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Protectors #3
Nightfire
Chloe Mason's childhood memories consist of seemingly endless hospital stays. Now all grown up and healthy, her determination to fill the gaping holes in her past leads her to her long-lost brother, Harry . . . which brings Harry's friend and business partner, Mike Keillor, crashing into her life and her heart.
Former Marine Force Recon sniper and SWAT officer--a martial arts expert and owner of a successful security company--Mike can deal coolly and efficiently with any threat . . . until he's blindsided by something he never expected: fierce, fiery passion . . . and love.
But when Chloe inadvertently crosses the Russian mob, Mike realizes that evil is darkening his world once again. He has already lost his family; he will not lose the woman who enflames him, who makes him whole. Failure is not an option.
Former Marine Force Recon sniper and SWAT officer--a martial arts expert and owner of a successful security company--Mike can deal coolly and efficiently with any threat . . . until he's blindsided by something he never expected: fierce, fiery passion . . . and love.
But when Chloe inadvertently crosses the Russian mob, Mike realizes that evil is darkening his world once again. He has already lost his family; he will not lose the woman who enflames him, who makes him whole. Failure is not an option.
308 pages, Trade Paperback
First published February 7, 2012
80 people are currently reading
1946 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Marie Rice
58 books1,610 followersLisa Marie Rice is eternally 30 years old and will never age. She is tall and willowy and beautiful. Men drop at her feet like ripe pears. She has won every major book prize in the world. She is a black belt with advanced degrees in archaeology, nuclear physics, and Tibetan literature. She is a concert pianist. Did I mention her Nobel Prize? Of course, Lisa Marie Rice is a virtual woman and exists only at the keyboard when writing erotic romance. She disappears when the monitor winks off.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 195 reviews
February 20, 2012
How to put this...how to put this...okay, let's see...not the best I've read from LMR in terms of suspenseful plot (this one dealt with prostitution, human trafficking, and pedophilia), but that's not why I read LMR. I read her for her heroes--they're always the same. Big bad alphas brought to their knees by their obsessive desire for the heroines. One look at the heroine and BAM--he's gotta have her!
LMR is my "comfort food"--I know what I'm going to get when reading her (usually the same basic plot), it might not always be good for me (sometimes there's a TSTL moment or a break in logic), but I want to read it anyway! I can't help it--I'm addicted!
This is former Marine Force Recon sniper/ SD police SWAT team member and now part owner of security firm RBK Mike Keillor's story. Mike is partners with his foster brothers Sam (Into the Crossfire) and Harry (Hotter Than Wildfire) in a very successful security company, and the three "brothers" also run a sort of "underground railroad" for abused women and children. While Sam and Harry have recently married and started their families, 35-year-old Mike is still tom-catting around and acting like a man-slut. In fact, the book opens with Mike reaching rock bottom in the man-slut department (which caused me to think "Oh Mike, what are you doing?"), and even he realizes that's it's time to straighten out his act and quit boozing and sleeping with anything in a skirt before it's too late. Then he meets 28-year-old Chloe Mason, a beautiful, petite blond with a haunting past and an almost unbelievable connection to one of his brothers. Mike feels an obsessive pull to her, unlike anything he's ever felt for a woman before, and the feeling is mutual. But is Mike's guilt and his shame about his past going to get in the way of his future happiness? When Chloe innocently crosses some dangerous men, will Mike be able to protect her?
Mike is described as "not tall", with massive shoulders and with a body builder's body...
Yeah, I liked this one.:) Mike was your typical damaged hero, acting out because he felt he didn't deserve happiness. Loved reading about his back story and it even brought a tear to my eye. I loved the fact that his nieces adored Unca Mike. He might have done some reckless things in his personal life, but he had genuine love for his brothers and their families, and I loved how he would go to the wall for them. Loved Mike--he wasn't perfect, but he was real.
Loved the relationship with Chloe too. Of course they were going to be hot together--all LMR's couples are hot together (really loved their first kiss in her hotel room)! But it was especially satisfying to see these two find each other because they each had a rough road in life--I wanted to see them happy.
The suspense plot was nearly ruined for me when the overprotective Mike had a TSTL moment...you do not leave the one you are supposed to be protecting alone...unless you need to advance the plot, of course.:) There was a few pages of action and suspense at the end, but nothing that would make you bite your nails or anything. And it all seemed to wrap up a bit fast for my tastes. There was an epilogue that happened 3 years down the road--3 years--and we get to catch up with Sam and Nicole, Harry and Ellen, and hear Mike and Chloe's happy news. I guess this is the last we'll see of these couples, which makes me kind of sad. I enjoyed each one of these stories--too bad there wasn't a fourth or fifth foster brother! 4 1/2 stars
LMR is my "comfort food"--I know what I'm going to get when reading her (usually the same basic plot), it might not always be good for me (sometimes there's a TSTL moment or a break in logic), but I want to read it anyway! I can't help it--I'm addicted!
This is former Marine Force Recon sniper/ SD police SWAT team member and now part owner of security firm RBK Mike Keillor's story. Mike is partners with his foster brothers Sam (Into the Crossfire) and Harry (Hotter Than Wildfire) in a very successful security company, and the three "brothers" also run a sort of "underground railroad" for abused women and children. While Sam and Harry have recently married and started their families, 35-year-old Mike is still tom-catting around and acting like a man-slut. In fact, the book opens with Mike reaching rock bottom in the man-slut department (which caused me to think "Oh Mike, what are you doing?"), and even he realizes that's it's time to straighten out his act and quit boozing and sleeping with anything in a skirt before it's too late. Then he meets 28-year-old Chloe Mason, a beautiful, petite blond with a haunting past and an almost unbelievable connection to one of his brothers. Mike feels an obsessive pull to her, unlike anything he's ever felt for a woman before, and the feeling is mutual. But is Mike's guilt and his shame about his past going to get in the way of his future happiness? When Chloe innocently crosses some dangerous men, will Mike be able to protect her?
Mike is described as "not tall", with massive shoulders and with a body builder's body...
Yeah, I liked this one.:) Mike was your typical damaged hero, acting out because he felt he didn't deserve happiness. Loved reading about his back story and it even brought a tear to my eye. I loved the fact that his nieces adored Unca Mike. He might have done some reckless things in his personal life, but he had genuine love for his brothers and their families, and I loved how he would go to the wall for them. Loved Mike--he wasn't perfect, but he was real.
Loved the relationship with Chloe too. Of course they were going to be hot together--all LMR's couples are hot together (really loved their first kiss in her hotel room)! But it was especially satisfying to see these two find each other because they each had a rough road in life--I wanted to see them happy.
The suspense plot was nearly ruined for me when the overprotective Mike had a TSTL moment...you do not leave the one you are supposed to be protecting alone...unless you need to advance the plot, of course.:) There was a few pages of action and suspense at the end, but nothing that would make you bite your nails or anything. And it all seemed to wrap up a bit fast for my tastes. There was an epilogue that happened 3 years down the road--3 years--and we get to catch up with Sam and Nicole, Harry and Ellen, and hear Mike and Chloe's happy news. I guess this is the last we'll see of these couples, which makes me kind of sad. I enjoyed each one of these stories--too bad there wasn't a fourth or fifth foster brother! 4 1/2 stars
July 15, 2018
It is very similar to the other books of the series, nothing much.
It has very little romance in it, which was a disappointment.
The traumatized tough men with a terrible childhood is a topic that gets old.
I did enjoy the beginning of the book, it was emotive. But from there it went south. I do appreciate and like the close relationship that the three of the guys have with each other and their couples, that warm "one family" enveloping vibe is comforting.
It has very little romance in it, which was a disappointment.
The traumatized tough men with a terrible childhood is a topic that gets old.
I did enjoy the beginning of the book, it was emotive. But from there it went south. I do appreciate and like the close relationship that the three of the guys have with each other and their couples, that warm "one family" enveloping vibe is comforting.
February 15, 2019
Reread on 6/29/17
Solid 4.5 Stars!!!
Another LMR winner!! Absolutely loved Mike & Chloe, and I love that LMR characters are so entwined with each other, we get more than updates on them since they're actually included in each book. The ending in this one seemed rushed I would have liked to see Consolelo & Barney with an HEA (together)...I felt sparks there so I just choose to believe they ended up together :)
Solid 4.5 Stars!!!
Another LMR winner!! Absolutely loved Mike & Chloe, and I love that LMR characters are so entwined with each other, we get more than updates on them since they're actually included in each book. The ending in this one seemed rushed I would have liked to see Consolelo & Barney with an HEA (together)...I felt sparks there so I just choose to believe they ended up together :)
February 12, 2017
Loved that Chloe found a home and family. So much suspense. I only wish that Mike's past wasn't brought up so many times. Ok we get that he was a manwhore. Why not show the change.. without bringing up the past after the change..like let it be the past.
but that epilogue just bumped this up to 4 made me cry stars.
but that epilogue just bumped this up to 4 made me cry stars.
March 13, 2012
I really enjoyed this book quite a bit. It wasn't perfect, far from it, but it was still a story that sucked me and kept me coming back for more until I finished.
Series Note:
Third book in LMR's “Protector's” series about a trio of Alpha males who've overcome bad childhoods to become top security experts.
Summary:
Unlike his two best friends – brothers – Mike Keillor wasn't born into a terrible family. His life was changed the day his family was slaughtered and he's never been able to get over the fact that he was the only survivor. It's only after he meets beautiful, courageous Chloe Mason that Mike begins to realize what a mess he's made of his life.
Chloe has a terrible tale of her own – nearly killed by her mother's druggie boyfriend she was adopted by her aunt and spent most of her childhood and teens in hospitals having surgery after surgery. She never knew she had a brother until her adoptive parents died – and she finds out that her brother thought her dead as well. But now she's reunited with Harry (book 2) and has his extended family as her own. Mike, though, is so much more than a surrogate brother. He sets off feelings in her that she's never felt before.
