Luna Davidson has been in love with Tony since she was ten years old. As her older brother's best friend, he was always off-limits, but that doesn't mean she didn't try. But years after he turned her down, she's found herself needing his help, whether she wants it or now.
She's his best friend's little sister.
When he learns that Luna has had someone stalking her for months, he's furious that she didn't tell anyone. As a detective on the Springbrook Hills PD, it's his job to serve and protect. But can he use this as an excuse to find out what really happened all those years ago?
Can Luna overcome her own insecurities to see what's right in front of her? Can Tony figure out who is stalking her before it goes too far?
The Protector is a contemporary brother's best friend romance. It's book two in the Springbrook Hills series, but can be read as a standalone.
It is a full-length romance with a Happily Ever After that features sexually explicit material and profanity. This book is intended for 18+
Morgan is a born and raised Jersey girl, living there with her two boys, toddler daughter, and mechanic husband. She’s addicted to iced espresso, barbecue chips, and Starburst jellybeans. She usually has headphones on, listening to some spicy audiobook or Taylor Swift. There is rarely an in between.
Writing has been her calling for as long as she can remember. There’s a framed ‘page one’ of a book she wrote at seven hanging in her childhood home to prove the point. Her entire life she’s crafted stories in her mind, begging to be released but it wasn’t until recently she finally gave them the reigns.
I’m so grateful you’ve agreed to take this journey with me.
I really tried to get into this, I wanted to like it after getting it recommended all over booktok, but I couldn’t bring myself to waste another 2 hours on finishing it. The dialogue was cheesy, the conflict and resolution between our two main interests felt flat, they spent TEN YEARS not really talking to each other bc of a simple miscommunication? Also the story was just so damn boring. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good domestic love story, but not even that could make up for the lack of bleh with everything else.
Also, he’s a cop, her brother is a cop, she’s friends with all the cops etc… no critical engagement with the political climate of the (especially American) police force, it’s all so romanticized.
And, my biggest ick: their age gap. I don’t mind age gaps once the chars are of age but he was into her when he was a teenager and she was a literal kid? When he was at college and she was a teenager? He was counting down the days to when she turned 18 when he was 22? Yuck yuck yuck. I’m 23 rn and I couldn’t imagine looking at a 17 year old like someone who’s sexually and romantically desirable. Why couldn’t they just have been friends and he started to see her in another light as she grew up? That’s what I usually like about the ~brothers best friend~ trope. Idk the way it was written just made me feel icky.
Came off insensitive, content-wise, in my opinion.
Based on the publication date and the current political and social climate, the plot and some language used were inappropriate. I think that as an author, while reading is a welcome break from reality, to some degree you also have a responsibility to be mindful of the work you publish and how that connects to the world around you, which seemed to be completely ignored here.
Moving on, I just didn't like the plot or characters. Brother's best friend is great when executed properly, which it was not here.
It started as a little embarrassing, Luna was almost pathetically into him, which I could've dealt with, but then when it was revealed that he also liked her. Starting from when she was in middle school and he was graduating high school.
I'll say that once more, he liked her from when she was a child and he was a legal adult. So, immediately, no.
Aside from being creepy as hell and uncomfortable, it was also just unrealistic. I don't care how well they knew each other or how close their families were, if you're eighteen and lusting over a middle schooler, you need professional help. It isn't romantic, it's concerning.
It was disappointing too, because aside from all of the other obvious issues, the beginning of their relationship was actually kinda cute. I was down for it, but then, it just kept reminding me why I was not, in fact, down for any of it.
Don't worry that you'll forget this man's name either, because it was repeated in every single bit of Luna's dialogue. I promise you I will never look at the name "Tony!" the same ever again. Disrespectfully. And the sheer number of exclamation points in Luna's dialogue should be a fined offense.
Next, her dad, brother, and now boyfriend are all basically the same person. And it mentions their similarities several times. Unsettling on a number of levels.
Lastly, a direct quote: "... Like I'm a small child." was said way too much for me not to wonder a bit about the dynamics here... At this point is there some sort of kink at play that I need to know about? Is she two feet tall? Is she the Queen? Is that why she is frequently being carried around?
