Fuoco sotto la cenere

Salus Security #1

by Teodora Kostova

«Hai assunto il mio ex per farmi da guardia del corpo?»

Quando Alec ha lasciato New York, e ha lasciato me, ero un vero casino e i miei giorni erano uno sfocato susseguirsi di alcool, feste e sesso senza senso.
Fino a quando mia sorella non è quasi morta in un incidente stradale e la sua ripresa è stata la sveglia di cui avevo bisogno.
Adesso, tre anni dopo, mi sono dato una ripulita, sono sobrio e sono finalmente diventato il figlio che mio padre ha sempre voluto che fossi: l’erede della Van Dorf Media Group.
Ma far parte di una delle famiglie più influenti d’America ha degli svantaggi, come dei fantastici suprematisti che cercano di ucciderti.
La soluzione di mio padre? Assumere Alec Bonovich per proteggermi.
Non importa che sia il mio ex.
Non importa che mi basti vederlo perché il cuore mi salti in gola.
Non importa che sia l’unico uomo che mi abbia mai spezzato il cuore.
Perché Alec è il migliore.
Ed è l’unico di cui mi fidi per proteggermi, ora che la mia vita è in pericolo.

Fuoco sotto la cenere è il primo libro della Serie Salus Security. Questo romanzo ha per protagonisti una guardia del corpo che vuole una seconda occasione, il riluttante erede di un impero mediatico che non pensa di meritare una seconda occasione e una sottotrama di suspense con un pizzico di angst. Tutti i libri della serie possono essere letti come stand-alone, ma leggerli in ordine offrirà al lettore un’esperienza più ricca.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Second Chance, Suspense, Romance, Mystery, Politics

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 4, 2021

About the author

Teodora Kostova writes romance where every heartbeat matters. She’s an award-winning, bestselling author, a linguist fluent in four languages, and a Creative Writing graduate with a weakness for broken characters who kiss slow and love loudly. When she’s not writing, she’s probably watching anime, trying to score tickets for a musical, or analysing a friend’s natal chart over strong coffee.

Reviews

[Gerbera_Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am sorry to say, but this book didn't work for me at all. The author's writing style of telling and not showing was a major drawback for me. There were many instances where situations that could have good dialogues or even expressions of feelings were reduced to several sentences.

The first part of the story was okay: insta connection and insta love but I could live with that. Around 40% when there was a pivotal change in Alec's life, one of the MCs life, the book went bad for me. It didn't fit the blurb and what my expectations for the book were. I could have liked Zach but he turned out to be spoiled self serving rich boy who had everything and decided to behave in absolutely atrocious way.

The second part of now continued in the same vein regarding Zach's behavior to Alec when he reappeared in Zach's life and for a time turned into a side attraction show by the name Zach: Me, myself and I. My low opinion about him sank even lower. I felt for Alec and didn't understand why he turned into a complete doormat for Zach to wipe his shoes on.

The last part of the story saw a change in Zach's personality after phenomenal $*e*x with Alec. With issues barely resolved, glossed over and squeezed into couple of sentences, it was love forever again. The action scenes were made to fit and resolved themselves immediately and very conveniently because apparently Alec is an undercover Superman.

The story needed more research. The Van Dorf Media Group, their Dawn publication, the why of everything that happened with the family was barely talked about. I knew very little about Alec. He needed POV desperately for me to see why he let Zach treat him like he did. The MCs lacked emotional depth, had no personal growth and seemed only connected through $*e*x which was a bit mechanical with the use of most commonly used phrases.

I am sorry for the bad review but I could not like the book like I wanted to. Others loved it and that's great. This is my personal opinion. Copy received for my honest and unbiased review.

[Elsa Bravante]

He aguantado hasta el 30%, ya no puedo más. No le voy a dar puntuación porque es un DNF, pero ganas no me faltan.
La historia tiene muchos problemas, muchos, pero el mayor de todos es que la autora se dedica a contar y muy poco a mostrar: pasa esto, y pasa lo otro, y se enamoran, y le cuenta esto, y le muestra lo otro. Pero, no nos lo muestra, faltan diálogos, falta mucha profundidad en los personajes, que parecen caricaturas, falta el POV de uno de ellos, Alec, sin él no se entiende absolutamente nada de su forma de actuar.
El libro está dividido en dos partes, hay una gran ruptura, pero no se entiende esta, en cuatro frases pasan de estar viviendo un sueño a romper y a ti como lector se te queda cara de tonta. Pero, lo peor, es que cuando crees haberlo entendido lees el reencuentro y el personaje que es causa de esa ruptura se comporta como un niñato egoísta. Yo soy muy fan de los protagonistas complicados, de los no perfectos, porque ninguno lo somos, pero una cosa es no ser perfecto y otra es ser idiota. No lo sé, igual si siguiera leyendo podría disculpar su egoísmo, pero nunca lo sabré porque nunca seguiré con la historia.
En fin, lo empecé con muchas ganas, me encanta el punto de partida, pero me ha parecido infumable, la forma de escribir de la autora y la historia en sí. No puedo recomendarlo.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

