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Bodyguard #4
Bodyguard Confessions
On a diplomatic mission to Taer, First DaughterAnna Cambridge never expected the royal palace would beattacked. But as the rebel army took the king and queenhostage, Anna fled into the night with the baby prince in herarms—and the enigmatic Quamar Bazan Al Asadi at herback. A former U.S. agent with ties to the royal family, thebold Arab had returned to his country to make peace andfound only war. But leading Miss Cambridge and her ready-made family across the fiery desert meant engaging in a lifehe had already given up on. A life Anna wouldn't let him justthrow away…without a fight.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 23, 2017
After reading, Captive of the Desert King (King Jarek of Taer & Sarah's story) I had to read Bodyguard confessions which was all about the rebellion to overthrow King Jarek, by his late father's younger brother, Hassan, the leader of a rebel group known as the Al Sheera over the discovery of oil in Taer and the deal with the US for the supply of that oil.
I have to say I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed the other book. Like that book, this one too had romance, suspense, conspiracies, fast paced action and was amusing too. However, it also had brutal tortures and deaths, and people killing those who they cared about, so those who're squeamish and faint-hearted may not like it.
We have Anna Cambridge, daughter of the President of America, who's visiting her friend Saree, Jarek's wife, and was asleep in the palace like everyone else on the night the rebels had laid siege to the palace. In that chaos, Anna finds herself holding Jarek's six-month old son, Prince Rashid, entrusted into her care by his elderly nanny, with explicit instructions to hide and protect the baby until his father or Anna's father came for him. The nanny had drugged the baby for his own protection and created a diversion so that Anna could escape undetected from the palace with the baby.
Several years ago, Anna’s younger brother had asked her to spend her vacation with him instead of her friends, but Anna wanting to spend her vacation with her friends, had told him he should grow up and not depend on her. He then let her go telling her he still loved her and soon after was killed in an assassin's plot to kill her family, leaving Anna with a huge guilt from then on for abandoning him. This time Anna was determined to protect and keep Prince Rashid safe even if she had to give up her life.
Outside of the palace she however runs into Jarek's cousin, Zahid, Hassan's son, though she doesn't know he is the cousin, but was rescued by a dark-robed man whose face was covered. She later finds out the man is Quamar, Jarek's other cousin, son of his father's oldest brother.
A year ago, while working for an American special ops division, Quamar had been assigned to protect Anna's grandmother, but ended up being critically wounded while she died under his protection. Soon after her grandmother's death Anna had visited an severely injured Quamar at the hospital and had uncharacteristically kissed him thinking he was unconscious for reasons they both didn't understand since he was a stranger to her.
Quamar ended up with a head injury that would soon lead him to his death unless he went in a for a surgery. The high risk of the surgery was he'd be left lobotomized which was not acceptable to him, so he came home to die alone and while camping on the outskirts of Taer, he got to know of the rebellion. However, by the time he reaches the palace, the rebels had already overrun it. He was all set to destroy the rebels and avenge Jarek, whom he presumes dead --he didn't know Jarek was being tortured in the cell below the palace for the whereabouts of Prince Rashid-- and the others in his family and palace when he comes across Jarek's captain of guard, being held suspended from a tree and brutally tortured into a slow death. The old man was very close to Quamar and Jarek. Quamar kills the guards and escapes with what was left of the captain's body. Before he dies, the old man tells Quamar that Anna has Prince Rashid and he has to protect her.
Even though, Quamar had saved Anna from Zahid, she was wary to trust him because he'd told Zahid that he was only holding Anna and Rashid for the worth he'll get in ransom for them. It was only when he took her and Rashid to his childhood friend, Dr. Sandra's place and was assured by the doctor and her mother that she could trust Quamar, she'd let down her guard a little, but continued to be wary of him for a long time as he led her and Rashid across the Sahara desert to his father's caravan camp.
Out in the desert while they faced the various dangers of the desert --sandstorms, quicksand, sand vipers, rebels, constantly something was going on-- they also had to battle with their attraction for one another. Because of his impending death, Quamar didn't want Anna to get close to him, but he couldn't stop falling in love with her.
I loved when Anna, after they'd reached his father's caravan, did the dance of seduction on the night before Quamar was to leave for war, letting him know in front of everyone what he really meant to her and breaking down his defenses.
I found the incorporation of the thief, Farad, accompanying them as they journeyed through the desert, sweet and amusing. He'd started out by saving their lives with the intention of getting close to them, so that he could kill Quamar and negotiate a ransom for Anna and Prince Rashid with the Al Asheera, but ended up changing because of Anna's kindness and compassion toward him, who also kept him protected from Quamar, who didn't trust him and would've finished him in a jiffy. Farad had come to love Anna and Rashid so much that he even put his life in danger while trying to save Anna when she was about to be swallowed up by the quicksand. With him being a tiny man -- not taller than a camel's hind leg as it had been described-- and Quamar like a giant, they reminded me of David and Goliath.
Their scenes made me laugh, especially this one.
"I don t understand," Farad said, but he instinctively took three steps back as Quamar approached.
