This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Published by Carina Press
Released on August 25, 2014
Pages: 163
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
The author has been a Must Read for a long time and this story is exhibit A as to why. In a roll-reversal, this tender yet passionate romance between two capable, deftly drawn characters enabled me to sink down into a story that kept me engaged and left me satisfied in the end.
This is the third book in the series. Somehow I missed the second one after having read the first, but the references back to what went on in the second book allowed me to navigate this book out of order just fine. I will of course remedy this oversight the first chance I get.
The story opens with Prince Armand’s best friend and lawyer, Richard Prentiss, refusing the security detail that Armand set on him after the hit and run accident that almost ended his life. Richard hates the idea of always being under surveillance even if it is for his own good because of his past and even because of some of his discreet present activities. Armand loves him like a brother and still believes Richard is in danger. He doesn’t want to lose him so he honor’s Richard’s wish by pulling back the overt security and in its place installs a hidden specialist.
Kate learns from her boss that the Prince is transferring her off his fiancé to his best friend. She will take up the guise of Richard’s legal assistant which will keep her in close proximity to him much of his day as he works long hours. From almost the moment, Kate started watching after Richard, she struggled to see him as just a job. It was not long after watching the way he worked hard and cared about his clients and his charity work that she knew that she was compromised and struggled to remain objective. Richard doesn’t help matters in that he is strongly attracted to her too. As with everything else, the man is a force of nature and works past her defenses. She’s living a lie even if her feelings are real and Richard’s past has made lies particularly abhorrent to him so she knows that her attraction will only end in heartbreak. The knowledge that she loves Richard only redoubles her efforts to keep him safe- putting her own life on the line- even though someone is determined to take him out.
As I noted above, this was a roll-reversal story. The woman is the skilled warrior-protector and the man is the one whose strength is in his heart and care for others. I loved how this dynamic felt natural and really worked in this story without unbalancing the romance or the character development. The problem of Kate having to continue the lie about her job to keep Richard safe was yet another strong piece to the plot. It was neat to see the brotherly love and friendship between Armand and Richard even if Armand’s overbearing personality annoyed the heck out of Richard and Richard’s need for independence worried Armand to death.
And the romance development? These two were just right for each other and fit so well together that I eagerly read through their scenes as the tension increased toward the big reveal. There was this huge problem looming on the horizon when Richard would eventually learn the truth and I both anticipated and dreaded it just as Kate did. They were so mature though that I knew I didn’t have to fear that it would overbalance into too much wallowing and angst. The action element of the story balanced with their romance helped.
So, my concluding thoughts are that this story didn’t have a weak point and I look forward to more of this series and more from this author period. The witty dialogue, nicely paced development, tender moments and hot passion were so strong and well-done.
I would suggest this story/series is for those who enjoy contemporary romance that gives a strong plotted easy read storyline and passionate romantic characters.
My thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
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At 163 pages this sure packs a sexy punch! I am not alone in my Prince fantasied and even if I’m old enough to know that mine wont be a cinderella story, its still nice to read a modern one. I like the sound of a strong heroine and a gentle hero “we need more of the latterIMO.
Absolutely! I love my fairytalesque stories too. The first book in the series was very much like that. And yes, this hero is a nice blend of strength and gentleness and it was cool that she was the one with all the mad fighting skills though her character doesn’t overbalance into butch lady either.
Not bad for a short-ish read. Love when an author can really pull that off. I’ve not tried her yet but I do see her name pop up as a favorite ALL the time.
Yeah, I started with her PNR historical westerns (Fever series) and then her Marines and now I’m doing her Royals. I haven’t read any of her Vegas stuff yet, but yeah pretty much anything I’ve picked up by her has been good stuff.
Yep her Marines are what caught my eye 🙂 I think I saw those over at Bea’s and Sheri (For the love of Bookends) at some point.
I’ve only read a handful and have a few more on the pile. It’s so cool how she makes each couple or threesome so different from each other. I love what she’s doing with each of the holidays too as a focus for Marine stories. I haven’t read one of her Marine or Cowboy stories in a while. I need to get back to them.