*** DNF @ 25% ***

There was something off about the pacing of this book which made it difficult for me to connect emotionally with the characters. Right from the first page, I felt like I had missed something - some event, some spark - that led the characters to care for one another so deeply, so quickly, that I literally went back and re-read a few pages to see if I had accidently skipped something.

Nope.

If the two main characters had formed an intense bond at some point, it had happened so far off page as to be irrelevant.

This lack of connection and care for the characters meant that when (arguably) dramatic (forced drama, if you ask me) things were happening, I felt... nothing. I didn't feel happy when they were happy, or stressed when they were stressed. There was a weird lack of emotion when "major life events" happened to the main characters, and again when things happened - off page - to secondary characters.

I. Felt. Nothing.

The author made me feel nothing.

And all of the devices to separate the MCs and then to bring them back together again felt contrived.

It was just an overall bummer of a read for me and I decided that I didn't want to waste my time finishing it. Although I have 4-starred at least 1 other book by this author, I cannot recommend this one.

[Teodora Kostova]

Amazon US
Universal

Cover reveal and release date announcement!
Release date: 4 March 2021
Genre: MM Contemporary romance
Length: 80K words
Heat level: HOT!
Tags: bodyguard, second chance, forced proximity, there's only one bed, anxiety rep, tattoos, NYC aesthetic, bossy bottom, size difference, romantic suspense

[Didi]

Let’s just say STOKING THE FIRE is not what I expected. I’m all for second chance romance - it counts among my preferred romance tropes. But the dynamic between Zach and Alec just exhausted me!

The book covered before the two involves in a relationship and after they broke up; not in flashback kind of story-telling. With the main character and sole voice of the story as susceptible to attention, anxiety, and insecurity as Zach was, STOKING THE FIRE was chockfull of angst and drama. Honestly, rather too much for me to handle! Everything was solely from Zach’s POV, making it almost impossible to make out Alec’s character other than the pedestal Zach put him on. As such, the conflict that followed their break-up felt both anti-climatic while expected.

The coming back together was more sketchy to say the least, considering the situation happened in a supposedly trying circumstances - the threat that hovering over Zach’s family (which I expected a reflection and nod to current political climate in USA). Personally I felt it’d be more gripping were this issue given more meat to chew on - I love me some cat and mouse game with more elaboration (than shown here).

I so wanted to like Zach but - while I symphatized with his plight - I just couldn’t take him seriously. For all his stance as the leading man and sole POV of the book, his portrayal wasn’t deep nor riveting enough for me. I could only wish that perhaps if Alec were to be granted POV too, STOKING THE FIRE may fare better. Maybe.


Copy of this book is kindly given by the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Kendra Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Spoilers** **Spoilers**


ARC given for an honest review.

Zach is the son of a wealthy and powerful man in the media world. He is in college but spends more time partying and sleeping around than studying. His BFF Adri asks him to go to the gym with him and while he's there pretending to work out he sees Alec working out on the punching bag. He approaches Alec to teach him self-defense as a come-on and they start dating. It's instant lust that turns to love rather fast. Alec is ex-military and owns his own security company. He needs someone with money, to infuse his company, so it can stay a float. When he gets an offer of assistance but has to move to LA he asks Zach to go with him. Zach can't give up his life so he breaks up with Alec in an overly harsh manner. Jump forward 3 years and Zach's sister is still recovering from a serious car accident and someone is sending death threats to Zach's family. Zach has grown up, stopped partying and is now in his PhD program. When he finds out his father hired Alec to protect him it doesn't go smoothly. Zach decides to go to a party with his BFF Adri (who ditches him) and he's drugged and almost kidnapped. Several days later he goes to his apartment to get clothes and finds it trashed and the assailant is still there. The assailant gets away leaving Alec with the idea to take Zach out of town. Alec takes Zach to his cabin in Vermont and they end up ironing out their differences; both admitting that they still love each other. When they go back to NYC Zach is almost kidnapped again and this starts the revelation of who's behind the death threats and who's helping them.

