A new military romance series! 5 Books, No Cliffhangers, and Free with Kindle Unlimited.
CHRIS Dancing is my life, always has been. Even when a stalker started sending threatening letters, I didn’t think twice—until the threats intensified. I don’t have a choice but to partner with the hunky Chris, ex-Marine and private security agent. He says he only cares about my safety, but as things heat up between us, we both start caring about much more. Still, I don’t dare tell him the one secret nobody in my life knows…
TERRANCE It’s been a year since my father’s death, a year since I took over the bar he left behind. The bar somebody set fire to after I refused to pay “protection” money to a group of thugs who terrorize the neighborhood. Now I need real protection in the form of Terrance, an ex-Marine who makes me believe in lust at first sight. I wonder what’s more dangerous—the men out to hurt me, or the man sent to keep me safe.
MACK I was only trying to be a good employee when I stopped into the office late one Saturday night. I never expected to witness the murder of my boss, my mentor, my friend. The killer saw me. Now I feel like I have a target on my back. It’ll take a private, enigmatic security agent named Mack to protect me, though it’s not long before I want a lot more from him than protection.
HAWK Imagine waking up in the hospital with no memory of how you got there. I’m an actress—you probably know my name. I’m used to crazy fans. But they never strangled me nearly to death. Not until this one. I need protection, and fast. When Hawk comes into my life, he’s just what I need to feel safe. Pretty soon, he’s just what I need in other ways, too. But as good as he makes me feel, there’s no escaping the knowledge that somebody out there wants me dead. And they’ll stop at nothing until they get what they want.
ALEX I’ve worked with Alex King for years, and anybody who knows him as well as I do knows he still longs for the daughter he lost years ago—not to mention the wife he lost the same day. When he helps me with the case of a missing child, the past comes back to haunt us both—along with feelings we’ve tried to hold back for so long. It’s no use. We were meant to be. If only I could get him to let go of the past long enough to see that.
A bundle of five books about the lives of the people working for King Security. Alex, the owner, doesn't want his business to have a bad reputation, but his employees start falling for their targets, as was expected. After reading a few of these security business books, I have to say this one wasn't as good as the others, in the sense that the people working there seemed kind of amateur in most of their dealings. It's not a bad book, or series, it's plain average. There are many good books and series about people working in security, and almost any of those is a better choice that this one.
Chris
Chris is an ex-military that was, once upon a time, a dance student. As part of his new job of taking care of the lead dancer for a modern dance company, he has to pretend to be a dancer for a dance company. Now, before we start with the rest of this, let's just go over a few things that bothered me about this. A dance company getting ready for a presentation needs to be prepared, and using a security guy, that will leave as soon as his job is done is not the right move. They need someone who will be ready for when the actual performance is upon them. It was a totally illogical move, but ok.
Then the problem with her, Bronna is hiding a lot of secrets, she doesn't know who could be after her,
The romance between Chris and Bronna is kind of cute, but too sudden and in general the book wasn't one of my favorites. I think there are better books in the genre.
Terrance
I liked Terrance, he was a much better security guy than Chris, he knew better how to do his job, and he tried harder to resist his attraction to Jessie. Jessie inherited her bar from her father, but now some people in the neighborhood asking for protection money are trying to destroy her bar, they tried to set it on fire, but failed, and after that she thinks she needs protection, so she hired King Security and had Terrance assigned to her.
I liked how they try to fight their attraction to each other and I liked Terrance professionalism. He is a better investigator and I liked how he handled his assignment and his relationship with Jessie. He did make a few mistakes, mostly by jumping to conclusions, but he did his job as best as he could.
With this book the series started to go in a good direction and I liked it. The actions they took and the results they got made sense.
Mack
Innocent, love starved, talkative girl, meets cynic, almost mute, security operative. This time is the police who asks for their help to protect a murder witness. Vienna didn't really see much, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but since there is no way to know if the murderer is going after her, they need to keep her safe, and the police recommends King Security. Of course, Mack, who has buried his feelings and had no intentions of being in a relationship falls for Vienna, and Vienna, who is so used to no one loving her, just falls for Mack who seems to understand her and want to protect her.
Hawk
The baby in the group. There were a few things that I just couldn't understand about him, they gave his background, but I didn't quite catch what his problem really was. Olivia was easier to understand, she was so caught up with her job and the image she had to portrait that she was always acting. As with the other books I think they should have been more suspicious of everyone. Also, I didn't like how Hawk was with Olivia, so judgmental and angry and controlling. At the end, I liked the way he helped her, but I didn't like him much at first.
