Tag Team Review: Enemies like You (Enemies with Benefits, #1) by Annika Martin & Joanna Chambers

They're dangerous men. Absolute enemies. And totally hot for each other.

Will has never met anyone like Kit. He’s arrogant. Gorgeous. Lethal. The most expensive bodyguard money can buy.

And Will can’t seem to resist him.

A simple command in Kit's cut-glass accent makes Will want things he’s never wanted, do things he’s never done. Their red-hot chemistry is off the charts.

Just one problem: Will has vowed to kill the billionaire that Kit is hell-bent on protecting.

And Kit has secrets, too—his own reasons for sacrificing his soul, piece by painful piece, to keep one of the worst men on earth alive.

This is a stand-alone hot contemporary M/M bodyguard/spy romance.

Close enough to average


Cupcake - 4 Hearts

First things first, the prologue (Enemies With Benefits) is the first 8 chapters which inspired some disappointment. I was left wanting at the end and feeling a little sick that it was over. Those 8 chapters would’ve gone a long way in easing my separation anxiety. IDK if the Kit and Will saga will continue but I sure hope so!

Is this book perfect? Nope. There were several spy game things that had me side-eyeing. Don’t EVEN get me started on that whole club scene with Master Tom and Will. IDK what that was. I’m just going to pretend like it didn’t happen.


Taken as a whole though, I had some pathetic moony eyes happening. Will and Kit have an instant connection. Did I find the automatic D/s dynamic between them weird and heavy-handed at times? Yep. But the pragmatist in me says no one ever really knows what’s going to turn their crank until it happens. Kit turns Will’s crank in ways he’s unfamiliar and moderately uncomfortable with, but I loved that he didn’t fight it. He doesn’t understand it, it just is what it is and I did think the weirdness lessened as their connection grew and as the narrative evolved.

Kit’s androgynous and posing as Polzin’s (all around monster and narcissist) bodyguard and girlfriend. You gotta know happy Cupcake was happy with this WHOLE kit and caboodle! Will’s bisexual and happy with however Kit wants to dress. Even better! Not a lot of angst was spent on Kit’s androgyny which was a hit at Casa de Cupcake.


Will is ex-military, American and brute force to Kit’s cunning, British spook and that interplay amused me as did their cat and mouse game. Will keeps trying to outmaneuver Kit and Kit always senses when something’s amiss. It was entertaining and usually led to sex. I see nothing wrong with this. *shifty eyes* Once they join forces, though, is when things started to click for me. Their mission held my attention and even a surprise or two. Chambers and Martin struck a good balance between the espionage and romance plotlines. Naturally, their joining forces a modicum of trust that grows as they reveal more of themselves.

Having both of their perspectives I watched the walls between them start to come down and how each of them has unintentionally fallen for their “enemy”. I love a good enemies to lovers, but I can’t for the life of me fathom how these two couldn’t manage some hate sex. Truly baffling, this is.


Their first time together with Kit’s unveiling ranks at the top of my list on the sexmagickhotness scale,-SHOCKER-but none of it was shabby by any stretch. *side mouths* There could’ve been more MANTIES. Just sayin’. *end side mouth* But at least the big guy bottomed! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! #winning

It wasn’t perfect but I hearted the fuck out of it anyway and I’ll pounce on a book 2 should it be in the cards.

Recommend to enemies to lovers fans.


Adam - 2.75 Hearts

I’ve got mixed thoughts on ‘Enemies Like You.’

The two MCs are pitted against each other from the start. Will is gunning after a Russian oligarch, while Kit is determined to protect the villain.

Will is the selfless avenger. His only goal is to get justice for his betrayed friends, with no thought for his own life. He’s reckless, but it was easy to understand where he was coming from.

Kit’s motivations are less selfless, and it takes a while to figure out what he’s after. He may not be a knight in shining armour, but I liked him right off the bat. The tortured bad boy vibe was just too hard to resist.

From the beginning, these two have a complicated and slightly unhealthy relationship. In fact, their “relationship” for much of the book is an alternating mix of aversion, obsessive fascination, and kinky sex.

It wasn’t realistic - two enemies falling straight into sex - but it was definitely hot. If you’ve got a thing for the bigger guy being the submissive bottom, you’ll be pleased.


The emotional aspect of Kit and Will’s relationship is just as complicated, and takes a lot longer to settle. The two are lonely men, and while they slowly fall for each other, neither is willing to put their trust in someone else.

But once Will and Kit start letting their guards down, they quickly realise that they can’t imagine life without one another.

I liked the relationship/romance aspect enough to enjoy the book.

What I wasn’t a fan of was the mystery/action plot. Neither Kit or Will are particularly savvy spies, so it felt like amateur hour at times. The mystery itself isn’t exactly original, so it just didn’t capture my attention.


Overall, this was a mixed bag for me. I liked Kit and Will’s enemies-to-lovers romance well enough, but I wasn’t blown away by the plot.


Review copies were provided

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