able to read it without too much dread but it did not stand out to me at all.

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Would have liked to know that this is the second in a series but it works very well as a stand-alone.
Kiss Me, Kill Me is fantastic! The last couple of thrillers I’ve read have been lacking so very happy to turn my book luck around.

Strong characters and a story with some laugh out loud moments! Good action and plot. I really can’t ask for more. Extra points for a strong female lead! Go Emma!

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I like a story that grabs me from the first few pages and keeps the action and plotline moving along. This story vacillated between then and now, which I could not get into, and I had a hard time staying involved in the story. The story was confusing at times and left gaps. I did not like the main character, or could I feel anything for any of the book's characters.

Unfortunately, this was not a good read for me.

#KissMeKillMe #NetGalley

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Bethan is planning on killing her husband for his money. So when her husband accidentally dies in a fall on vacation, she couldn’t be happier. What Bethan doesn’t plan on is pretending he is still alive so she can figure out how to access his fortune before his disappearance is discovered. Full of twists and unexpected turns.

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I had a hard time staying the course on this one. I love the cover though! I had no idea this was a part of a series, had I known it probably would have been a pass.

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You know when you are watching a movie and you forget to pause it when you leave the room? Then, when you come back, you know you have missed something but you can kind of guess what happened? Well this book is exactly like that. This book had several gaps. I could not stand the main character that basically wants to kill her elderly hubby for his money.

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I had not realised before reading that this was a part of a series so I wasn’t well versed on DI Locke.

I found this novel hard to read, there were many gaps, and questions left unanswered, it felt like a great premise with piecemeal writing.

It may well be better for those that like the series

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This is a psychological thriller involving a Bethan Phillips wants to murder her wealthy and elderly husband in the hopes of receiving his inheritance. The story also follows a young girl who keeps finding herself in unfortunate situations. And the threads are obviously linked. Another character, who was surprisingly the least compelling is Emma Locke, the detective involved in solving a crime when a woman’s body is found in a suitcase. This is the second in the DI Emma Locke series. At times, this novel was fast-paced and compelling and other times, scattered and a bit hard to follow. A busy suspense novel that perhaps tries to cover too much at once. Thank you to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

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A good thriller with a great twist! I struggled to get into the story. The first half unfortunately seemed scattered, disjointed, then the characters bloomed and their stories became clearer and compelling!

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