Protector for Hire by Tawna Fenske
Publisher: Entangled: Lovestruck
Series: Front and Center, book 4
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Tasty Book Tours/NetGalley
Purchase links || Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo || add to goodreads
Rating: ★★★★★
Haunted by his time in Iraq, former soldier Schwartz Patton goes off the grid, retreating deep into Montana’s untamed wilderness. Now, ten years into his self-imposed solitude, his brother tracks him down and asks for a favor. A woman is in danger, and she needs help...and Schwartz is the only one who can protect her.
Designer-loving city girls like Janelle Keebler don't belong in the wilderness. Unless, of course, they're witnesses to a murder by their psycho drug-trafficking ex-husbands. Still, Janelle can't help the immediate physical response she has to her sexy-as-sin protector that leaves her wanting more than she could have ever imagined. Even if he does make terrible coffee...
Every word, every touch, every kiss ignites a need Schwartz thought he’d lost forever. He can't stop the desperate attraction simmering between him and Janelle, even if he wanted to. Even if it means it could get them both killed.
{ excerpt } .
He frowned, not wanting to admit he’d been pacing around the damn store avoiding the inevitable moment he’d have to go back and face her and accept the fact that he’d probably never touch her again. “Not everything,” he said, poking the meat loaf with his fork but not taking a bite. “I got the milk.”
“No cond—coffee filters?”
“They were all out of cond—coffee filters.”
“All out?” She frowned. “I swear I saw a box when we were there the other day. They were right up by the register.”
He shifted on the bench, not wanting to admit he’d stared at the same damn box of condoms and thought about having her again.
Maybe just one more time before she walked out of his life forever. Instead, he’d forced himself to walk away. “The box was damaged. Can’t risk having holes in coffee filters.”
Across the table, Gordy wiped his chin with a napkin.
“You like the kind with the pointy tip, or the big wide ones?”
Schwartz blinked. “Uh— ”
Laverne beamed. “Oooh, I like the new ones they’re making now with the flavor-enhancing micro-perforations.”
Schwartz dared a glance at Janelle and saw that her face had gone from pink to bright red. She opened her mouth to say something, but Laverne cut her off.
“You know, I just love the ones with the extra-large base. The box says it makes for a deeper, bolder experience.”
Janelle choked on her drink, and Schwartz turned to see her sputtering into a glass that looked suspiciously full of moonshine.
“How much of that have you had?” he asked.
“Not enough,” she said.
{ review } .
What a fun book... So fun that I can't wait to go back and read the rest of the series that revolves around this group of siblings all named for military greats.What Tawna does extremely well is the relationship between Schwartz and Janelle.
I know, I know, romance story with male {Schwartz} and female {Janelle}, I'd sure as heck hope the author does the relationship well, but this relationship was just... Spot on.
After a tour gone terrible wrong, Schwartz has been living in super-seclusion for the past ten years. Only his brother Grant knows how to get a hold of him, and when he makes phone calls for birthdays and holidays, it's on a burner phone that cannot be traced. No one has been to his cabin in the secluded woods; no one has seen his face -- save for Grant.
When his sister married recently, Schwartz went...
...but was sure to stay in the shadows so he wouldn't be noticed.
Obviously, the man has issues.
Grant's sister-in-law is running from her ex -- and witness protection program couldn't keep her safe. Knowing that his brother has been the best man-in-hiding for years, Grant asks Schwartz to hide Janelle until everything is safe for her. Schwartz agrees -- and when he sees her for the first time, realizes that maybe it wasn't such a great idea.
For someone who doesn't talk much with the outside world, just with his wolf-dog hybrid, Sherman, it was surprising to me how well he got on with Janelle. Granted, when he had his urges he would go into town a bit over and find female companionship, but the man has a really great personality -- why he kept it hidden is a mystery to me (that's just a phrase, friends... you get to learn all things Schwartz in his story, of course).
I loved the playfulness between Janelle and Schwartz. It took a bit to come out, it took some nightmares and a scary dog, but these two get along fabulously. When Tawna says she enjoys writing comedy -- it comes through in her dialogue, which is part of the reason I chose the excerpt that I did.
I very much enjoyed the ins and outs of PROTECTOR FOR HIRE. Like I said, I look forward to back-tracking and reading the rest of the series. I imagine it is as steamy, yet comical, as this one was..!
for more reviews & tour goodies
Thank you for hosting PROTECTOR FOR HIRE! So glad you enjoyed and found a new series to read!
ReplyDelete