The first 40% of the book was slow going to me and I almost didn't finish. When it started in on the political part I really wanted to DNF but I've never accepted an ARC and not followed through, so I carried on. If one of the 2 MC's or the supporting characters where in politics I would have understood the need to have it in but they weren't. It was like the author was watching our current political troubles on TV and decided to through it in for drama. I didn't feel any chemistry between Zach and Alec in the first part of the book but after they cleared the air suddenly their chemistry was hot. It was like this book was written by two different people and they weren't flowing well together. Alec is supposed to be trained in self-defense yet in the first attempt to kidnap Zach he doesn't act like a trained security guard or self-defense specialist. He allows Zach to go to the bathroom alone and then after he rescues him he takes him down the stairs when Zach can barely walk. That's a lot of floors to walk down when someone can't walk on their own. Then when they are being followed he distracts the assailants (by staging a pathetic sex scene and pretends he likes drugged guys) long enough to knock them out. HE doesn't call the police or look for ID to see who these guys are. Also what kind of security guard doesn't carry a gun, knife or mace/pepper spray? Then when they reach the street there's a big thing made of the fact that it's unusually quiet on the NYC street but nothing comes of it. Unnecessary drama! Then when they go to Zach's apartment and find it trashed with the assailant hiding in the closet, Alec leaves Zach alone and chases the assailant into the hallway. Now Alec the self-defense specialist has a gun and the assailant still gets away after slashing Alec's arm with a knife. At this point I'm convinced that Alec isn't the best option to protect Zach. SMH! When Zach gets kidnapped a second time he overhears Hoz (the leader of the kidnappers) say to hurry because Mackenzie can't stall the cops any longer and yet in the next chapter he asks Alec why the cops didn't come sooner? Well because whoever Mackenzie is/was was holding them off. It was never explained who Mackenzie is or how he was holding off the entire NYC police force. This book had a good premise IMO but it wasn't executed at all. It's a comedy of errors without the comedy. I definitely won't be reading this book again and I'm doubtful that I'll read any other books by this author.

[Pallavi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alec walk away. Seriously.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

2 stars

I have enjoyed other books by this author, but Stoking the Fire does not fall into that category. The style of writing here was a departure from what I have seen from Kostova in the past and it was not to my taste at all. This is also the first book I have seen billed as a romantic suspense from this author and that was definitely not a strong aspect of this story.

The book is mostly telling with only glimpses of showing. There is also too much that is completely off page. When Zach and Alec meet, it’s supposed to be hot attraction at first sight, but it never hit that mark for me. I like to read great scenes of both love at first sight and that first spark of attraction, but this had no spark to it at all. The men hook up quickly and for as attracted as Zach says he is to Alec, the scene felt flat and uninspired. We were in the room with them, but the way the scene was written, we may as well not have been as we are told so much than rather being shown it.

Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.

[Gustaf · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm usually a huge fan of this author but this one just didn't work for me. First of all I didn't really care for Zach and this book is entirely from his point of view. He was whiny, self destructive and very hard to like. After a while I was praying for Alec's point of view just to get away from Zach's head. Second, the stellar writing I've seen in this author's earlier books wasn't there. The romance beats wasn't there and it was way too much telling instead of showing. Like so many scenes could've been saved by some dialogue.

[Manuela Raimo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divorato in un giorno. Molto bello presto la recensione sul blog 😍

[Daniela Tirrito (Tivvys_books_world) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/3.5*

[E.Muddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I thought this was a good bodyguard, second chance romance, I struggled a little with the author's writing style. At times, it leant more towards telling and not showing. I felt there were some instances when the dialogue or description of feelings could have been fleshed out more. The action and suspense, for me, also fell flat. These scenes had that feeling of being conveniently slotted in and were resolved a bit too quickly. Finally, the dynamic between Zach and Alec was lacking and quite exhausting after a while. I liked how the author dealt with Zach's anxiety and insecurity, but apart from that, I don't think his portrayal went deep enough to engage my interest. It probably would have worked better if it was dual POV and we got more of an insight into Alec's character at the same time. I also think this would have made the connection from the 'then' and 'now' parts of the story that much stronger. There is some disconnect between the two where I couldn't really reconcile Zach and Alec in the first half of the book with the second half.

Overall, a decent enough book with a great premise; a little lacking in the execution.

