Promise to Shield: Personal Protectors Book 2, Brittany Cournoyer

A father's love puts Brice and Carter in close proximity to one another and while Carter was willing to do the job, it doesn't keep their personalities from clashing, often.  Attraction is buried deep under their animosity, but when an enemy from Carter's past puts them in danger the situation changes and their feelings change along with it, deepening to something irreplaceable.  If they can shield one another from the dangers and survive, they might get the chance to let down all their walls and keep what they've found.

From the very beginning the sniping, childishness, and assholery took center stage.  I'm not a fan.  I do understand that Brice had some major issues and was acting out in the only way he knew how.  Totally get it.  But it went on for sooooooo looooooong that I wanted to skip so many pages of their interactions because none of it gave much insight beyond the first couple chapters, none of it progressed their feelings or changed their relationship, none of it made me like either man...and that's a damn shame because the way the story ended made me want to like them so much.

The drama was definitely big and the conclusion came quick on its heels.  There wasn't a ton of build-up, that was used on drawing out their insane chemistry through hate-sex as well as their constant bickering.  I don't know that I'm a fan of the villain.  The players were slightly predictable as were their accomplices, but the situation did work.  Jillian was the most disappointing and I felt that her little confession was forced and contrived rather than natural and the confrontation in the hospital didn't really give closure because the same feelings of betrayal and hurt were the same after their earlier phone call.  Ultimately, I think the bad people were sufficiently bad and was surprised by the amount of damage that was allowed to happen at the end.  I wasn't mad at that surprise despite all the pain and awfulness Brice and Elliot had to endure.

Speaking of surprises, the set-up for the next story was a big shock when it was revealed though I could see how it came together afterward; hindsight is always 20/20.  With enough of these little surprises and all the heart and honesty that came at the end I wasn't ready to write this one off.  My extreme annoyance with their quarreling immaturity was tempered with the way things ended.

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