Saving Sophie by Cate Beauman Pages: 434
Series: The Bodyguards of L.A. County #7
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Also in this series: Morgan's Hunter, Falling For Sarah, Deceiving Bella
Also by this author: Morgan's Hunter, Falling For Sarah, Deceiving Bella
Goodreads
Jewelry designer Sophie Burke has fled Maine for the anonymity of the big city. She's starting over with a job she tolerates and a grungy motel room she calls home on the wrong side of town, but anything is better than the nightmare she left behind.Stone McCabe is Ethan Cooke Security's brooding bad boy more interested in keeping to himself than anything else-until the gorgeous blond with haunted violet eyes catches his attention late one rainy night.Stone reluctantly gives Sophie a hand only to quickly realize that the shy beauty with the soft voice and pretty smile has something to hide. Tangled up in her secrets, Stone offers Sophie a solution that has the potential to free her from her problems once and for all-or jeopardize both of their lives.The Bodyguards Of L.A. County SeriesBook One: Morgan's Hunter, the story of Morgan and Hunter (ISBN: 9780989569606)Book Two: Falling For Sarah, the story of Sarah and Ethan (ISBN: 9780989569613)Book Three: Hailey's Truth, the story of Hailey and Austin (ISBN: 9780989569620)Book Four: Forever Alexa, the story of Alexa and Jackson (ISBN: 9780989569637)Book Five: Waiting For Wren, the story of Wren and Tucker (ISBN: 9780989569644)Book Six: Justice For Abby, the story of Abby and Jerrod (ISBN: 9780989569651)Book Seven: Saving Sophie, the story of Sophie and Stone (ISBN: 9780989569668)Book Eight: Reagan's Redemption, the story of Reagan and Shane (ISBN: 9780989569675)Book Nine: Answers For Julie, the story of Julie and Chase (ISBN: 9780989569682)Book Ten: Finding Lyla, the story of Lyla and Collin (In Production)While reading the series in order is recommended, it is not necessary. Each story can stand alone with a satisfying conclusion.
Finding Lyla by Cate Beauman
Pages: 452
Series: The Bodyguards of L.A. County #10
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Also in this series: Morgan's Hunter, Falling For Sarah, Deceiving Bella
Also by this author: Morgan's Hunter, Falling For Sarah, Deceiving Bella
Goodreads
Principal Dancer Lyla Markovik-Avery is always on the go. Grueling practices and endless performances rule her busy days—and things are about to get more hectic. Russia is rolling out the red carpet for their beloved star, despite the string of violent terrorist attacks that have rocked the nation.
Bodyguard Collin Michaels’ life is falling apart. His long-time relationship recently ended. He’s trying to start over, but that’s easier said than done. Luckily, Collin has a new assignment on the horizon: keeping a beautiful ballerina safe for the next three weeks.
Collin finds comfort in Lyla’s easy friendship, but that all changes after a night out on the town. Simple feelings become complicated—something Collin can’t afford, especially when tragedy strikes and Collin realizes Lyla’s caught in the middle of a dangerous plot for revenge.
Collin and Lyla are forced to flee. They need to reach the border before it’s too late, but the odds are stacked against them in a country that wants them dead. With time running out, Collin formulates a risky plan that might be their only chance of making it out alive.
The Bodyguards of LA County Series
Cate Beauman
Saving Sophie is a really good romantic suspense. I enjoyed the danger and the tension created by Sophie running from an abusive relationship. I really enjoyed the slow burn between the H and h. He really doesn’t want to get tangled up in her mess and keeps saying to himself ‘not my problem’ and it was really believable. Even though he is a body guard by trade he doesn’t go out looking for women to save, you know!? The book is long and at times I felt it was a bit slow. Lots of times I wanted to throttle the characters too! They make all the classic mistakes-jumping to conclusions, not communicating well, etc. Overall though the book is a satisfying read!
Finding Lyla is another great romantic suspense that gives you exactly what you want: romance with a slow burn, a mystery, and likable characters. I loved that Lyla was a ballerina. It was a unique spin (pun intended!) and that she was trying to live up to her famous mothers name was interesting as well. The relationship between the H and h felt a bit off to me at times-just a bit unnatural. However, hiring a bodyguard to pretend to be your boyfriend is pretty unnatural so… Anyway, both these books are great if you want romantic suspense that is realistic and characters who aren’t annoying college kids!
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: No
- Trope: Mortal Peril, Bodyguard, Fake Relationship
- Triggers: Domestic abuse in Saving Sophie
- Cliffhanger: No
- HEA: View Spoiler »
Rescuing Rayne by Susan Stoker, Stone Cold Cowboy by Jennifer Ryan, Fighting Dirty by Lori Foster…then you will probably like The Bodyguards of L.A. County!
International bestselling author Cate Beauman is known for her full-length, action-packed romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County. Her novels have been nominated for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, National Indie Excellence Award, Golden Quill Award, Writers Touch Award, and have been named Readers Favorite Five Star books. In 2015, JUSTICE FOR ABBY was selected as the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Gold Medalist, while SAVING SOPHIE took the Silver Medal. SAVING SOPHIE was also selected as the 2015 Readers Crown Award winner for Romantic Suspense and FALLING FOR SARAH received the silver medal for the 2014 Readers’ Favorite Awards.
Cate makes her home in North Carolina with her husband, two boys, and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack. Currently Cate is working on Deceiving Bella, the eleventh novel in her popular Bodyguards series.
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From Finding Lyla (The Bodyguards of LA County #10):
Collin settled beneath the covers on his temporary bed as the dim glow of city lights radiated through the windows. He reached out, grabbing the remote off the coffee table he’d pushed off to the side, and flipped through several channels, stopping on SportsCenter. Scores and updates ticked by on the bottom of the screen, and he moved on, not all that interested in hockey stats.
He stopped again when the live footage from Saint Petersburg, Russia caught his attention. With the volume on mute, he searched for the closed caption button and sat up, reading the news report while the station switched back and forth between the newscaster and images of the police surrounding a trolleybus in the middle of a downtown street. The reporter spoke of a bomb discovered during the busy morning rush hour, mere miles from the plaza where dozens had been killed on New Year’s Eve. Luckily a citizen had been paying attention, and the explosive device had been deactivated, stopping another disaster.
Early reports were suggesting that the same rebel group responsible for the December thirty-first bombing, Chechen Freedom, had attempted to strike again. The news segment switched to snippets of the video released weeks ago, shortly after the slaughter of innocent civilians, where the masked men promised more violence in retaliation for The Federation killing one of their leaders. The man pointed at the camera, vowing to continue with his plans to destroy Russia until the regime relented and gave the Chechens back their country.
Sighing, Collin rubbed at his jaw. Why did he feel like he was walking into a losing situation? Everyday there was something new going on over there. If it wasn’t bomb threats and anti-American rallies, it was anti-Putin demonstrations outside the Kremlin walls, which often ended with tear gas and riot gear. And he and Lyla were only hours away from their late-afternoon flight.
The issues in Saint Petersburg weren’t necessarily one of his concerns. The city was a good nine hours away from their destination. It was the possibility of terrorist attacks in Moscow and Russia’s discord with the United States in general that had him on edge. The fact that Lyla was a dual citizen of two countries at odds had the potential to work for her…or very much against her. Only time would tell which way things were going to go, and they would be along for the ride while they waited to figure it out.
Thank you for sharing your reviews!