Title :              The Protector

Author :           Ellen Malpas

Series :            n/a

Release date :   September 06th 2016

Rating :           4 Stars

 

 

Blurb :

THE NEW NOVEL FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR

OF THE THIS MAN TRILOGY AND ONE NIGHT TRILOGY!

 

People think they have Camille Logan nailed: daddy’s girl; beautiful, spoiled young woman with her father’s bank balance to fund her lifestyle. But Camille is determined to have a life free from his strings. Out on her own, she’s made mistakes, including one that found her clawing her way back after a stint in rehab and plenty of bad press. Now, after fighting so hard to be independent and happy, she finds her life threatened as a result of her father’s ruthless business dealings. Caught between resentment and fear, Camille prepares herself for the measures her father will take to protect her. But nothing could prepare her for the ex-SAS sniper who crashes into her life.

 

Jake Sharp resides in his own personal hell. He was distracted from duty once before, and the consequences were devastating–both personally and professionally. He vowed never to let that happen again. Accepting the job of bodyguard to Camille Logan isn’t the kind of distraction from his demons he should take. Women and Jake don’t mix well, yet protecting the heiress seems the lesser of two evils. But Jake soon discovers that she isn’t the woman she’s perceived to be. She’s warm, compassionate, her presence settling, and his duty to protect her soon goes deeper than a well-paid job, no matter how hard he fights it. He needs absolution. He comes to need Camille. But he knows he can’t have both.

 

Review : I count myself one of the lucky persons being able to read an advance reviewing copy of Jodi Ellen Malpas’s newest novel “The Protector”.

 

The first surprise was when I heard that her newest book would be a standalone. Being no big fan of cliffhanger series I was more than pleased by that fact, because so far she has been always going for telling her story in 3 books.

 

BUT honestly she is one of the few authors where I trust that the reader will get his next book of the series in a fair amount of time, so I was only ever mildly annoyed

#laughing…

 

I loved her books so far so it was no-brainer that I wanted to read this one.

 

Which brought me directly to the next surprise. Opposite to her former books the reader gets much more “insider” information on both of the leading characters because Ms. Malpas changed her writing style a little, telling the story now from 2 PoV’s.

 

Even if this is a common and for me usually comfortable way of storytelling it still felt strange coming from her, because I was not used to seeing the story from the male PoV in her books. Because her male characters are always very unique and usually keep you guessing a long time.

 

The plotline of the Protector is not a totally new one but it is “reworked” in a typically JEM way which her fans will love I am sure. With lots of fun and witty banter between the characters. I found myself laughing a lot around the story. Jake and Cami are solid characters.

 

During reading I started feeling that maybe the fact that the reader is getting inside information on Jake might be not the best solution for JEM very original and unique storytelling. Because usually the suspense in her books is woven around a secret that reveals itself later in the story – but the inside look that Jake granted us prevented that at least partly because Jake allowed us a deep insight in his thinking.

 

On the other hand that was also refreshing because I still remember thinking I would love to know what “Jesse” from her novel “This Man” thought at certain points of the story. But now I know how much that changes her typical storytelling.

 

So I guess it is a thing of being between a rock and a hard place. But I understand her idea of trying something different this time. I liked how the story developed and I had vivid pictures in my mind on the characters and the setting, which is just part of her unique writing style.

 

But still I was not able to rate this book with 5 stars, because simply the feelings her former books evoked in me were far stronger. If I recall certain events in the plot of the “This man series” I still get tears in my eyes and that never happend with this book.

 

I am not sure if the reason is that she changed her PoV or the fact that she told a story that could have filled 2 books easily in just one book. Or maybe a combination of both ?

Really not sure… but I know that I felt rushed in parts of the book that could have lasted longer.

 

Maybe I am egoistical and narrow-minded but I love it when my JEM experience is taking as long as possible – because I love her characters and I want to keep them as long as possible and a standalone might not be enough for me .. (did I really just say that ? I basically dislike series I thought?)

 

I would love to dive deeper into the story but I have made it a point to give away as little spoilers as possible. So far it sounded as if there were only negative points for me to remark but that is not true. It’s absolutely not true.

 

The only problem is that the standards you have for certain authors raise higher and higher with each great book they release and at some point they reach a level where it seems impossible for a book by this author to get any better.

 

Ms. Malpas is one of the few authors where already her first trilogy set a mark that seems impossible to raise. Therefore I am totally not worried about me not liking this book as much as the “This Man” series.

 

It was a good and solid read and I can hardly wait to get my hands on whatever she is writing next.

 

I know that reviewer should not quote from Advance reading copies because the content might change. And as I said spoilers are also not my thing. BUT I feel the need to share my absolute favorite quote from this book.

 

The reader will not be able to place it into a plotline and even if it should disappear from the final book … it is a Jodi’ism that should be kept and treasured.

 

“”I swear, all this girlie shit is turning my brain pink.

All in all, I’m feeling pretty fucking pussy-ish right now””

 

#god I am again laughing – just typing this

 

Please enjoy this book …

 

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