And unless your name is Dominic Vega, the term of endearment, honey, is not for your lips.
I read this word after finishing tis the season for revenge by the same author and I have to say I was so utterly disappointed. 'Tis the season was an amazing book with great characters and character development as well as a great pace and great spice like all around it was an amazing read. So I went into this one with such high expectations and it just did not match. I found that the writing was not the greatest and the plot overall just dragged on and on to the point where I got so bored it was a struggle to finish. And the astounding lack of communication totally confused me because in tis the season I was pleasantly surprised by the communication and the understanding not just from the male lead with the female as well. So all in all huge disappointment which really sucks because I really wanted to read Hannah's book as she's the sister of the lead in tis the season but after this I don't think I will be.
There were too many things in this that didn’t gel with me, but first I’ll talk about what I DID like here.
The book was well written with very few grammatical errors and it had an intriguing enough plot line that I stayed interested. The characters each had their own voice and didn’t feel super cut and paste. It had lots of tropes that I typically enjoy: brothers best friend, protective/possessive hero, independent heroine, small town. I genuinely didn’t know who the stalker was until the big reveal which is a feat I don’t see very often. I usually pull the bad guy out from the start, but I really didn’t see the stalkers identity until it was revealed. I loved the close bond the FMC had with her family and friends.
I just couldn’t get behind the outdated “I am man me manly” attitude that her dad and brother had going on. There’s a point where the H says he gets to name the boys they may have one day “manly” names so they don’t get made fun of. It was such a weird line that I almost stopped reading but i was 80 something percent in and just tried to forget that line existed. It just rubbed me the wrong way.
The way that the police force is romanticized is really odd too. Don’t get me wrong, I read for escapism, but I think this just didn’t work for me because it felt so romanticized. I think cop heroes just don’t work for me anymore. It also bothered me to the 10th degree that nobody talked in complete sentences?? It’s such a weird stylistic choice and it feels so choppy.
I think the heroine had the potential to be a strong character, but there were times when she didn’t listen to warnings because she wanted to be independent. I get it. I do. But when you’ve got a stalking situation going on, it’s probably best to listen to folks.
All in all, this wasn’t a bad book, there were just some fundamental elements of the writing that didn’t work for me. I think some editing could have really helped it along cause the author isn’t a bad writer! There’s definitely some nice aspects to this book that I did enjoy. The book after this one, The Substitution, sounds up my alley so I’ll probably give it a try!
Now from the get go I was having 1 big issue with this story: Our main guy is a cop and our main girls brother is a cop too. Her best friends dad is the chief of police. They live in a small American town. The whole: he dreamed of joining the police, since he was a little kid because he dreamed of protecting people? In this corrupt political climate? Nope absolutely not. Big big no no for me. Further complimented by the lack of diversity in this story. And the fact that I know that the only reason she got this much help with her stalker is because she is personally involved with the police force. Now suddenly she has them watching her 24/7, because she’s personally important to all the small town officers. I don’t think this story would go even slightly similar to anyone who isn’t personally involved with local police men.
And then her mother was described in multiple occasions as gypsy? And while the lower case word does not carry the same offense that the other one does, it made me uncomfortable. Just stick with hippie, especially while describing a white woman of Icelandic heritage. But yet again very much personal preference. And on the other hand, we have her dad, who is acting like a toxic family patriarch in the 60s. No thank you! She expected her brother to hit his best friend in the face for dating her? Definitely not my vibe.
Now we haven’t even gotten to Lunas and Tony’s relationship. I can appreciate that he didn’t want to touch her before she was 18 (4 year age gap) but when he talked to her brother and he described how he had always been in to her, even when she was way younger? I know he didn’t act on it but still … Gross! I don’t want to read anymore plot lines where a teenager had a thing for a literal child! He could have just always appreciated and liked her and started viewing her differently and in a more sexual way once she was actually an adult. Because of how she had matured (to be more of an equal) rather than him counting down the days to her 18th birthday? It wouldn’t have changed the story that much and would have made me a lot more comfortable. Thank you!
Plus Luna was unnecessarily cursing a lot which just made me cringe.
I was so ready to love this and I did love it! Until like the 60% mark.
First the positives: The plot was really engaging and I loved there was 🌟 dramaaa 🌟 at the end without it being a third-act break-up. Luna is such a sweet character and I love how supportive all of her friends are of her, especially the girls. I'm so ready to read about Zoe and Sadie getting their HEA, too. And, yes it was a bit much at times, but I love myself a protective MMC (/and/ a protective older brother, just so good) and most of Luna and Tony's scenes were really cute.
(Small spoilers for the negatives)
Now, I just couldn't stand Tony's behaviour anymore at some point. He's always cursing, always shouting and even though I knew, that Luna loved him too, he was overly aggressive & possessive at times. What made me stop reading for a whole day actually, was, that he installed a tracker on her phone without her knowing and then got upset that she got upset. And then Luna goes and starts defending him in her head!! Like, that's overstepping SO many lines.
The whole age-gap thing was also okay at first, I'm pretty sure it even said that Tony only really developed feelings for Luna when she was 16 and he was 20 (which, still weird, but okay I'll deal with it) but then Luna finds an old picture of her, Tony and her brother, where she's 10/11 and she swears that she can already see that Tony was in love with her — and it makes her happy. Girl please.
The last thing might just be because I've been writing a thesis for uni and correcting all my friends' works but a) there were so many grammatical errors. Morgan, please let me be your editor. I'll do it for free b) Tony never spoke in complete sentences, always just "Know you love, babe" "Trust you know that about me, babe", like have you ever heard of a subject noon, my man and c) while I love that Tony is a security guard instead of a police officer in the edited version, there were still some instances where it hadn't been changed and he was called a detective/officer.
This turned out so negatively, oh god, it was still a fun book, I love Luna and, who am I kidding, I'll probably continue reading anyway!
Another fun yet slightly more intense read from Morgan. There was an air of suspense to it, with Luna having a stalker, that I really enjoyed.
I will say there was a bit too much toxic masculinity rolling around… Which put me off slightly. However that being said I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters!
I loved how protective Tony was of Luna, he really had the whole alpha male, possessive hero role down to a T! And I absolutely adored Luna! For someone who’s family was very overprotective of her, she could’ve been very sheltered and ditsy. But she was far from it! So confident and outspoken and not up for being pushed around!
I’m looking forward to reading more of this series!
I picked this one up after seeing the author on Tik Tok and I'm SO glad I did! I love a brother's best friend troupe, and this one delivered! The writing was fantastic and the steamy scenes were amazing! Definitely a page-turner for me and I look forward to reading more from this author!
2.5 I don't think I will round it up to 3 this time but since this is a relatively not-reviewed book I feel uncomfortable leaving a 2-star without an explanation. I'd start by saying it's been a fun read – but. I don't know if this book has gone through an editor, but it should have as there were many typos. Moreover, the writing itself felt unnatural and forced. The characters felt like they were preforming their roles and not really alive, the dialogues were awkward with super long speeches, repetitive ideas and over-explaining spoon-feeding. I skipped through most of the long speeches and honestly I think cutting them would’ve done the book some justice – nobody talks like that. I found them repeating that the ML is MC's "protector" really cringy and like, cops are the worst so I wasn't really getting it I guess. The writing felt what I want to call juvenile, but given that I did finish it and had some fun I think I might give one of the author's future books a chance, as I'm sure the writing will improve overtime.
Mixed feelings about this one. I didn't care for the relationship. The male character was very loud and aggressive at times, always yelling and shouting and cursing, talking over the main character, not letting her speak her mind. Then she just submits to him and they have sex, problem solved. It's not a healthy relationship. I get that the main character likes how things are going, but it rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like the main character doesn't have a say in her life.
And then the whole stalker thing, it came out of no where. The author threw in a red herring, but it seemed weird to have the actual stalker be this random person we only met once. No build up, no clues, nothing. This is a romance, so of course the main focus will be on the couple, but to include a mystery element in it, I think more work should have been done on that aspect.
Some things you must know about me that you may already know from other reviews: - I'll always read a brother's best friend trope - I will throw hands for a bodyguard-esque type romance - Suspenseful romance needs to be provided much more than it already is because I will always want to read it. She has a stalker? I'm reading it. She lives in a shady area and catches the eye of the wrong people? I'm reading it. Parent(s) is sketch and bails but leaves their drama for them to clean up? I'm reading it.
It's just something you need to understand about me.
I'm genuinely shocked that the reviews are so low but it's fine. I loved it. I will love it enough for everyone. It had all of my favourite things so there was little room for me to dislike it. At times we hit a little to close to home with the text stalker who wouldn't take a hint but I pushed forward and ignored the red flags. Very enjoyable, much wow.
Amazing book but why does the title of the book need to be in the book 17 times? (Yes I checked) I also didn’t like that Tony would have his say and then say “don’t argue with me on this one, just this once listen to me” but he would say that same speech every time, overall I enjoyed it and read it in one sitting and I can’t wait to read more of her books!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶️🌶️/5 Tropes- brother best friend RomCom Luna has been in love with Tony since she was a kid. When she’s 17 and Tony turns her down, she avoids him at all costs for years. When she gets a stalker Tony takes it upon himself to protect her at all costs. This was a very cute quick read. It was crazy predictable when it comes to who the stalker is and was a fun summer read! I love that this town is established in book one and each book in this series just adds to the dynamics of the town and how they all connect to one another!
Luna has been in love with Tony for years. After he rejects her when she is 17, she spends the next ten years doing her best to avoid him. Unfortunately, now for the last three months she has been getting creepy calls and texts from a random person and Tony and her brother who are members of the Springbrook Hill's Police force are determined to protect her from this stalker. Tony has been in love with Luna for years but wanted to wait until she was 18 to start something with her, but when she's 17 she anything she can to push him away and avoid him. Now that he's protecting her, he forces her to move into his house and the two of them once again grow close. Tony wants Luna and finally that dream can become a reality. The danger of the stalker still looming, but once the stalker is caught Luna assumes Tony is done with her now that he doesn't have to protect her anymore, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Tony must convince Luna that he wants forever with her. I loved Luna and Tony together. I like that out of respect for her Tony wanted to wait until she was older to pursue her. The misunderstandings and jumping to conclusions were a little annoying in the beginning. Although, I understood how Luna felt after being rejected she was embarrassed, and heart broken. I was happy the stalker situation was resolved, and I like Tony didn't believe it was over with the first man they caught.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This is my second Morgan Elizabeth book and I freaking LOVED it. I adored and giggled for Tony and I smiled every time Luna said anything because she’s so cute.
I did try to not fall for Zander because A. He’s hot as fuck and B. He said some funny and hot things that made me want to get his book already.
I loved that there was a plot and not just romance in the book, and I definitely did not expect the plot twist.
And don’t get me started on the ending I mean WHAT. I need to read the next book NOW
I did skip two other books in the series because I cannot stand children but I adored the characters from here and not from their books.
Sorry :).
Finally I can say that Morgan Elizabeth is my fav author with Tessa Bailey tying up to her.
You should definitely read this book because the smut was awesome and it made me giggle and also gasp.
(Let’s applaud for me because I think this is the first time I reviewed something and I didn’t spoil anything)
I’m being generous with my 2 star rating I think and that’s only because Hunter and Hannah from the first book saved the ending for me. 😅
First of all, with the way Tony was acting, I thought HE was the stalker in this book. I’m all for a possessive male character but not like this. Essentially almost forcing Luna to live with him, the tracking app in her phone…Geezus.
Luna talks all this talk about being independent but then let’s Tony act this way? Just no. I couldn’t vibe with it.
Also if I had taken a shot everytime Tony said darlin’, I’m pretty sure I’d be at the hospital right now. It was excessive and absolutely killed the steamy parts for me.
i absolutely fucking loved this book. it was the perfect cute lil romance with some suspense sprinkled in throughout. it definitely wasn’t a shocking ending by any means, or like really hard to figure out, but i’m not mad about it. it was exactly the easy read i wanted it to be and might be my new favorite morgan elizabeth book. i’m super hooked on this series now and i cannot wait to hang out in springbrook hills a little while longer.
