4.4.2023 | Tuesday

Hers to Protect

Item: Hers to Protect
Rating: 3
Author: Kim

category: Book Reviews
tag(s): adult
0 Comments

title: Hers to Protect
author: Nicole Vidal
series: Blackthorne Security #4
published: 4 April 2023
publisher: Jasper Media LLC
genre(s): romance, suspense
pages: 293
source: client
format: manuscript
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

rating:

| series rating:

the blurb

On a whim, Alex applies to Blackthorne Security. While she doesn't have the most experience, she's eager and willing to learn. With one condition regarding her assignments, Alex takes the job. Private security is perfect for her. The pay is stellar, and the downtime is limited. Then her bosses give her the option to amend her condition. A client needs assistance and she is the best fit for the job.
Jordan is the highest paid wide receiver in the league. His team is coming off a victory in the big game, but injuries indicate he'll likely be traded. The trade isn't the issue. Being a single dad with no family support makes moving an issue. His agent recommends Blackthorne Security to protect his daughter from her mother and the notoriety his celebrity brings with it.
Both Alex and Jordan keep their personal lives private. When things spiral out of control and they're forced to share and get real, will they learn the other is who they need for the rest of their lives?
The Blackthorne Security series are standalone romances with interconnecting characters. Each novel focuses on one couple (no cliffhangers!) and can be read in any order, but for maximum enjoyment it is recommended they are read starting with book one.

❗❗ content warning: some graphic violence ❗❗

a few notes

keywords/phrases: suspense, dv, parents, family
mood reading: a slow-burn read with good suspense

my review

I love Alex as a strong, capable FMC! And the MMC, Jordan, while fully an alpha male, was refreshingly in touch with his own feelings. The romance was a slow-burn but in a different way than a lot of novels in this genre. In some ways, their feelings for each other were fairly high on the instalove scale, but circumstances kept both of them from fully acting on those feelings. Their coming-together story had a lot of obstacles on both sides, people and situations from the past affecting their journey. The book is an emotional rollercoaster with humor, pain, fear, vulnerability, and the uncertainty of a new beginning.

I enjoyed the story, but the suspense aspects of it often felt a bit convoluted. There were aspects that felt as if they weren’t developed enough, and others that just felt like easy answers.

About Nicole Vidal

Nicole took the long way to deciding on becoming a writer. As young as six, Nicole wrote poems and started drafts of novels. After over fifteen years as an attorney she decided to give writing an actual try and finish one of her many stories.

Avid reader, lover of coffee and chocolate, and animals. If she isn’t writing, she is driving to the field, watching a game or curled up with a good book and a cup of coffee. She lives in the Northeast with her husband and their four children.