I received this book for free from Rock Star Lit in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Designed for Murder by Avery Flynn Series: Killer Style #4
Series Rating:
Published by Entangled: Ignite on November 9th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Suspense
Pages: 163
Format: eARC
Source: Rock Star Lit
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Some fashion statements can kill...
Mika Ito combines her two favorite things in life—textile design and live-action role-playing (LARP)—by creating costumes for her fellow Magic Battledome gamers. Lately, someone's been assaulting LARPers and stealing their costumes. Concerned for the safety of her friends, Mika hires Maltese Security...only to discover that the lead investigator is the super-hot stranger she just hooked up with.
Carlos Castillo is all too familiar with Magic Battledome. A former legend in role-playing circles, he was all about gaming, until things went very, very wrong for him. Now he's forced to return to the game undercover—as Mika's boyfriend—to find some answers. Only playing “boyfriend” with his gorgeous one-night stand is more temptation than a guy can withstand...
Someone wants the costumes enough to kill for them. And when it comes to murder, nothing is what it seems...
When I saw Avery Flynn say on Facebook that part of this book had been inspired by the LARPing episode of Supernatural, I knew I had to read it. And I was right. This book was so much fun! Well, as much fun as you can have while your LARPing group is being targeted and attacked IRL by unknown forces and you’re in fear for your life.
This was a really fast-paced, fun read. Mika and Carlos had instant chemistry, which only got more intense the longer they spent together. I love that they were both geeks, though Carlos had turned his back on that part of his life and thrown himself into being more alpha. He thought that would help keep him from getting hurt. We all know that never works, but Carlos hadn’t gotten that memo yet. Mika was a geek through-and-through and flew her freak flag proudly. She was smart, confident, sexy, and didn’t allow anyone make her feel inferior for her interests, her passions, or any other reason. And she refused to let Carlos jerk her around and treat her like shit just because he’d been hurt in the past and didn’t know how to deal with his feelings now.
Both of them had really intense traumas in their pasts that they were going to have to get through in order to be together. It’s clear (to us, anyway) that they are exactly who each other needs, but it takes both of them some time to come to the same conclusion. There’s a lot they have to work through – Mika is still grieving the death of someone close to her and feeling guilty about what she sees as her own part in it, and Carlos made some bad decisions and trusted the wrong people, resulting in his friends and co-workers getting hurt. And he had to do something that left him emotionally scarred and resulted in him turning his back on the MMORPG and LARPing world that had been such a huge part of his life.
The mystery of who was attacking Mika’s LARPing group was compelling enough to keep me reading, but it was definitely the relationship between Mika and Carlos that kept me from putting the book down. The sex was hot, the emotions were real, and I love watching two people who are determined not to fall in love fail spectacularly.
This was easily read as a standalone. I haven’t read the first three in the series, and had no problem keeping up. I think the events in Carlos’s past were part of an earlier book, but they were explained and talked about enough that I wasn’t lost or confused. I’ve read several of Avery Flynn’s other books, though, and I can say for sure she’s an author I’m eager to see more from.
About Avery Flynn
Avery Flynn has three slightly-wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip.
She fell in love with romance while reading Johanna Lindsey’s Mallory books. It wasn’t long before Avery had read through all the romance offerings at her local library. Needing a romance fix, she turned to Harlequin’s four books a month home delivery service to ease the withdrawal symptoms. That worked for a short time, but it wasn’t long before the local book stores’ staffs knew her by name.
Avery was a reader before she was a writer and hopes to always be both. She loves to write about smartass alpha heroes who are as good with a quip as they are with their *ahem* other God-given talents. Her heroines are feisty, fierce and fantastic. Brainy and brave, these ladies know how to stand on their own two feet and knock the bad guys off theirs.