"I have had enough, Rat." Quamar reached over and grabbed Farad by his collar. He lifted the little man off his feet and strolled to the trough. "I have spent the last twenty-four hours walking downwind from you. Your stench makes my eyes tear and my headaches worse. If I am to keep an eye on you, I would rather do it without dealing with your smell."
"Princess," Farad squealed, his hands slapping at Quamars. "Please help me."
Rashid clapped, enjoying the struggles of the little man.
"Sorry, Farad," she declared, but her tone indicated anything but sorrow.
Instead, Anna smiled and placed her hands over the baby s and helped him clap more.
"We must keep moving," Farad screamed in desperation. "We are in serious danger if we stay."
"Not so much danger that I will continue abiding your stink," Quamar bellowed. "You travel with me, you will not smell like a septic pool of human waste."
With a flick of his wrist, Quamar tossed Farad into the camel trough. "Wash yourself and your clothes clean. Or drown yourself, I do not care. Either way I will not be forced to deal with your stench any longer."
Further, as if one giant like Quamar wasn't enough for him, he finds himself surrounded by four more equally large men --Quamar's special ops friends-- during the rescue mission. The scene in the tube where he slipped through easily while the other men struggled because of their height and muscular build was very funny.
It was however heartbreaking for Jarek, Quamar and Anna when the traitor and co-conspirator in the palace is finally revealed in the end.
I'd fallen in love with a six year old Prince Rashid in the book Captive of the desert and in this book, as a six month old baby, he was equally adorable. Loved his antics as he bonded with Anna, Quamar and even Farad in the desert.
The epilogue in the end was really sweet
I have to say I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed the other book. Like that book, this one too had romance, suspense, conspiracies, fast paced action and was amusing too. However, it also had brutal tortures and deaths, and people killing those who they cared about, so those who're squeamish and faint-hearted may not like it.
We have Anna Cambridge, daughter of the President of America, who's visiting her friend Saree, Jarek's wife, and was asleep in the palace like everyone else on the night the rebels had laid siege to the palace. In that chaos, Anna finds herself holding Jarek's six-month old son, Prince Rashid, entrusted into her care by his elderly nanny, with explicit instructions to hide and protect the baby until his father or Anna's father came for him. The nanny had drugged the baby for his own protection and created a diversion so that Anna could escape undetected from the palace with the baby.
Several years ago, Anna’s younger brother had asked her to spend her vacation with him instead of her friends, but Anna wanting to spend her vacation with her friends, had told him he should grow up and not depend on her. He then let her go telling her he still loved her and soon after was killed in an assassin's plot to kill her family, leaving Anna with a huge guilt from then on for abandoning him. This time Anna was determined to protect and keep Prince Rashid safe even if she had to give up her life.
Outside of the palace she however runs into Jarek's cousin, Zahid, Hassan's son, though she doesn't know he is the cousin, but was rescued by a dark-robed man whose face was covered. She later finds out the man is Quamar, Jarek's other cousin, son of his father's oldest brother.
A year ago, while working for an American special ops division, Quamar had been assigned to protect Anna's grandmother, but ended up being critically wounded while she died under his protection. Soon after her grandmother's death Anna had visited an severely injured Quamar at the hospital and had uncharacteristically kissed him thinking he was unconscious for reasons they both didn't understand since he was a stranger to her.
Quamar ended up with a head injury that would soon lead him to his death unless he went in a for a surgery. The high risk of the surgery was he'd be left lobotomized which was not acceptable to him, so he came home to die alone and while camping on the outskirts of Taer, he got to know of the rebellion. However, by the time he reaches the palace, the rebels had already overrun it. He was all set to destroy the rebels and avenge Jarek, whom he presumes dead --he didn't know Jarek was being tortured in the cell below the palace for the whereabouts of Prince Rashid-- and the others in his family and palace when he comes across Jarek's captain of guard, being held suspended from a tree and brutally tortured into a slow death. The old man was very close to Quamar and Jarek. Quamar kills the guards and escapes with what was left of the captain's body. Before he dies, the old man tells Quamar that Anna has Prince Rashid and he has to protect her.
Even though, Quamar had saved Anna from Zahid, she was wary to trust him because he'd told Zahid that he was only holding Anna and Rashid for the worth he'll get in ransom for them. It was only when he took her and Rashid to his childhood friend, Dr. Sandra's place and was assured by the doctor and her mother that she could trust Quamar, she'd let down her guard a little, but continued to be wary of him for a long time as he led her and Rashid across the Sahara desert to his father's caravan camp.
Out in the desert while they faced the various dangers of the desert --sandstorms, quicksand, sand vipers, rebels, constantly something was going on-- they also had to battle with their attraction for one another. Because of his impending death, Quamar didn't want Anna to get close to him, but he couldn't stop falling in love with her.
I loved when Anna, after they'd reached his father's caravan, did the dance of seduction on the night before Quamar was to leave for war, letting him know in front of everyone what he really meant to her and breaking down his defenses.
