Pretty Fierce by Kieran Scott

Published by Sourcebooks Fire on April 4, 2017

Source: eARC from publisher

Plot Summary for Pretty Fierce by Kieran Scott

Kaia has been on the run her whole life. The daughter of professional assassins, she knows true danger—and she’ll do anything to survive. After her parents vanished during a job gone bad, Kaia’s spent the last year in hiding, trying to blend in as an ordinary teenager, and there’s no one who makes her feel more normal or more special than her boyfriend, Oliver. But when she’s jumped by a hit man, and Oliver catches her fighting back, Kaia’s secret is exposed. In a split-second decision, she flees the small town, taking Oliver with her. With professional killers stalking their every move, can Oliver and Kaia protect each other long enough to uncover the mysteries of her past? 

Review of  Pretty Fierce by Kieran Scott

First off, this e-ARC had a lot of weird formatting, which made reading it a challenge at times. Nonetheless, Pretty Fierce started out strong for me. Main character Kaia has been living in hiding since the disappearance of her assassin parents. When she's suddenly attacked, she goes on the run with her confused boyfriend, Oliver, in tow.

The story was told in alternating first person, and my favorite part of this book was the relationship between Kaia and Oliver. His life is suddenly turned upside-down when his formerly normal girlfriend is suddenly a badass on the run. I liked the way that she assumed the stronger, more dominant role, and I thought his backstory was interesting.

The main problem I had with the book was that, once I learned who was chasing Kaia and why, it just all started seeming completely flimsy and wildly improbable. I wished that the story had been more about an ordinary girl who suddenly finds herself on the run -- like Roger Thornhill in Hitchcock's North by Northwest, a movie I was reminded of when reading Alex, Approximately -- but then I guess maybe that would have created a new improbability -- that Kaia wouldn't have had the skills to survive.

tl;tr: If you can snag a hardcopy and get past some improbable stuff, this book did have a lot of action and suspense and an appealing couple.