Then Mike backs off for reasons she doesn't understand. But when danger threatens Chloe's life, Mike knows he's waited long enough. He – and his two best friends – will have to find and eradicate the threat before Mike can claim Chloe for his own...permanently.
Review:
I've been looking forward to reading this book since the end of book two, which left us with a little surprise cliffhanger. I couldn't wait to find out what was going on and how it would all play out. And LMR didn't disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed Chloe and Mike's story.
There's a lot of emotion in this book. The scene where Chloe reunites with her family had me sniffling. It was a bit heart wrenching, but in a good way. You can't help but like Chloe. She's been through so much and come out of it a strong person. And when she has her brother and his family back in her life, she only gets stronger. She's a character you can really admire.
And Mike...poor guy. He's been through a lot. You don't get the best impression of his as the book starts off, but his faults are understandable. And he manages to turn things around. The moment he meets Chloe, his life is turned upside down.
Though this is technically considered an erotic romance, I suppose, it's on the lower end of the explicit scale and it's more of a side aspect. I definitely didn't think it was as steamy as the other two books in the series. Which was slightly disappointing, but I liked the rest of the story so much I didn't exactly mind it.
There's a lot of emotion baggage between and among these two. And that issue is one of the two reasons I didn't give this book 5 stars. Because as much as I like romantic suspense, and as well I think LMR did the suspense aspect of this book, I felt like the story of Chloe and Mike would have been better served as a straight up romance/drama without the suspense element. The backstory and the issues these two had to deal with were big huge things that had enough weight to carry the story all on it's own. I kinda felt like things got shortchanged a little because a suspense element was added to the story. I think the romance and the relationship could have been stronger without it.
The other issue I had was with the writing. It didn't always flow very well, more so in the beginning than as the book progressed. Grammatically there were some issues with non-sentences used in an illogical way, some typos and whatnot. There's also some jumps in logic that didn't quite work. And I also thought there was a bit too much monologue and not enough dialogue. There just seemed to be a bit too much long descriptive paragraphs and not enough interaction. All of this detracted a little from the readability. But again, I enjoyed the story enough as it was that I could mostly look past these issues.
So on the whole, it was a book I really enjoyed, but at the same time, it was also a book I thought could have been even stronger. Which is why I didn't give it 5 stars. I'm not sure if LMR plans to continue this series...the main characters have all had their books...but I really hope there is more of the series. I've enjoyed it.
WARNING, this books contains: explicit sex & language, and dark themes & sometimes explicit scenes of torture and forced prostitution, and themes of child human trafficking and child prostitution.
Series Note:
Third book in LMR's “Protector's” series about a trio of Alpha males who've overcome bad childhoods to become top security experts.
Summary:
Unlike his two best friends – brothers – Mike Keillor wasn't born into a terrible family. His life was changed the day his family was slaughtered and he's never been able to get over the fact that he was the only survivor. It's only after he meets beautiful, courageous Chloe Mason that Mike begins to realize what a mess he's made of his life.
Chloe has a terrible tale of her own – nearly killed by her mother's druggie boyfriend she was adopted by her aunt and spent most of her childhood and teens in hospitals having surgery after surgery. She never knew she had a brother until her adoptive parents died – and she finds out that her brother thought her dead as well. But now she's reunited with Harry (book 2) and has his extended family as her own. Mike, though, is so much more than a surrogate brother. He sets off feelings in her that she's never felt before.
Then Mike backs off for reasons she doesn't understand. But when danger threatens Chloe's life, Mike knows he's waited long enough. He – and his two best friends – will have to find and eradicate the threat before Mike can claim Chloe for his own...permanently.
Review:
I've been looking forward to reading this book since the end of book two, which left us with a little surprise cliffhanger. I couldn't wait to find out what was going on and how it would all play out. And LMR didn't disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed Chloe and Mike's story.
There's a lot of emotion in this book. The scene where Chloe reunites with her family had me sniffling. It was a bit heart wrenching, but in a good way. You can't help but like Chloe. She's been through so much and come out of it a strong person. And when she has her brother and his family back in her life, she only gets stronger. She's a character you can really admire.
And Mike...poor guy. He's been through a lot. You don't get the best impression of his as the book starts off, but his faults are understandable. And he manages to turn things around. The moment he meets Chloe, his life is turned upside down.
Though this is technically considered an erotic romance, I suppose, it's on the lower end of the explicit scale and it's more of a side aspect. I definitely didn't think it was as steamy as the other two books in the series. Which was slightly disappointing, but I liked the rest of the story so much I didn't exactly mind it.
There's a lot of emotion baggage between and among these two. And that issue is one of the two reasons I didn't give this book 5 stars. Because as much as I like romantic suspense, and as well I think LMR did the suspense aspect of this book, I felt like the story of Chloe and Mike would have been better served as a straight up romance/drama without the suspense element. The backstory and the issues these two had to deal with were big huge things that had enough weight to carry the story all on it's own. I kinda felt like things got shortchanged a little because a suspense element was added to the story. I think the romance and the relationship could have been stronger without it.
The other issue I had was with the writing. It didn't always flow very well, more so in the beginning than as the book progressed. Grammatically there were some issues with non-sentences used in an illogical way, some typos and whatnot. There's also some jumps in logic that didn't quite work. And I also thought there was a bit too much monologue and not enough dialogue. There just seemed to be a bit too much long descriptive paragraphs and not enough interaction. All of this detracted a little from the readability. But again, I enjoyed the story enough as it was that I could mostly look past these issues.
So on the whole, it was a book I really enjoyed, but at the same time, it was also a book I thought could have been even stronger. Which is why I didn't give it 5 stars. I'm not sure if LMR plans to continue this series...the main characters have all had their books...but I really hope there is more of the series. I've enjoyed it.
WARNING, this books contains: explicit sex & language, and dark themes & sometimes explicit scenes of torture and forced prostitution, and themes of child human trafficking and child prostitution.
February 16, 2012
It seems like I have been waiting forever for the release of the 3rd book in the Protector series. If you like myself have read the 2nd book Hotter than Wildfire, you would know why. Hotter than Wildfire ended on a cliffhanger, leaving the reader in a serious state of anticipation for this book to come out. And though Nightfire didn’t live up to all my expectations, it still managed to deliver the sort of sensually charged read that only Lisa Marie Rice can deliver.
35 year old Michael Patrick Keillor (Mike) is one of the 3 partners of the RBK Security Inc., one of the most successful security companies in the country. While his two brothers and best friends Harry and Sam had found their happily ever afters with wonderful women, Mike remains single, wandering as the restless soul that hides a wealth of pain deep inside of him. His home while stark, antiseptic and empty are a contrast to Mike’s emotions remain chaotic though he manages to hide it well.
28 year old Chloe Mason makes her way towards the building that houses RBK Security not for the usual reasons women seek them out. She comes to find out whether Harry could be her long-lost brother, hopeful and a bit apprehensive at the same time. Chloe is beyond ecstatic when Harry welcomes her with open arms, his fragile younger sister who had suffered and gone through so much in her life already.
The attraction between Mike and Chloe is an immediate and an all encompassing one that flares to life right from the very minute the two of them lay eyes on each other. Chloe though fragile and delicate with zero experience when it comes to the opposite sex knows instinctively that Mike would never hurt her. However, after one very explosive kiss that burns hotter and brighter than any usual kiss, Mike’s less than stellar activities the previous night proves to be the reason why Mike takes a step back, though he doesn’t completely step away from Chloe’s life.
Story continues six months later, at the point where Mike is ready to bring and end to a promise that has kept him from completely claiming Chloe as he would have liked to do from day one of their “relationship”. And when Chloe’s life is suddenly under threat from ex-Russian military personnel, nothing and absolutely no force on this Earth is going to prevent Mike from claiming Chloe as his, and protecting her from any sort of harm that may come to her.
Nightfire combines all the elements that makes a Lisa Marie Rice book so memorable. Mike is alpha hero personified and Chloe is the delicate, beautiful and serene heroine who just makes you think of flowers and sunshine right from the very minute that you meet her. And the fireworks that bursts forth right from the very start is trademark Lisa Marie Rice, the heat and the off the charts sensuality always a reason to keep coming back for more of her stories.
There is none who can make a reader sweat right along with the hero and heroine as they dance around the heat that is between them, succumbing to the deep pull that is a constant throughout the story. Every single sliver of desire between Mike and Chloe was one I felt to my very bones, the reason why I loved this story so much. There were certain aspects of the story I didn’t like overly much, like the constant re-telling of emotions that seems to grip both Chloe and Mike until towards the latter part of the story. Yes, Mike has a story to tell, an immensely sad one at that too, but I wanted more action on the suspense side as well as the relationship that was fostering between Mike and Chloe to be the center of the story.
Even with all those little things that didn’t work for me, I still enjoyed the story of how Chloe and Mike find that special something with each other, the epilogue at the end that put a smile on my face the reason why I would rate this as a great read, recommended for any fan of Lisa Marie Rice.
Rating=4/5
Quotes included below.
35 year old Michael Patrick Keillor (Mike) is one of the 3 partners of the RBK Security Inc., one of the most successful security companies in the country. While his two brothers and best friends Harry and Sam had found their happily ever afters with wonderful women, Mike remains single, wandering as the restless soul that hides a wealth of pain deep inside of him. His home while stark, antiseptic and empty are a contrast to Mike’s emotions remain chaotic though he manages to hide it well.
28 year old Chloe Mason makes her way towards the building that houses RBK Security not for the usual reasons women seek them out. She comes to find out whether Harry could be her long-lost brother, hopeful and a bit apprehensive at the same time. Chloe is beyond ecstatic when Harry welcomes her with open arms, his fragile younger sister who had suffered and gone through so much in her life already.
The attraction between Mike and Chloe is an immediate and an all encompassing one that flares to life right from the very minute the two of them lay eyes on each other. Chloe though fragile and delicate with zero experience when it comes to the opposite sex knows instinctively that Mike would never hurt her. However, after one very explosive kiss that burns hotter and brighter than any usual kiss, Mike’s less than stellar activities the previous night proves to be the reason why Mike takes a step back, though he doesn’t completely step away from Chloe’s life.
