Guarding Jess

Jessica Pennington spends her life instructing others in proper decorum. As an etiquette consultant, she prides herself on presenting a serene demeanor, allowing nothing to rattle her cage. Until Noah Samuels, that is. His boss enlists Noah as Jessica's bodyguard when she begins receiving ominous, nasty threats. Good thing Jess's body is one he likes guarding.

If you know what I mean.

But I'm ahead of myself. And I'm certainly ahead of Shannon Curtis, who keeps us waiting a LOOOONG time for some headboard rockin' in this book. And even then, it isn't the headboard that gets rocked. 

Before Jessica and Noah engage in carnal adventures, they have to overcome the negative preconceived notions they have about each other. OF COURSE they have negative preconceived notions, because, COME ON, this is a Hot Romance Novels, and we all know that in Hot Romance Novels, the happy couple must work to be together. Jessica thinks Noah is a bit obtuse and lacking in social graces, while he thinks she's a snob. His nickname for her? Miss Prissy.

When Jessica lets down her guard, though, and confides in Noah just how upsetting this stalker business is, he softens toward her. Well, maybe internally he softens. Externally, he's all hardness.

If you know what I mean.

Noah stared at her, his mouth open. He couldn't ignore the thread of hurt underlying her words, as though his remarks had cut her deeply. Her eyes were flashing and the color was high on her cheeks. Her chin was up, her shoulders back. She was defiant. She was scared, and she'd just undone him completely with her impassioned argument.

Put a fork in him, because he's done. And as an aside: Jessica squares her shoulders very, very frequently in this book. Very frequently.

Jessica, too, is attracted to her protector. He's built like a linebacker, and she, while petite, has legs that make Noah growl.

The thing is, though, Guarding Jess gets pretty dark and violent. While on the one hand, it's the story of a romance, on another level, it's about the twisted mind of a stalker. There is a body count in this book, and Shannon Curtis is unflinching in selecting her victims.

This book has a story that hooks you, characters who make you care, and some decent sexy times. I would have liked more of the latter, but that's just me. The mystery was well done, and it's a quick book to read, making it a good selection for the beach.

Published by Carina Press and available on Amazon.com.

Thanks to NetGalley for the preview.