Sunday, November 8, 2015

Review: Designed for Murder by Avery Flynn

Designed for Murder by Avery Flynn
Series: Killer Style, Book 4
Publisher: Entangled: Ignite
Genre: Romantic Suspense Designed for Murder Cover
ISBN: 9781633754348
Release Date: November 9, 2015
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N

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…

Designed for Murder is a fast-paced and sexy story with a healthy dose of geekery thrown in for added fun. Avery Flynn’s fourth Killer Style novel brings very real intrigue to the world of live-action role-playing (LARP) and watching danger and fantasy collide is incredibly entertaining, especially when those things are coupled with a seriously hot romance.

Mika is a knockout heroine – one who’s confident, straightforward, and hardworking. Her love of textile design and LARP makes her a unique heroine and she flat-out charmed the socks off me. Carlos, in turn, is a geek who has turned his back on gaming after trusting the wrong person almost got his friends killed. Since then, Carlos has done everything possible to distance himself from the gamer he once was. Only Mika’s case drags him right back to where he didn’t want to be, and Carlos has to face his demons if he hopes to keep Mika safe. Both Mika and Carlos have tragedies in their past that have scarred them, and it’s not easy for them to fully move forward, causing problems in their burgeoning relationship. But every obstacle in their path is worth overcoming, because it’s clear Mika and Carlos fit on every level.

Mika and Carlos’s romance makes the pages of Designed for Murder fly by, but the mystery of who is attacking LARPers and why rounds out the book and the added suspense is great. The only thing that kept this from being a perfect read is that Mika and Carlos both made some choices near the end that felt forced; or rather they were poor decisions that seem to have been made for plot point reasons. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed Designed for Murder, thanks in no small part to Carlos and Mika’s nerdy, sexy appeal. I haven’t read the rest of the Killer Style series, but I definitely will now!


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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