PROTECTING FATE (Serve #6) by Katee Robert-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 17, 2015

He’ll keep her safe…but who will protect her from him?
Fixer Sara Reaver is in serious trouble. She’s stepped on the wrong toes, and now her uncle is sending her out of the city in an effort to keep her safe—and he’s assigning her a glorified babysitter. The last person she expects to show up is the gorgeous Z, or for him to tempt her and then reject her in the space of a single night. Twice. Now she’s out to prove to him just how good they’d fit up together in every way imaginable.

Mercenary Z Loreto hates protection jobs, but he’s willing to make an exception for his best friend’s little sister. The only problem is she calls up things he’s been doing his damnedest to keep under wraps for the last seven years. But when she pushes him too far, it all comes rushing to the fore, and the fact she’s willing to submit to his every desire only makes the loss of control sweeter.

Sara and Z have a boatload of issues between them, but they’re sure they can make things work if they take it one day at a time… Right up until things spiral beyond their control. Now Z’s playing for keeps in a big way, and Sara’s got to decide if a chance at true happiness is worth the risk of repeating history.

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REVIEW: PROTECTING FATE by Katee Robert is the sixth installment in the adult, contemporary SERVE erotic romance series, written by Tessa Baily and Katee Robert, focusing on a group of friends and family who frequent the BDSM club SERVE. This is security expert, former soldier, and mercenary Zebadiah ‘Z’ Loreto, and ‘fixer’ Sara Reaver’s storyline. Although PROTECTING FATE is the sixth in the series, it can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous storylines is imparted where necessary.

Told from third person point of view, the storyline focuses on protecting Sara from a threat. As a fixer, she tends to make a few people angry and in this, her life has been threatened for raising the ire of the wrong people. Sara’s Uncle Rodger and her brother Garrett have some connections and have hired a ‘babysitter’ to protect their niece and sister. Enter Z Loreto-a former soldier and a man who is all business but finds himself attracted to his latest charge.

Sara is a submissive in the bedroom and she wants to spend her last night of freedom at SERVE-the local BDSM club where she and her brothers are members. Sara had not expected to come face to face with the man in charge of her protection-a sexy, hardened warrior who knows a thing or two about domination. When Sara’s apartment is trashed, Z moves Sara out of town for her own protection.

Z is a man with a past; a history in the BDSM scene that has left him raw, damaged and vulnerable. Secluded in a safe house with Sara, their relationship becomes more personal as Sara pushes Z in more ways than one. As the days and weeks pass, Z’s need to protect Sara is more than professional; it becomes a need; a part of his heart as he begins to fall for the woman in his care and his bed. The $ex scenes are intimate, compelling and with a little bit of kink on the side.

The secondary and supporting characters include a few of the previous storyline couples including Sara’s brothers Garrett and Will, and Garrett’s fiancé Ridley, as well as Uncle Rodger who is all about protecting his family and friends.

The world building continues to follow the BDSM lifestyle at SERVE. There are no hard-core scenarios; most of the bondage and discipline scenes are light and meted with affection and love, and take place off the premise of the club. Z’s mercenary lifestyle comes into play when he is called away on another mission but we know very little about what goes on behind the scenes-I would have liked to learned more about what happened while he was away but the storyline focused more on Sara (back home). There is also an issue (for me) with the quick resolution to the threats against Sara; very little is mentioned after the first couple of chapters and then everything is back to normal with a phone call and a promise. In this, the suspense was lacking and the threats were barely an issue.

The SERVE series is co-written (three books each) by Katee Robert and Tessa Baily with each storyline focusing on a different couple who are members of the BDSM scene and club SERVE. Although the story lines are connected, they are NOT interconnected in such a way that cohesion and understanding are a problem. Each story ends with a happily ever after and a look towards the future. Katee Robert adds a little bit of romance, suspense and angst to the series with Z and Sara’s storyline.

Copy supplied by the publisher.

Reviewed by Sandy