-
REVIEW: The Unlikely Spare by Jax Calder
Unlikely Dilemmas: The Unlikely Spare – Jax Calder
What happens when a prince falls for the undercover agent pretending to be his bodyguard?
Nicholas
I’m the spare, the younger brother of the Prince of Wales. Ever since I was propelled up the order of succession, my job description has been: Exist. Don’t embarrass the Crown. Repeat.
After a security scandal, I’m assigned a new bodyguard. A hulking, brooding Irishman who glowers at me like I’ve personally offended his ancestors. He’s the first to be completely immune to my charm, which is rather inconvenient when you’ve always wielded wit like a defensive weapon.
And why I feel the need to continue trying to impress Officer O’Connell is anyone’s guess.
My upcoming royal tour of Australia and New Zealand should be a nice chance to escape the British winter and bask in some Southern Hemisphere sunshine. But it turns out that representing the monarchy in former colonial countries means confronting some uncomfortable truths about how all those Crown Jewels ended up in my family’s vaults.
And the whole visit would really be far more enjoyable if someone wasn’t trying to kill me.
Eoin
I’ve clawed my way from the slums of Ireland to the top level of Scotland Yard’s undercover agents. But a deep security breach within the force has me investigating my own colleagues while playing bodyguard to a privileged prince on a tour Down Under.
Something about Prince Nicholas gets under my skin like shrapnel I can’t dig out.
Still, I’m a professional. I can handle one posh git with a smart mouth.
But as we navigate koala cuddling sessions, didgeridoo lessons, and deadly spiders in hotel rooms, I see beneath Nicholas’s princely façade. I’m supposed to uncover which of my fellow bodyguards is a threat to Prince Nicholas, not become obsessed with the most complex, fascinating pain in my arse I’ve ever met.
The line between duty and desire blurs with each passing day and the danger to Nicholas intensifies.
How can I maintain my cover, protect Nicholas, and resist the urge to press him against the nearest wall and kiss that smirk off his face?
The Unlikely Spare is a royal romantic comedy/suspense featuring a party prince learning his place in the world and an undercover bodyguard with a chip on his shoulder. As threats escalate and attraction intensifies, both men must decide what they’re willing to risk—and what they’re willing to fight for.
The Unlikely Spare is the 3rd book of Unlikely Dilemmas, Jax Calder‘s binge-worthy contemporary romance series. The spotlight falls on Prince Nicholas, second in line to the British throne and half-brother to Callum (The Unlikely Heir).
Nicholas’ new bodyguard is Officer Eoin O’Connell, Scotland Yard’s top undercover agent, tasked with protecting the prince and uncovering a traitor among the royal protection officers. The story picks up after the Matheson-Wembley incident from The Unlikely Pair, where Toby and Harry were kidnapped by Harry’s own bodyguard, a sleeper agent for an international terrorist group.
While touring Australia and New Zealand, Nicholas becomes the terrorists’ prime target. Under attack and unsure who to trust, Eoin escapes with him and the two are thrust into a fight for survival.
The bodyguard romance played out as it typically does. Nicholas is the bratty, sassy ward pushing bounderies, and Eoin is all iron-willed restraint until he gloriously loses control. It might be expected, but the chemistry is spectacularly electric! That kiss was absolutely primal!
Adding depth is Eoin’s inner conflict: an Irishman unexpectedly falling for a royal who surprised him at every turn. The pacing drags in the middle, but once the chase across New Zealand begins, things shifts into high gear. Then out of nowhere came that sucker punch of a twist that made my jaw drop! Ooh, was it clever and brutal!
The plot is politics-heavy, with sharp commentary on the British Empire and colonialism. The terrorists demand reparations for imperial atrocities, and Nicholas, as a blue blood, becomes the symbol of their rage. Some may find the politics overwhelming, but for those from formerly colonized nations, Jax Calder ’s perspective resonates.
The Unlikely Spare is a story of duty, betrayal, and a prince falling for his bodyguard amid political firestorms. Overall, it won’t spare you the politics, but it will most likely steal your heart.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Spare My Heart
Artist: Imcha Imchen
Album:P.S.
Unlikely Dilemmas is best read in order.
Be regaled with obscure facts and trivias by the Prince of Wales in The Unlikely Heir.
Discover the joys of sharing body heat with one’s enemy in The Unlikely Pair.
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of The Unlikely Spare. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
THE UNLIKELY SPARE: Amazon UK | Audiobook
If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!
