Reviewed by Roberta

TITLE: Guarding January

AUTHOR: Sean Michael

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 230 Pages

BLURB:

Lord January is at the top of the charts, only comes out at night, and is usually covered in blood. Say what you will, but the man knows how to put on a great show. But when the Vampire King is let out of rehab, the last thing he expects is someone forcing him to eat real food, hang out in the sun, and generally be a human being.

Rye Sommers, the best bodyguard in the business, has been hired to babysit a rock star whose biggest threat surprisingly isn’t all the hard drugs, desperate groupies, and crazy fans—it’s Lord January himself. But the closer Rye gets, the more LJ turns into sweet, gentle, caring Jeff Smart. He may still be the super-skinny, pierced and inked genius Lord January, but he is slowly shaking his death wish as he sheds the loneliness and exhaustion his stage persona saddled him with.

But as Rye falls in love with the real Jeff, he finds himself in over his head. He knows he can keep Lord January away from the drugs and the groupies, but saving Jeff might force Jeff to choose between his career as Lord January and his very life.

REVIEW:

So, when I read the blurb for this book, I was intrigued. I wondered if this would be another bad boy rocker/alpha bodyguard book. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with this book.

Jeff Smart aka Lord January (LJ) is this really sweet, kind guy who has his life taken over by the Goth Rocker lifestyle. At the beginning of this story we see Jeff getting ready to leave rehab after 8 months. Jeff feels safe finally. He realizes that LJ is just going to kill him. He’s so hurt and so freaking sad. It’s hard to watch this man who only wants to do the right thing, hurt. Jeff is so insecure and just the sweetest thing. I really liked him A LOT!! I felt so bad for him, the way that he doesn’t feel safe and secure. The way that he hates the character of Lord January and that he has to still play that character. It tore my poor heart to pieces watching this young man who just wants to be have such a hard time believing that he’s worth so much more.

Rye Sommers…this if a former police officer turned bodyguard who is just looking for a stable job. He likes challenges and he’s got one. Rye goes in there thinking that LJ is going to be a hand full and what he finds is this scared young man who needs him. Needs someone to show him that life is worth living and that he’s worth it. Rye is this great guy….golly I really liked Rye. I liked how he showed that he was strong and made of sterner stuff. I liked that he really liked Jeff. Jeff is this sweet, wonderful, caring guy and that he absolutely HATED Lord January. He hated how it tore Jeff apart. I liked that he took his job so very serious and that led him to see more than what he expected to see. That Jeff is a real person and he needs someone to show him that he’s a good guy and it’s ok to say ENOUGH of the things that are hurting you. Not only physically, but mentally as well. He was a great fit for Jeff.

Now, the secondary characters in this story…each one had a part to play. Jim…Jeff’s sponsor in rehab, Donna…his manager…now that woman I could totally get behind. She was filled a need for him, not only as his manager, but as a mother figure…which Jeff really needed. Roach…yeah, the name threw me as well, but who he is and what he means to Jeff…that is so important.

Now…this being a Sean Michael book, you have to know that there some real good intimate scenes. They were in turns really hot and yet, there was a tenderness in each scene that made you see that it wasn’t just sex between them…they were making love. Showing each other what they couldn’t yet recognize or even express. The intimate scenes between Rye and Jeff were never gratuitous, they moved the story along and showed the growing relationship between the two of them. Very Well Done, Sean!!

I really liked that this wasn’t a case of insta love. That they took the time to get to know each other, that they were friends first and I really liked that about them. I liked that they took their time building up to a relationship. It was really nice to see.

I will say that as I got closer to the end…I felt that the book was ending before anything got settled. It wrapped up pretty quick and neat and I felt like it could have gone on just a bit longer….maybe an epilogue to see in the future. I would have felt like it didn’t just end and leave me feeling flat, after all that we’d been through together and to just ….done.

Overall, this book was in parts, sweet, tender and filled with hope and love. I liked it. I liked that it showed the aftereffects of rehab and that sometimes…it doesn’t work for everyone. It brought home that saying: life is meant to lived, and that you can have what you want and need. Sweet.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

ARe