Review: We Met in Death by K.A. Merikan

Title: We Met in Death

Author: K.A. Merikan

Publisher: Self-Published/Kindle Unlimited

Length: 274 Pages

Category: Contemporary, Dark Romance

At a Glance: I enjoyed reading We Met in Death very much, and I think it’s a must-read story for the lovers of dark romance. 5 Stars.

Reviewed By: Ky

Blurb: “This is not the night you die.”

After years of working for a loan shark, Robert is done with blood and violence. All he has to show for it is a bag of money and a lifetime of regrets. There’s no other way out of his line of work than in a body bag.

So Robert decides to die.

But on the night he chooses to seal his own fate, destiny offers him a chance at redemption. When Robert saves a handsome young escort from a terrible death, he has no idea he is setting in motion much more than one last attempt at proving that inside the hardened shell, he is a decent human being.

Charming, quick-witted, and full of smiles, Nathan is all Robert could dream of. He’s also ready to fall into the arms of his gruff protector. Robert, on the other hand, has never been with a man and will first need to fight his own demons if he is to accept that his whole being wants to make Nathan his.

With his former boss hunting them both, time is ticking, and Robert might just not get the chance to decide before it’s too late. More importantly though, Robert will stop at nothing to protect the man who’s made him feel alive again, the man who is the only thing between him and the abyss.

Warning: This story contains scenes of violence, torture, mentions of suicide, offensive language, morally ambiguous characters, homophobia and homophobic language

Review: We Met in Death is a dark romance with fast-paced action and a message about always being able to turn your life around.

The main characters did things that can’t be forgiven or undone, but since this is fiction, I’m not going to focus on that. Instead, I’m going to emphasize the fact that they were able to change the course of their lives, and make a new start. Robert, more than Nathan, had a lot on his conscience and, for many years, did awful things. But, he was able to put all that behind him and make something better of himself.

On the night Robert had planned to end his life—because that was the only way out of his current situation that he could think of—he came across Nathan in a cemetery. It was the night Nathan was supposed to die too. But what was to be their last night, turned out to be the beginning. They went through way too much together. They ran and they went into hiding; they broke many laws; they faced betrayal and prejudice. They also witnessed kindness and support from people who seemed the least likely to help them.

Family ties don’t break easily and that became very apparent here. Even after years of estrangement, Robert’s family came together in order to help him and Nathan. They provided them with a place to lay low, and they lied to save them. At the beginning of the book, I thought I was in for a road trip story about two guys crossing a continent while on the run from a loan shark. After an unexpected plot-twist, what I got in the end was an amazing story about family, loyalty and love.

I have to say that I wasn’t a big fan of Nathan in the beginning. He kept making mistakes and getting them in more trouble. Fortunately, that changed soon, and he became a very likeable character. My favorite of the two, though, was Robert. He was such a complex character. He did bad things, he felt remorse for them, but he still kept doing them. He made many mistakes in his past, which was a dark one, but once he found that one person he connected with, he was prepared to endure everything in order to save him. The same went for his family. Even though he hadn’t seen or talked to them in years, even though he didn’t have any real connection with them, or even really know most of them, he cared for them; he defended them with a vengeance, and he was ready to sacrifice himself in order to save them. Granted, they were in danger because of him, but still…

At the beginning, and for more than half the book, Robert kept going back and forth in whether he liked Nathan. He had an erratic behavior and changed his mind from one breath to the next. He didn’t want to accept his feelings, and treated Nathan very poorly. That brought some relationship angst to the story, which was necessary in order for Robert to accept himself and open up to a future with Nathan.

The last few chapters of the book packed in so much action and suspense that I was on the edge of my seat while reading. That showed to me how well-written it was since it’s very rare that a book is able to get that reaction from me for an action scene. After all that nail chewing, the vibe of the story changed completely, and a sweet epilogue gave our characters their hard-won happily ever after.

I enjoyed reading We Met in Death very much, and I think it’s a must-read story for the lovers of dark romance. Finally, I want to mention that amazing cover from Natasha Snow. It’s so perfect and fitting for the story.

You can buy We Met in Death here:
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