Audiobook Review: Bodyguard by CD Reiss
- KA
- Nov 23, 2017
- 8 min read
I was so excited to finally get my ears on this audiobook and it didn't disappoint. Have you met and fallen in love with Carter Kincaid yet? Below you'll find an excerpt, teasers, audiobook review and purchase links.
From New York Times bestselling author CD Reiss:
Protecting a celebrity in Hollywood isn’t easy, but protecting Emily could break his heart. Emily enjoys all the perks of fame—the parties, the glamour, the tours—but they’ve brought her back to the attention of a dangerous ex-boyfriend hell bent on getting her back. Enter Carter Kincaid, a bodyguard so crushingly sexy he takes her breath away. Carter’s the best in the business and Emily is—professionally speaking—off-limits. But when it comes to stirring his desires, she’s hitting all the right notes. What’s happening between them is so hot it could get both of them burned. As Emily’s past gets closer, Carter is willing to break every rule of the job to save her. But letting Emily into his life also means letting her in on the secrets of his own past. For both of them, falling in love could be the greatest risk of all.
PURCHASE LINKS
EXCERPT
"Are we going to have another 'about last night' conversation?" I asked.
"If you want to."
What did I want to say? Everything. but mostly, I wanted to tell him how much I liked kissing him and how conflicted I was. I wanted to demand answers immediately and give him space at the same time.
All the words tried to jump forward, but when he stopped at a light, our eyes met in the rearview. The words landed in a tangle, unsaid.
He tapped the steering wheel when he turned it, using both hands for the first time since I'd gotten in.
"Hey," I said.
"Yeah?" He briefly looked at me in the mirror.
"What happened to your hand?"
"Burn." he brushed his left hand over the bandage at the top of his palm, right where you'd burn it if you were picking up a hot pot handle. He caught my eye in the rearview again.
I didn't know if I believed him.
"What were you cooking?"
"Breakfast."
"And you still went to get a Danish?"
He rubbed his upper lip with his left hand and tapped the wheel with the bandaged one.
"I burned my eggs."
Right. Hot pot. Burned hand. Smoke-filled kitchen.
"You know what's funny?" I said.
"The Three Stooges."
"I don't know anything about you. You could live in your mother's basement."
"That's just where I bury the bodies."
Blatant avoidance. It had been cute before; now it was getting on my nerves.
"Are you married?"
"No!"
He could have been lying, buy lying liars always lied. There wasn't a thing I could do about that except make sure I asked.
Something was wrong. We'd kissed twice, and twice he'd shut down. I should have been the one shutting down. I was the one with all the ex-boyfriend baggage. Why was I the one who was always so willing?
But there he was in the front seat, driving with both hands on the wheel, glancing at me once in a while to make sure I wasn't choking on my tongue in the back seat. Discomfort radiated out of him.
Here I was with my hands in my lap thinking about ways to kiss him again.
He pulled into the little lot and wedged into a space. He turned off the car, popped his seat belt, and stared at the wheel for a split second too long. I was about to open the car door myself when he turned all the way around, arm over the back of his seat, bandaged hand on the back of the passenger side.
"Kissing you..." He stopped and looked at my lips so intensely I folded them back and bit them. "You're dangerous. I can't even see your lips, but I can taste them. I couldn't brush the taste of you out of my mouth this morning. Right now. The honey. I can taste it but not enough. I want to kiss you again, and I can't. I lose my shit around you. I can't do it. My job is control. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
My jaw loosened, and I let my lips go.
"No, I don't. I've met bodyguards before. You're a stoic bunch, but you're not all celibate. And if you think this is easy for me, you're wrong. I'm afraid too. I'm afraid you're going to get hurt because of me. last night..." I put my fingertips to my lips as if that would keep the choking sob from coming. I kept it back. "Last night he showed me he's back, and if he'll hurt me, he'll hurt you."
If I thought seats would be a barrier between us, I was wrong. He launched himself between them and placed his lips on mine. Our third kiss was unexpected, uncomfortable with him stretched between front and back. I wove my fingers in his hair, giving him my mouth, and taking his.
I wanted that kiss to tell him it was all right. He could lose control. He could bemore than a protector. He was as safe with me as I was with him. But I couldn't without lying to both of us.
He yanked his lips away.
"Trust me." He leaned his forehead against mine.
Start the Series of Standalones Today!
Bombshell
(Free in Kindle Unlimited)
By: CD Reiss
Narrated by: Joe Arden, C.J. Bloom
Series: Hollywood A-List, Book 2
Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
Unabridged
Release date: 11-14-17
Language: English
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
REVIEW
Rating:
Story - 5 stars
Performance - 5 stars
Overall - 5 stars
Emily is a choreographer for her best friend, superstar Darlene. When Emily is yet again harassed by her ex-boyfriend, Darlene feels a bodyguard is necessary. Enter Carter Kincaid, he is put in charge of Emily’s security. Only problem, the sexual attraction between them is off the charts. However, Carter is a professional, he’d never get involved with his charge, especially when he has so many secrets of his own. But what happens when the attraction can’t be denied? Can they both survive unscathed?
