Saving the Bodyguard by Serena Yates

Note:  When Ms. Yates noted that Noticing the Finance Manager was in queue for review, she graciously submitted this title for review.  Each can be read as a stand-alone, but she feels that reading them in order will add to the readers enjoyment.  Both can be found on the publisher’s web site or wherever quality MM romance titles are sold.

Title: Saving the Bodyguard

Series:  New Horizons 05

Author: Serena Yates

Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publishing (June 13, 2011)

ISBN: 978-0-85715-573-3

Format/length: eBook 135 Kb

Genre: Contemporary M/M fiction

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Reviewer:  Artemis

From the Publisher:  Leo Taber is an ex-bodyguard who now runs a security company with a good friend. Business does not go as well as expected, and he soon faces anger management issues. He is very skeptical about the ten-day course his friend recommends, but feels he has no choice but to go. Once at the retreat, he meets Felix, who works as a waiter there, and all his issues seem forgotten when the sparks start flying. Giving in to his feelings has never been so easy.

But is this temporary peace going to last – even when the real world starts intruding into their temporary idyll?

About the Author:  I’m a night owl who starts writing when everyone else in my time zone is asleep. I’ve loved reading all my life and spent most of my childhood with my nose buried in a book. Although I always wanted to be a writer, financial independence came first. Twenty-some years and a successful business career later I took some online writing classes and never looked back.

Living and working in seven countries has taught me that there’s more than one way to get things done. It has instilled tremendous respect for the many different cultures, beliefs, attitudes and preferences that exist on our planet.

I like exploring those differences in my stories, most of which happen to be romances. My characters have a tendency to want to do their own thing, so I often have to rein them back in. The one thing we all agree on is the desire for a happy ending.

My Review:  At the very beginning of this book, Leo is not particularly ‘likeable’ as a character…mainly because he has some serious anger management problems. When he almost takes down a little old lady in a grocery store and nearly beats a vending machine to death, you start to see some serious issues with his temperament! However, his friend and co-worker encourages him to take a little time out to get a handle on things and he ends up at a weeklong retreat for some soul-searching and relaxation. He doesn’t have much hope that it is going to work for him until he meets Felix! I liked Felix’s character right away….even if he does seem a little scattered at first. He is just recently out of relationship with a total jerk who got him kicked out of the accounting field and he is stuck waiting tables until he figures out what to do.

When the two characters first meet they are total opposites but strongly attracted to each other. They spend quite a bit of time getting to know one another in every way humanly possible and Felix is a huge help when it comes to getting Leo to understand what his anger issues do to the people around him. With a crisis happening at work, Leo’s vacation retreat is cut short but Felix has a solution that might just work for everyone!

Ms. Yates does a really great job getting the readers to understand her characters, what motivates them, and their emotions. This is a relatively short and fast paced story so things move along pretty quickly. The one thing I would have slowed down just a little bit is how quickly Leo and Felix got physically involved. I admit I like a little bit more of a buildup between my characters before they start having sex! The scenes are fairly well written, however, and there is a definite emotional connection between the two.  Despite being two very different types of men, they seem to balance one another quite nicely!

Overall, the author created a sweet story with enjoyable characters and some very steamy bedroom scenes. Very nicely done!