Story continues six months later, at the point where Mike is ready to bring and end to a promise that has kept him from completely claiming Chloe as he would have liked to do from day one of their “relationship”. And when Chloe’s life is suddenly under threat from ex-Russian military personnel, nothing and absolutely no force on this Earth is going to prevent Mike from claiming Chloe as his, and protecting her from any sort of harm that may come to her.
Nightfire combines all the elements that makes a Lisa Marie Rice book so memorable. Mike is alpha hero personified and Chloe is the delicate, beautiful and serene heroine who just makes you think of flowers and sunshine right from the very minute that you meet her. And the fireworks that bursts forth right from the very start is trademark Lisa Marie Rice, the heat and the off the charts sensuality always a reason to keep coming back for more of her stories.
There is none who can make a reader sweat right along with the hero and heroine as they dance around the heat that is between them, succumbing to the deep pull that is a constant throughout the story. Every single sliver of desire between Mike and Chloe was one I felt to my very bones, the reason why I loved this story so much. There were certain aspects of the story I didn’t like overly much, like the constant re-telling of emotions that seems to grip both Chloe and Mike until towards the latter part of the story. Yes, Mike has a story to tell, an immensely sad one at that too, but I wanted more action on the suspense side as well as the relationship that was fostering between Mike and Chloe to be the center of the story.
Even with all those little things that didn’t work for me, I still enjoyed the story of how Chloe and Mike find that special something with each other, the epilogue at the end that put a smile on my face the reason why I would rate this as a great read, recommended for any fan of Lisa Marie Rice.
Rating=4/5
Quotes included below.
November 26, 2016
THE FOLLOWING REVIEW HAS BEEN RATED PG-13 FOR LANGUAGE AND SEXUAL REFERENCES. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED, KIDDIES.
I was pleased that this book didn't employ many of the overused plot devices I've seen in romantic suspense recently. There wasn't a ton of fighting in lieu of getting to know one another; there was no "I'm the alpha and you're my bitch" moment; there wasn't any of that attempting to deny true love nonsense; and the heroine didn't do anything mortally stupid. So refreshing!
The Characters
I'm familiar with Harry and Ellen, though I'm not even sure if I finished that book, so I wasn't totally lost when Chloe/Crissy showed up. I liked how Chloe was a soothing balm for Mike and her sedate nature made her calming instead of boring. But she was still a fighter, which balanced her out. Mike was a really decent guy, the kind of man you'd like to have as a friend if you couldn't manage to pull off anything more serious. I liked how we got to see him go from out of control to totally in love. The supporting characters were around a lot, but I understand the desire to keep the reader up to date on them since it's a series and the 2 couples were featured in the previous 2 books.
The Plot
I felt like there was a sufficient balance between the romance and suspense, though the wordiness of it all struck me as unnecessary. At times it seemed like the story dragged a bit. In actuality the story moved right along, but since everything was drawn out with an extra sentence or three, it seemed like things took forever. But I enjoyed the story itself. The threat was believable, the romance was strong, there were no TSTL moments or 180 degree attitude changes... it was a nice change for everything to make sense and fit together nicely. My only complaint about the story is that I really wish there had been a 2nd failed attempt on Chloe to ramp up the tension. I didn't feel the suspense but for maybe 3 minutes when it could have been extended for a good 15 minutes.
The Writing/Grammar
As I mentioned above, the book was wordy and that made it feel a little slow when it technically wasn't. If I had read this on a lazy Saturday, I might not think the wordiness was an issue. But knowing my alarm is going to go off in 7 hours when I was really hoping for 9 hours, well... maybe I was a little desperate to finish, okay?
There were a couple times when the scene changed and we'd go back in time for a few minutes. (ex: ) It was a little annoying, but I can see the reason for doing it. The author drops a tidbit of drama and then takes us back to the mundane so we can panic about the tidbit.
The other thing I took notice of was that the first sex scenes were fairly tame when it came to word usage. More along the lines of historical romances. But then suddenly we're talking about 'cocks' and 'cunts' and it took me by surprise. I'll take 'cunt' over 'feminine folds' or 'genital passage' any day, but pick one or the other, please.
As for the grammar... if you couldn't tell by now that I don't know shit about grammar, there are surely no grammatical errors in this book that will make you take notice.
So yeah, I enjoyed it. It could be pruned a bit for unnecessary wool-gathering, but I doubt most readers would share my sentiments on that one. Give it a shot. It's a good story with some intense moments, definitely enjoyable.
I'd absolutely recommend this read. As a matter of fact, I just did.
I was pleased that this book didn't employ many of the overused plot devices I've seen in romantic suspense recently. There wasn't a ton of fighting in lieu of getting to know one another; there was no "I'm the alpha and you're my bitch" moment; there wasn't any of that attempting to deny true love nonsense; and the heroine didn't do anything mortally stupid. So refreshing!
The Characters
I'm familiar with Harry and Ellen, though I'm not even sure if I finished that book, so I wasn't totally lost when Chloe/Crissy showed up. I liked how Chloe was a soothing balm for Mike and her sedate nature made her calming instead of boring. But she was still a fighter, which balanced her out. Mike was a really decent guy, the kind of man you'd like to have as a friend if you couldn't manage to pull off anything more serious. I liked how we got to see him go from out of control to totally in love. The supporting characters were around a lot, but I understand the desire to keep the reader up to date on them since it's a series and the 2 couples were featured in the previous 2 books.
The Plot
I felt like there was a sufficient balance between the romance and suspense, though the wordiness of it all struck me as unnecessary. At times it seemed like the story dragged a bit. In actuality the story moved right along, but since everything was drawn out with an extra sentence or three, it seemed like things took forever. But I enjoyed the story itself. The threat was believable, the romance was strong, there were no TSTL moments or 180 degree attitude changes... it was a nice change for everything to make sense and fit together nicely. My only complaint about the story is that I really wish there had been a 2nd failed attempt on Chloe to ramp up the tension. I didn't feel the suspense but for maybe 3 minutes when it could have been extended for a good 15 minutes.
The Writing/Grammar
As I mentioned above, the book was wordy and that made it feel a little slow when it technically wasn't. If I had read this on a lazy Saturday, I might not think the wordiness was an issue. But knowing my alarm is going to go off in 7 hours when I was really hoping for 9 hours, well... maybe I was a little desperate to finish, okay?
There were a couple times when the scene changed and we'd go back in time for a few minutes. (ex: ) It was a little annoying, but I can see the reason for doing it. The author drops a tidbit of drama and then takes us back to the mundane so we can panic about the tidbit.
The other thing I took notice of was that the first sex scenes were fairly tame when it came to word usage. More along the lines of historical romances. But then suddenly we're talking about 'cocks' and 'cunts' and it took me by surprise. I'll take 'cunt' over 'feminine folds' or 'genital passage' any day, but pick one or the other, please.
As for the grammar... if you couldn't tell by now that I don't know shit about grammar, there are surely no grammatical errors in this book that will make you take notice.
So yeah, I enjoyed it. It could be pruned a bit for unnecessary wool-gathering, but I doubt most readers would share my sentiments on that one. Give it a shot. It's a good story with some intense moments, definitely enjoyable.
I'd absolutely recommend this read. As a matter of fact, I just did.
January 6, 2016
oh god this was so bad i had to eat before i started this review just to get the bad taste out of my mouth. It was just...so bad. I almost stopped on page one and shouldve listened to my instincts because i just wasted a bunch of hours of my life. I get that the guys of these books abhor violence against women but in this one we take it a step further and apparently a female who wants rough sex is a psycho....but a man who enjoys it is just average. Wait what?! I hate double standards and it seriously ticks me off to have an activity between consenting adults that in truth hurts no one judged by someone just because its not their cup of tea. But i digress..onto the actual book review.
