Protected: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella

by Lexi Blake

• ISBN10: 1945920998
• ISBN13: 9781945920998
• Publish Date: 16 July 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 188
• Language: English

Reviews

[Romance Schmomance]

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PLEASE KEEP IN MY GOODREADS RATING IS DIFFERENT THAN MY PERSONAL RATING
RATING : 3 STARS

Color me intrigued with this series! I love that 1,001 Dark Nights has all these novellas for series that we might like to read. I haven't read from the Masters and Mercenaries series, but Protected did a decent job introducing this world. Even though this novella didn't quite do it for me, I'm looking forward to starting at book 1 with this series because I became rather curious about the other characters that were mentioned.

Now I absolutely love second chance romances as many of you know, so it was a no-brainer to give this one a try. Plus I haven't read a Lexi Blake book before and despite the little things here and there I didn't like, I absolutely loved her writing.

I didn't connect with the characters like I hoped I would. More Wade than Genny. Genny had the absolute worst history in their story that spanned about 15 years, my heart broke for her completely and everything she had to endure. It just makes you darn right pissy at not only Wade but his family as well, ugh his family is a topic for another day. She knows the definition of sacrifice, she never had her freedom. The only peace she had during that 15 years of misery was her son, Ash. And that brings me to the point of how disappointed I was in Wade. They apparently had this very deep and lasting love, yes, they were teenagers and were soon to marry after his basic training. Once he leaves for training, fast forward a little bit of time and he gets a Dear John letter from Genny. And that was more than enough to convince him that Genny didn't want him anymore. Dude, you weren't living in the olden days, you had a chance to talk to her and get the truth, but you ignored it ... for 15 years! So yeah, if you can't tell, Wade wasn't my favorite.

After all of that, Genny is a bit hesitant to get back into things with Wade. Sex obviously comes easy for them, but Genny has so much to work through, mentally. I admired that she really pushed to get herself back into a healthy state of mind. Her ex-husband was abusive to her and she essentially lost all control over herself. I can't even imagine what that's like and doing it for so long.

I liked the suspense and am rather curious if the rest of the series is like that because I'm totally for it. I need more suspenseful reads in my love. So yeah, even though this wasn't a favorite of mind, it was a solid introduction that'll definitely leave you intrigued to learn about this series!

[Eve1972]

To begin, I have to admit I only read this book because my friend Sabrina made me. That's right; she bullied me into it. She's a bully...boo! -- I am just kidding. I love her. Seriously though, second chance romances can go either way for me. There are ones that are fantastic, and the plots work. Then we have the ones that have these unbelievable long separations that just don't work on any level. Such was the case with this book.





So first off, I couldn't stand Wade AT ALL. Here we have a guy who "claims" to be in love with a girl. They plan on marrying. They plan on being together forever. He gets a letter while he is away at boot camp. A letter that he knew was totally out of character for the heroine, and what does he do? Does he take the first opportunity to get home and see what has happened? NO. Does he call her to ask what the fuck? No. You know what he does? He thinks the absolute worst of her and almost immediately starts partying and fucking everything that walks for FIFTEEN STRAIGHT YEARS. Not ONCE in fifteen years does he think "hey maybe I should look Genny up and talk to her." Not ONCE does he wonder why the love if his life, his soulmate, dumped him via a letter and was marrying a guy she had NO interest in??!! Wade was a fucking douche and didn't deserve Genny.

And don't even get me started on the fact that he was so OTT butthurt and mean to her in chapter one, then BAM it takes ONE conversation...O-N-E, and he is all "I have always loved you. I want you back" blah...blah...blah. No dude, because if you loved her, REALLY loved her, you would have moved mountains to figure out what happened. You most certainly wouldn't have thought the worst of her and then went off to fuck and party for fifteen LONG years.





He could have saved himself fifteen years of being a bitter betty by having said conversation when he first received her letter. Or you know, at ANY other point in the previous fifteen fucking years. Twatwaffle...Next up, let us talk about the thirteen-year-old kid that acted like a thirty-year-old. The swearing. The talk about his ass in jeans. It was so ridiculous the things this kid would do and say. He was like some weird old Yoda stuck in a kids body. He even DRUGGED his mother for crying out loud. --- Like WTF? Although, this shouldn't have surprised me as this author struggles to write age appropriate dialogue for kids (IMO). I still remember the short story with the three-year-old (?) twins that started fires by breaking up furniture and loading adult sized crossbows.





NOW, I will say it wasn't ALL bad. I did really like Genny. I thought she should never have taken Wade back, but hey, it is a romance book, so c'est la vie. She wasn't a doormat though. She had spunk. I also loved seeing Ian and Charlotte, and a lot of the older gang again. There were also some humorous parts, so I gave the book an extra star for that. Plus, even though I never liked Wade, he did provide some good grovel. Finally, the ending was solid, and probably the best part of the book. AND...now I am dying to know what the hell happened in Munich!

[thebookdisciple]

I haven't read all the Masters and Mercenaries books because BDSM isn't really my jam, but If you like stories with suspense and danger and only a touch of BDSM, these are great! Wade and Genny are getting a second chance at love after Wade realizes he was wrong. He grovels well for sure! Add in the danger that Genny is facing and you have a steamy, action packed novella you can finish in 1 sitting!