Book Review: Hit By Delilah S. Dawson

Publish Date: April 14, 2015
Publisher: Simon Pulse
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2339-7
Pages: 336
Series: Hit, #1
Source: ARC from publisher for honest review

From Goodreads:

NO ONE READS THE FINE PRINT.

The good news is that the USA is finally out of debt. The bad news is that we were bought out by Valor National Bank, and debtors are the new big game, thanks to a tricky little clause hidden deep in the fine print of a credit card application. Now, after a swift and silent takeover that leaves 9-1-1 calls going through to Valor voicemail, they’re unleashing a wave of anarchy across the country.
Patsy didn’t have much of a choice. When the suits showed up at her house threatening to kill her mother then and there for outstanding debt unless Patsy agreed to be an indentured assassin, what was she supposed to do? Let her own mother die?
Patsy is forced to take on a five-day mission to complete a hit list of ten names. Each name on Patsy's list has only three choices: pay the debt on the spot, agree to work as a bounty hunter, or die. And Patsy has to kill them personally, or else her mom takes a bullet of her own.
Since yarn bombing is the only rebellion in Patsy's past, she’s horrified and overwhelmed, especially as she realizes that most of the ten people on her list aren't strangers. Things get even more complicated when a moment of mercy lands her with a sidekick: a hot rich kid named Wyatt whose brother is the last name on Patsy's list. The two share an intense chemistry even as every tick of the clock draws them closer to an impossible choice.
Delilah S. Dawson offers an absorbing, frightening glimpse at a reality just steps away from ours—a taut, suspenseful thriller that absolutely mesmerizes from start to finish. 

My Review:

In this dystopian novel, we follow Patsy on her journey to eliminate debt and/or the people responsible for the debt, one by one.
When this book was brought to my attention I was intrigued right away. The premise, the character (Patsy) and the cover (which is different from the one I was expecting. The pic to the right is what I wanted. ). Also, I was desperate for another ARC to get back into reviewing them! This all made me eager to dive into Hit as soon as it arrived! (Thank you again Simon & Schuster)

Unfortunately, Hit was a book that I didn't really enjoy, but needed to know what happened next. It was the quality of writing that could draw me in that made it so I couldn't put it down. I wanted to love it, but I wanted more. Why Valor National has taken over everything? (We kind of know the reason why - they bought out the country and it's debt but I want to know deep down the reasons.) When? How could they? We're just thrown into Patsy becoming an assassin because of the astronomical debt the country is in and we're expected to just go with it. There were a lot of holes throughout Hit and unrealistic things happening (I get that it's a book, a world created by the author so it has a high probability to be that way, but some parts had me so unsure of the whole book.) But I kept going - as I mentioned I was drawn into the possibility that it would meet my expectations. 

We don't meet many characters, and I enjoy books with just a few key characters like Hit. It's nice to get to know them on a deeper level. Patsy, the main character is doing what she's doing because of her Mom. Her mom has been sick and the only way Valor National will help her is if Patsy signs up to either recruit 5 people, or kill them. Along the way we do meet other characters and while they are important to the overall book and entwine some way or another, they just don't stick around! Except Wyatt, who for reasons only he knows, sticks around with Patsy even though circumstances show that maybe the shouldn't. And because they like the same music, and both find each other attractive, along comes the romance.

Hit was not a "hit" for me. Maybe with some more back story to go with it, it could have been. Though the cliff-hanger ending we're left  leaves me thinking that I should probably read book #2 when it comes out.