Paths: A Killers Novel, Book 2 (The Killers)

Loved this book! Grady and Maya together are so good. The story has suspense, romance, humor, and spice. Highly recommend!

Again, I know I am late to the review party given “Paths”, the second installment of Brynne Asher’s Killers series is from 2017, however better late than never as they say... Where book one of this riveting saga about elite, shadow realm assassins and the women who love them was a suspenseful ride of nail-biting intrigue, danger, and emotional growth. This one is a strong and harrowing tale of second chances at both life and love. Here with the story of fellow contractor Grady, a man lost, unable to settle as Asa and Crew have into the life of “retirement”. A man so haunted by his past that he is driven back to the dangerous missions just recently left behind, a decision that will almost destroy him when said mission goes terribly wrong and leaves him broken in both body and spirit. And Maya, the mysterious woman and vineyard newcomer we first met in book one. A woman on the run from a man far more dangerous than even she is aware, tied in further by a mother determined to see her attached to not only the man of her nightmares, but his powerful family as well. In dire need of a second chance she stumbles upon Addy’s vineyard, accepting her offer of work and shelter and soon catching the eye of Grady, who unbeknownst to her uses every means possible to him to watch the only point of light within his ever-darkening life. A light he is desperate to hold onto, a hold that progresses exponentially, bringing with it all of the dangers Maya has been frantically trying to outrun. What follows is once again an intelligently written, intricate tale of 007 level who-done-it twists and turns. A luscious and heart pounding tale of survival, finding the strength to keep moving forward despite overwhelming odds, and overcoming deep-seated fear. It is also a joyous story of finding true love when you least expect to and having the courage to embrace it fully. Does it contain all of the unbridled edge-of-your-seat action as the first book, no, no it does not. However, it is far more emotionally compelling than Crew and Addy’s story, full to bursting with emotionally rich dialog and heart melting, poignant discoveries and revelations. As with book one, this one stays constant in relatability, offering a storyline that you can easily see yourself being a part of, with its plotline of abuse easily identifiable to women everywhere. And where Addy and Crew were far more physical in their needs, here Asher opts for a more subtle, but equally powerful route. Manifesting Grady and Maya’s connection in an almost purely emotional way, building a foundation of trust, safety, and reliability, something some may view as a softer (more vanilla) twist from the bdsm laced “Vines”, but a slant I found refreshing and appreciated fully. Another wonderful addition to a wonderful book series.

My Mum always told me to make the best of a situation. I scoffed, crossed my arms and glared at her every bloody time (as children are wont to do). Who wants to make the best of a situation when that situation SUCKS. As I’ve matured and my life has been filled with ups and downs, I’m actually starting to agree with her. No, I’m not going to preach it at my kids (because they’ll react the same as I did) because I hope to set an example they can follow. Now all this rambling was actually to make a point. My point is that I start every book thinking this is my next bestest of the best read. Well, I can happily say my positive attitude paid off and I have a new addition to the list. It's like Brynne Asher made a list and checked it twice, against How to write a romance that ticks all Sassy’s boxes list. First off, I’d like to point out that this is my list of good things in perfect romance stories, not, perfect romance in real life. I say this because I have a wee bit more tolerance for alpha, bossy, stubborn and demanding heroes in the books I read than if say, my hubby, tried it out on me. My expectations are a lot higher (than real life) when it comes to the way my heroes look. Unrealistic of course, considering I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen an iliac furrow (you know the v muscle, Adonis belt thingamajiggy) in real life. So, Grady Cain rocked my world. This guy…well, this guy is kind of my holy grail of book boyfriends. Good looking, great body, smart, bossy, determined and the big one…knows what he wants and goes for it. Geez Grady, you certainly don’t make things easy for the single ladies of the world. If they’re waiting for their own Grady…they may be waiting for a wee while. What made Grady even more irresistible to me is that he wasn’t perfect. He’s lived a hard life and made some dodgy decisions. Grady’s a little broken but the good thing is that he’s aware of it. Now, Maya, well she’s not perfect, but no heroine is, unfortunately. See, I’m a little harsher on the heroines of my romance reads. Well, for starters, they’re not me, so there is no way they can be perfect (tongue firmly lodged in my cheek). Then, we have to make the heroine a little silly, and slightly deranged/illogical/immature, just so we can make our hero look even better. See, he has to come in and save the day, and if the chick can handle all her own problems…what the heck is left for our macho man, bossy hero to do? So we have - Hero – awesome Heroine – good enough Storyline – riveting Additional characters – interesting Baddies – sneer worthy Suspense – it’s there Sexy times – smoking So I have - my perfect romance read. Paths is why I am a devoted romance reader. I’m looking for this type of book in all of my reads. Grady is my perfect type of hero. His looks, personality and attitude could be picked up from this story and applied to every type of genre I read under the romance genre. Hey Brynne, if you ever thought about writing a paranormal or historical…I’ll read it. Actually...hey Brynne, can you please write a paranormal and a historical, pretty please with sugar on the top. Love The Killers series and I can’t wait for more.

