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loverofromance 's review for:

Hans by S.J. Tilly
3.0
challenging dark funny medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

 This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎
Cover:πŸ“”πŸ“”πŸ“”πŸ“”
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:πŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈ
Intimacy Level: πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯
Relationship Building: πŸ’’πŸ’’πŸ’’
Heart & Feels:πŸ’žπŸ’žπŸ’ž
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚
Page Turner Level:πŸ“–πŸ“–πŸ“–
Ending:🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨


First Impressions
Hans is the final (I think it is anyway) book in the "Alliance" series. After such a positive experience that I had with "Dom" I had really high expectations for Hans and it didn't quite work for me if I am being honest. I was really excited too because I loved what I saw with him and his "ladies" in Dom. However, I was disappointed with what this booko delivered. While there are positive aspects to it, the character of Hans was disappointing and the heroine, I didn't really connect with like I did some of the previous heroines in the series.

First Line
The soft scraping sound of my blade gliding over the whetstone fills me with a sense of calm.

Summary
Hans is a brooding man that keeps his secrets close. He is a trained assassin and fights for a very good reason and still has one enemy out there he will never stop fighting to get to. When a sexy woman moves in across the street from his home, he is tempted more than ever before. She is constantly using him as her guinea pig for her bakery recipes and his attraction to her is only building. There is a mutual attraction between Hans and Cassie, but Hans lives a dangerous life and doesn't know that he can risk being with Cassie and have her put in danger. But their connection is building to a point that he doesn't know he can let go of.

What I Loved
There were aspects to the story that I did enjoy. The first being is the plot. The plot was super well written in this story and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed how well developed it was and the suspense elements that are gradually built throughout the story. I also really enjoyed the chemistry between Hans and Cassie, that focus was well built. This author definitely knows how to build her intimacy. There were also some fun interactions with the others in the Alliance that was a bit entertaining at times.

What I Struggled With
I will be honest in that this book was a disappointment. I am not sure exactly what it was but it just felt lacking especially in comparison to the previous books that I read on this one here. I really wanted to love it though. It just didn't execute in the way that I expected it to. I think my issue with this one was that the romance I just didn't feel that strongly. Yes there is good chemistry, but the actually relationship aspects and the swoons between this couple just didn't quite make it for me. The pacing in the book was slow, I am not sure if this was a "me" issue or not, however, I just had the hardest time keeping interest in this story. Another element was the characters I just didn't feel the depth for like I expected. Hans, while we get a good back story, I expected more from his character. After Nero, King and Dom, Hans feels like a cinnamon roll and I am not saying that in a positive way. If I am reading a dark romance with a crazy unhinged hero, I want an alpha male. He felt way too soft for me. Also another aspect to the story that I don't understand with this one was the number of chapters, there are over 100. That is WAY too many especially when quite a few chapters were only one page. What is that?? LOL

Overall View
Hans while a disappointing read at times, had such promise and was a satisfying finale in some respects. Despite my experience with this one, I will always have this author on my watchlist.

Favorite Quote(s)
But if he’s gonna be obsessed with me, he’d better be obsessed with only me.

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance
Character Types: Assasian-Male, Curvy Heroine
Themes: Retelling (Goldilocks)
Tropes: Next Door Neighbor, Protector

Book Perspective
Duo POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Plot

Song This Book Inspires
Body Electric by Lana Del Rey

Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes

Steam/Spice Explanations

Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.