Book Review: Love at First Kill by Mary E. Roach

Official Synopsis: Contract killer Jack O’Sullivan has corrupt billionaire Cale Jacobson in his crosshairs—until a woman in red ambushes Cale first, ruining the biggest payday of Jack’s career. To make matters worse, Ava Cavalcante, with her haunted eyes and nothing-left-to-lose fury, isn’t even a rival assassin…she’s just a vengeance-driven ex-librarian with a cute dress and limited impulse control. Jack should walk away. Instead, he recruits her to help him finish the job.

But Ava’s grief and fury run deep, and her fire pulls Jack in fast. As they’re forced to work together if they want any hope of finishing this job (or getting revenge), their bond turns from reluctant alliance to dangerous desire.

Between planning a murder, running for their lives, and hooking up in shady motels, they end up with more than either of them bargained for…and they also might be one kiss away from their own happily ever after. If they don’t betray each other first.

Jack O'Sullivan has a meticulous plan, everything is set to complete this job efficiently and then move onto his next job. That is until his job is interrupted by Ava Cavalcante. Though their overall goal is the same, Jack has been hired to kill Cale Jacobson, Ava just wants him dead out of revenge. When Jack realizes that he can't complete the job is Ava is going to go rogue, he takes her with him, hoping he can talk her out of her revenge and still be able to get the job done in the time his clients want. But now Cale has a sense of what is about to happen and is determined to find Ava and have her arrested. It doesn't help that each time Jack tells Ava to stay put she doesn't, digging a hole even deeper and making Jack's life harder once again.

But after Ava is kidnapped and questioned by Cale's henchman, she comes back battered and bruised, causing something in Jack to shift. When he saves her, finds a safe place for them, and they end up hooking up (hatefully) in a hotel bathroom, the feelings Jack has start to become more complicated. Ava also doesn't seem to know how to feel about their overall situation. She wants...no needs Cale Jacobson dead, but she enjoys Jack's company and how they explore this relationship together. They are both broken people who have experienced extreme cases of loss. The key difference is the routes they chose after. Jack had lost his husband in an accident, only to become a contract killer. Ava lost her wife due to Cale's insurance company denying coverage until it was too late and she is determined to have him pay for what he did. But as they come together in more ways that one, they start to see how their goals are common, even if their feelings start to complicate it.

That being said, there are quite a few triggers within this book so make sure to look those up before reading!

Mary E. Roach (yay Minnesota authors) has now written two books that I don't know if I would have pulled off the shelf on my own (or requested on NetGalley). I am not usually a dark romance girlie but between this novel and We Are the Match I am all in on their writing. I find their writing to be absolutely alluring, the books immediately pull me into the story and the characters are always really well fleshed out while still having their issues. Jack and Ava are both broken characters, two people functioning with nothing to lose...until they find something they are scared to lose. I am excited to see how their new book Bromantasy will compare when it comes out in a few months, especially with the overall vibe change. Mary E. Roach also has some young adult books too for those who want to support a local author but might not be into the darker romance vibes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, like finished it in just over 24 hours. I was immediately sucked into the story and invested in how these two chaos characters would make it through the story alive, if they made it through at all. The pacing of the book was great, with the whole thing only taking place in a few weeks. I also enjoyed seeing how these two characters learned to trust each other, even when they didn't want to.

I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars!

Love at First Kill comes out March 31, 2026!

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