The heroine is meek and utterly forgettable. There is really nothing redeeming about the hero. Hes a self admitted alcoholic and total slut. He admits that when he screws his women he could care less about their pleasure only his. After all this im supposed to believe that one look at a woman changes all this? Nope nuh uh there is absolutely no way a man like that changes unless he gets some serious help. the romance was nonexistent we skip the whole meat of the getting to know you phase. We get the wow we just met and nearly had sex part, the big brother threatening him to never touch her part, then we skip to lets just live together (for her protection of course). The sex scenes were even worse...or rather more unrealistic than the rest of the series. Seriously if their penises lengthened as often as she has them do theyd be like 3 ft long by the end of the story. Then theres her weird obsession with detailing body hair, passages about sweat, and of course at the end of every sex scene commentary on the mingling of bodily fluids. Then theres the fact that somehow this massive (i think hes like 220 lbs of solid muscle) dude goes to sleep ON TOP OF this itty bitty chick and somehow both manage to sleep peacefully until morning? WHHHHHAT?! in what world could that ever happen i dont think i could even sleep with my 7 lb cat on top of me! The plot was ok but it felt like it was really being stretched like the author knew she had to make it some type of thriller and just picked the first thing that popped into her head. The villain scenes were actually pretty boring compared to the others. The whole thing felt rushed and yet somehow it also dragged way more than the others. The writing beyond what ive already mentioned had many awkward points. Like when one of the couples is newly prego and they have sex and he "gently rocks himself and her and the baby they made" (almost a direct quote i swear). Um....ewwwwwww children...especially unborn ones should never have a place in sex scenes. There were several other things that were really disturbing to my psyche but ill move on. Also while i like a HEA ending i have to say i was disappointed by this one. You have the potential to make it realistic but you go all fairytale ending on me which was just the last disappointment of the book. I dont think ill be seeking out others by this author
*edit*
I thought i was done but i thought about this and got mad all over again. Has this woman ever even seen a penis? Because his gets so hard it looks "waxen". WHAAAAAAAT?????!!!! ugggh
The heroine is meek and utterly forgettable. There is really nothing redeeming about the hero. Hes a self admitted alcoholic and total slut. He admits that when he screws his women he could care less about their pleasure only his. After all this im supposed to believe that one look at a woman changes all this? Nope nuh uh there is absolutely no way a man like that changes unless he gets some serious help. the romance was nonexistent we skip the whole meat of the getting to know you phase. We get the wow we just met and nearly had sex part, the big brother threatening him to never touch her part, then we skip to lets just live together (for her protection of course). The sex scenes were even worse...or rather more unrealistic than the rest of the series. Seriously if their penises lengthened as often as she has them do theyd be like 3 ft long by the end of the story. Then theres her weird obsession with detailing body hair, passages about sweat, and of course at the end of every sex scene commentary on the mingling of bodily fluids. Then theres the fact that somehow this massive (i think hes like 220 lbs of solid muscle) dude goes to sleep ON TOP OF this itty bitty chick and somehow both manage to sleep peacefully until morning? WHHHHHAT?! in what world could that ever happen i dont think i could even sleep with my 7 lb cat on top of me! The plot was ok but it felt like it was really being stretched like the author knew she had to make it some type of thriller and just picked the first thing that popped into her head. The villain scenes were actually pretty boring compared to the others. The whole thing felt rushed and yet somehow it also dragged way more than the others. The writing beyond what ive already mentioned had many awkward points. Like when one of the couples is newly prego and they have sex and he "gently rocks himself and her and the baby they made" (almost a direct quote i swear). Um....ewwwwwww children...especially unborn ones should never have a place in sex scenes. There were several other things that were really disturbing to my psyche but ill move on. Also while i like a HEA ending i have to say i was disappointed by this one. You have the potential to make it realistic but you go all fairytale ending on me which was just the last disappointment of the book. I dont think ill be seeking out others by this author
*edit*
I thought i was done but i thought about this and got mad all over again. Has this woman ever even seen a penis? Because his gets so hard it looks "waxen". WHAAAAAAAT?????!!!! ugggh
February 11, 2012
I read the Nook version and there were a lot of mistakes that took the "umph" out of this book. Not sure if sections were edited out, left off in the Nook version, or not there altogether, but some scenes changed so abruptly--without warning--and I had to back up and see if it was me or the book.
It was the book.
Thought this was very poorly edited and there was a great deal or "recapping." I don't need to read a scene, then read it again as it was retold by another character. Also, a lot of repeated information as if the author forgot she already conveyed that information.
As for the characters, I liked Chloe. She was a kind, gentle woman, but when she met her brother for the first time and relayed a great deal of information BEFORE she got to the heart of what she wanted to say, I got frustrated. Get tot the point already!
There should have been some kind of increased spacing or ****** to indicate a scene change!
Did not care for the hero, Mike, as I thought the way the story started with him turned me off and then a period of time went by that didn't help his cause much for me. I just didn't care for him at all.
It was the book.
Thought this was very poorly edited and there was a great deal or "recapping." I don't need to read a scene, then read it again as it was retold by another character. Also, a lot of repeated information as if the author forgot she already conveyed that information.
As for the characters, I liked Chloe. She was a kind, gentle woman, but when she met her brother for the first time and relayed a great deal of information BEFORE she got to the heart of what she wanted to say, I got frustrated. Get tot the point already!
There should have been some kind of increased spacing or ****** to indicate a scene change!
Did not care for the hero, Mike, as I thought the way the story started with him turned me off and then a period of time went by that didn't help his cause much for me. I just didn't care for him at all.
February 17, 2012
Wow! Just wow. What an emotional, gripping intense ride! I loved it! I literally had to put my reader down and walk away from it a few times - that is how very good this was for me!
Mike, what a great hero! We hadn't really gotten much of his history before, hearing him tell Chloe was so moving! Chloe was a wonderful heroine too. Her history was no less painful even if she did end up with privileges her brother, and his brothers, never had. I loved Mike and Chloe together! There is just nothing better than how hard the big tough guy falls when he finds the right girl! I really liked the family scenes where we got to see all the others from this series and their children too. Especially Harry, seeing him get to be a big brother again was great - even if he did sort of put his foot into the middle of things. Wrap it all up with a great epilogue and a fabulous last line and I am one happy reader!
Mike, what a great hero! We hadn't really gotten much of his history before, hearing him tell Chloe was so moving! Chloe was a wonderful heroine too. Her history was no less painful even if she did end up with privileges her brother, and his brothers, never had. I loved Mike and Chloe together! There is just nothing better than how hard the big tough guy falls when he finds the right girl! I really liked the family scenes where we got to see all the others from this series and their children too. Especially Harry, seeing him get to be a big brother again was great - even if he did sort of put his foot into the middle of things. Wrap it all up with a great epilogue and a fabulous last line and I am one happy reader!
November 3, 2013
Amazing end to a wonderful series!
Loved Mike and Chloe's story.
March 19, 2013
Mike
Chloe
I must say Mike's story was the story I was looking forward too the most, after being introduced to him in the first book. I'm not exactly sure why, just some reason I was excited about his story.
He didn't disappoint, lol.
This story starts out with Mike being a man-whore. Actually the first word of the book is "Harder". He's gone out to drown his sorrows. Sam and Harry has the perfect lives in his eyes. They both have beautiful wives and baby girls that have them twined around their mans fingers. Mike feels like he doesn't deserve that so gets hammered and picks up the first woman who walks up to him takes a drink of his beer and puts a hand on his crouch. SO, as he's slamming into her as she keeps begging for him to do it harder, he realizes she likes the pain. As Mike is anti-anything that hurts a woman it automatically turns him off and through his drunken haze he runs to the bathroom pukes because he is sick with his own behavior and starts getting dressed. The longer he is in her apartment he realizes what he has done. Stooped to the lowest ever. As a former marine and cop, he starts seeing filth, drugs, and the woman is screaming at him bloody murder because she wants him to hit her. He gets out and runs home all 15 miles.
Chole has been in the hosptial all of her childhood. Once she got out she was shipped off to school in London for reasons that would be a spoiler if I shared. She was never close to her parents growing up but when they are killed she comes home to sort throught their belongings and realizes just how much she really didn't know about them. Which brings her to her meeting at RBK Security. I'm sure the blurb gives off most of the details with this meeting, so I'll spill that Chloe is Harry's long lost sister, but wow, I had no idea how long lost she really was. She spills the beans and automatically she is welcomed into the RBK family.
That first meeting before Mike knew what was going down with Chloe and Harry, he already had her in his sights to help, but almost instantly he has this strong pull. They both feel it. By the end of the first day Mike has given her an orgasm up against a wall while her new found bro waits down in the car, made a date with her, and decided that she was his. But fate has a way of laughing in your face, and when Mike is called in because of a woman claiming him to be the man that beat her, he realizes he isn't good enough for Chloe, not to mention Harry has told him hands off.
Six Months later, Chloe and Mike are going crazy, because they want each other but neither will say anything about it to the other, but when danger comes right for Chloe, Mike decides that Chloe is now his and Harry be damned he is going to protect her and have her no matter what.
This story was so good. I loved Mike's character. He was a really good guy, but just lost. He had seen his parents murdered at the age of 10 and never got over it. He used sex and alcohol as way to block out the pain. But when Chloe came around everything changed. He wanted to prove he was good enough for her and even at times when he struggled with being enough for her he still couldn't let her go. Chloe was so sweet. She had had a terrible childhood herself in a different way only to learn it had all been a lie. She was strong in her own way because she kept going.
I must say, if this was the end of this series I'm a little disappointed. I loved how through the series we got to see Sam, Nicole, Harry and Ellen relationships progress. I felt short changed because this book just ended. Yes, there was an epilogue, but it didn't give a lot of insight into their lives. I mean it showed where it was headed but compared to how much more we had got to learn about how Sam and Harry lives went. I just felt jipped. :( Maybe it's me and my constant need to know more about my book characters it just sorta annoyed me a little because the ending was so abrupt.
Anyway, the series as a whole was a great read. It had been on my list for a while and I had been wanting to get around to it and finally did. Great romances, hot sex, and lots of suspense and danger. I really recommend it!! :)
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Chloe
I must say Mike's story was the story I was looking forward too the most, after being introduced to him in the first book. I'm not exactly sure why, just some reason I was excited about his story.
He didn't disappoint, lol.
This story starts out with Mike being a man-whore. Actually the first word of the book is "Harder". He's gone out to drown his sorrows. Sam and Harry has the perfect lives in his eyes. They both have beautiful wives and baby girls that have them twined around their mans fingers. Mike feels like he doesn't deserve that so gets hammered and picks up the first woman who walks up to him takes a drink of his beer and puts a hand on his crouch. SO, as he's slamming into her as she keeps begging for him to do it harder, he realizes she likes the pain. As Mike is anti-anything that hurts a woman it automatically turns him off and through his drunken haze he runs to the bathroom pukes because he is sick with his own behavior and starts getting dressed. The longer he is in her apartment he realizes what he has done. Stooped to the lowest ever. As a former marine and cop, he starts seeing filth, drugs, and the woman is screaming at him bloody murder because she wants him to hit her. He gets out and runs home all 15 miles.
Chole has been in the hosptial all of her childhood. Once she got out she was shipped off to school in London for reasons that would be a spoiler if I shared. She was never close to her parents growing up but when they are killed she comes home to sort throught their belongings and realizes just how much she really didn't know about them. Which brings her to her meeting at RBK Security. I'm sure the blurb gives off most of the details with this meeting, so I'll spill that Chloe is Harry's long lost sister, but wow, I had no idea how long lost she really was. She spills the beans and automatically she is welcomed into the RBK family.
That first meeting before Mike knew what was going down with Chloe and Harry, he already had her in his sights to help, but almost instantly he has this strong pull. They both feel it. By the end of the first day Mike has given her an orgasm up against a wall while her new found bro waits down in the car, made a date with her, and decided that she was his. But fate has a way of laughing in your face, and when Mike is called in because of a woman claiming him to be the man that beat her, he realizes he isn't good enough for Chloe, not to mention Harry has told him hands off.
