Name: The Hit List
ISBN: 9781939392329

Nikki Urang

After being betrayed by her partner, aspiring dancer Sadie Bryant must start over in a new conservatory in Los Angeles where she becomes the focus of a game of sexual conquest.

The Hit List

Becky

I adore dancing and so a book set at an arts school, about a girl who is a dancer, having to dance with some boy, it all appeals. It definitely lived up to my expectations, it had drama, and dancing, and romance, and major angst issues, but angst in the sense of individual insecurities that weren't 'OMG I have trust issues all over the place because something oh so traumatic happened in my past and I can never trust again'. I mean there are trust issues, but Sadie recognises them as an obstacle, she doesn't exactly pick the most sensible route to overcome though, but still.

I would recommend this to fans of the Step Up films, it has similar vibes to it.

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I'm not now nor have I ever been a dancer. I don't have the body type OR the coordination required. But no matter, I am obsessed with dancing. So many of my guilty pleasure movies and TV shows are based around dance and dancers. I've seen Center Stage and all the Step Up movies hundreds of times. I never miss So You Think You Can Dance. I've read a fair few dance books, and while I enjoyed them at the time, none of them really stood out. Until now, that is. I've been eagerly anticipating The Hit List since a friend featured it as her Waiting on Wednesday post a few months ago. It SO lived up to my expectations. 

The Hit List was a great, fast read. While I admit it was the combination of dance and "the game" that initially drew me to this book, it was the wonderful characters and their development that sucked me in the most. Sadie and Luke were great main characters, but there were some fantastic secondary characters in this story as well. I would love to see The Hit List turned into a series that tells different characters' stories in each new book. There's so much potential here with the other characters. I'm already hooked on them. I'd be thrilled to get the others' stories. (Starting with Brielle and Adam, of course.) 

I was a fan of the thought of Sadie and Luke from the first time they set eyes on each other. Yes, I was a little weary of Luke and his outward image and reputation. Sure, I hoped he wasn't just playing with Sadie for the sake of the game. But damn, the boy was swoony. He was pushing her out of her comfort zone and challenging her to be a better dancer. He was supportive. I mean, he had his jerky moments, but I was willing to look past them because I was sure there was more to him than met the eye. Sadie was a great protagonist. She was real. She was flawed. But, at the same time, she's someone I could see myself being friends with. 

I'm a fan of the new adult genre and all the things that come with it. Yes, I'm talking angst and sexy times here. The Hit List might have been fairly low on both the angst and blatant sexy times, but the sexual tension is incredible. Sadie and Luke have tons of chemistry and, even when they try to fight it, it jumps off the page. So good. It's also big on feels, and that alone made me love it. I was completely connected to these characters and definitely felt all the feels. If you're a contemporary romance fan and this book isn't yet on your radar (and your TBR list!) it should be. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

3.5 stars!

“Not everyone leaves in the end. Sometimes you just have to give people a chance. Give them a reason to stay.”

The Hit List really surprised me, in a very good way. At first I thought it was going to be a contemp more on the silly side once I started reading and found about about “the hit list”, which is a list of girls that guys in school can earn points for scoring with. Yeah, not something I would normally be interested in reading about. But I was so happily surprised as I read more into the story how much more this story really was. It wasn’t simply regarding this game (thankfully!), but it was so much more than that. It focused quite a bit on dance, also carrying with it a strong message about staying strong, overcoming obstacles, and being the best YOU you can be.

Sadie dealt with inner struggles that were interfering with her dream – becoming a professional dancer. She was lucky enough to get into an amazing school that specialized in dance, one that only the BEST were able to get into, yet she found herself so overcome by fear that it took away from her performance. You see, she had this overwhelming fear that everyone would leave her, eventually. An incident in the past with her ex-boyfriend left her completely unable to trust anyway, including a dance partner. And wouldn’t you know it… the school required the big dance performance to be done in partners. And to make matters ever worse… her partner was the conceited, overly self-assured “player” of the school, Luke Morrison.

“I think I just contracted an STD from all the manwhoreness pouring off of you right now.”

Sadie and Luke are forced to work together as partners, which neither one was very happy about. As the story progresses their relationship changes, adding more confusion and drama to the story. Add in a few of their friends and this story is outright funny at times. Definitely entertaining and fun, for the most part. Though the beginning was a bit slow, it did end up picking up as the story progressed, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would to begin with. The “hit list” story line took a backseat to the dance part, which I found rather enjoyable. I was surprised by who the “bad guy” ended up being, which was a fun little shocker for me that gave the story another few points, in my opinion. 

Overall, an entertaining read that I would definitely recommend if you’re in the mood for that type of thing. Especially to fans of dance, as I felt this story portrayed it extremely accurately. Nikki Urang is a new author for me, one that I will be sure to keep my eyes out for in the future.

(Thanks to Spencer Hill Contemporary for the review copy!)


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