An Opportunity Seized (Haven Security, #1)

by Donna Gallagher

[Cocktails and Books]

Today was supposed to have been a productive day at our house. I had big plans to clean bathrooms and straighten up. I was doing pretty well with my plan until I decided to take a break and start An Opportunity Seized. I almost immediately developed a little crush on Toni and Jason and couldn’t stop spending time with them and their adventures.

Toni is a wealthy young woman thanks to her father’s business, but as we get to know her we discover that the money doesn’t mean that much to her and that she is really pretty normal and down to Earth. Jason is the former soldier/security expert assigned to protect her from a distance while she vacations alone in London. Their very first interaction takes place when Jason breaks the rules to “rescue” Toni after a goose poops on her hair and shirt.

Toni and Jason are both very likeable characters and the way the author uses their internal dialogue to give us a clue to their real thoughts and feelings helps make them relatable. When an incident back in Australia forces Toni to end her trip early and Jason accompanies her home, you can’t help but root for them to figure things out.

We learn early on that Toni has self-esteem issues because of how she sees her relationship with her parents. Seeing how her time on vacation with Jason impacts her view of herself and her relationships is a nice sub plot to the story. There are times when the interactions between Toni and her parents seem forced and not realistic, but it is a small portion of the book.

An Opportunity Seized was a fun read, definitely worth almost having a kiddo late to preschool and a bathroom not getting cleaned.

Reviewed by Elizabeth B for Cocktails and Books