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Six Months later, Chloe and Mike are going crazy, because they want each other but neither will say anything about it to the other, but when danger comes right for Chloe, Mike decides that Chloe is now his and Harry be damned he is going to protect her and have her no matter what.
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This story was so good. I loved Mike's character. He was a really good guy, but just lost. He had seen his parents murdered at the age of 10 and never got over it. He used sex and alcohol as way to block out the pain. But when Chloe came around everything changed. He wanted to prove he was good enough for her and even at times when he struggled with being enough for her he still couldn't let her go. Chloe was so sweet. She had had a terrible childhood herself in a different way only to learn it had all been a lie. She was strong in her own way because she kept going.
I must say, if this was the end of this series I'm a little disappointed. I loved how through the series we got to see Sam, Nicole, Harry and Ellen relationships progress. I felt short changed because this book just ended. Yes, there was an epilogue, but it didn't give a lot of insight into their lives. I mean it showed where it was headed but compared to how much more we had got to learn about how Sam and Harry lives went. I just felt jipped. :( Maybe it's me and my constant need to know more about my book characters it just sorta annoyed me a little because the ending was so abrupt.
Anyway, the series as a whole was a great read. It had been on my list for a while and I had been wanting to get around to it and finally did. Great romances, hot sex, and lots of suspense and danger. I really recommend it!! :)
March 5, 2019
really liked it! :)
May 26, 2012
My thoughts: It's taken me a while to start writing this review because there were bits that really bothered me in the book. There were other bits that I quite liked. At first, we meet Chloe as she's in the waiting room of a mysterious company, waiting very nervously to speak to someone. She's had a hard childhood, and been a victim of abuse, which is clear early on. She reveals through a tearful conversation that Harry is her brother. Aaannd here it started losing me with the lack of realism. The family that are there at the office immediately welcome her as a sister, and they go home (where the three families involved in the series have apartments almost nextdoor to each other) and have a big family lunch. They've literally just met each other, and they go to have this cosy meal. Mike helps Chloe collect her stuff from the hotel she was staying in, because of course the family want her to stay with them, and while in the hotel room, the insta-lust between them bubbles over. Abused, virginal Chloe makes out with him against a wall, and lets him touch her intimately. It just seemed so unbelievable to me that a woman who's been through what Chloe has, and is still a virgin, would suddenly be so happy with physical contact when she's shied away from it with anyone so far in the book, and then would suddenly let herself be intimate with a man she's just met.
Moving on from that, there were bits that were very well written and I hoped it would turn out ok. There were a couple of other things along the lines of Chloe's intimacy issues that bothered me, but mostly it was the torture and the treatment of the prostitutes that also are tied in to the story. Perhaps stronger-stomached readers would have faired better, but I just didn't feel comfortable reading it. Readers here how secure Mike has made his apartment, and then someone finds a way to get in anyway - I really found it hard to accept that he would have thought of all these other ways to stop things and miss this one rather obvious one.
There is good writing in there, but I just didn't feel like it was very believable in a lot of places, and I was very uncomfortable with some scenes. I think this book has to get 4 out of 10 from me. I might read something else by this author if it had good recommendations, but it's something I'll be quite wary of.
~Ailsa
[Originally posted by me at The Book Bundle.]
Moving on from that, there were bits that were very well written and I hoped it would turn out ok. There were a couple of other things along the lines of Chloe's intimacy issues that bothered me, but mostly it was the torture and the treatment of the prostitutes that also are tied in to the story. Perhaps stronger-stomached readers would have faired better, but I just didn't feel comfortable reading it. Readers here how secure Mike has made his apartment, and then someone finds a way to get in anyway - I really found it hard to accept that he would have thought of all these other ways to stop things and miss this one rather obvious one.
There is good writing in there, but I just didn't feel like it was very believable in a lot of places, and I was very uncomfortable with some scenes. I think this book has to get 4 out of 10 from me. I might read something else by this author if it had good recommendations, but it's something I'll be quite wary of.
~Ailsa
[Originally posted by me at The Book Bundle.]
March 23, 2016
Nightfire es el tercer y ultimo libro de la trilogia The Protectors de Lisa Marie Rice y narra la historia de Mike y Chloe.
Este tercer libro era el que mas esperaba leer, desde que lei Into The Crossfire quise leer la historia de Mike, no se porque razon su personaje me llamo mas la atencion que Sam y Harry.
Antes que nada debo decir que este libro fue mi favorito de los tres, la trama avanza mucho mas rapida que la de los anteriores libro o quizas simplemente fue que la pareja de Chloe y Mike me parecio mas real que las anteriormente formadas, de cualquier forma la trama de esta lectura fue mucho mas interesante que las de Into The Crossfire y Hotter Than Wildfire, me parecio mas trabajada.
Hubieron algunas cosas que no me terminaron de convencer, como el final, fue demasiado rapido para mi gusto, brusco y repentino. Y tampoco me gusto del todo que algunas tramas secundarias se quedaron abiertas, como
Sobra decir que ahora mismo estoy un poco triste, siempre me es dificil despedirme de una saga que me ha gustado pero esta trilogia en especial me supo a poco, espero que la autora se plantee escribir una especie de spin off o algo con los personajes secundarios, como Barney, el cual me cayo de maravilla.
3.75 Estrellas!
September 22, 2014
4.5 Loved Mike! He is a total bad ass with a marshmallow center.
February 20, 2012
Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Blog rating: 4.5/5
Mike pulled me into this book right from the first page. He’s in a bad place emotionally and on the night we start his story he’s drunk and having sex with a woman he doesn’t know. He gets with it enough to realize that not only is she demanding he hurt her to along with the sex, but she’s a drug addict and he’s in the middle of a rundown, trashy apartment. He leaves before they finish and things get any worse but it’s a moment that feels rock bottom for him and one that as readers, we just know it’s going to come back and bite him in the ass. He depends on his best friends Sam and Harry and their wives and daughters as his main focus in life. They’re his family and the only people who’ve kept him from losing himself completely in the tragedy of his past. All the men have tragic pasts and Mike’s best friend and really his brother by choice, Harry, has a visitor from his past in the form of Chloe.
Chloe is terrified when she walks into her brother’s office, meeting him for the first time in years. He believes she’s dead, she never remembered he even existed and I could not WAIT for their reunion scene. These are the book moments that I go crazy for and this one didn’t disappoint. Chloe not only meets her brother, but Mike as well and the calm he feels around her is shocking and welcome and he knows right then that he needs to be around her; she fills up the empty spaces in his life that have been there since his close family was murdered when he was a young boy.
There’s a time jump in the book, 6 months after Chloe meets her family and Mike, we’re reconnected with them and find out that in those 6 months after Harry warned Mike to not touch Chloe because of his drunk, sex crazed ways, he hasn’t touched her. But he has been around her, helping her with strength training she badly needs from all the surgeries and injuries she’s had to deal with over the years. He’s just there for her, and for the first time in his life, he’s with a woman and not just in her bed. I didn’t mind the time jump. It was a little odd coming about a third of the way through the book, but I like time passage in romances – it adds a bit more depth to the relationship for me. I always have a hard time having the hero and heroine declare their love for one another after they’ve known each other for 5 days. While we don’t see Chloe and Mike become friends during these 6 months, we get a complete sense of what he’s done for her and how he’s helped her in every way possible. It just added a great layer to their relationship and I loved thinking of them going from friends to lovers over the course of 6+ months.
Mike was barely paying attention to them, to Sam and Harry. He moved closer. He couldn’t help it. Chloe was light itself and he was helplessly drawn to it, to her. There was some kind of aura there, something he’d never seen in anyone else before, something that drew him in without any volition on his part. His legs moved without him willing it, his entire body moving toward the light, moving toward something it had never seen before and instantly recognized as something it craved.
The suspense plot revolves around a men’s club that’s really a high end brothel (saying that a brothel is high end seems so wrong) but the women are all there and for a high price they’re rented out for the night. The American running the club has joined forces with a Russian group and their new venture is bringing in really young girls who will get them an even higher price. Chloe is unknowingly tossed into the middle of this mess when a current prostitute at the club seeks counsel and help at a shelter that Chloe volunteers at. The Russians hear about Chloe and a couple men are sent to “warn” her away. With Chloe now in danger, Mike takes over and they all try to figure out who the Russians are and try to stop them from bringing the young girls in to be sold.
I really got into the suspense plot and the lead Russian boss, Nikitin was horrible. It wasn’t hard to hate him and in fact some of his unemotional, torture scenes were a bit too much for me. That’s the only thing that knocked my rating down just a little, one waterboard torture scene was hard to read and I ended up reading through it really quickly and peeked through my fingers as I did so. Ok, not really with the peeking, but it was disturbing and I was glad to move past that scene and get on with things. That aside, the story was fast paced and well balanced between getting the bad guys POV and the main characters. There’s quite a bit of Sam, Harry and their families, but I loved seeing them in the story for Chloe. She’d been alone and unloved her whole live and I liked seeing her surrounded by her new family.
Those fuckers had hurt her physically but Mike, man, he was a real champ because he wasn’t hurting her body, which would heal, he was hurting her heart, which wouldn’t. At the very moment she needed him, he was turning his back on her.
And even realizing this, even knowing Chloe was heading back to his bedroom to deal with her fear and trauma on her own, as she always had, he hesitated, frozen like a statue. Unable to move forward, unable to move at all.
Because this was a huge moment for him and his life was going to divide into two, right here, right now.
She was disappearing into his room, and in a second it would be too late. He’d stay forever on this side of the divide, alone and hurting.
“Chloe,” he said quietly. “Stop.”
She stopped, back to him, head low.
And then Mike said three words he had never said to any human being before. Three words he never thought he could say, three words he’d worked his whole life not to have to say.
“Chloe.” His voice was hoarse, the words painful to get out. “I need you.”