I enjoyed the first book Vines a lot. In fact I couldn’t imagine liking another character(s) in this series more than I liked Crew and Addy. But I was wrong. Grady and Maya were just as good maybe even better. Asa might have to step up his game to compete with these two. I also think I had sort of a preconceived dislike of Grady even before I read the first page of his story because of his actions in Vines. Deciding to take another job which in turn put not only his life in jeopardy but Crews as well since Crew couldn’t let him go alone. And Grady wasn’t ready to admit it was time for him to quit. Luckily for Grady, Crew has his back, so when things do go pear shaped Crew finds a way to save them both and drags a physically and emotionally broken Grady home with him. Enter Maya, I was expecting Maya to be a down on her luck girl running from a world that had hurt or kicked her. But that wasn’t the case. She came from a world of what is considered privilege and money. Never wanting for anything except maybe the true love and affection a child should get from their parents. Maya’s father isn’t a bad man, he’s just absent. And Maya’s mother is....well truthfully she’s awful. She’s mean and pretentious and treats her children as though they were accessories to adorn her life rather than the people they are. Maya does have a great relationship with her younger brother Joseph and one of my favorite parts of this story is the conversation at the dinner table, while Maya’s mother is doing everything in her power to force her daughter to heel and make sure Grady knows he will never be good enough for her daughter or her family, Joseph tries to distract the conversation by any means necessary. He starts talking about changing his college major from finance to fermentation because he wants to learn to make beer and maybe even cheese without killing someone and eventually open up his own cheese and beer making business. Maybe you had to be there reading it as it’s happening but it made me laugh out loud. I don’t like to give a book away for the next reader who comes a long so I guess this was vague. But common if you read the publishers blurb about the story and you’ve already read Vines (which for love Cheetos you should have already) then you already know enough about this story before you begin. So what I will say is to begin. This is a great series. And book two is just as good if not better than book one. Dive in you’ll love this!

4.5 Stars I loved the first book in this series, and I loved this one. You've got Grady, a tortured, grumpy hero with a very complicated past. And Maya, a heroine in hiding from both her family and her ex-fiancé mobster. How could this be anything but a fantastic book? Add in that Jason Clarke is one of the narrators and I am obsessed. We met both Grady and Maya in the first book of the series. Grady was struggling with retirement, leading him to take another job that almost got him and his best friend killed. In this book he's still recovering from his near escape and the guilt he feels over Crew's involvement. I really appreciated how his struggles were handled throughout the entire course of this book, and I love how Maya was both sensitive to it while also not letting him get away with being a jerk. I love how the relationship between the two of them developed. I loved that Grady pushed Maya but also gave her time to get used to the new developments in their relationship. I love that they both secretly paid close attention to the other before they started interacting with each other, and I love how they both supported each other. I'm genuinely very excited to continue with this series and I'm even excited for the spin-off series that was started with one of the side characters from this book. ✔️ Fake Relationship ✔️ Heroine in Hiding ✔️ Forced Proximity ✔️ Tortured Hero ✔️ Physical Therapist Heroine ✔️ Ex-Military Hero ✔️ Mystery/Suspense ✔️ First Person Dual POV

This book has interesting characters and an interesting plot. There is a lot going on with good suspense and romance. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because it seemed to me there was an excessive amount of graphic sex scenes. I get tired of that. It is well written and entertaining and has a happy ending.