[Lelyana's Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stoking the Fire has a potential to be an enjoyable great bodyguard reading if only I could understand American latest politics. It's so thick with politics that I did not understand.
It was enjoyable enough even Zach portrayed as a typical spoiled rich boy and Alec should run away from him (which he did once lol) , until trouble after trouble came to Zach and Alec's life.
I didn't really like it when the problem outnumbered the romance between the two MCs.
Despite what I didn't like in this book Zach and Alec surprisingly worked. Let Alec live with Zach, I hope they'll get their HEA.
I'll still read the second book, I was curious about Adrian and Felix.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se vogliamo essere del tutto sinceri, questo libro non mi ha entusiasmata troppo ma l'ha fatto quel tanto che basta perché mi sentissi comunque invogliata a proseguire nella lettura e non ricadessi nella reading slump.


Zach Van Dorf è l'erede di un vasto impero mediatico a New York - almeno lo è sulla carta, dal momento che non ha nessuna intenzione di partecipare all'attività di famiglia ma non sa ancora come dirlo a suo padre. Il suo è un cognome pesante: ovunque vada viene riconosciuto, fotografato, taggato e tutti cercano di essergli amici oppure lo osteggiano apertamente come ragazzo viziato ed egocentrico.

L'incontro con Alec è attrazione a prima vista per entrambi: Alec è un ex-militare che sta costruendo la sua società di sicurezza ed è l'unico capace di distrarre Zach dalla sua ansia e dal suo perenne controllare i social media per vedere cosa la gente e le malelingue dicano di lui e della sua famiglia.

Entrambi però non sono pronti per una storia che ha già tutte le connotazioni di una relazione seria: Alec è ancora tormentato dagli incubi e dal suo disturbo da stress post-traumatico, Zach non riesce a fregarsene di quello che la gente dice di lui e non riesce a gestire l'ansia. Il fatto che poi Alec debba andare a Los Angeles per trovare investitori e costruire seriamente la sua società non aiuta affatto - e così Zach, che non ha intenzione di mollare tutto per seguirlo, lo lascia nel più crudele dei modi.

Tre anni dopo, una serie di attentati e minacce alla famiglia Van Dorf riportano Alec nella vita di Zach, quando il padre di quest'ultimo decide di assumerlo per proteggere suo figlio. Zach non ne vuole sapere di limitazioni alla propria libertà - anche se ora è tutto casa e università e non più feste e club privati - e di avere una guardia del corpo che lo segue ovunque. Soprattutto non ne vuole sapere di Alec perché, e lo sa benissimo, non ha mai smesso di amarlo e vederlo è un continuo colpo al cuore.


Quello tra Zach e Alec è chiaramente un instalove - che in realtà stavolta non mi ha disturbata tanto quanto avrebbe fatto in altre occasioni. A disturbarmi di più è stato il "tell, no show" dell'autrice - tante cose della conoscenza tra Zach e Alec, del loro rapporto e della sua profondità ci vengono dette e non mostrate e io non mi sono mai sentita coinvolta emotivamente da loro o dalla loro storia.

Zach è un ragazzo egocentrico e viziato che di base non ha questa gran crescita emotiva - e anche se ce l'ha, ci viene detto e non mostrato. Ha fatto una carognata nei confronti di Alec, il quale avrebbe meritato molto di meglio e invece quest'ultimo continua ad adorare Zach qualunque cosa faccia ed è praticamente il suo zerbino - ci sarebbe proprio voluto il suo punto di vista perché Alec non riusciamo mai a conoscerlo davvero o a sapere qualcosa del suo passato che non siano informazioni riportate da Zach in passaggio a seconda dell'occasione o della circostanza in cui si trovano.

Lo stesso vale per il migliore amico di Zach, Adrian - complice anche lui, sebbene involontario, della carognata. Anche lui non è un personaggio che ho particolarmente amato - un personaggio che vuole mantenere a tutti i costi un alone di mistero in quanto "giornalista investigativo", ma che risulta alquanto irritante con questo atteggiamento. Lui sarà il protagonista del secondo romanzo e potrei anche leggerlo quando uscirà, ma anche in questo caso Felix - proprio come Alec - si meriterebbe di meglio.

Il mistero di fondo, ciò che sta alla base delle minacce alla famiglia Van Dorf, è un po' debole e lasciato in disparte per la maggior parte del romanzo - e anche quando viene affrontato, viene affrontato in maniera alquanto superficiale perché il focus resta sempre la storia tra Zach e Alec. O meglio, Zach resta sempre concentrato su stesso e su quello che prova per Alec, sul sesso tra loro e su quanto sia magnifico e su quello che Alec potrebbe o non potrebbe provare per lui. Cioè, alla fine manco ho capito in cosa si è laureato e che lavoro andrà a fare - anche se in realtà non mi sembra dissimile da quello che avrebbe potuto fare lavorando per suo padre.

