The Hummingbird Killer is a brilliant sequel, but has the edge that you pick up without reading the previous book and still think it's an exquisite piece of fiction.

Deliciuosly dark and compelling it was a book that I could not put down I just had to keep reading more about Isobel.
Finn weaves a complex and compelling story with characters you become emotionally attached to. One of the most talented writers currently in the YA market. Would gladly and eagerly read everything Finn writes,

I really enjoyed this! Does Isobel frustrate me? Yes, but I also really feel for her. The other characters frustrate me more since they seem to just blame Isobel all the time for every little thing she does despite them not exactly being paragons of virtue themselves. I really hope she finds a way to stand up for herself a bit more and create the life for herself that she deserves.

This was great fun, better than the first book, The Butterfly Assassin. There was less of Isabel's moaning and taking bad decisions, so I liked her better as well. This book gives us more of a chance to know Isabel, and somehow the plotting and pacing was just right. Also, 10/10 to Finn Longman for the diversity of the cast, and especially for giving us an aro-ace protagonist.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

The Hummingbird Killer much better lived up to my expectations than its predecessor. For the Butterfly Assassin, the tag line was 'innocent by day, killer by night' and yet I felt like we didn't see both sides. We mostly saw the protagonist striving to find and keep an innocent civilian life. This book, however, really lived up to both that tagline and the new one of 'friend by day, traitor by night'. Isabel is really torn between two worlds. It's fair to say she is in a terrible position and has been traumatised her whole life, but in this book she has given up and gone back to her life as a contract killer. She consistently justifies to herself what she's doing, keeping the two halves of her as separate as possible. She is not particularly likeable, but that makes it a compelling story.

This is a very fast paced, action packed book that ends with another gripping cliffhanger.

The Hummingbird Killer continues a series that is razor-sharp and incisive in its intriguing and imaginative plotting, character works and worldbuilding. This is a series unlike any other, drenched in blood and trauma and violence, but always with a glimpse of hope in humanity peeking through.

The Butterfly Assassin was one of those books that I will be throwing at everyone I know. It was a unique, memorable and brilliantly complex book that shatters every expectation. The Hummingbird Killer builds on this and impossibly elevates it, with phenomenal world-building, character work and twists and turns that truly shocked me. The pacing is spectacular, never giving you a moment to rest or relax. There is always danger afoot and plotting upon plotting. Longman yet again just twists the knife with some moments making me need to step away from the book, make a cuppa and compute fully what I had just read. All I can say about that ending is Longman is an evil genius.

My favourite murderous, malevolent and magnificent assassin is back. Once again, Isabel was the absolute highlight of the book for me. The representation hinted at previously around her sexuality is given more explicit wording here, though it is left undecided amidst her battle with trauma and the long-running ramifications of the most messed-up childhood I have read about for a while. For me, the nuanced depiction of disability, both physical and mental, is something that really hits home. Longman feeds their own experiences in some moments that are just lived in, but also twists them with such a stabby, dark bent.

If you thought Isabel was morally dubious previously, Longman takes her into new territory. This is a dark and extremely intense book that really goes there at times. Isabel is a fractured and deeply flawed character, but something in her still endears me. The whole book is around her confrontation with her perceived ‘monstrosity’, but at the same time you see from other characters glimmers of the love and humanity she still holds.

The Hummingbird Killer is a fantastic follow-up to one of my favourite books of last year and I am beyond excited to see where Isabel’s story leads next. Longman is a voice to keep on your radar.

I liked the blurb of this teenager/YA fantasy novel. I hadn’t even realised this was book two in a series when I started reading. On that, there isn’t much in the way of back story, but this meant I had lots of questions as I started to read that I really wanted answered. So was immediately drawn into this world. Isobel has been dealt a terrible hand in childhood, and wants to experience a bit of normality. But that is hard to come by, not least in trying to be more than just an assassin. I appreciated the authors style, so while there are killings, these are handled without being explicit. Thank you to Simon Schuster UK Children’s and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

THE HUMMINGBIRD KILLER is the sort of sequel that manages to make its (very brutal) predecessor look tame. If Isabel's situation and options when it came to choices were bad in THE BUTTERFLY ASSASSIN, then they are beyond dreadful here.

The pacing of this book is a sprint as Isabel desperately tries to protect her friends (which she has grudgingly made but not even managed to grudgingly accept) - but the actions to protect them bring more dangers down. I gulped this book down, stopping briefly for lunch (and several "how dare you?!?" messages) so be prepared to clear your schedule when you pick it up.

Also be prepared to scream a lot at the number of characters killed. After the death count of the last book, Finn introduces a load more characters, makes you like them, then kills the ones you like best. It's brutal (in the best sort of way), refusing to pull any punches (or spare any kneecaps!)

The situations Isabel finds herself in are dreadful, trapped between a rock and a hard place that are being shoved together very very fast. It's the sort of plot that made me go "oh no, oh no. Wait, what? Oh no." That escalation of bad and closing options made it such a compulsive read because looking away meant missing out on how it could possibly get any worse (and then it would.)

The ending made me demand the next book because I need to know exactly how this series ends, and if Isabel can ever catch a break.

I loved the Butterfly Assassin by this author and it’s stuck with me long after I finished reading. I was surprised how much as upon picking this one up, I found it so easy to get into and all the fond memories of reading the first book came rushing back. If you haven’t read the first one (I recommend just because it was ace) but it doesn’t feel essential for enjoyment as you can still pick this one up and enjoy it just as much. The author does a fab job with bringing you up to speed.

I may even think the follow up was better then the first! It was great to be back with our favourite assassin and this time, we meet more Free Press, friends in the making and a torn Isabel as she navigates new situations.

It was seriously so compelling and I couldn’t put it down. I also couldn’t read fast enough as it next level hooked me. And now I want to go back to the first one and reread it again!

Couldn’t recommend enough. Read it read it read it!!

OH MY GOSH! The perfect sequel, the ending omg, I can't. The tension, the plot, it was incredibly written and it was such a good read! I do hope that there will be a third book with how it ended, definitely recommend this series!

Teenage assassin is moments away from a redemption era only for her life to be upheaved by the best people who ensured she never got a chance at a childhood… and now she’s trying to fit into civilian life. Delving into childhood trauma, healing from wounds and with the saddest found family trope you’ve ever seen - The Humming Bird Killer was a thriller, and one I could not put down.

The long anticipated sequel to the YA novel that took the internet (and me specifically) by storm, The Hummingbird Killer finds Isabel in somewhat of a cross roads - as she is tied to the assassin she was born to be, and also leading her civilian life. The book zooms out a little compared to the somewhat character focused approach to its predecessor - we learn a lot more of the worldbuilding and external pressures than ensure this guild feud is worse than ever.

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It was absolutely phenomenal. Isabel is one of the best written main characters in YA - she’s tough as nails, she has committed some truly despicable actions and yet underneath it all what Longman forces you to remember this is a deeply broken, traumatised teenage girl. Her characterisation and constant internal battle throughout the book was a wonder to witness. The choices she makes, though not always defendable, always made sense in line with the situation her character was in and I appreciated the consistency of her characterisation.

Plot wise it was deeply engaging and I cannot wait for the sequel. Did I personally detest some decisions made? Yes, not because they weren’t great for the plot but because ouch. The worldbuilding and further contextualisation was also a lovely read; the library plot had me intrigued from day one and it kept getting better.

Simultaneously excited and terrified for the sequel.

Thank you to Netgalley and S&S for the ARC!