Alex
At the beginning of all the books in the series, we see a little bit of Alex, and we get to see a little bit about his story. His tragic past is that he lost his wife in an accident, and the same day his daughter was kidnapped. His business partner, Pierce, has always been there for him, but what she feels for him is more than what he feels for her, or what he wants to admit to feel for her. The character of Alex was selfish, neurotic and plain dumb. I mean, for two years he had been obsessed with finding his daughter, but fails to do the most basic things to search for her, In all the books in the series they commit so dumb things for people working on security, but I just could get over this one. I get it, he was hurt by what had happened, he was grieving, but for years he fails to do what he needed to do, and then in a few days, he solves the case.
I didn't like how selfish he was, and Pierce, she should have beaten some sense into him long before she did. They talk about her being good for him because she didn't let him get away with much, but I had the feeling that he was walking all over her most of the time. He had his sweet moments, especially once everything went his way, but I just didn't like him much. Another thing I couldn't understand, if everyone knew about him and his loss, why the others didn't try to help him? They all liked to play detective in their own cases, why not try to help, even if they had to do it without him knowing about it?
So, it wasn't a good book, from my point of view, it had too many things that didn't add up.
I actually wanted to stop after book 2, but there is an over-arching storyline that you get a bit of in each book, so I kept going.
This series has very negatively affected my reading. I have literally read over 75 books since I read this series (I read it in Feb and read more than one book a day) and still, every single time I read the word 'smirk' now, in any book, I physically cringe. OMG the SMIRKING. I'd say half the pages had someone smirking. They smirked more than they smiled, smirked more than they grinned, smirked more than they laughed. They smirked more than they did all the other expressions put together. It was not just overused but used inappropriately in nearly all instances; one of the h's even smirked right after they were talking about her dead father. it is blatantly obvious that the author doesn't understand the correct usage or meaning of the word.
I'm cringing right now, just writing the word for this review. I wrote an entire 300 page draft since reading the series and could only bring myself to use 'smirk' once, from a villain who had just delivered an emotional blow to the h, and even then i fought with myself over just saying 'smiled smugly' instead.
spoilers below
book 1: it is unbelievable that the h keeps the photos secret from the cops. the confrontation between h, H, and villain at the end is predictable. it is the email/call from a friend (but is actually from the villain) to lure the h into a trap at a certain place where the H comes and rescues her. it is also the EXACT SAME tactic used in book 3. you'd think the good guys would have learned by then.
book 2: the lead of the security firm calls all the targets they protect "helpless young women." The H in this book is unlikable throughout, and arrogant and sexist. he states he'd never let a woman take charge in the bedroom, that he is used to women wanting him, that female targets always fall for the male agents guarding them, and that the h is trying to make him fall for her. his attitudes don't change even by the end.
book 3: same exact ending as book 1.
book 4: the h is snobby and makes deragatory comments about "domestic help" and the cleaning persons in hospitals. she doesn't change this behavior even by the end.
book 5: i actually kind of liked the story behind book 5, which is the only reason i suffered through 3 and 4, so i could get all the background behind the over-arching story that concluded with book 5. it still had the major smirking issue.
I gave this series a 3 because all in all I enjoyed reading it but if you're looking for a series with more depth and character development you won't find it here.
Each story felt rushed to me and even though I'm a true believer in love at first sight the romance was even more rushed.
***Slight Spoiler*** And then there's Alex's story...it was too unbelievable to me...as a parent I would move mountains to find my child but after 2 years of torturing himself the answer falls into his lap on the first try and resolved the next day?!?!
But again, good enough series and I would recommend to anyone who just wants a little romance and a little suspense but nothing to heavy.
This complete set is a good military romance series. For the most part, it is about the ordeals of day to day personal security, sleeping on broken down sofas, forbidden romance and HEAs. Narratives tend to run a little long for my taste, there are similarities in plots, character development is minimal, yet they held my attention till the end of the series. Overall it gets 3.5 stars.
The last story was my favorite. Perfect happy ever after ending. The final book was about Alex King owner of King Security. Lots of suspense and fast paced changes. It was a perfect story. I am sad it is over. Wonderful reading, worth buying. Can't wait to see if Jenna Coulby's other books are as good as this one.
I didn't really like how fast the stories happened. Boy meets girl, has sex, and falls in love after 2 or 3 days. They say "I love you" after some drama and it's over. There wasn't any build up. I did like the Alex story at the beginning of each book, with the complete book with Pierce as the last one. That one has an actual story to it. Best one by far!!