Fuoco sotto la cenere non è stata per me una lettura memorabile oppure emotivamente coinvolgente, ma è stata quello di cui avevo bisogno per ricominciare a leggere e sentirmi di nuovo invogliata a riprendere in mano un libro - a volte basta solo questo.

[Le letture di Anya · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 STELLE - RECENSIONE DI SKYE


Sono passati 3 anni da quando Zach e Alec si sono lasciati, ma quando la vita di Zach e di tutta la famiglia Van Dorf, una delle più importanti d’America, vengono messe a rischio e assumere Alec e la sua società è l’unica cosa che Dannis Van Dorf, padre di Zach, può fare per arginare i danni.

Alec ha ragione: non riguarda me, riguarda tutta la mia famiglia e per tenere tutti al sicuro dovrò farmene una ragione e accettare che Alec sta solo facendo il suo lavoro. Nient’altro. Il passato è nel passato.

Ma Zach non ha mai dimenticato e smesso di amare Alec, e la convivenza forzata farà smuove il fuoco che si cela sotto la cenere della loro relazione. Riusciranno questi due uomini, segnati dalla vita, ad avere una seconda opportunità? O gli sbagli del passato aleggeranno sul presente, mettendo a rischio il loro lieto fine?

So che mi vuole e so che tiene a me, ma ciò che voglio da lui è più grande di questo. Io voglio tutto e non so se sia pronto a darmelo, se mai lo sarà. Una volta mi ha detto che mi amava, mi ha offerto il suo cuore e io l’ho calpestato. Perché dovrebbe darmi un’altra chance?

Mi è davvero piaciuto questo primo romanzo della serie Salus Security, poiché tra le sue pagine troviamo davvero tutto quello che solitamente si cerca in un’opera: una buona dose di suspense, quella giusta spruzzata di angst, una bella parte romance con delle belle scene hot. Il tutto ben orchestrato dalla sapiente penna della Kostova, che è una delle mie autrici preferite quando cerco un libro a tutto tondo, ma non troppo impegnativo.



CONTINUA SUL BLOG

https://leletturedianya.altervista.or...

[Jesslan Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stoking The Fire
By Teodora Kostova

When Alec tells his boyfriend, Zach, he has to move to L.A. to expand his security business his heart is broken. Zach see's it as Alec abandoning him when he needs him most. Zach feels the only way he'll ever get over him is if he hurts Alec so much he'll never want to be near him again.

Three years later Zach's life has been threatened along with his family's and Zach's Dad chooses Alec's company to be his security until the threat is found.

I really enjoyed the book. I didn't always agree with Zach's way of thinking or his decisions, but I could see where he was coming from. Alec was an honorable man and loved Zach. What's not to love about that?

The book was in Zach's POV. There was quite a bit of sadness and depression in it. To the point I felt there were a couple triggers. So I'll mention them. But this is definitely a book I'd read again.

Triggers: Depression, Anxiety Attacks, Kidnapping, Physical Assault

[Anabela.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually, in second chances romance, the story takes place in present day,  with memories of the protagonists history presented throughout. Teodora Kostova, though, chose to do it differently, because she divided Stoking the Fire into 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 and 𝘯𝘰𝘸, giving the reader an all rounded, more powerful experience of Zach and Alec's love story.

The story is told entirely from Zach's perspective and being inside his head, especially in the beginning, seeing his reasoning and why he took some decisions didn't mean I agreed with his choices. But we're not always rational beings, are we?  He was only human, after all, and it made him feel more real to me. He paid for his mistakes when he threw away his chance at happiness breaking up with Alec. He caused himself heartbreak and I suffered alongside him.

"𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧- 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧- 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦... 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘐 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶. "

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯, from the moment Zach and Alec met to the day they parted ways, their love and passion burned so hot it left behind only ashes. 𝘕𝘰𝘸, they met again both changed and matured, more prepared for a relationship. Both have learned the hard way that they had to work on themselves before opening fully to the other, that love isn't always easy, that it requires a lot of compromise, honesty and understanding from both sides.

I loved these two men. Zach for his strengths despite his weaknesses, for his big heart and for all the hard work he put into rebuilding himself. Alec, as Zach saw him and from his actions, I loved him for his loyalty, kindness and for the courage to fight his own demons. Little by little, their love rebuilt itself and it was wonderful to witness.

