Forced Protector (Rogue Protectors 6) by Victoria Paige-review
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /
Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 1, 2024
A grumpy princess. A laid-back Navy SEAL. A road trip. What could go wrong?
Thala Targen is known as the ice princess.
Sister to the Queen of Venusstea, she is a general in the royal guard and the next in line to the throne.
After an attempt on the queen’s life makes Thala a suspect, she goes on the run in the city of Los Angeles.
Forced in proximity with a mysterious agent—or a possible kidnapper—she soon finds the man’s easygoing personality grating on her last nerve.
But she needs him to prove her innocence.
Hank Bristow is known as the unruffled one.
Quick to smile, a nomad by nature, he goes rogue on instinct.
An instinct that has him rescuing a prickly princess from a fiery death.
Regrets may come later, but he’s looking forward to pulling that stick out of her royal a$$.
However, he soon discovers there’s more to Thala underneath that ice.
And he can’t wait to show her there’s more to life than being a princess.
Unfortunately, his heart didn’t get the memo that the princess wasn’t his to keep.
•••••
REVIEW:FORCED PROTECTOR is the sixth instalment in Victoria Paige’s contemporary, adult ROGUE PROTECTORS erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on a group of current and former US Navy SEALs, CIA Operatives and law enforcement. This is thirty-six year old, former CIA operative turned security specialist Hank Bristow aka Holden Buchanan, and twenty-nine year old, Royal Guard General / princess Thala Targen’s story line. FORCED PROTECTOR can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. For fans of Paige, there is a slight cross-over and mention of the characters from the SCORNED FATE series.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Hank and Thala) FORCED PROTECTOR follows in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Venusstea’s Queen Amadea Targen on US soil. Queen Amadea and Princess Thala were in the US for the screening of a film featuring a segment of their country’s history but an attempt on both of their lives finds Queen Amadea whisked to places unknown, and Princess Thala under the protection of our story line hero. Enter former CIA operative Hank Bristow, the man with whom Thala will fall in love. Someone is targeting our story line heroine, and when their whereabouts are continually compromised, Hank and Thala suspect a mole, someone on the inside taking aim at the royal siblings. Meanwhile, hiding out at his family winery, Hank must come to terms with the numerous attempts to purchase the vineyard, a vineyard that has been in the family for years but betrayal from within begins to focus on someone close. With the help of his former operatives, Hank begins to unravel the secrets surrounding the Venusstea Royal family.
The world building follows several pathways including the assassination attempts against Thala and Amadea; a political and international nightmare for power and natural resources; the endeavor of outsiders to take control of the Buchanan winery; and a Royal family at odds with history, culture and laws of succession.
The relationship between Thala and Hank begins acrimoniously. Thala is a general in the Royal Guard, and as such believes she is capable of handling her own protection. Hank is determined to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love but the threats against her life are difficult to stop when they are coming from more than one possible direction. The $ex scenes are intimate and provocative without the use of over the top, sexually graphic, language and text.
The secondary and supporting characters are numerous and dynamic: Hank’s cousin Christian, Uncle Edgar; Thala’s sister Amadea, her bodyguard Ramsay; as well as Hank’s teammates and fellow security specialists, several of whom we met in the previous story line. The requisite evil has many faces.
FORCED PROTECTOR is a story of betrayal and vengeance, power and control, greed and obsession, secrets and lies, acceptance and love. The premise is detailed, intriguing and dramatic; the romance is seductive and passionate; the characters are determined, and charismatic.
Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book five THE WIFE ASSIGNMENT
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
Follow: Goodreads / Facebook / Website/ Twitter/ Instagram
Victoria Paige writes smart, edgy, seductive romance.
Her heroes are badass alpha males and her smart, strong-willed heroines can hold their own against a bossy hero. Her books are sexually explicit and may contain dark themes, morally ambiguous choices, and disturbing situations as she injects realism into her stories and gives them her own twist.
Victoria lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and playful German Shepherd Dog, Loki.
Sign Up for Victoria’s newsletter HERE