Smut Fanatics: Laura’s Review of The Protector by Jodi Ellen Malpas

Synopsis

People think they have Camille Logan nailed: daddy's girl; beautiful, spoiled young woman with her father's bank balance to fund her lifestyle. But Camille is determined to have a life free from his strings. Out on her own, she's made mistakes, including one that found her clawing her way back after a stint in rehab and plenty of bad press. Now, after fighting so hard to be independent and happy, she finds her life threatened as a result of her father's ruthless business dealings. Caught between resentment and fear, Camille prepares herself for the measures her father will take to protect her. But nothing could prepare her for the ex-SAS sniper who crashes into her life.

Jake Sharp resides in his own personal hell. He was distracted from duty once before, and the consequences were devastating--both personally and professionally. He vowed never to let that happen again. Accepting the job of bodyguard to Camille Logan isn't the kind of distraction from his demons he should take. Women and Jake don't mix well, yet protecting the heiress seems the lesser of two evils. But Jake soon discovers that she isn't the woman she's perceived to be. She's warm, compassionate, her presence settling, and his duty to protect her soon goes deeper than a well-paid job, no matter how hard he fights it. He needs absolution. He comes to need Camille. But he knows he can't have both.

What I Loved

I’m such a huge fan of Jodi Ellen Malpas and I couldn’t wait to dive into this new novel of hers knowing I wouldn’t be disappointed and I wasn’t at all! The story begins from Jake’s point of view and right away you grasp his lifestyle and even though he’s somewhat of an asshole I didn’t completely hate him. There was still something about him that made him attractive and as the reader I immediately wanted to know more about this man.

The minute he meets Camille Logan sparks fly between them and I loved the tension that built as the plot continued. When the story shifts to Camille’s point of view I instantly loved her as well, she was easy to relate to even though she was this rich socialite that has lived most of her life in front of the camera. I loved her strong personality and her need to live her life on her own terms, no matter what people around her want. My heart went out to her so many times, and she made it easy for me to stay so emotionally involved in the plot.

There is a ton of action in this book, and most of it involved Jake and Camille naked. The sex scenes between them were freaking amazing! The sexual tension built from the start and I couldn’t wait for it to explode. The need they both had for each other was so palpable that as the reader I could feel it pouring off the pages.

Not So Much

As much as I loved the sex scenes, for me there was a bit too many of them. I felt like there should’ve been more emotional scenes building a connection between Camille and Jake rather than them ripping each other’s clothes off. I wanted to see them build their relationship more because it would’ve added more depth to the story and better character development overall.

Also, I felt like the ending was a bit rushed, all the drama concluded within a couple pages and then it was all over with very little follow up. There was a ton of detail in the beginning and the middle of the story but at the end the same kind of attention wasn’t paid to it. There were some new characters introduced towards the end that we know very little about that I felt like could’ve been elaborated further giving the ending more depth.

To Sum It All Up!

Overall, this was a great book that I enjoyed reading immensely. Jake is a man that suffers from PTSD and tries to find anything to take his mind off the past and what has lead him to his point in his life. Right away, as a reader my heart went out to him because it was evident how much he was hurting. Camille came into his life at the right time and was strong enough to weather the storm that is Jake Sharp and all his dysfunctions.

I loved the chemistry between them and I loved how they both tried to fight it in the beginning. I’m a huge fan of building the tension and denying your feelings type stories because when it comes to a head it makes it even more amazing. Trust me when I say when they finally do go at it, it’s more than amazing! The feelings Jake and Camille have for another as the story continues was overwhelming at times and just completely sucked me in.

There is a lot going on in this book, not only do we have two people falling in love with each other but there is a lot of suspense and secrets as well. There were some that I guessed at and then there were others I did not see coming at all. I’m not going to give anything away so don’t worry no spoilers, but I will say you’ll love it. Like I said before I’m a big fan of Jodi Ellen Malpas and I am adding this one to the love category along with all her other books.

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