There was a secondary plotline woven with the romance. Someone threatened Zach and his family, Zach almost got kidnapped and a couple of times the danger was so close to them that I really feared for their lives. Just when Zach and Alec found some balance and a new beginning, they risked losing each other. It was scary and suspenseful, added to the overall sweet, hopeful and heart-healing sense of the story. I loved it!

[Enirehtak Melas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t really connect with this one. I found Zach to be an entirely immature character. That staged selfie kiss he sent to Alec? That pretty much cemented my dislike for him. He never redeemed himself for me with that. He just continuously made immature and petty choices, and everyone catered to them.

I enjoyed Alec’s character, but he was essentially a pushover when concerning Zach. I felt he deserved more and an entirely different partner. Zach AND Adrian, Zach’s friend and sometimes fuck buddy, were self serving and entitled characters. Entirely flawed. I found no redeemable traits in them that didn’t make me reconsider my opinion of them.

The character of Adrian...🙄.

I didn’t like him. Felix should run. No. I don’t think Felix deserves someone like Adrian for a partner. I don’t like where that was leading. Adrian felt very superficial and quite callous. The same traits I would associate with Zach. I’m really hung up on how their actions solidified my impression of them.

I do like this author’s style of writing, but I did not like one of the major characters within this book. There was no growth in them *ahem* Zach mainly. Shame. The blurb was misleading, but it does cement why one should never take one side of the story at full value. Zach made it sound like he was wronged. He wasn’t. He was the one who broke Alec. Not the other way around. Overall, he is a very immature character that did not show any of sense of maturity that proved that he wasn’t that same dumb kid.

I wanted to like this, but I could not connect with Zach and definitely could not vibe with him and Alec a couple. There was such an imbalance there.

There were also a lot of discrepancies concerning how a bodyguard would act in the scenarios Alec and Zach found themselves in. It didn’t make a lot of sense in how Alec acted for someone who was supposed to be a professional and experienced bodyguard.


*I received an ARC of this title and have given my honest review.*

[yaishin · Rating 2 out of 5]

*lot of spoilers ahead*

There's exaggeration and then there's exaggeration. I usually don't mind but oh god the author needs to do more research on social media first of all and then dangers of making a book boring by moving the MCs to a remote cabin fleeing a terrorist group, here's the kicker, all because one of them wrote an article on a controversial topic in his father's magazine😶. And his father is the head of a magazine company and also somehow such an influential person that he can sway elections for the governor position. Please. Save me from this wreckage.

The only reason I'm giving this a two stars is for the sizzling chemistry. Which was also losing my interest as they got more loved up but also just for the record that synopsis is misleading.

[Toni K]

DNF at 40%. This is my first Teodora Kostova book and there is nothing I like here. The style is not doing it for me, the heat is non-existent, the story is... strangely flat although it wants to tackle the big issues of today. Zach is an awful character - spoiled, self-centered, media-obsessed, unsupportive, and a bit of a slut (yeah, I'm shaming) and does it to hurt other people. I don't know what Alec likes in him - there is not one sympathetic feature there. Maybe his ass? He is supposed to be an English PhD student, and goes "Oh, it's amazing that a book written 20 years ago is so relevant today!" Really? Not 200, but 20 years ago! No sh*t. Just... Save me.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non capisco perché continuò a dare una possibilità a questa autrice. Se la trama poteva essere interessante, la sua scrittura no, non è nemmeno decente. Piatto, elementare. Un susseguirsi di azioni che vanno dal ballare, al ballare, al baciarsi, controllo social, ballare… Una pacca sulla spalla a me per essere arrivata a metà libro.

[Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had so much potential and I kept reading for Alecs POV which I think could have added so much to the story, but it never came. The mystery aspect was kinda confusing cause I'm pretty sure the FBI would have been called in before a private security company. Hey ho.

[Love Is All Around · Rating 4 out of 5]

RECENSIONE A CURA DI EVELYNE
Venite a leggerla sul nostro blog!

[Marty90 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Sana Ajaz]

Wtf?

[the kevin (vaguely alive) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 24%

My issues:

1. This is a second chance romance, and we actually spend a while seeing their original romance. However, we don't actually see it at. It reads like instalovey snippets, scenes that would have maybe worked more as flashbacks, but even then I never felt their connection. I never felt their physical chemistry, let alone any emotional bonds. I call this instalove because it feels fast within the confines of the book, but it's not a usual instalove offender.