Now Mike. Oh my, how I love an alpha hero that’s so vulnerable and dealing with an incredibly tragic past. He’s a true protector and will do anything to keep Chloe safe, but she protects him too. For the first time, he’s able to fully open up to someone about what he went through the day his family died and it’s a great, emotional scene and I just love how Mike was written. He’s tough on the outside, but a total softy when it came to Chloe. And of course their insanely hot sex scenes just added that much more. They’re a couple whose relationship was easy to believe in and they felt well matched. A scene between them would end and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen with them next.
This is book three in Lisa Marie Rice’s Protectors series and I will be going back and reading the first two books. This was actually the first full length book of LMR’s I’ve read (I know, for shame!) and if going by this book is any indication, she writes the type of hero that I always fall in love with so easily. A great, gripping read and one I highly recommend.
Blog rating: 4.5/5
Mike pulled me into this book right from the first page. He’s in a bad place emotionally and on the night we start his story he’s drunk and having sex with a woman he doesn’t know. He gets with it enough to realize that not only is she demanding he hurt her to along with the sex, but she’s a drug addict and he’s in the middle of a rundown, trashy apartment. He leaves before they finish and things get any worse but it’s a moment that feels rock bottom for him and one that as readers, we just know it’s going to come back and bite him in the ass. He depends on his best friends Sam and Harry and their wives and daughters as his main focus in life. They’re his family and the only people who’ve kept him from losing himself completely in the tragedy of his past. All the men have tragic pasts and Mike’s best friend and really his brother by choice, Harry, has a visitor from his past in the form of Chloe.
Chloe is terrified when she walks into her brother’s office, meeting him for the first time in years. He believes she’s dead, she never remembered he even existed and I could not WAIT for their reunion scene. These are the book moments that I go crazy for and this one didn’t disappoint. Chloe not only meets her brother, but Mike as well and the calm he feels around her is shocking and welcome and he knows right then that he needs to be around her; she fills up the empty spaces in his life that have been there since his close family was murdered when he was a young boy.
There’s a time jump in the book, 6 months after Chloe meets her family and Mike, we’re reconnected with them and find out that in those 6 months after Harry warned Mike to not touch Chloe because of his drunk, sex crazed ways, he hasn’t touched her. But he has been around her, helping her with strength training she badly needs from all the surgeries and injuries she’s had to deal with over the years. He’s just there for her, and for the first time in his life, he’s with a woman and not just in her bed. I didn’t mind the time jump. It was a little odd coming about a third of the way through the book, but I like time passage in romances – it adds a bit more depth to the relationship for me. I always have a hard time having the hero and heroine declare their love for one another after they’ve known each other for 5 days. While we don’t see Chloe and Mike become friends during these 6 months, we get a complete sense of what he’s done for her and how he’s helped her in every way possible. It just added a great layer to their relationship and I loved thinking of them going from friends to lovers over the course of 6+ months.
Mike was barely paying attention to them, to Sam and Harry. He moved closer. He couldn’t help it. Chloe was light itself and he was helplessly drawn to it, to her. There was some kind of aura there, something he’d never seen in anyone else before, something that drew him in without any volition on his part. His legs moved without him willing it, his entire body moving toward the light, moving toward something it had never seen before and instantly recognized as something it craved.
The suspense plot revolves around a men’s club that’s really a high end brothel (saying that a brothel is high end seems so wrong) but the women are all there and for a high price they’re rented out for the night. The American running the club has joined forces with a Russian group and their new venture is bringing in really young girls who will get them an even higher price. Chloe is unknowingly tossed into the middle of this mess when a current prostitute at the club seeks counsel and help at a shelter that Chloe volunteers at. The Russians hear about Chloe and a couple men are sent to “warn” her away. With Chloe now in danger, Mike takes over and they all try to figure out who the Russians are and try to stop them from bringing the young girls in to be sold.
I really got into the suspense plot and the lead Russian boss, Nikitin was horrible. It wasn’t hard to hate him and in fact some of his unemotional, torture scenes were a bit too much for me. That’s the only thing that knocked my rating down just a little, one waterboard torture scene was hard to read and I ended up reading through it really quickly and peeked through my fingers as I did so. Ok, not really with the peeking, but it was disturbing and I was glad to move past that scene and get on with things. That aside, the story was fast paced and well balanced between getting the bad guys POV and the main characters. There’s quite a bit of Sam, Harry and their families, but I loved seeing them in the story for Chloe. She’d been alone and unloved her whole live and I liked seeing her surrounded by her new family.
Those fuckers had hurt her physically but Mike, man, he was a real champ because he wasn’t hurting her body, which would heal, he was hurting her heart, which wouldn’t. At the very moment she needed him, he was turning his back on her.
And even realizing this, even knowing Chloe was heading back to his bedroom to deal with her fear and trauma on her own, as she always had, he hesitated, frozen like a statue. Unable to move forward, unable to move at all.
Because this was a huge moment for him and his life was going to divide into two, right here, right now.
She was disappearing into his room, and in a second it would be too late. He’d stay forever on this side of the divide, alone and hurting.
“Chloe,” he said quietly. “Stop.”
She stopped, back to him, head low.
And then Mike said three words he had never said to any human being before. Three words he never thought he could say, three words he’d worked his whole life not to have to say.
“Chloe.” His voice was hoarse, the words painful to get out. “I need you.”
Now Mike. Oh my, how I love an alpha hero that’s so vulnerable and dealing with an incredibly tragic past. He’s a true protector and will do anything to keep Chloe safe, but she protects him too. For the first time, he’s able to fully open up to someone about what he went through the day his family died and it’s a great, emotional scene and I just love how Mike was written. He’s tough on the outside, but a total softy when it came to Chloe. And of course their insanely hot sex scenes just added that much more. They’re a couple whose relationship was easy to believe in and they felt well matched. A scene between them would end and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen with them next.
This is book three in Lisa Marie Rice’s Protectors series and I will be going back and reading the first two books. This was actually the first full length book of LMR’s I’ve read (I know, for shame!) and if going by this book is any indication, she writes the type of hero that I always fall in love with so easily. A great, gripping read and one I highly recommend.
February 19, 2012
It's really 4.5 Stars...
Chloe Mason doesn’t remember much from her childhood. What she does remember she would definitely rather forget. From the frequent hospital trips to the distant adopted parents, she didn’t have the happiest of childhoods. When she finds out she has a brother, she immediately sets out to find him, desperate to know if she has the chance of adding some good memories to the crappy ones that she wishes that she could forget. When she walks into the offices of RBK, she hopes to find a brother to share her life with. What she doesn’t expect is to find a man that sets her heart racing.
Mike Keillor is a big man whore. Treating women like a disposable commodity, he gets a massive wake-up call when it turns out that his latest bar-room pick up is a coke-head who wants him to beat her up during sex. Looking upon the families that his partners have started to build, he suddenly realises that the days of empty sex should really be in his past. When Chloe Mason walks into his office, he feels a pull towards her that he can’t ignore. The damaged and fragile beauty (yes, I said damaged and fragile...did you expect anything else?) brings out all his protective instincts.
But the course of true love never does run smooth in these books and this one is no exception (although it was so left field it took me by surprise). First off Harry is none too pleased that man-whore Mike is sniffing around his recently-returned-from-the-dead little sister. Harry knows what Mike is like with women and doesn’t want him anywhere near her. This was unsurprising (I wouldn’t have let him near mine without a full health check and six months of proven celibacy just to make sure) and the inevitable happens when Harry makes Mike promise not to defile his little sister. Then there is the little situation of Chloe angering a Russian people-trafficking pimp when she talks to a few of his prostitutes at the shelter she works at. That was bonkers! So then we are left wondering whether or not Mike will be able to protect Chloe without breaking his vow to her big brother? And will she even want him now she knows of his man whore status?
I like Lisa Marie Rice novels. Yes, they have a formula (Tortured Alpha man meets and protects fragile heroine from impending doom and they have lots of filthy sex) but I like the formula. Let me start by saying that you need to read books one and two first. You need Harry’s back story as it explains a lot of Harry’s behaviour, including why he accepts her into his family so darned quickly. You also need to meet the other characters as they feature heavily in this book. Again, I like this as I love returning to previous characters to see how they are getting on.
Mike is a fantastic character. He truly doesn’t believe is ever going to get a HEA until he meets Chloe and then he accepts Harry’s demands so quickly because he doesn’t think he’s good enough for her anyway. I loved him because he wanted to change, because he wanted something more. He was also a big Alpha man which is always a pleasure. After he agrees to Harry’s demands, there is a six-month time lapse and I struggled with this. A lot seemed to go on during this time but the details are only mentioned in passing conversations. I thought this was a big loss to the overall story as we never saw the building of the friendship that led to the forging of an actual relationship rather than just sex. We also never saw whether or not Mike struggled with his complete character change as it was already well established by the time we got back to the couple.
Chloe was a nice enough character. I liked the way she dealt with Mike and his many (many) emotional problems. The female characters in this series seem to become more likeable and independent once their story has been told; maybe this is why I didn’t mind the other characters cropping up as much as they did! The sexy scenes were very very yummy, although there weren’t as many as I would expect in a Lisa Marie Rice book. Mike is a well experienced lover but Chloe was not. This led to some fabulous Mike moments *swoon*
The Russian side-plot was bonkers but enjoyable. However, I do think we spent a little bit too much time with him and his distasteful ways (although it did make all the men even more angry about him and then they all got more swoon-worthy :D) It was there to serve a purpose but it did get too much air-time when we could have had more Mike and Chloe time.
A very enjoyable addition to the series. With sex, romance and Russian mobsters, I think this one has a little something for everyone. Mike is full of so much self-hatred, I just wanted to give him a hug but I’ll settle for reading his journey to a HEA instead
Chloe Mason doesn’t remember much from her childhood. What she does remember she would definitely rather forget. From the frequent hospital trips to the distant adopted parents, she didn’t have the happiest of childhoods. When she finds out she has a brother, she immediately sets out to find him, desperate to know if she has the chance of adding some good memories to the crappy ones that she wishes that she could forget. When she walks into the offices of RBK, she hopes to find a brother to share her life with. What she doesn’t expect is to find a man that sets her heart racing.