-
RELEASE BLITZ: Brokered Betrayals by Aimee Nicole Walker (Excerpt)
-
PROMO BLITZ: Brokered Betrayals by Aimee Nicole Walker
-
REVIEW: Copper Script by K.J. Charles
Copper Script – K.J. Charles
Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler of the Metropolitan Police doesn’t count himself a gullible man. When he encounters a graphologist who deduces people’s lives and personalities from their handwriting with impossible accuracy, he needs to find out how the trick is done. Even if that involves spending more time with the intriguing, flirtatious Joel Wildsmith than feels quite safe.
Joel’s not an admirer of the police, but DS Fowler has the most irresistible handwriting he’s ever seen. If the policeman’s tests let him spend time unnerving the handsome copper, why not play along?
But when Joel looks at a powerful man’s handwriting and sees a murderer, the policeman and the graphologist are plunged into deadly danger. Their enemy will protect himself at any cost–unless the sparring pair can come together to prove his guilt and save each other.
Copper Script is another cleverly titled historical romance by my all-time favorite author, K.J. Charles. Set in 1920s London, the story stars an unlikely hero, a graphologist and war veteran, Joel Wildsmith, whose genius at analyzing handwriting is so eerily on point it’s practically magic.
He cross paths with Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler when the DS’s cousin’s cheating ass was revealed through a letter the cousin’s fiancée asked Joel to analyze. Aaron tried to come up with all sorts of possible explanations of how Joel knew about the indiscretion, and even went so far as to test Joel’s talents through a blind read of several different letters.
Not only did Joel give very accurate character profiles, he also smacked Aaron with not one, but two bombshells. First, hit hard close to home; the other was the spine-chilling revelation that there was a high-placed murderer in the Met.
Just as she gave us a bookseller who has no interest in books in The Will Darling Adventures, K.J. Charles gave us a handwriting analysis expert who couldn’t write properly.
Joel is a delightfully sassy, incredibly perceptive and quick-tempered ginger whose mouthy ways made me laugh. The man lost his left hand in the war, which unfortunately was his dominant one. It irked him to no end whenever people tried to console him with “at least it’s not your right hand.”
Aaron is the more even-tempered and controlled, also a fair-minded do-gooder who takes his duties and responsibilities to heart. He is a methodical and conscientious investigator who has to deal with office politics. He goes out of his way to help a certain jobbing graphologist, occasionally taking him to his favorite restaurants because he likes watching him eat.
Joel has no trust in the police, having been a victim of an entrapment scheme. So, while he was attracted to Aaron, it took a while for him to fully trust the detective. I loved the contrast between their personalities and how they played off each other. The chemistry was fantastic, and the banter between them was a joy to listen to!
The cousin was a real pain in the ass, and watching Aaron, patience stretched thin, yet duty-bound, a.k.a. threatened to be reported to the Fowler matriarch, dealing with the bastard was also funny. The scenes with the cousin are a classic poke by the author at entitled, overprivileged assholes.
My favorite scenes were the letter readings and the first bombshell on Aaron when Joel analyzed his handwriting. Joel, the tease that he is, really knew how to draw out the anticipation, keeping Aaron on the edge of his seat, then bam! I could vividly picture Aaron gaping like a fish at the reveal. It was hilarious!
The only reason this is not a 5-star book is that the villain and the comeuppance scene were mostly told, not shown. Maybe because the story has a low-key vibe to it, but the villain’s murderous ways were mostly implied. The climactic scene where the bad guy overtly acted was resolved with minimal fuss a.k.a. the evil man just walked away, and we only hear about his fate later.
This is a very minor issue. Overall, the plot was well-executed, and I was thoroughly entertained by Aaron and Joel’s interactions and adventures.
Copper Script is a story of seduction and crime-solving through handwriting analysis. It might lack a bombastic showdown, but the vivid personalities, engaging humor, and compelling narrative performed impeccably by audiobook narrator Cornell Collins made this a very well-written book indeed!
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Handwriting Analysis
Artist: Late Night Takeaway
Album:
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Copper Script. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
COPPER SCRIPT: Kindle | Audiobook
If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!
-
RELEASE BLITZ: Worth The Fight by C.F. White (Excerpt & Giveaway)
-
PREORDER BLITZ: Spellbound by Mychael Black
-
BOOK BLITZ: Old Ghosts by Janina Franck (Excerpt & Giveaway)
-
BLOG TOUR: You Can Make Me by R.L. Merrill (Excerpt & Giveaway)
-
RELEASE TOUR: The Sinner’s Son by Aimee Nicole Walker (Excerpt)
-
PROMO BLITZ: The Sinner’s Son by Aimee Nicole Walker
