This was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love Maisie’s character and her fling with Will was wonderful but I would have liked a bit more of him in the epilogue. Lots of twists and turns kept me intrigued and I really hope there’ll be a sequel. Fabulous job! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Let me start by saying that this book didn’t grip me, thus I did struggle to get through it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good read. I normally enjoy comedic/romantic spy novels, however I feel like I just don’t gel with the characters in this one, which is why it wasn’t one of those can’t put it down books. It had a slight Mr & Mrs Smith vibe, but in a less mature manner. I wish it had more comedic elements as I feel the overall storyline would’ve benefitted from it as it seemed to lend itself to it, though these weren’t really implemented. I feel many people would enjoy this book, which is why I’ve rated it as I have, but it just wasn’t for me

Maisie may work as an assassin, but she's an assassin with a conscience.  Her mentor/employer uses her and her fellow assassin to right some of the wrongs of the world.  Keeping her work life and private life separate is complicated but necessary.  When her two worlds begin to collide, Maisie realises that her ethical terminations may not be all that ethical!

There is such a found family vibe within Maisie and her team!  They may be on the "wrong" side of the law but I loved these characters!  There are a few cracking secondary characters that I hope get to star in their own stories if this morphs into a series.  There are a good amount of twists and the whole rivals to lovers romance is very much a subplot, the suspense/adventure definitely takes centre stage.

I did think it ended a tad abruptly - I really wanted to see the full escapade and maybe catch up with them straight afterwards epilogue.  There are a few threads dangling and I am hoping that they'll be wrapped up in a future book.

I didn’t’ quite knew what to expect with the book, but I found myself hooked. It’s very focused on the hitwoman angle, with some corporate / political scandals and full of twists and turns that kept me on my toes the whole time. The romance angle was nice, adding a little bit of fun but came second to the mystery. Even when I became suspicious alongside Maisie I couldn’t figure out exactly what was happening until the big reveal. This really hit the mark (pun intended).

An engaging premise about an ethical hitwoman was a great starting point for this book, but the execution was a bit weak. The conspiracy was an okay mystery, but it was pretty easy to figure out who the bad guys were from the beginning. The romance between Will and Maisie was a letdown—it had zero chemistry and felt totally flat, so I didn't really care what happened to them. Honestly, Maisie's relationship with her best friend, Beth, had way more tension and emotional connection. It was an okay read overall 3 🌟

If Day of the Jackal was a rom-com. Absorbing from the very beginning, I loved this. Entertaining, witty, and thrilling, it's the perfect balance of romance, espionage and murder.

A fast paced and full of wit and plenty of British humour. Maisy is a professional hitwoman and works for Gabby and is sent on missions to do the work, she meets Will who is also on a mission. They soon start a romantic relationship while working on a case. A very good debut by Elsie.

Fast-paced, sharp, and brimming with wit, Hitwoman delivers a perfect blend of action, romance, and conspiracy.

Maisie Baxter works for a boutique, ethical assassin agency – a job that makes her social life complicated, to say the least. She can’t tell her friends about the unpredictable hours or the stranger who keeps appearing on her missions. Will is charming, infuriatingly handsome, and very possibly a rival agent… until a far more dangerous threat forces them to team up.

Elsie Marks balances snappy banter and sizzling romantic tension with well-crafted action sequences that never feel like filler. Every fight, chase, or showdown pushes the plot forward and reveals more about Maisie’s razor-sharp skills, stubborn streak, and vulnerability. The romantic subplot is playful yet meaningful, intertwining seamlessly with the espionage drama.

With a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels, a heroine who is as deadly as she is charismatic, and a final act that ties it all together with style, Hitwoman is an addictive, high-energy read perfect for fans of thrillers with a cheeky, romantic twist.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

3.5/5.

This action packed, fast paced, rival assassins to lovers is the perfect palate cleanser. It was full of twists and turns that had me eager for more. The romance was not too heavy, with the mission taking full focus of this book to spur the story long with a happy ending.

I personally have not read anything like this but its blossomed something for me, I loved the thrill & suspense aspect. Id love to read more in this world, maybe even novellas of different jobs the couple (Maisie & Will) takes on in the future as a pair! that would be so exciting.

This is a 3 star for me as for a book stating rom-com, I would of liked more of a humour laced throughout but for the author’s debut, I think this was a good start and will attract a lot of lot of interest.

♥ info ♥
single POV (FMC)
1st person

♥ tropes ♥
Enemies to lovers
Professional Rivalry
Secret Identity

♥ other ♥
Characters - 5/10
Atmosphere - 5/10
Writing Style - 5/10
Plot - 5/10
Intrigue - 6/10
Logic/Relationships - 4/10
Enjoyment - 5/10
Spice - 0.5/5

On one hand I really enjoyed this book. It was an interesting premise and very original but as a reader, personally, I just couldn't get past the immorality of having a hitowman as a main character who normalised killing people. I know darker themes in books are popular but i struggled with this concept.
That aside it was highly entertaining, if the plot was a little far fetched. I'd definitely read more by this author but this one wasn't for me, but I suspect and I hope that i'll be in the minority here.

Maisie is an ethical hitwoman, working for the sophisticated Gabby, and living with her best friend, journalist Beth.
Gabby is taking contracts on behalf of Pascal Robertson, the CEO of ILS, but all is not as it seems, and things get a bit out of hand.
Apart from the fact that Maisie kills people for a living, this book is a lot of fun.
A good beach read.