I love the seasons of revenge series, but this book.. 🥴🥴 I struggleddd to push through it. Her brother calling her honey. Or “baby sister” 🥴 ickkk. Then Tony. Blah there’s something about him that is so annoying. Luna is super immature. They have zero chemistry and 10 years without talking just to say “oh you misunderstood Me” “oh I’m so sorry I avoided you for 10 years let’s go have sex and forget it happened” 🥴
Loved the base of this story, the characters and the main plot and was enjoying the tension greatly until like 40% I think.
Lokey spoilers The MMC legit confessed his feelings to her and she was still thinking ‘I don’t know how he feels about me’ and ‘I like him so much but he’ll never like me’ BRO HE CONFESSED EVERYTHING TOO YOUR FACES !!!!!YOURE SO DUMB
Then the conflict which I won’t spoil started alright with the build up and stuff but I think there could have been more hints and inclusions of the stalker earlier When the conflict did happen it was so obvious that it wasn’t over because of the actions that happened in the stalker but. then one sentence gave it all away and I knew everything, no more tension building or mystery. Yet again when it hit the final climax the MC was SO GODDAMN STUPID!!!! MAKING ME WANT TO GOUGE MY EYES OUT FROM HER DUMBNESS because the stalker was legit full explaining himself and she was still like ‘what are you doing here/ what’s happening’ ARE YOU DUMB 0IQ
I loved the characters and the story in the beginning but the conflict was so rushed and just thrown in instead of building it up and plotting everything well and maybe making the main character less freaking stupid and clueless and dumb would have made it amazing but alas
Okay I really tried to like this. I wanted to. I’ll say it time and time again, I love second chance/childhood friend tropes but I couldn’t not get past how much I couldn’t stand the male main character. I get it, he’s supposed to be this ultra manly dude but holy crap I wanted to punch him for this girl bc he was too damn possessive. Also her brother calling her babe and honey and the face kisses just made me icky. Sad this didn’t hold up as well as the first in the series:/honestly the final three chapters were only skimmed bc I just needed to be done but was way too far in to DNF. Still 50/50 if I’ll read the next in the series😬
-men don't hug -men need women to teach them to be vulnerable -men get physically violent to express care for a woman -consent is a myth, install a tracker on your partners phone -women need constant protection from men -women get beer for 'their man'
Feminism is dead. It has been nuked by booktok.
The attempt to retrospectively change the male main characters job just disrupts the story even more. The characters are bland and nearly impossible to distinguish from each other. Just...dont read it? Theres other books that grill your synapses just the same without being so tone deaf and insensitive.
KU. 3.5 stars. Brother’s best friend. She has a stalker, and he works in security. Naturally, she has to move in with him to stay safe.. this was cute and fun with a dash of suspense. I was hooked into the plot right away and had a hard time putting it down. The miscommunication and pet names bothered me, but overall it was a good time. Also the first time I’ve ever read a brother’s best friend novel where the mmc doesn’t go crazy holding himself back because she’s “off limits”, so i appreciated that. The plot itself carried this book.
3.25 stars. I found Tis the Season for Revenge a really charming book, but so far the earlier books in the series are not doing it for me. Coincidentally, this is also the second book I've read recently where the FMC is being stalked, and the MMC goes from being protective, to overbearing, to having stalker tendencies. Plus the cops weren't very good at solving the case. Overall it was still ok - a fun read if you're looking for an OTT possessive MMC.
Another great read from Morgan Elizabeth. I really enjoyed Tony and Luna’s chemistry and how they continuously show up for each other no matter what. Loved the added bit of suspense and how protective Tony was. Amazing HEA with some incredible spice.
So utterly in love with this book, I felt so many different emotions through this book and even ended up crying at the ending! I love how the 1st book (the distraction) was tied into the book as well. Yet another 5 star read to add to my list of 5 star books this year!