Simply Protocol

by Nicole Sharp

Book 2 in the Simply Trouble Series.

Cassandra Dodd’s life changed overnight when her younger sister, Jessica, returns to Southern California from a troubled Italian holiday with a CIA surveillance team, a broken heart, and no place to live. In response, Cassie is hellbent on fixing everything as she renews her role as bad-ass-big-sister-protector.

Agent Benjamin Stills was not aware his new assignment would include such an engaging personality as Cassie. But he can’t allow his head to be turned by an instant attraction. And Cassie is fine with that, she needs Agent Stills to keep all his attention on the job at hand. They can sort out their unexpected chemistry later.

But as each smile, each conversation and each sideways glance continue to build, can Cassie get her sister’s life pieced back together and the current threat eliminated? Because the frustratingly handsome Agent Stills is causing all sorts of salacious problems, and acting on them goes against all his agency's protocols.

308 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 20, 2022

About the author

Legend has it that Nicole Sharp was born to hippies during an ice storm in Stone Mountain, Georgia. While confirmation of said events cannot be agreed upon, one fact is for certain, it was a Tuesday. By age twelve, Nicole was sure of two things: 1) She wanted to be a writer and 2) She wanted to travel. She begged her parents to allow her to voyage alone to exotic lands. They permitted to go from California to Boise, Idaho to visit a great-grandmother.

These days, Nicole swigs cappuccinos the way a dehydrated sailor with scurvy would whiskey, as she writes about Italy, love, coffee and the quirky adventures of fearless women. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with no houseplants and three pink stovetop espresso makers.

Reviews

[Barbara Kellyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore a tale of two sisters that highlights their strong, resilient sibling bond, and Nicole Sharp’s Simply Protocol is as much about the unbreakable connection between Cassandra and Jessica Dodd as it is about romance and intrigue. Everything I loved about Big Trouble in Little Italy – the smooth pace, smart dialogue, clever pop culture references, mouthwatering food descriptions, and delightful twists – returns in this sequel centered around stubborn firecracker Cassie and CIA Agent Benjamin “Benji” Stills. The two have an undeniable attraction sparked by quick-witted banter in the snappy style of Hepburn and Tracy that makes this an irresistibly fun read! I loved their slow-burn relationship (with a big, sensual payoff in an unbelievably romantic setting), and the dysfunctional but hilarious Dodd family dynamics.

[Emily Bettin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun romance to get me out of a reading slump but a lot less action and intrigue than the first book, since Cassie is on the periphery of Jess’s drama and the timeline is basically the same. Still looking forward to the next one when I need a fun summer read!

[Karen Sigl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff. Another quick, entertaining read. A little too heavy on the steamy (and way too perfect) sex scenes for my taste, but otherwise fast-paced, interesting story.

[Barbara Lennox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SUCH an engaging read – I may have been converted to contemporary romance! I enjoyed the first book in this series, Big Trouble in Little Italy – a fast paced adventure with a gutsy heroine, and lots of lovely Italian food. I was initially disappointed that Simply Protocol wasn’t also set in Italy, but I needn’t have worried. If it was food I wanted, there are plenty of mouth-wateringly-described pastries, cookies and cakes. But, food aside, what makes this book a truly great read are the two delightful main characters, Cassandra Dodd and CIA Agent Benjamin Stills. Both are stubborn, loyal, determined, occasionally mistaken and you can’t help falling in love with them and hoping they sort out their lives. I won’t give the ending away, but I can tell you that their developing relationship is exquisitely structured, with obstacles and impediments along the way. Their interactions are funny, romantic, touching and sexy, and so smoothly written. Although this relationship is at the heart of the book, there is also an intriguing subplot which takes unresolved strands from the previous book and twists them into a satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended and I’m delighted to see that there’s going to be a sequel featuring the same characters. Can’t wait!

[Lili Grouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this author's sense of humor! It is always tricky to tell a story from a different viewpoint without it becoming repetitive, and the majority of Simply Protocol takes place during a timespan we saw from Jessica Dodd's perspective in Big Trouble in Little Italy, but with her unique sense of storytelling, Nicole Sharp pulls it off. In Simply Protocol, we get to know Cassandra Dodd and Agent Benjamin 'Benji' Stills better, and I am very much looking forward to their future adventures in upcoming novels.

[Kate Martelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so cool to get the details of a two month period from book one. I LOVE the sister relationships and hearing a big sister's point of view. I laughed and I cried and I want a cappuccino!

[Teresa]

Nicole Sharp