Grumpy, broody, wounded ex contract assassin meets strong, caring, quiet physical therapist? Say no more! Maya Augustine has some secrets. She clearly knows what she’s doing, so why is she working as an activity director at a senior living facility and serving at a winery? She’s kind, quiet, and running—both literally and figuratively—from her crazy ex. But no one knows that just yet! Grady Cain is broken. Physically, he’s been shot. Mentally, he’s lost. He’s lost his focus and edge in his job, putting himself and those he loves at risk. He doesn’t know how to cope with not being able to go on missions. While recuperating, he finds himself a new hobby: watching the new girl on her daily runs. She gives him something to focus on at his lowest, becomes a bit of an obsession, and, before long, he starts falling for her. The way Grady and Maya help heal each other is so, so perfect. Maya is already incredibly strong, but even strong women need a protector. Grady is just that—fiercely protective and willing to stop at nothing for those he holds close. Maya is also exactly what Grady needs. Physically, she’s the PT who’ll push him and won’t put up with his 💩. Mentally, she gives him a future—a reason to live beyond the job he’s focused on for so long. This is just another gem in the catalog of Brynne’s books that you must read! When someone asks for book recommendations, I just tell them, “Brynne Asher’s books!” 🙌🏼

I think Crew’s story in vines spoiled me. It gave me something to compare other books to. I enjoyed Paths, Maya and Grady’s story. Having these tough guys open up to love and just go all in is refreshing to read about. Grady found something in Maya that he needed in his life after it blew apart. Maya needed to realize that relationships were so much better than the one she had been in for years. This story had suspense and humor and got me interested in continuing the series.

Took to Grady straight away. Well rounded characters always reel you in and he is no exception. Cut through the gruff and grime and there one sexy protector. Counter that with his strong smart live interest, definite sizzle! Couldn’t put it down.

This is the first book I've read from Brynne Asher. I really enjoyed reading about Grady and Maya. I enjoy Romance but I love romance with a bit if action and intrigue. It was a good story and I liked the characters. I will definitely be reading more of Brynne Ashers books.

Grady and Maya’s story is a great ride - if you like romantic suspense with heavy on the romance, you will love this book!

Wow I thought the first story was great but they just keep getting better. I laughed a lot through this story, it is a great balance of love & romance with humour and danger, I especially loved reading the scenes set at the ranch, the characters are brilliant and the scenes with the ladies at the vineyard are hillarious . I'm looking forward to reading the next story in this lovely series.

Maya is trying to get away from a bad relationship and the quiet vineyard seems like the ideal place to do it. She is trying to stay under the radar and keep to herself, but she can’t help but notice her hot, grumpy neighbor who comes the the vineyard regularly to eat. She sees how hot he is, but she also sees how lost he seems. She doesn’t think he’s noticed her, but she is the only thing he wants to see. After a traumatic experience he is staying at home, licking his wounds and they only thing making him feel better is watching her. When their friends discover she is a Physical Therapist they ask her to help Grady with his recovery. He doesn’t want this as he doesn’t want anyone near him. She manages to push her way into his life and when her past catches up to her he is there to help. Their story was hot, but to me it was more emotional and I really liked that. When Grady realises how he feels about Maya, he’s all in, he just needs to convince her and keep her safe from her past as it is not leaving her in peace. Another thoroughly enjoyable read. Will definitely carry on with this series.