I found the incorporation of the thief, Farad, accompanying them as they journeyed through the desert, sweet and amusing. He'd started out by saving their lives with the intention of getting close to them, so that he could kill Quamar and negotiate a ransom for Anna and Prince Rashid with the Al Asheera, but ended up changing because of Anna's kindness and compassion toward him, who also kept him protected from Quamar, who didn't trust him and would've finished him in a jiffy. Farad had come to love Anna and Rashid so much that he even put his life in danger while trying to save Anna when she was about to be swallowed up by the quicksand. With him being a tiny man -- not taller than a camel's hind leg as it had been described-- and Quamar like a giant, they reminded me of David and Goliath.
Their scenes made me laugh, especially this one.
"I don t understand," Farad said, but he instinctively took three steps back as Quamar approached.
"I have had enough, Rat." Quamar reached over and grabbed Farad by his collar. He lifted the little man off his feet and strolled to the trough. "I have spent the last twenty-four hours walking downwind from you. Your stench makes my eyes tear and my headaches worse. If I am to keep an eye on you, I would rather do it without dealing with your smell."
"Princess," Farad squealed, his hands slapping at Quamars. "Please help me."
Rashid clapped, enjoying the struggles of the little man.
"Sorry, Farad," she declared, but her tone indicated anything but sorrow.
Instead, Anna smiled and placed her hands over the baby s and helped him clap more.
"We must keep moving," Farad screamed in desperation. "We are in serious danger if we stay."
"Not so much danger that I will continue abiding your stink," Quamar bellowed. "You travel with me, you will not smell like a septic pool of human waste."
With a flick of his wrist, Quamar tossed Farad into the camel trough. "Wash yourself and your clothes clean. Or drown yourself, I do not care. Either way I will not be forced to deal with your stench any longer."
Further, as if one giant like Quamar wasn't enough for him, he finds himself surrounded by four more equally large men --Quamar's special ops friends-- during the rescue mission. The scene in the tube where he slipped through easily while the other men struggled because of their height and muscular build was very funny.
It was however heartbreaking for Jarek, Quamar and Anna when the traitor and co-conspirator in the palace is finally revealed in the end.
I'd fallen in love with a six year old Prince Rashid in the book Captive of the desert and in this book, as a six month old baby, he was equally adorable. Loved his antics as he bonded with Anna, Quamar and even Farad in the desert.
The epilogue in the end was really sweet
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2018
Donna Young may have become my new go-to writer when I need a "Y" for a GR challenge or just crave some good romantic suspense. This is my second book by her and I really enjoyed it. Some romantic suspense novels are long on the romance or lust but short on the suspense. Not this book. It began with our heroine in danger, trying to escape a palace coup with the baby prince, and the tension continued throughout. I liked the way the author surprised me; just as I was thinking the story would go one way, something else happened to change everything. I've literally read tens of thousands of book in my life, and I don't surprise easily, but it happened several times here.
As for the romance, it wasn't the focus of the story and I liked it that way. There was just one very short sex scene, easy to skip over if you do as I do. But the attraction was there and it shouldn't be a spoiler to say they get their HEA, right?
Besides the excellent plot, I thought the author did a good job with the characters. The heroine especially pleased me as she was smart and brave and did a pretty good job protecting herself and the baby, given the circumstances. She definitely wasn't there just to be rescued. The other character I really liked was the thief. Was he their friend or betrayer? The story kept me wondering for quite some time, and I enjoyed following his own conflicted feelings.
I don't usually read stories set in fictional North African countries - they spend some time in the Sahara in this one - and stories about modern kings and princes aren't my preferred read. But I liked this book a lot, and finished it in one day because I was having fun with it. So I feel good recommending this book to anyone looking for an easy but entertaining Romantic Suspense novel. I'll definitely be trying more by this author.
As for the romance, it wasn't the focus of the story and I liked it that way. There was just one very short sex scene, easy to skip over if you do as I do. But the attraction was there and it shouldn't be a spoiler to say they get their HEA, right?
Besides the excellent plot, I thought the author did a good job with the characters. The heroine especially pleased me as she was smart and brave and did a pretty good job protecting herself and the baby, given the circumstances. She definitely wasn't there just to be rescued. The other character I really liked was the thief. Was he their friend or betrayer? The story kept me wondering for quite some time, and I enjoyed following his own conflicted feelings.
I don't usually read stories set in fictional North African countries - they spend some time in the Sahara in this one - and stories about modern kings and princes aren't my preferred read. But I liked this book a lot, and finished it in one day because I was having fun with it. So I feel good recommending this book to anyone looking for an easy but entertaining Romantic Suspense novel. I'll definitely be trying more by this author.
April 23, 2012
I loved this book, it was so different from any other "sheikh" type books. It had war, princesses and princes. We developed an emotional connection right away and got into the story right away. Any information in the story was factual. It was just so darn good!
October 7, 2024
Great story! Fascinating characters, well written, intriguing plot!
March 10, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. The love story was wonderful!
March 30, 2016
Nou, niet uit gelezen, ik vond er niks aan, totaal geen spanning of verhaal erin,.........
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews