Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers by Jen and Éric Desmarais – A Book Review

Kennedy lives a pretty busy life.

After graduating from university, her life seems full. It’s full of neighbours in her building that need her help, friends and coworkers that know that they can count on Kennedy for anything. Her time is filled with those that count on her and her job at Discreet Frills, a small boutique lingerie store. Everything is pretty boring and normal for Westmeath. Kennedy just wishes that her life was something…more.

That something more comes in the form of Jason Johnson. Kennedy runs into Jason when she is out doing errands and is immediately smitten. While walking away, she happens to look back to see him being attacked in an alleyway. She leaps into action, saving Jason from getting stabbed and is astounded when the attacker vanishes.

Her world is thrown into overdrive as she becomes more involved with Jason, who happens to be one of the Aetherborn. They are a community of people capable of magic, but not all of them are good. There are those Aetherborn who wish the world harm and people around them are disappearing. As if that weren’t enough to deal with, there is the Phantom, a mysterious superhero who is busy trying to save the streets of Westmeath.

Kennedy’s world is no longer the boring one that it once was. Kennedy and Jason will have to risk everything if they have a shot at saving the world…

I loved everything about this book. I’ve been a long-time fan of Éric Desmarais’ work and the world building he does and knew that Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers would be good and I was pretty sure what I was in for.

I was wrong, though. It was spectacular! Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers is not just a book you read. It’s a book you want to live in.

The book pulled me in from the first page and I love the character of Kennedy. Jen and Éric excel at creating characters that you end up caring for. By the end of the book, the characters of this book weren’t just people on the page; they were friends. I’ve been with them through so much, after all.

The plot is amazing, and it just rolls along at a breakneck speed. It’s one of those books where you think that you know where it’s going and then Jen and Éric take you down a whole other path you never even considered.

Even more amazing, none of it ever feels forced. The whole plot and the world building are top notch. Though Westmeath Ontario is a real place, I want to live in the one that the authors have created. After reading this book, I feel like I know the people that live there, and I know the streets well.

I think that the biggest achievement, more than the excellent plot, the fantastic characters and the incredible world building, is that it’s all written in the same voice. Writing a book with another person can be difficult and often times I’ve read a novel written by two different people and can guess who wrote each part of the book. Not so here! Jen and Éric are incredible writers and have pulled off a fantastic slight of hand that is just so much fun.

I’m also thrilled to learn that this is the first book in a series! I can’t wait for the next novel and to meet up with Kennedy and Jason again. I may not have known them when I first started the book, but I finished it with friends and people I care about.

Since reading this book, I can’t help but wonder if there is a secret world under the one I know so well. That’s how good Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers is. I can’t wait for my next adventure.