2. This one is more on me - but I'd expected something very different based on the blurb.

When Alec left NYC - left me - I was a broken mess. All my days blurred into a continuous haze of alcohol, parties, and meaningless hook-ups.
Until my sister nearly died in a car accident. Her recovery was the wake-up call I needed.
Now, three years later, I've cleaned up my act, sobered up, and finally became the son my father always wished I was - the heir of Van Dorf Media Group.

I, apparently lacking reading comprehension, thought this would be a romance where Alec and Zach break up because Zach descends into party boy drug mode and Alec won't stand for it. Then Zach continues being a human disaster, until his sisters accident, and then he sobers up and becomes functional over the three year gap which is when Alec comes back. Cue second chance romance.

Well, I was wrong. In case you also read it that way, that's not what you're getting.

Following the shallow turbospeed first romance, Alec and Zach break up because Alec gets an opportunity to expand his bodyguard business in LA, and Zach doesn't want to leave ...New York? Anyway, they have the world's most childish and idiotic fight, in which we get a love confession from Alec, and Zach...lies about not loving him so he'll leave. Why?? It's an acceptable reason to breakup if you just don't want to move across the country! You don't need to dramatically wound each other, just...don't move. It was so contrived, and since I never felt their original romance, I didn't feel anything for their theoretically dramatic breakup either.

This is where Zach descends, apparently, into his drug and party lifestyle, until his sister has her mysterious accident. I didn't get far enough to know what it was, or why this made him clean up his act, so it had no impact on me either.

3. Reality - one repeating point is how the people Zach goes to college with all (all!) dislike him for his family and reputation. My god, no one gives a shit in college. People rarely give a shit, period. It was brought up so many times that it made me cranky.

Overall, this had a lot of telling, and I felt very distant, it was like watching a movie on a jumbotron through an airplane window. I was never involved in the story, and I had no reason to care about the characters or (weak) plot.

[Emily Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a bit difficult for me to follow the early stages of Zach and Alec's relationship, but once the storyline swapped over to present-day events I quickly became invested in the romance and suspense plotlines. 

When Alec and Zach first met, their passionate affair was almost explosive enough to hide the deep-seated issues both men were struggling with. It was heartbreaking to see their relationship come to an abrupt end, but a part of me was glad they walked away. Both men had some serious soul-searching to do before they were in the right headspace to have a long-term relationship, and it showed in the way they cut ties with each other. Years later, after moving on with their lives and growing as individuals, a threat against Zach and his family was the perfect setup to bring Alec back into his life. 

Because this story was solely from Zach's perspective, I felt like I was scrutinizing every interaction he had with Alec to see if I could tell how he was feeling. The way the two of them were forced back into each other's lives made it seem like there was no chance for their romance to be rekindled, but I was hopeful that something was lurking beneath the surface. As Zach and Alec spent time together, it was impossible to miss the heated glances and sparks of passion between them. Though they tried to resist at first, the pull between the two of them was unmistakeable. I loved every second of their back-and-forth, the push-and-pull of two lovers who desperately wanted each other but didn't want to risk breaking their hearts all over again. When they inevitably gave in to their shared desire, it was thrilling to see them not fall back into the bad habits they had at the beginning of their relationship. Yes, the two of them were just as explosive between the sheets as they were in the past, but added to that was a layer of emotional intimacy and a desire to get to know each other as people. 

As Zach's safety became more and more uncertain, it was exciting to see Alec's protector instincts come into play. Yes, Zach was technically Alec's client, but it was obvious that Alec was personally invested in keeping him out of harm's way. It seemed like every brush with danger brought Alec and Zach closer together, and as the threat level escalated so did their committment to each other. By the time this story reached its most climactic moment, I felt like I could jump out of my skin with the desire to make sure everything was going to end up okay. Though I definitely wasn't expecting this story to have as many twists and turns as it did, it was highly satisfying to see how Alec and Zach rolled with the punches. Their happily ever after was every bit as adorable as I was hoping it would be, and I'm also secretly hoping that we'll get to read Adri's story next!