Mike Keillor is a big man whore. Treating women like a disposable commodity, he gets a massive wake-up call when it turns out that his latest bar-room pick up is a coke-head who wants him to beat her up during sex. Looking upon the families that his partners have started to build, he suddenly realises that the days of empty sex should really be in his past. When Chloe Mason walks into his office, he feels a pull towards her that he can’t ignore. The damaged and fragile beauty (yes, I said damaged and fragile...did you expect anything else?) brings out all his protective instincts.
But the course of true love never does run smooth in these books and this one is no exception (although it was so left field it took me by surprise). First off Harry is none too pleased that man-whore Mike is sniffing around his recently-returned-from-the-dead little sister. Harry knows what Mike is like with women and doesn’t want him anywhere near her. This was unsurprising (I wouldn’t have let him near mine without a full health check and six months of proven celibacy just to make sure) and the inevitable happens when Harry makes Mike promise not to defile his little sister. Then there is the little situation of Chloe angering a Russian people-trafficking pimp when she talks to a few of his prostitutes at the shelter she works at. That was bonkers! So then we are left wondering whether or not Mike will be able to protect Chloe without breaking his vow to her big brother? And will she even want him now she knows of his man whore status?
I like Lisa Marie Rice novels. Yes, they have a formula (Tortured Alpha man meets and protects fragile heroine from impending doom and they have lots of filthy sex) but I like the formula. Let me start by saying that you need to read books one and two first. You need Harry’s back story as it explains a lot of Harry’s behaviour, including why he accepts her into his family so darned quickly. You also need to meet the other characters as they feature heavily in this book. Again, I like this as I love returning to previous characters to see how they are getting on.
Mike is a fantastic character. He truly doesn’t believe is ever going to get a HEA until he meets Chloe and then he accepts Harry’s demands so quickly because he doesn’t think he’s good enough for her anyway. I loved him because he wanted to change, because he wanted something more. He was also a big Alpha man which is always a pleasure. After he agrees to Harry’s demands, there is a six-month time lapse and I struggled with this. A lot seemed to go on during this time but the details are only mentioned in passing conversations. I thought this was a big loss to the overall story as we never saw the building of the friendship that led to the forging of an actual relationship rather than just sex. We also never saw whether or not Mike struggled with his complete character change as it was already well established by the time we got back to the couple.
Chloe was a nice enough character. I liked the way she dealt with Mike and his many (many) emotional problems. The female characters in this series seem to become more likeable and independent once their story has been told; maybe this is why I didn’t mind the other characters cropping up as much as they did! The sexy scenes were very very yummy, although there weren’t as many as I would expect in a Lisa Marie Rice book. Mike is a well experienced lover but Chloe was not. This led to some fabulous Mike moments *swoon*
The Russian side-plot was bonkers but enjoyable. However, I do think we spent a little bit too much time with him and his distasteful ways (although it did make all the men even more angry about him and then they all got more swoon-worthy :D) It was there to serve a purpose but it did get too much air-time when we could have had more Mike and Chloe time.
A very enjoyable addition to the series. With sex, romance and Russian mobsters, I think this one has a little something for everyone. Mike is full of so much self-hatred, I just wanted to give him a hug but I’ll settle for reading his journey to a HEA instead
February 13, 2012
It's almost sacrilege to me to rate an LMR 3-stars. I love her alpha heroes. Her heroines are almost uniformly too-good-to-be-true gorgeous on the outside and even more beautiful inside. The conflicts are almost all external, a psychotic and/or sociopathic bad guy, sometimes a slightly-sympathetic sociopath bad-guy.
Nightfire features an alpha male (Mike) and too-good-to-be-true heroine (Chloe). Chloe is Harry's sister from Protectors#2, long-thought to have died at age 5. Chloe is reunited with her brother Harry in Nightfire. Mike is instantly smitten with her.
What makes Mike different from other LMR heroes is his (relatively) more prolonged internal conflict in getting to "this woman is mine. I must make her mine." A mistake leads to Mike being a suspect in a woman's beating the same day he meets Chloe. This incident leads Mike to think there's something broken in him, which led to his "industrial-level fucking" prior to meeting Chloe.
It takes Mike 6 months of penance and an attack on Chloe to finally make the moves on her. The rest of the story is resolving the external conflict that led to the attack on Chloe.
Mike's reasoning for not moving on Chloe is somewhat convoluted. Their friends observe that it would have been a disaster had they actually gotten romantically involved 6 months ago, and that now the timing is right. This sounded more like LMR/narrator's voice explaining rather than showing. It's this part of the plot development and character arc just didn't do it for me; hence only the 3-stars.
Other than that, you know what kind of ride you are in for with an LMR. And, yes, you get the hot sex-all-night scenes, overprotective hero, and lovely gentle heroine smoothing his killer edge. One also gets to revisit old couples and their (productive and reproductive) HEAs.
Nightfire features an alpha male (Mike) and too-good-to-be-true heroine (Chloe). Chloe is Harry's sister from Protectors#2, long-thought to have died at age 5. Chloe is reunited with her brother Harry in Nightfire. Mike is instantly smitten with her.
What makes Mike different from other LMR heroes is his (relatively) more prolonged internal conflict in getting to "this woman is mine. I must make her mine." A mistake leads to Mike being a suspect in a woman's beating the same day he meets Chloe. This incident leads Mike to think there's something broken in him, which led to his "industrial-level fucking" prior to meeting Chloe.
It takes Mike 6 months of penance and an attack on Chloe to finally make the moves on her. The rest of the story is resolving the external conflict that led to the attack on Chloe.
Mike's reasoning for not moving on Chloe is somewhat convoluted. Their friends observe that it would have been a disaster had they actually gotten romantically involved 6 months ago, and that now the timing is right. This sounded more like LMR/narrator's voice explaining rather than showing. It's this part of the plot development and character arc just didn't do it for me; hence only the 3-stars.
Other than that, you know what kind of ride you are in for with an LMR. And, yes, you get the hot sex-all-night scenes, overprotective hero, and lovely gentle heroine smoothing his killer edge. One also gets to revisit old couples and their (productive and reproductive) HEAs.
November 19, 2015
Wow really disliked this story. The beginning was overly melodramatic, repetitive and unbelievable. Chloe is reunited with her brother Harry, this scene is so over the top, magically all the family members show up and they all start crying. This one day goes on for almost half the book, then bam six months have passed. Mike and Chloe are friends but secretly wish to be more. Then Chloe is almost raped and now they are a couple, have magical healing sex. After intercourse with Chloe once, and a good talk about his past, Mike is emotionally healed. All that anger and guilt he carried around for years is just gone!
The sex scenes sounded very medical, over use of the term "vaginal muscles".
This is not a paranormal romance but Mike seems to be psychic, he somehow knows what Chloe is thinking and feeling. Considering his history, it doesn't seem like he is the sensitive type who knows what a woman is thinking about.
What I did like was Mike realizing that his current lifestyle was bad for him, he just didn't know how to stop it. He was so hard on himself.
Too unrealistic and melodramatic for me.
The sex scenes sounded very medical, over use of the term "vaginal muscles".
This is not a paranormal romance but Mike seems to be psychic, he somehow knows what Chloe is thinking and feeling. Considering his history, it doesn't seem like he is the sensitive type who knows what a woman is thinking about.
What I did like was Mike realizing that his current lifestyle was bad for him, he just didn't know how to stop it. He was so hard on himself.
Too unrealistic and melodramatic for me.
January 6, 2013
I almost stopped reading this book before the 1st chapter, and I'm glad I didn't. The 1st chapter is about what Mike did one night, drank too much, ended up in the wrong part of town with someone and he didn't even ask her name. The second chapter he met Chloe. I fell in love with Chloe, she was so sweet, and giving, always wanting to help. She had gone through so much in her lifetime. I loved how much Mike cared for Chloe. The relationship between Mike and Chloe kept me reading. If it wasn't for those sweet moments I would have put the book down. This book had crime, and prostitute's torture scene's, that turned my stomach. It's really hard for me to even imagine innocent children being turned into prostitutes. The ending made me glad that I finished the book. I don't think I will be reading another book like this anytime soon, but this author did an amazing job with this story, if your stomach can handle it. She also put a lot of details into the relationship of Chloe, and Mike!
January 12, 2013
By the time I finished this book, I decided I liked it fine. More of a 3.5, but not a 4.0 for me, sorry!
The story was entertaining, the characters were bigger than life, the erotic romance was erotic. I can definitely recommend this book. Not my favorite LMR book.
Early in my reading, I was finding it too verbose. I didn't know if it was me (and a hard week/grumpy mood) or if the author needed to take a scalpel to the page.
The story was entertaining, the characters were bigger than life, the erotic romance was erotic. I can definitely recommend this book. Not my favorite LMR book.
Early in my reading, I was finding it too verbose. I didn't know if it was me (and a hard week/grumpy mood) or if the author needed to take a scalpel to the page.
April 15, 2012
Loved this book and overall thought it was better than the last two. I really enjoyed the ending as we got to see all 3 men & their ladies ☺
September 5, 2014
It was Okay kind of .. I mean it had its moments .. But its forgettable & it didnt made any spikes in my emotions .. all the time I was like .... yeah, okay , NEXT ...
couldn-t-finish
August 2, 2015DNF at 24%
June 4, 2020
This is a trilogy #3. All of the male characters are basically brothers in their souls not by blood. Book #3 has a messy mystery. The female protagonist was interesting in some ways and it was obvious who she was and how she was going to fit into the scheme of things.
Again, I approved of the amount of time between #2 and #3. Now that I’ve read three of Rice’s books I can see her style or formula if you will. Most writers do you have a style and a formula that works for them but the special ones know how to alter each story so that they are not repetitive or predictable but still keep their faithful readers happy. In my opinion Rice isn’t at that point yet. There was a sameness in all three books. I will say this again, the way the male characters speak to the female characters feels like those vampire stories where the big, strong he-man has to take care of his delicate little female. Okaaaaaay.
