Pretty Fierce by Kieran Scott (review)

The unsolved murder of her assassin parents forced seventeen-year Kaia into hiding, and for the past year she’s led a “normal” life in a small town in South Carolina. She’s got a decent school life, sweet guardians, and most importantly, Oliver, her adoring boyfriend. That all evaporates when a hit man shows up at her door, Kaia pulls out some mad fighting skills to dispose of him, and poor unsuspecting Oliver walks in on the whole scene. More bad guys are coming, so Kaia has no choice but to bring Oliver with her, and as they flee one danger after another, Kaia comes closer to the secrets behind her parents’ deaths. The breathless chase scenes are cinematic fun, with Kaia often coming out with guns or knives blazing; it turns out Oliver’s jiu jitsu training comes in handy, too. Unfortunately, between the action thrills is a whole lot of internal angst voiced by the two narrators, and Oliver’s and Kaia’s mooning over each other, wondering who loves whom more, and generic declarations of their feelings become tedious quite quickly. Regardless, the ultimate rescue makes for a pulse-pounding (albeit somewhat overly choreographed) climax, and Kaia’s happy ending, including the promise of a future with Oliver, is well earned.