The Socialite and the Bodyguard

"Four cursed days at the Vegas Dog Show, guarding celebrity heiress and media darling Kayla Landon's puff poodle Tsini. If the boss wanted to unman him, it would have been easier to castrate him and be done with it. ...What kind of dog received death threats anyway? He couldn't see something like that happening to a real dog like a rottweiler or a German shepherd." I loved this little book! A near-perfect mix of romance, suspense, and humor, it's officially my all-time favorite Harlequin Intrigue. Coming off a somewhat disappointing mainstream romantic suspense book (with a bodyguard plot also), I found this gem to be twice as enjoyable in half as many pages, with twice as convincing a romance and a suspense plot with twice as many suspects. Nash is just a great hero. An ex-Marine, his reaction when he's assigned to guard the poodle of an airhead heiress is very funny. Totally alpha and take charge, you see him forcing himself to pull back from issuing orders willy-nilly to the heroine and all her staff. His inner voice is so well done, you really feel that these are the thoughts of a man, not what a woman wishes a man to be. He's hot and sexy too. Just don't call him a pet detective. Kayla is very well developed too. The story peels back her layers to show that she's not the blonde bimbo that her press moniker "Popcorn Princess" implies. She's generous, loyal and stubborn. She's also clever enough to keep up the bimbo pose in an attempt to make herself seem unthreatening to the killer who's after her family. The villain was convincing. I guessed who it was before the end, but that's no fault of the author. I did think the villain should have been dealt with more harshly. Really. At the least I wanted Nash to beat him up. I make no apologies for this. I can't finish this review without saying a word about Tsini. Yes the poodle is a character and a preening dog show star. But her past is far from idyllic and serves to show Kayla in another good light. In fact, Kayla verges on being a little too perfect until she pulls the obligatory near-TSTL move. And that leads me to a couple of criticisms that kept this book from being 100% perfect. Like the above mentioned disappointing mainstream book, the heroine ditches her bodyguards and goes out alone. In Kayla's defense she was frightened and paranoid after a nightmare, suspicious of Nash who'd been recommended by her uncle. And at least she went out to investigate, not to jog. Still it was kinda dumb. And what's with the heroines using pepper spray on the good guys anyway? But my real gripe is the sex scenes, or almost total lack of them. The sexual tension is hot and so well done. The shower scene is steamy in more ways than one. But the climax (so to speak) is barely 1 page. There needs to be more. When the tension is built up so well, there needs to be an explosion, a volcanic eruption of feelings and carnality, a searing cataclysm. You get the idea. Please author/editors, let's not forget t

The Socialite and the Bodyguard (Harlequin Intrigue Series) Kayla Landon Wanted To Protect Her Prize Show Dog After Receiving Blue Dog Fur In The Mail. Her Parents And Brother Had Died In Suspicious Accidents That She Could Not Prove That They Were No Accidents And Now She Headed A Landon Popcorn Dynasty But Was Determined That Her Brother And Uncle Would Not Be The Next To Die. Nash Wilder,An Ex-Marine With A Bad Leg Screwed Up One To Many Times On An Assignment To Protect A Wealthy Woman From Her Ex And Now He Found Himself Hired To Guard A Mutt In A Las Vegas Dog Show! Man, Talk About Embarrassing He Just Hoped That Non Of His Buddies Would Ever Know. Once He Met The "Popcorn Queen" And Her Mutt He Knew That Some Thing More Was Wrong With His Assigment. Dana Marton Tells A Thrilling Story Full Of Suspense To Keep Readers On The Edge Of Their Seats As Nash And Kayla Fight Their Attraction To Each Other, Save Her Dog And Find The Killer That Nash Feels Is Some One Within Their Midst. A Surprising Twist And "Tinsi", The Adorable Dog Steals The Show And Kidnaps Your Heart!

Nash Wilder has an assignment he'd rather do without: protecting the precious poodle of "Popcorn Princess", Kayla Landon. Little does he know that the assignment, "beneath" him, has more riding on it than the safety of a dog: the blonde heiress' life is in danger, as well. The former soldier has a history of taking command of situations where he has no real power, and before he knows it, Nash is doing the same thing with Kayla and her staff. Even worse is the fact that he is making this assignment personal, and can't get his mind off of the sexy blonde. But he might not be the only one who feels the tension in their relationship, and Kayla might have some ideas for Nash of her own... This is a cute book. I enjoyed the character development and the way that the author developed Kayla's character into the opposite of what her stereotypical "blonde heiress" persona would usually suggest. The plot is fairly good, though predictable -- the romance overtakes a lot of the potential for strong development, but it fits the bill for "fluffy romantic suspense". 4.0/5