Protect Me is self published novel by Jennifer Culbreth and is the first in a series. This book was released in July of 2013. This is a contemporary romance with a romantic suspense like element.
Abbi has moved to L.A. and landed a job as a bartender in a club. She makes two really good friends and meets Ryan, a guy with a military background that owns a security company. Ryan is very well off business wise, but he is still battling his personal demons after seeing combat.
Although, he is very attracted to Abbi, he believes keeping his distance from her would be the noble thing to do, since he had to do thing during the war he wasn't proud of.
So, he flirts with Abbi and runs both hot and cold. First he sends the interested signal, but then when Abbi responds to him, he backs off, leaving Abbi feeling frustrated. So, she agrees to date a guy she met at the club. As fate would have it, Ryan is also at the party Abbi and her date attends.
When Abbi finds herself in a dire predicament, Ryan and his friend come to Abbi's rescue.
From that moment on, Ryan starts to let go of his fears about entering into a relationship with Abbi. However, there are some sinister activities going on at the club, and Abbi may be in the line of fire.
Being a debut novel, I was pretty impressed. First of all, I have to comment on the cover- it's really eye catching. I liked it.
I thought the author did a good job of making the characters seem 'real'. I could see these women being friends, going to parties, dealing with boyfriend troubles, and getting into things that could lead to trouble.
Ryan was not an over the top Alpha Male, but he was the strong protective type. He turned Abbi's life into a fairytale, and we all like to indulge in those fantasies from time to time.
Abbi had a few insecurities about belonging in a certain social class. With Ryan being so wealthy and Abbi being a normal, trying to make ends meet type girl, it's understandable that she would struggle with confidence issues.
Abbi does seem to find trouble a lot though. She doesn't go looking for it, but it sure seems to find her. But, this keeps Ryan on his toes a little.
This was a great effort for a first novel. A little work on editing- not with grammar or typos, but just with the flow of the book, will help with future efforts. With more work and confidence, this author will be one to watch for in the future. This one is a B.
Thanks to Jennifer for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.