Honor Guards

This is the fourth in the Honor Series and is just as exceptional as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd novels. I've become familiar with the characters in this series. I hurt when things don't go well and it brings joy to my heart when their lives go well. Blair continues to be a target for any left-wing group trying to make a point about America. Cameron and her team have their work cut out for them as they venture to France. When I finished it, I was looking for book #5, immediately. Don't pass the Honor Series by. Radclyffe is a fantastic writer.

Whether you read Radclyffe's series books, like the Justice series or the Honor series or the Provincetown series, or you read one of her stand-alone romances, you can not go wrong. I have been reading lesbian fiction for many years, and can honestly say that I have never come across a writer that has so affected me. Her characters are strong, intelligent, and romantic. Naysayers will say that Radclyffe's characters are too perfect almost never flawed - either in looks or character. That may be true, but aren't you tired of the genre's penchant for ordinary? Radclyffe's characters are always enchanting, intoxicating, enticing, and intense. The stories, particularly in the series books, are all first class. Most of her series books are page-turners. And in two of the books, I actually turned to the last page to make sure that the main characters survived - something I never do. Radclyffe let us believe, at least for the duration of each of her books, that the grand passion, the true love, the happy-ever-after are all possible. She lets us believe that being a strong, intelligent woman does not mean that we will be alone and/or isolated. The only caveat I have is to read the series books in order. And if you enjoy watching a writer grow, then read the non-series books in the order they were written and watch Radclyffe's talent grow before your very eyes.

Only the talented Radclyffe could come up with a story like this! The plot is based on the events of 9/11. When the towers are hit, First Daughter Blair Powell is attacked and almost killed by a group of well-trained men... one of whom is a Secret Service Agent assigned to her security team. In walks (or runs) her security chief and lover, Cameron Roberts. Cam shoots the traitor before he call pull the trigger on Blair. After secreting Blair from New York City, Cameron agrees to take them to the home of one of Blair's friends from college. They can't go to any of the established safe houses or let anyone know where they are because of the unexpected breech in security. As Cam struggles to keep her lover safe, Blair struggles with her own feelings about the dangers of Cam's profession. This series gets better each time I read it (this was my third time). Rad brings the characters to life unlike any other author in the genre. The reader can almost imagine running into Blair and Cam on the street. Rad brings dimension to her book and gives the reader an additional bonus with the development of other character relationships, the most obvious being the one between SS Agent Paula Stark and FBI Agent Renee Savard. This story is so well told, the reader is apt to believe there actually was a plot to take the First Daughter on 9/11. A MUST HAVE BOOK.

If you've never bought a Radclyffe story, this a good one to spend your money on. Some of Radclyffe's other books are overrated in my opinion, but this one is truly exceptional. It lifts this series to a new level, not just because the writing itself is a whole lot better than most of her previous works but also because her characters and plot are better too. I won't tell the story all over again, since it's been described here by everyone else. But I think one of the best things about Honor Guards is that Radclyffe has made Cameron and Blair a lot more interesting as real people. In some series I've read, this doesn't happen and you get the feeling the author is bored with her characters. Not so this time - Radclyffe seems to have something new to say about Cam and Blair. I'm impressed that after writing so many books, this author has not settled into a groove like you see with some other authors that write a lot of romances. I bought ten books to read on vacation recently, and this one, along with the latest Jennifer Fulton that I also reviewed, are the best two of the bunch by far. I don't know what Radclyffe has done to improve her writing so much between Above All Honor and this new book, but the results are great and I hope she keeps doing it!

In this, the fourth novel in the "Honor" series, author Radclyffe continues the story of the relationship between Blair Powell, the daughter of the president of the United States, and Cameron "Cam" Roberts, the Secret Service agent assigned to protect her. As with each of the previous books, HONOR GUARDS picks up where the last novel (LOVE AND HONOR) left off. When the novel opens, Blair has already given an interview to a reporter revealing her sexual orientation and her lover's identity, and she and Cam are waiting for the story to be printed and for the media blitz that is sure to follow. In the brief time before that happens, they are able to be together as lovers, luxuriating in one another's arms and trying to block out the rest of the world to focus on their relationship. But little do they know that behind the scenes, malignant forces are at work, including a conspiracy to assassinate Blair. Radclyffe has set this book from August 16, 2001 and onward toward the inevitability of the 9/11 attacks. Interspersing the two lover's daily struggles with politics, privacy, and the paparazzi are brief details of the conspiracy to unseat the government by way of terrorism. Every step of the way, from the racy love scenes to the daily security worries weighing heavy on Cam's shoulders, the reader is aware of the oncoming disasters, even as we root for Blair and Cam to cement their relationship once and for all. A secondary plot line involving Secret Service agent Paula Stark and FBI agent, Renee Savard, is interwoven into the story. Renee is still recovering from wounds suffered during a previous attempt on Blair's life, and Paula continues to be part of Cam's team protecting the president's daughter. Their relationship unfolds sweetly and delightfully, and Paula plays a critical role in the exciting events that unfold. As usual with Radclyffe's books, the sex scenes are hot, the twists and turns of the plot are engrossing, and the action scenes build slowly and explode effectively. Best of all, at the end of this fourth book in the series, the reader is left wanting more, and there is definitely room for another novel. Highly recommended. ~Lori L. Lake, author of lesbian fiction and freelance reviewer for Midwest Book Review, Golden Crown Literary Society's The Crown, The Independent Gay Writer, and Just About Write.