I loved this one, it was nice meeting all of the charaxters, my only wish is that Emery got her Hea I know she isn't part of king security, but she was a main character in all stories, she needs her hea, I loved the plotlines for each story, each had their own drama, I couldn't put it down once I started.
Omg I just loved these 5 stories , there is nothing better then having the characters from all the stories continue through each story. I have found another wonderful author to follow and read. Looking forward to more from her.
This series was so personal for each book. However my favorite was of course the last book Alex and Pierce . It's amazing when two people so wounded can overcome their fears and move forward...
The series was an enjoyable read. I wished there had been more build up in the story lines and that they would have been woven together better. I enjoyed the characters though.
Book 1 Chris, is a 5!! I couldn't put it down. I had a hunch in the beginning on the enemy but hoped it wasn't. Well unfortunately it was. I'm also glad that nobody actually had to die. I feel this book was rushed just a bit but it was satisfying all in all.
Thanks!!
Book 2 Terrance, another 5 alright!! The suspense of these books is WONDERFUL!! Not to mention the forbidden (for the security guys) love. I think that makes it even hotter. I still feel as if these 'loves' are extremely fast in the making. Other than that I'm really enjoying the mystery involved in these books along with the heated chemistry between these characters!!
Thanks!!
Book 3 Mack, definitely a 5!! It's sad to see that your mentor isn't who he/she seems. But what I don't think he was was a murderer. Thankfully Emery saw the potential for the needed security. Everything flowed WONDERFULLY!! Again I understand why Alex has the rule about clients & their protectors but as we have seen in these books (yep fictional) it works & real life could possibly work too. Miracles do happen!!
Thanks!!
Book 4 Hawk, was another 5!! These books are keeping up when I'm supposed to be sleeping!! Hollywood types can be divas but they are also humans too. Typically only their loved ones see through their rough/eccentric exterior. That also happens with us everyday people too.
Thanks!!
Book 5 Alex, a total 5!! I absolutely loved this book. I was so happy that Alex finally realized his love. This was a love that was a long time coming. Yes it was sad on hoe it had all come about but I believe it was worth it. I believe that a love that comes from a deep friendship is the best & most likely to last longer. I still would have loved to read about Derek, Leila, & especially Emery!!
An enjoyable read. Each story covered the life of one of the agents. As in similar stories, agents were not to romantically associate with their clients. Predictably, this policy was violated by all. Each assignment resulted in finding a mate. Though predictable, it was still a good time for all.
This was series of good stories. All stories were alittle different but the same. There aee 2 main characters Alex and Pierce who are in each story being the owners of King Security. Then you have the four main security experts Chris, Terrance, Mack and Hawk. They each get an HEA. I just wish Mack, Chris, Hawk and T were in all the stories and there was some epilogue to their HEA. Alex's POV always started each story and it made you want to know what happened to his wife and daughter. You will have to read the first four to get to his HEA. Overall they are good stories. Happy Reading
Overall I enjoyed the series. Short; but interestingly good. I had seen good reviews and was looking into the stories. I thought there wasn't much character development. That part I thought felt rushed. Then again, I've read reviews stating it was perfect. The synopsis at beginning of every story was appreciated; as it gives you an insight into what Alex is going through. I don't think it's a 3 nor 4 rating. But, I have to be fair to the ones I loved best. Good romance for someone wanting a little action and a little suspense.
This is a fairly typical series of this genre, each book follows pretty much the same scenario of woman in trouble and strong alpha male comes to the rescue and love blooms with red hot sex and ends in happy ever after. The only story with a slight difference is Alex and Pierce although it is still fairly typical. Its a reasonable read but nothing different or particularly exciting.
I truly love romantic suspense novels. This box set had a constant thread of information throughout all of the books. Each book was great with their own story of love and protection. I just wished that with the final book we would know how far the other couples had progressed.
Enjoyed this series. A different take on the security business. Strong Alpha males and a kick ass lady agent and cop. Would have liked more closure on the characters either in an epilogue or a font conclusion. That's all that was stopping it from being a 5` rating
Each story by itself was amazing to read. I have to say Hawk's story wasn't as interesting as the others but it was still good. I absolutely recommend this book!!!!!!!!!
Loved it, loved the stories of big gentle men falling in love. But, did like the abrupt endings. Would of loved to read a few more HEA pages of the stories.
This is my 3rd book series I've read. Like it because you can read all five at and no waiting. KING SECURITY was a good fast read. Each story was very well written and suspensful.