Hi, I’m Cheri and I have a book addiction. Of course, that’s not news to NetGalley and the publishers who work with them. I’m always way behind on my reviews because there are literally too many interesting books and not enough hours in the day for me to actually read them. It’s a terrible problem. A terrible, wonderful problem. And much less destructive than crack, so there’s that.

I had gotten pretty good at deleting emails with pre-approved offers but when I got the one offering me all of the books in the Orphan X series, it was enough to get me over to the NetGalley site to read the blurb of the first one. And after a couple of weeks of reading and listening, I’m not-so-patiently waiting for the fourth book to be released. Well, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to nab an ARC so I don’t have to wait as long…

Evan Smoak (like with fire but spelled differently) was a young teen in foster care when he was taken in by Jack Johns and trained to be a part of a secret government program – a program full of assassins and covert agents called Orphans. Flash forward to current day and someone is trying to take the orphans out of action, one by one.

Evan, aka Orphan X, got out of the business and has his own thing being the Nowhere Man. He helps people who are in deep trouble and can’t turn to anyone else. He’s very much like a superhero who doesn’t have actual super powers but lots of money, really sweet gadgets, and a load of physical skills. He’s like Batman except not trying to hit on Wonder Woman. BACK AWAY, BRUCE!

The first book was pretty action packed and I did find Evan and his stuff over the top. Over the top but fun, much like enjoying a Mission: Impossible movie – but better because Tom Cruise is nowhere to be found. Evan is strong and stoic while doing his best to keep all of his emotions bundled up tight. The further we go into the series, the more squishy he becomes. His journey felt genuine and I nearly dropped a few tears in the final book as he struggled to find some balance in his life. I wanted to hug him a lot.

While I loved the bloody goodness of the books, and there’s lots of bloody goodness, I found myself feeling very connected to Evan and some of the other characters. Even one of the bad guys – the bad girl, to be specific – tugged on my heartstrings at the very end. I can’t hardly wait to see how the next episode shakes out.

Oh, and if you absolutely hate cliffhangers, you’ll be just fine here. Each book is wrapped up well with one or two new things introduced to keep us coming back. I didn’t feel like I was being strung along at all. I definitely felt satisfied at the conclusion of each book. Satisfied and happy.

If you’re like me and had never been even remotely tempted to try a Hurwitz book, maybe pick up Orphan X and give it a shot. If you like it, you’ve got two more books in the series waiting for you. Bonus!

Big thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for getting me hooked on a new-to-me author!

You can download a sample or purchase Orphan X here.