Kimberly Van Sickle’s *Assassins Are Us* is a fast-paced, thrilling read that blends action and intrigue with a sharp sense of humor. Van Sickle’s engaging narrative and dynamic characters create a gripping story full of unexpected twists and high-stakes drama. This novel’s clever plot and vibrant style make it an exhilarating addition to the genre.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 28% and skimmed a little further before deciding to DNF.
I found the narrator to be infuriating and, despite this book being labeled as “Humor & Satire,” I found it to be completely unfunny.
The main character felt like a caricature of a high schooler and was so full of herself that I couldn’t enjoy the story.

This book provided a muted adolescent's version of family development, set against a "quirky" background.
It did not read well, nor did its pacing meet the drive of the characters.
Additionally, despite a "strong" protagonist, the message that children should grow up faster than their adults ask them to is not one I would put to children reading the book.

I wish this was better. The concept is great, but the writing is extremely amateur. It felt like very strong humor moments were over explained, which destroyed all actual humor.

A fun quick read. Kind of witty and sarcastic banter. There wasn’t really any of action until the end of the book. And the twist was just meh since it wasn’t really marketed as having a mystery?

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t get into it. The main character was unlikeable and I just couldn’t get into it.

The whole time I was reading this I was a bit confused on what age group it was supposed to be for. It wasn't a bad story, I enjoyed it and Hedy's family's escapades, but it was a little juvenile at times and less action packed than I was expecting.

BOOK: ASSASSINS ARE US
AUTHOR: KIMBERLY VAN SICKLE
PUB DATE: 12 SEPTEMBER 2023
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REVIEW
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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I didn't like this book, especially the FMC. She had a lot negative things to say about other characters in the book, especially her brother. Her brother had faults, but the way she thinks of him was just too harsh. She was 'oh so perfect' compared to the imperfection of others.
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I also didn't like how she treated Dave in 'The Situation'. She didn't even ask the necessary questions, just went violent!
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This book was not it for me

It was a sweet, yet sinister tale of a teenage assassin-in-training that was amusing when she learned her family's darkest secret. It was a brief novel, and when the action did begin, it moved along quickly in the second half. The book's title made me want to read more about the action, but it was only found in the final chapters. I would have preferred it if Hedy's character had been explored further. The writing style was really captivating and the first few chapters served as an absolute hook! Overall, it was a light-hearted read.
Thankyou Netgalley and Atmosphere Press for the ARC.

I really wanted to love this book… But from the moment Hedy spoke up in class, I knew I likely wouldn’t :( I didn’t like the central character, or her family, and in the end didn’t like the family’s occupation (implausible that assassins could be good, and the author didn’t persuade me). I didn’t enjoy the writing style at all, unfortunately.

I want to imagine that there might be teens or YA that may enjoy this, but it wasn’t a good fit for me. Thank you to Atmosphere Press and to NetGalley.

This book will probably find a great audience in younger teens, which makes me glad as it's a portion of readers that are often forgotten. Hedy is very snarky and fun to read, though might be a bit tiring for adult readers. The family history was interesting if a bit stretched. (Someone snuck into Hitler's bunker? Really?) Overall, a short and fun read for teens looking for a fun take on family issues.

This book was a rough read. I felt like the main character, Hedy, was unlikable and didn't redeem herself. The relationship between her and her brother was odd and never made sense. Even the attempt at romance fell flat.

Hedy belongs to a family of assassins. She has been highly trained since birth to go into the family business so when she meets Dave, a seemingly normal teenager, she’s a bit thrown to have a normal relationship.

I quite enjoyed the first half of the story. It had vague overtones of The Incredibles - a superhero family trying to live covertly among the rest of the population.

However, just as I was beginning to ask what was the point of the story, the pace picked up, Hedy was kidnapped and the story went downhill from there. For a family of assassins who were used to killing people, they became very keen to tie people up & talk about motives. The motive for the kidnap just felt unbelievable.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book that was age appropriate for young teenage but could still hold the attention of adult. It was a good book and enjoyable to read. There was some twists and turns in the end that made it exciting to read. I would love to read this book again.

I was really intrigued by the premise, but unfortunately this book isn't for me. The beginning was too slow and I felt too disconnected from the characters.

ssassins Are Us is the story of Hedy, the teenage daughter of multiple generations of assassins, who is poised to take up the mantle and join the family business. This is a really fun premise. Unfortunately for me, Hedy was my main issue with this book. The story is written in a way that feels like we are in Hedy's mind, reading her stream of consciousness. She is an obnoxious, arrogant teenager, and it's not a very enjoyable or interesting point of view to read from. It is quite disjointed, even confusing at times, and does not flow well. There are many long run on sentences that make it quite hard to read and sink into the story. This is an ARC so hopefully there will be significant editing before release, but I found myself googling the publisher after reading because I was surprised by the quality. It does seem to be a hybrid publisher, so I wonder if that is why there has been less editing so far.

The story itself takes a long time to get going. The second half of the book is better when the action finally kicks off, and I could see some glimmers of potential in the plot. Unfortunately, I still couldn't get past my dislike of the protagonist and writing style.

A dark and fun story about a 17year old assassin in training that stumbles upon family secrets of her own. I enjoyed this spin on a coming of age story and thought it was original and a good read!

This book is Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls for this generation. I loved this book and wish it was around when I was a YA. I just wish there was more action because literally only the last 10% had action and the family business in motion. I just needed a bit more action for it to be a 5 star read because it is a book about assassins after all.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. It was a cute story about a teenage assassin in training but, not quite what I expected. There was no real action to speak of until the last bit of the book and then it was justi over like that. Overall, I would recommend it for a fun, quick story but I would have liked to have had more depth to Hedy*s. story.

As soon as I saw the title of this book I knew I had to read this.
This is a YA / Teen novel about a family of assassins.
The book follows Heda, the young daughter (17) as she navigates the world as a trained assassin as well as a teenager, doing what teenagers do. She also is trying to understand her family, her role in the family and the history of what they do.
All in all this was a very interesting book, quite short but packed with enough to keep someone entertained.
The second half of the book was really fast paced and the action was great. I loved the twists and the story. I loved how it felt like a normal family but with a very abnormal past. It was still very relatable because of this thread in the story.
I loved the relationships between each family member and I enjoyed the way it also included some historical information too.
All in all a really fun book to read.
I have given this a 3.5 round up to a 4.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read the Advanced Copy.