Camilla Monk

Island Chaptal nerdy IT engineer by day, romance novel junkie by night just walked into her messy New York apartment to find Mr. Right waiting for her. No, wait "Mr. Clean." A gentleman professional killer with a bad case of OCD and zero tolerance for unsorted laundry, March isn t there to kill her yet. He wants the diamond her late mother stole for a sinister criminal organization. Island agrees to help him find it, facing the kind of adversaries who dismember first and ask questions later. Good thing she s got March to show her the ropes. And the guns. And the knives. The buttoned-up Island is soon having a blast racing from Paris to Tokyo following the clues in her mother s will, and for the first time, she s ready to get close to someone. But falling for a hit man may be the very definition of loving dangerously. "Spotless" marks the beginning of Island and March s ongoing adventures. "

Spotless

Holly Klein

"Mmm, let's see... Two in the thigh, one in the hip, and one . .. oh, excellent job, chérie," Ilan sneered as he examined our assailant. 

"What... where's the fourth one?" I asked. 

An ear-piercing shriek escaped my victim. "You shot me in the dock, bitch!”

My hands flew to cover my mouth. "I'm so, so sorry! Is it... did it fall off?”

I wailed in his arms as he patted my head. "Oh my God, I killed him ... I killed him!" 

Walking to the guy, Ilan knelt beside him, pointing a gun at his head. "You scared the little lady. Tell her you're fine."

 At first the guy just kept moaning, but Ilan poked him with his gun, and he croaked, "I'm...fine.

Hell-bent on making sure March didn't discover that I possessed a bladder like the rest of mankind, I stuffed the bowl with toilet paper to muffle any undignified sound-and yes, I'm aware that this is stupid and I could have clogged the toilet. Having a crush is complicated. 

“He kidnapped me, for God’s sake! What exactly are we talking about?”

“You’re so cute when you pretend to be angry! Don’t you like anything about him?”

“I like that maybe, if I collaborate with him, I get to stay alive,” I stated grimly. 

A muffled groan answered me, and I jerked back in panic. I hadn't been offered the passenger seat because March was nice to the ladies; I had because the trunk was already taken! 

“March, you are the single most damaged person I've ever met, and I include myself in that statement."

Colleen

3.5 Stars
 
Spotless is the story of Island Chaptal (yeah, terrible name), a geeky IT Engineer whose social awkwardness has left her as a twenty-five-year-old workaholic virgin who spends her free time reading too many romance novels. Her life is humdrum until one day she comes home to find a hitman in her apartment. It turns out that her mother led a much different life than Island thought, and now some very dangerous people think she has a valuable item last seen in her mother’s possession. And just like that, Island’s boring life goes out the window.
 
The story is told in first person from Island’s POV. She is a quirky and entertaining character although completely inept at all things espionage (other than computer programing). As a contrast to Island is March, the OCD neatfreak assassin who may or may not be more lovable than he seems. As opposite as they are, when thrown together in a high-adrenaline situation, sparks fly between March and Island. March’s personality is very hidden at first which made it hard to get to know him. But I suppose the point was that the reader not know what his true motivation was or whose side he was on. I can see how some people might take exception to their sort-of-relationship because it does start with March breaking into Island’s home and threatening her. So no, it’s not a healthy start to the relationship. But the story does not take itself too seriously. Each chapter starts with a quote from one of Island’s (fake) romance novels. The quotes are over-the-top, bodice-busting corny and yet probably aren’t far off from some existing romance novels. Island even addresses her conflicted feelings toward March and whether they relate to Stockholm Syndrome. To me, it never felt like she was romanticizing the whole abduction and people trying to kill me parts. And once you find out the events that lead up to the start of the story, it presents the story in a different light.
 
Yes, it’s a cheesy story, but still cute and full of lots of action and adventure in a spy thriller meets chicklit. It’s kind of like a goofy version of Hitman. The downside on the action is that the story is told from Island’s perspective and she is clueless about all the stabby-shooty-killy bits, so her description of the action is lackluster at times. But I won’t lie; I gobbled this book up and enjoyed it enormously. It was entertaining and easy to read. The plot was fast-paced, and the rest of the characters were interesting as well.
 
The downside is that it had a cliffhanger ending that was clearly setting up for the next book in the series. I would have liked a little more resolution both with the plot and between the characters. But this was a great debut effort, and I look forward to reading the sequel.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

rockie

I LOVED this series! As evident by my star rating. There are 4 books and 1 novella and I devoured them; sitting on the edge of my seat to see what will happen to Island and the rest of the gang. It was a funny, witty and a very, very weird and strange series-but in a good way! It was a little bit 'James Bond', a little bit 'Kill Bill' and a bit of Je ne sais quoi! And I may or may not have a crush on a fictional character that is a hit man with OCD! As well ostriches, killer platypuses, passive aggressive orange plants and cats on Roombas make a cameo in this entertaining read.

Samantha Emery

2nd edition shelved for book challenge purposes. (for re reads of books within the same year)

Full review here - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Saayan

I could tell that the author knew Japan well and I appreciated that about the book. It did bother me that jyuuni was translated to 10 instead of 12 though.

It was a little too violent for my personal tastes so I ended up skimming most of it. I'm not sure if I will continue with this series but I'm willing to give it a try when I'm in the right mood.

Spotless

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