Deceiving Bella by Cate Beauman Pages: 581
Series: The Bodyguards of L.A. County #11
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Also in this series: Saving Sophie, Finding Lyla, Morgan's Hunter, Falling For Sarah
Also by this author: Saving Sophie, Finding Lyla, Morgan's Hunter, Falling For Sarah
Goodreads
Isabella Colby has always yearned for normalcy. Now that she’s settled in LA, she finally has it. Good friends, a pretty home, and her thriving career as the Palisades’ top skincare specialist are a dream come true. Bella is content until she meets her hunky new neighbor, but her attraction to the blue-eyed cutie is the least of her worries when contacting her long-lost father threatens to destroy her happy life.
Reed McKinley is more than ready to forget the past. His seven-year stint as an NYPD detective nearly got him killed. His wounds have healed and he’s starting over as Ethan Cooke Security’s latest recruit. With sixty-hour workweeks and little time to himself, the last thing on his mind is a relationship. Then he bumps into the gorgeous woman next door.
Reed and Bella become fast friends. Before long, Reed discovers that Bella is keeping dangerous secrets. Bella may have the answers to decades-old questions he’s been searching for. Reed will risk it all to uncover the truth, but he soon realizes that the deeper he digs, the direr the consequences.
Deceiving Bella is technically book 11 in the series, but you really can read them out of order. I have kind of hopped around this series, picking up ones that peaked my interest! If you enjoy a well crafted romantic mystery, this is a good series.
I hesitate to call it ‘suspense’ because there isn’t much. My biggest complaint with this series is the length of each book. At almost 600 pages, these books are LONG. There is mystery, but it isn’t super action packed, so there were times when the book felt slow. This is a book I tackled a few chapters at a time. It took me a couple weeks to finish. That is unheard of for me. Even my husband was shocked. The story is good though and I was interested! Bella and Reed are enjoyable characters. I loved that Bella’s job was unique, yet so LA. The connection between the man Reed was hunting for the NYPD and Bella is pretty obvious from the get go, in my opinion. Still, the story is good. This is a book I recommend reading over time. You know-pick it up and read a few chapters while at the doctors office or waiting for you kid’s soccer game to end. You can easily get back into the story. It didn’t grab me so much that I HAD to keep reading, and most of the action doesn’t happen until like the last 10% of the book. But, if you enjoy mystery and a slow burn type romance, this is a good choice.
PS: So far, my favorite in this series is Answers for Julie!
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: no
- Trope: police, star crossed
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series
- Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
- HEA: View Spoiler »
books by Katie Reus, Lindsay Cross, Kennedy Layne…then you will probably like Deceiving Bella!
Deceiving Bella
Hi Samantha! Thanks for taking the time to read and review Deceiving Bella.