CD Reiss has done it again. Every time I think I can’t possibly gain another book boyfriend she creates yet another one to swoon over. I have quite a collection, especially from CD – let’s see, I have Jonathan (my first love), Capo, Michael, Brad, Taylor, Roman and now Carter. Sheesh! And these are just the ones I know about, what’s going to happen when I dive into the other books, I’ll tell you what, I’m going to add to the list. Because CD Reiss writes the best characters, they’re all so distinct and swoon-worthy. However, don’t let this fool you, she doesn’t just write the best male characters, oh no, but the best female ones too. I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve sat in awe of her female characters, she makes them so likable, so believable and so incredibly strong. She writes women I want to read about, women I want to be like, women I want to be friends with. Her skill at creating a world you want to dive into and never return from is awe-inspiring and why I’m a reader. Her ability to make the reader get so lost in the story that they forget everything around them; their worries, the time, to eat and sleep, the only concern is for the characters and what they’re experiencing at that time. Another thing I love is the emotion I always feel, and how the reader is treated like the intelligent person they are, rather than having things dumbed down for them. It’s beautiful and why CD Reiss is a one-click author for me.
I adored Bombshell, I could identify with aspects of that story more than any other from CD Reiss, so I was really looking forward to this one. Bodyguard is set in that same world and I loved it. Don’t worry if you didn’t read/ listen to Bombshell they’re complete standalones, just set in the same world. Trust me, I don’t use the ‘standalone’ word lightly, I didn’t gain anything from listening to Bombshell first, just a big smile when a couple of characters got a mention in passing. The story itself is sweet, with an edge. I loved that although this was a romantic story about Carter and Emily, it was also the story of friendship between Darlene and Emily. It was sweet and beautiful. I know I can’t be the only person that finished this book and said to themselves, ‘I want Darlene’s story’ and if I was, then, I think I need to start a movement or something because I loved that girl!
CD Reiss always writes the best characters, as stated above, however, Emily and Carter are something special. I loved Emily, she had been through a lot, but she was still fighting. She didn’t shy away and close herself off. Her friendship with Darlene was lovely, so often the ‘friend’ is backstabby but that is not the case here, it was beautiful. As the book progressed you see Emily becoming more and more at ease and she changes, and that was beautiful to witness. Carter is so incredibly swoon-worthy, it’s not even funny. I loved him. He was strong and sweet. Commanding, and gentle. His understanding of what Emily had been through and what she needed gave him such an edge of perfection, sure he made a few mistakes, but he had the best intentions and they made him real.
I really enjoyed the progression of the relationship between Carter and Emily. It was like a rollercoaster with so many ups and downs. But those ups and downs made sense, it wasn’t conflict for conflict's sake. It made sense to the story and to these characters because they had other things that they had to consider, not just how they felt. Carter had a lot on his plate with his commitment to his job, to his family and to Emily, it was a constant ache that he took seriously, he was stretched so thin, but he made it work. He was still able to be a nice person and give his all to everyone he cared about. The sexy times between Emily and Carter were melt your headphones hot, they were placed well in the story and made perfect sense to the storyline and the characters.
Phin, oh my word, this child stole my heart early on. I just wanted to love him and make him happy. Fist-pump the size of my heart. Sigh, one of the sweetest moments ever.
Another fantastic dual narration. I loved the combination of CJ Bloom and Joe Arden, their voices complemented each other really well. I thought CJ Bloom was wonderful as Emily and conveyed her frustrations with her situation incredibly well. She was smart and sassy and that was performed brilliantly. My only issue was that Phin sounded younger than he was. Joe Arden was the perfect choice for Carter, he performed the sweet but commanding man so beautifully, especially the scenes with Phin. The emotion was conveyed beautifully. My heart may have melted a little. I can’t even think about those sexy times, Joe was on fire. The production was done well, I really enjoyed the music at the beginning and end of the book, it set the theme and mood of the story. I only noticed one tiny issue in chapter 47, a word is missing. It should be ‘long time’ but the long trails off and leads into the next sentence. It’s nothing major and doesn’t take away from the story but it’s enough to make you pause and think you missed something.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C.D. Reiss is a USA Today bestseller. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn’t pick up, she’s at the well, hauling buckets.
Born in New York City, she moved to Hollywood, California to get her master’s degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere, but it did give her a big enough ego to write novels.
Critics have dubbed the books “poetic,” “literary,” and “hauntingly atmospheric,” which is flattering enough for her to put it in a bio, but embarrassing enough for her not to tell her husband, or he might think she’s some sort of braggart who’s too good to chop a cord of wood.
If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine.
To connect with CD Reiss:
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