Again, I approved of the amount of time between #2 and #3. Now that I’ve read three of Rice’s books I can see her style or formula if you will. Most writers do you have a style and a formula that works for them but the special ones know how to alter each story so that they are not repetitive or predictable but still keep their faithful readers happy. In my opinion Rice isn’t at that point yet. There was a sameness in all three books. I will say this again, the way the male characters speak to the female characters feels like those vampire stories where the big, strong he-man has to take care of his delicate little female. Okaaaaaay.
February 8, 2012
Everyone who reads Lisa Marie Rice knows her books follow a certain formula. Big, he-man, alpha warrior sees a dainty, mostly likely fragile, female and falls head over heels almost instantly. There is a Big Bad after the heroine and the hero goes nuts, desperately trying to protect her and take down the threat. The hero is also usually experiencing some kind of psychological and/or physical wound, which is healed in some capacity by the heroine, despite her lack of medical or therapeutic training. The emotional connection happens at hyper-speed and all of 'em are wealthy. Despite Rice's attempts at injecting grittiness by focusing on real world issues, these books have only a passing relationship with reality.
I love 'em. These books, for me, are pure fantasy and while I wouldn't want to be in the heroines' shoes for a moment, the idea of not having to be afraid all the time, of having someone capable of protecting me from all threats, is positively intoxicating. As a result, after I read Hot Secrets, I hunted up the majority of Rice's backlist. After finishing Midnight Man, I noted that I could tell it was an early book, but the potential was clearly there.
In my opinion, Nightfire is a major step forward. You need to read Hotter than Wildfire first, but Rice sidesteps most of her usual pitfalls in Nightfire. While Mike is instantly attracted to Chloe and there's some immediate fooling around, Rice does a (admittedly awkward) time jump of six months. The reader learns later that Mike and Chloe became friends during that time, getting to know each other, free from emotional stress or entanglements. In addition, Mike guides Chloe through a weightlifting and exercise program. She doesn't magically turn into She-Hulk and when she gets attacked later in the book, Chloe manages to defend herself long enough for Mike to get to her. In addition, Rice has really improved in making the Big Bad a credible threat. I mean, he never had a chance (of course) against Harry and Mike, but he wasn't stupid. He was smart, he made logical plans, and he was scary to think about. Finally, Mike comes off more like a man driven to his limits rather than a naturally controlling or domineering male. You get less of a 'stalker' sense off him, compared to some of her other heroes.
As far as content goes, there is an attempted rape scene, a not really consensual sex scene, violence towards women (including a torture scene), and murder in self defense. If any of this squicks you or if you have a problem with a very alpha warrior male, stay away. If you are a fan of Rice's work, I definitely recommend this book and hope Rice will continue to grow as an author.
I love 'em. These books, for me, are pure fantasy and while I wouldn't want to be in the heroines' shoes for a moment, the idea of not having to be afraid all the time, of having someone capable of protecting me from all threats, is positively intoxicating. As a result, after I read Hot Secrets, I hunted up the majority of Rice's backlist. After finishing Midnight Man, I noted that I could tell it was an early book, but the potential was clearly there.
In my opinion, Nightfire is a major step forward. You need to read Hotter than Wildfire first, but Rice sidesteps most of her usual pitfalls in Nightfire. While Mike is instantly attracted to Chloe and there's some immediate fooling around, Rice does a (admittedly awkward) time jump of six months. The reader learns later that Mike and Chloe became friends during that time, getting to know each other, free from emotional stress or entanglements. In addition, Mike guides Chloe through a weightlifting and exercise program. She doesn't magically turn into She-Hulk and when she gets attacked later in the book, Chloe manages to defend herself long enough for Mike to get to her. In addition, Rice has really improved in making the Big Bad a credible threat. I mean, he never had a chance (of course) against Harry and Mike, but he wasn't stupid. He was smart, he made logical plans, and he was scary to think about. Finally, Mike comes off more like a man driven to his limits rather than a naturally controlling or domineering male. You get less of a 'stalker' sense off him, compared to some of her other heroes.
As far as content goes, there is an attempted rape scene, a not really consensual sex scene, violence towards women (including a torture scene), and murder in self defense. If any of this squicks you or if you have a problem with a very alpha warrior male, stay away. If you are a fan of Rice's work, I definitely recommend this book and hope Rice will continue to grow as an author.
September 13, 2012
I can't believe the high ratings for this book on here. I was very disappointed with this book. I wanted to read two other books by Lisa Marie Rice, but I couldn't find them at my local bookstore, so I bought this one instead. The synopsis of this book seemed interesting, but I thought it was far from it.
At times I was bored by this book, and found myself skipping ahead, which is something I rarely (if ever) do. It was just too wordy for my taste. It took 25 pages for Mike and Chole to even meet, and another 45 for them to even have a private conversation. There is a lot of explanation/background and internal dialogue and not enough character interaction. The characters seems to do a lot of thinking to themselves and don't really talk to each other. Because of this, the characters didn't seem that likeable, and we missed all of the things that made them fall in love with one another. Especially because we meet them for a day, and then 6 months later we meet them again when they are already in love with each other. And all we get is a cursory overview of what happened in between. I would like more character interaction so that we can see what makes them love each other. In addition, I find it unrealistic that a man who had demons and issues for 25 years can shrug them off and be healed in a period of two hours by a woman.
Lastly, I HATE books that have a quick ending, and this was one of those. Everything was neatly wrapped up in a few pages in the end, complete with happy ending.
I am unlikely to read the books that I initially wanted to read by this author.
UPDATE: I tried to reread this book to see if it was better a second time and couldn't do it.
At times I was bored by this book, and found myself skipping ahead, which is something I rarely (if ever) do. It was just too wordy for my taste. It took 25 pages for Mike and Chole to even meet, and another 45 for them to even have a private conversation. There is a lot of explanation/background and internal dialogue and not enough character interaction. The characters seems to do a lot of thinking to themselves and don't really talk to each other. Because of this, the characters didn't seem that likeable, and we missed all of the things that made them fall in love with one another. Especially because we meet them for a day, and then 6 months later we meet them again when they are already in love with each other. And all we get is a cursory overview of what happened in between. I would like more character interaction so that we can see what makes them love each other. In addition, I find it unrealistic that a man who had demons and issues for 25 years can shrug them off and be healed in a period of two hours by a woman.
Lastly, I HATE books that have a quick ending, and this was one of those. Everything was neatly wrapped up in a few pages in the end, complete with happy ending.
I am unlikely to read the books that I initially wanted to read by this author.
UPDATE: I tried to reread this book to see if it was better a second time and couldn't do it.
April 30, 2012
Oh well, that book felt flat after der 6 months jump.
I was really curious after the end of the second and had hope for a good read. It started, I really liked Mike and his very screwed up sex life and I like Chloe as the absolutely complete opposite of him. I thought they would make a great couple and I was excited to see their journey of getting together, but than the time jump happened again.
I didn't like it in the book before, but it didn't bother me as much as it did with this book. I'll admit I really like screwed up characters and I'm always in for their lovestory and the way their going to change within the lovestory, but I guess it's too complicated to make it explainable why I woman like Chloe would fall in love with a guy like Mike. But damn I really would have like to see both of them changing while falling in love with each other. BUT we got the six months later, Mike turned Monk and Chloe turned Wonder Woman. Story easy.
There was also another thing which bothered me. In the second book I described it as repetitive, but I'm not quite sure if that was the right word. After reading a couple reviews I stumbled upon the word wordy and I think that's it. Sometimes it's just too many words and I'm an impatient reader. I like my pace fast and keep scenes not longer than necessary. So, I started skipping lines just to get through it. It's never a good sign.
Besides that the story itself was good, thrilling and nicely intervened with the lovestory.
I guess the authors style is not my cup of tea, but others will totally like it.
I was really curious after the end of the second and had hope for a good read. It started, I really liked Mike and his very screwed up sex life and I like Chloe as the absolutely complete opposite of him. I thought they would make a great couple and I was excited to see their journey of getting together, but than the time jump happened again.
I didn't like it in the book before, but it didn't bother me as much as it did with this book. I'll admit I really like screwed up characters and I'm always in for their lovestory and the way their going to change within the lovestory, but I guess it's too complicated to make it explainable why I woman like Chloe would fall in love with a guy like Mike. But damn I really would have like to see both of them changing while falling in love with each other. BUT we got the six months later, Mike turned Monk and Chloe turned Wonder Woman. Story easy.
There was also another thing which bothered me. In the second book I described it as repetitive, but I'm not quite sure if that was the right word. After reading a couple reviews I stumbled upon the word wordy and I think that's it. Sometimes it's just too many words and I'm an impatient reader. I like my pace fast and keep scenes not longer than necessary. So, I started skipping lines just to get through it. It's never a good sign.
Besides that the story itself was good, thrilling and nicely intervened with the lovestory.
I guess the authors style is not my cup of tea, but others will totally like it.
February 24, 2012
A few things that bugged me with this book. 1) I hate that she would put pages of emotional thought and reflection in between dialogue. So it took like 10 pages for the characters to have a conversation. Some of it was insightful but most of the time I was just like ok i get how she feels can we please move on and keep the flow of the book going. All that in between in some ways made the book choppy. 2) In the beginning we are given the impression that Chloe is a virgin. She talks so much about never having any dating/romantic experience. The first love scene with Mike in the beginning is when she get her first kiss. So I was very confused when they finally have sex, why the author did not clarify if she was a virgin or not. They as a couple never discussed it and I think that when you are in a relationship that is that serious, and the alpha male being the way he is, he would have relished in that or something. I did like the way the series progressed and the growth of the characters, I just got bored at times because I felt like there was useless stuff in there and many time was i was turning the pages to skip over things that i felt were not needed.
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