Guarded: Forced Proximity, Bodyguard, Slow-burn Romantic Suspense

by C.D. Gill

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2026

About the author

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C.D. Gill is the award-winning author of The Freedom's Cry and Against All Odds series. As a midwestern transplant living in the south, she traded the wide-open spaces for more sunshine and warmth year-round. Her insatiable love for travel and exploring new places finds a home in her action-packed fiction where times get hard for the characters but they're never left without hope.

Reviews

[theliterateleprechaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author C.D. Gill held my attention with a unique plot and setting.

The female main character, 24-year-old Ashlyn Kerrwalker, is an anthropologist and the daughter of a US diplomat to Asia. Her father arranges for Houston O’Riley to be her bodyguard while she’s finishing up her Master's on the island of Nauru in Micronesia.

I love it when I have no idea what direction the plot is going, when there’s just the right number of characters to keep track of, and when the pacing and tension between characters is spot on.

[Karen Brasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guarded

This is a wonderful short story full of danger, suspense, and intrigue. The book seems to be a prequel for a series I, for one, am going to read. A woman studying anthropology, Ashlyn is going to study the people of a small island in the south pacific to complete her masters degree in the field. Her father is a diplomat so he hires Houston to protect her while she is there. They fake an engagement for protection purposes but will they be able to keep their hearts from falling? I recommend you read the book to find out.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read that gave a small insight into the books in this series. It was a novella I’d guess you’d say, only 90 pages. You basically get told everything you need to know because there wasn’t enough pages for character development. And while the conflict was resolved, I wasn’t sure how it all fit together. I thought for sure the actual first book in the series would take up where this story was need…nope. What you read is what you get🤷‍♀️. I’m all for a good twist but it was done and dusted the end.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was entertaining but it didn’t have any outstanding characteristics that might have captivated me.

[MileHighSunshine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!

This book is well written and I enjoyed the characters. It will catch you off guard with its twists. Can’t wait to read the next book!