This book took me back to my days of loving Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls spy novels as a teen! The premise of this book was so fun and I appreciated that the pace of this was well done with enough balance between Maisie's real life vs work life scenes. There were loads of twists and turns, some I saw something, others I didn't and I appreciated how well thought out this book was to really keep you on your toes. I'd really love a sequel, I think after investing a book in these characters, I don't feel quite done with them yet!

Here are some thoughts that would've taken this from a four to five star read (*some are slight spoilers so please proceed with caution*):

- This one's a small edit but on page 175 Maisie mentions an 'eye watering cab' and how she hadn't noticed the prices of cabs because Gabby doesn't pay for them all anymore...what does that mean? Did Gabby pay for all cabs previously and this is the first cab she's paid for? Seemed random and any Londoner would've known to just take the District line because it's faster and takes you directly to that area with only a slight walk.

- The ending felt super abrupt where we didn't even see their full escape and initial conversations after. The fast forward was okay but I felt sort of unsettled with like what everyone was up to and Beth's interest in joining Maisie's career path was a fun twist but didn't answer for me how Maisie felt after everything if she would continue. Also why did Gabby let their be no consequences since she didn't get what she wanted ultimately? And what about Jason? I'm hoping for a possible sequel but felt this could've been wrapped up tidier and better in a different epilogue or added another chapter or two to properly end it. Switching POVs to Will's might've been fun for an epilogue as well.

This was a fun read that had me laughing, in suspense and thrilled from the first to very last page. Definitely recommend!

Three and a half stars.

Maisie Baxter is a hitwoman for Novum, a boutique 'ethical' assassination service. She founded the organisation with her boss Gabby, a minor celebrity and charity advocate (think Spring Watch and Save the Hedgehogs), they have expanded and now have a second assassin, Owen (good looking but not very bright), a tech guy, Jason, and an admin person Sophie. One of Novum's key tenets is that Maisie (or Owen) can veto a target if they don't consider them to have committed a heinous crime, something Maisie is very proud of, and she loves that Gabby respects her choices.

When we meet Maisie she is on a job for a mysterious anonymous client (not so odd as who wants a team of assassins to know your name) who is also very specific about what they want Maisie to do and when and how, including arranging for her exfiltration. The job goes without a hitch and later the team are introduced to the mysterious client, Pascal Robertson, elusive billionaire CEO of ILS, a company which has created the world's first green fertiliser. Pascal has discovered that some of his senior management have been selling the fertiliser illegally to terrorist organisations to help them make bombs and he is determined to root out all the bad eggs ... the permanent way.

The following week, Maisie (in disguise) is headed to a Young Farmer's Festival where one of ILS's board is giving a keynote speech. She has orders to assassinate him during that speech. After setting up the tent for the following morning she joins the festivities at the bar and bumps into a handsome man who looks as out of place as she feels, the strong cider helps them form an instant connection and they end up spending the night together. The next day, Maisie watches as the ILS director is making his speech, ready to (literally) push the button, when suddenly a light fitting swings down towards him, killing him instantly. Coincidence? Or is there more than one team of assassins hired? Could it be someone from Removals Inc, Novum's main competitor who would kill their own mother if the price was right?

But when the same guy turns up at Maisie's next hit, she realises sweet, shy Will could be working for the opposition.

This gave off similar vibes to the Brangelina film Mr and Mrs Smith, and probably for that reason I did enjoy it, but it didn't feel very original.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Well this was incredibly addictive. I had been very much enjoying it, sat down to read a bit more with lunch, intending to finish the book when I went out later that day, and instead the next thing I knew about an hour had passed and I was over 9%. So well I had to finish it at that point.

And I had been totally oblivious to the world around me as I was reading. I was hooked on Maisie who is an ethical hitwoman, and was surprised at just how messy her life was about to become.

It starts off gently, getting the reader used to the fact that you are essentially siding with a killer, although she only agrees to kill people that really deserve it, and then a man keeps showing up who she may have an attraction to, and suddenly things are complicated.

As the story ramps up, I was becoming less sure who I was supposed to believe and who is actually on the side for good and who was just pure evil! It's thrilling and what a journey it takes you on.

It's fast paced, exhilarating and I was totally there for every last word of it. This is the first book I've read from this author and based on this it definitely won't be my last. I am absolutely a massive fan of this new type of thriller that seems to be emerging and long may it continue.

Thank you to HQ Digital and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This is a totally bonkers book, and that is a such a good thing. Maisie accidentally becomes a hit woman and does it really very well. Her boss is demanding and the whole operation is smooth with employees and targets who it is good to get rid of. Through this hit business Maisie needs to juggle a flatmate, good friends who want you at their birthday party and a recent love interest. Maisie also needs to deal with her demanding and sometimes manipulating boss and carry out the hits she has been asked to get on top of and deliver. This isn’t laugh aloud but it is fun and made me smile as I was reading the madness of the plot and escapades.

Rival Assassins that have to work together — it sounded so good in theory but it kind of fell flat for me.

It felt a little rushed and disjointed. Maybe it was because I was in a slump the entire time I read this but this didn’t capture my attention the way I wanted it to.

The romance was very bland and felt forced. The plot was more interesting and the only reason I stayed till the end.

ೃ⁀➷ Thank you NetGalley and HQ for the ARC! ♥︎