Book Review: Hug It Out by Davidson King

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Hug It Out
Author: Davidson King
Series: Haven Hart Universe #2
Heroes: Teddy & Riordan
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: March 27, 2018
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Riordan Darcy has spent the last fourteen years building a name for himself as a notorious assassin. He travels the world taking the lives of some of the worst humanity has to offer, leaving his signature on every victim.

Riordan becomes unhappy and withdrawn from the world after a job goes horribly wrong and he makes the decision to get out of the life he was forced into, so long ago. When his meddling, older sister gives him a birthday gift that’s impossible to refuse, his plans to leave his life of crime take a backseat when he’s forced to protect the life of a veritable stranger.

When professional hugger and TLC provider, Teddy Harris, is offered a month-long companionship contract, he’s hard pressed to turn it down. Cuddler by day and a video game reviewer by night, Teddy’s need to make people feel loved and cared for is what drives him. When he meets Riordan Darcy, professional challenge and personal temptation collide, making it nearly impossible for him to endure a whole month with the gorgeous, enigmatic man without falling head over heels in love.

When a mole is discovered within Riordan’s organization, relationships are compromised, and people’s lives are in danger. Time isn’t on their side, and they discover answers can’t always be found by hugging it out when someone is hell-bent on eliminating each and every one of them. Can Riordan and Teddy survive long enough to fall in love, or will they die trying?

Review:

Riordan doesn’t leave an ordinary life, after all he kills people for a living. So when his latest hit doesn’t turn out as it’s supposed to, his family gets worried when Riordan starts to keep to himself. So when Riordan’s sister calls up Teddy, a professional cuddler, she’s hoping Teddy can get her brother to open up. Unfortunately for Teddy, things don’t go as planned for him when he’s instantly attracted to Riordan. But he’s determined to help Riordan in any way he can. When Riordan’s work life starts to affect his personal life causing a mole to leak information and tries to destroy Riordan’s boss and organization, Teddy is smack dab in the middle of it all. Now Riordan can’t just let Teddy go, even if he wanted to and Teddy is far from understanding on what needs to really be done and how Riordan goes about it. When Riordan has to make some hard decisions, will Teddy be able to forgive him for his betrayal? Will they even survive the hostile takeover that this mole has their sights set on?

OMG, where has this author been all my life? This book pretty much hit on all my wants in a story. A sweet, adorable character with a spine of steel? Check. An assassin who needs a little lovin’? Check. A fuck ton of sexy, cold as sin other assassins? Check, check and check! I really loved this book and couldn’t get enough of it. I loved that Teddy had such a uniquely strange job and the different people he seems to meet with it. I loved that Riordan, while an assassin, had some morals and felt guilt over his actions when a mission goes to shit. It was interesting to see Riordan and Teddy try to resist each other because I loved the chemistry between them and how hard they tried not to let their feelings develop.

As for the world, I really enjoyed seeing things from the organization view (in a way). We got to meet some of Riordan’s co-workers and his boss. It was intriguing to see how different they are and how their abilities vary in different ways. I loved that it centered around them but branched off in getting crime bosses involved and working through how to keep Teddy safe while also trying to find the mole within the organization. I must say, I really hope Bill and Mace get a story because damn! Their chemistry was off the CHARTS!

My only complaint with this one is the mole was very obvious to me. I mean, I pegged them from the very beginning and kept wondering how these trained assassins weren’t catching on to their very obvious ploy to push the blame from themselves. Also (and this isn’t a compliant), how did Black not realize that so many of his employees were against him? I find it hard to believe that many people didn’t let even a hint of what was happening drop (since it was developing over YEARS) even if they are all trained the way they were. It made me think Black wasn’t good at his job and he proved that he was more than capable at what he does but it still boggled my mind.

All in all, I really loved this book. Once I started it, I didn’t want to put it down. I loved Riordan and I loved how Teddy became such an important part of Riordan in such a short amount of time. I loved their chemistry and the journey they go through to get where they end up. I didn’t realize this was book two in a series so I can’t wait to read that one and get back to this world. I hope this isn’t the last we see of Riordan and Teddy because I could totally read another five or so books on just them! LOL

Overall Impression: I loved it!

*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*