4.5 stars 
 Wonderful, gripping novel. I was into Chapter 18 before I could put it down - and the chapters just flew. 
 I can't say Christopher was my favourite villain hero. An assasin with a horrible childhood, he was just a little too dark & villainous for my taste. (The author had us see him kill someone on page very early on.) But when he broke and confessed his love, that was beautiful and moving. Believable and poetic without being cheesy. 
 And I adore Millie too. She was strong, caring without being over-the-top-saint, possessing a mature wit that is refreshing. Her character was subtly done, none of the traits over the top. 
 So why not 5 stars? 
 I felt at some point the hero as a killing machine was harped upon too often. We get it, we shouldn't forget he is a killer. And the way somone else described him as going into a room full of deadly assasins and being the only one to walk out made me roll my eyes a little. What is this, a superhero movie? Thankfully that scene didn't happen in the actual novel, it was just a quick tale told by someone who knew Christopher. 
 I will say the on-page action scenes were very well done, with the right amount of details, fast forward and pacing. This is a darker romance novel with some on-page killing. I'm not usually a suspense reader but I did enjoy this one. 
 Another reason I docked off half a star: I get that there had to be some insta magic to turn a killer from finishing his assignment and from killing the heroine so that it ends before it can begin, but in the middle scenes I think KB struggled to give them meaningful room to bond. I felt like Christopher had more bonding scenes with Millie's child Jakub than he did with Millie. 
 Millie was different to him but I don't get why. She was suppose to be the first to willingly want to be with him, but with his looks I find that hard to believe. And I didn't understand her continued attraction to him once she found out who he was/what he does. The fact that KB spent so much time reminding us of his dark side made it even harder to understand her attraction towards him. 
 Also I questioned why he would bargain her body for his protection after watching his mom do the same and hating the fact his mom had to do it. I was surprised to hear he satisfied his physical needs with whores. 
 (view spoiler)[Christopher finally comes around after nearly losing Millie a second time. I don't get why it took the second time for him to break through the walls he built. Wasn't her being kidnapped by a deranged killer who was in the midst of delivering her death enough? (hide spoiler)] 
 Nevertheless, despite the minor flaws I found this to be an enjoyable story. I'm checking out some of her other novels in the series. 
 The last chapter was wonderfully moving. But an epilogue for me to see Christopher in his HEA would have been even better. We want to see him happy after he has suffered so much in his youth. 
 At A Glance 
 Love triangle / cheating (view spoiler)[No (hide spoiler)] 
 Descriptive sex with OM/OW (view spoiler)[No (hide spoiler)] 
 HEA (view spoiler)[Yes (hide spoiler)] 
 Other safety considerations (view spoiler)[Hero had a horrible childhood, including offpage physical abuse and rape. There was also a scene where he had to watch his mother submit to barter for his needs or safety. (hide spoiler)]