**I voluntarily read an ARC of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.   

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this needed a lot more editing, proofreading, trimming, and more. Mostly it's from the point of view of Zach, the out and gay son of a world-famous media concern owner. Zach is a part time student, social media inhabitant, and full time party boy who resents his father's pushing him to join the family firm. One day he meets buff security business owner Alec at the gym and they hit off, and quickly start dating for about a year. Then Alec has to move to LA for his business but Zach refuses to move, so they break up. Three years later, Zach's father hires Alec and his firm to provide bodyguard and security business to the family after a series of escalating threats. And... this is where things go off the tracks for me.
Minor peeve, but the author doesn't explicitly state Zach's age, but as a sophomore in college, I'm guessing he's about 19. He acts like he's about 12.
So Zach is a literature student, and by part 2 he's got his masters in English Literature and working on his PhD. Yet suddenly he's talking about how his goal is to go into investigative journalism, like his friend Adrian. His whole educational trajectory is all wrong for this. Also the story he wrote for his father's magazine about the rise of (plot point)? Why did he seem so surprised and clueless about it when his father was lecturing him about his enemies? This was all wrong.
Also, the dialogue was so bad, it read like a writer was writing the speaking parts to sound fancy rather than write natural dialogue. Often this threw me out of the story because I was saying "Who speaks like this?"
The closing action scenes were a little too action-packed to be realistic. I had already figured out who the inside mole was halfway in, was not surprised that Alec's team had not done any kind of background check on the entire staff.
About the only thing I overall really liked was the part where Alec encourages Zach to quit social media because it was clearly feeding into his anxiety. That was probably the best part of the book.
Finished book, two stars, would not recommend.

[JenCW · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Stars!

Alec and Zach's story is a second chance romance, with suspense plot, told in a format of then and now. We get their beginning relationship in small pieces in time, as their relationship builds and then falls apart, followed by the present. I found it a little hard to read the portion where their relationship starts to crack and fall apart, but thankfully the story doesn't dwell on it and drag it out.

Alec and Zach really are meant for each other. They have an amazing connection both times they are together, but the timing and their own mental health were not in sync with what could have been the first time. As it is, Alec coming back into Zach's life to protect him caused Zach to backslide some on his behavior. However, I was happy to see Zach recognize what he was doing and try to hold onto the changes he had made while they were apart. I really appreciated that Zach was willing to open up, take a chance, and tell Alec how he was feeling, and that they cleared the air about their relationship and it's failures the first time. It was refreshing to see them making use of the things they had learned about themselves, while they were apart, to make things work better now that they had a second chance.

The suspense portion of the story was well written, but personally I had a hard time with the perpetrators and their motives, considering how close some of them came to issues that have been occurring lately in real life. Thankfully, the politics and beliefs of the enemies isn't a major focus of this story, only keeping Zach safe was. While there were times I didn't understand why they didn't have a bigger team keeping Zach safe, instead of only having Alec and backup on call, I was willing to go with it. I am really intrigued by Felix and Zach's friend Adrian. I can't wait for their book!

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

[Luisa Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

«No,» dice alla fine. Sento lo stomaco sprofondarmi e distolgo lo sguardo per nascondere la mia delusione.
«Ma per te posso fare un’eccezione.»
Un sorriso gli curva le labbra mentre lo dice e il suo sguardo scivola di nuovo sul mio corpo ancora senza maglietta.
L’intenzione in quella lunga occhiata di apprezzamento è inconfondibile.
Mi sento meglio a sapere che siamo sulla stessa lunghezza d’onda.
Amare un genere dall’altro è la molla che ti dà la spinta per divorare, letteralmente,letture che amerai arrivata alla parola fine.
Questo è successo con tante storie MM, chi più chi meno, hanno scatenato emozioni al mio animo, è anche fuoco sotto la cenere ha dato il suo alto contributo.
Ogni storia presenta protagonisti, tra i tanti 2 o 3 sono quelli che hanno più importanza perchè il testo narra le loro vicissitudini, in questa i protagonisti sono Alec e Zack, ma non dimentichiamoci di Adri che non solo è il miglior amico di Zach, con il suo lavoro dà un valido contributo all’evolversi della storia.
Alec è ermetico, la sua personalità dice e non dice, ma i suoi sorrisi, il suo amore per Zach è indiscusso.
A differenza sua Zach è ansioso, ma anche propositivo, ama follemente sua sorella, il suo amico Adri e i suoi genitori, nonostante tutto.
A tutto ciò va aggiunto il desiderio spasmodico nei confronti di Alec, ricambiato in toto, e che presto si trasformerà in amore, ma ci saranno elementi che per alcuni anni terranno i nostri protagonisti lontano l’uno dall’altra, ecco perché poi arriviamo ad avere una seconda chance ricca di colpi di scena che per situazioni esuli da Zack lo si vedrà di nuovo a contatto con Alec.
Una storia che va lette in un sol fiato, che emoziona in ogni scena e che i sorrisi parlano agli occhi e al cuore.
Uno stile accattivante, coinvolgente e trascinante.
Da leggere, consigliato.