REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Soldier of Fortune
AUTHOR: S.J. Frost
PUBLISHER: MLR Press
LENGTH: 140 Pages
RELEASE DATE: November 25, 2016
BLURB:
Mercenary. Gun for hire. Soldier of fortune. That’s Conrad Dane. Maybe he hasn’t always done things the right way in his life, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. And sometimes, it takes doing the wrong thing, to get the right results. These days, he’s backing out of the underworld, taking more jobs in the open in personal protection. He’s contracted to protect a rising politician and gets more than he expected. Not from bad guys, but from the politician’s son, Lucas.
Lucas likes the good guys, both in his favorite comic book superheroes and the men he forges relationships with. Conrad isn’t the kind of man he goes for, but that’s not stopping Lucas from being drawn to him, wanting to be closer to him.
Conrad and Lucas can’t deny their attraction toward each other. When someone targeting Lucas’s father pulls Lucas into danger as well, Conrad will do whatever it takes to keep Lucas safe.
REVIEW:
Lucas’s aspiring politician father hires Conrad to make sure he lives through the election after a recent attempt was made on his life. He acquired Conrad’s name through some unsavory contacts, but decided he needed someone who could get the job done. Lucas tries to fight it, but the attraction to Conrad is pretty immediate and goes both ways. Even after he finds out Conrad is an actual mercenary, it isn’t enough to quash the intense feelings. As things heat up on the campaign trail, so too does Conrad and Lucas’ relationship.
I was a bit disappointed in this one in that I expected Conrad to be a major badass mercenary, but that turned out to not be quite the case. While he did seem able to get to the bottom of things and show off some of his skills, they were often overshadowed by what seemed to be carelessness or aloofness where the job was concerned.
However, I did love the earlier parts of the relationship that were all hot and bothered, lust-filled, snarky, down and dirty goodness. Regardless of what was going on with real life, these two couldn’t keep their hands off each other, and they didn’t deny that aspect much at all. Lucas does question himself a few times once reality kicks in, but as expected, he comes to grips with his feelings and what he wants.
As for the mystery, it wasn’t too hard to figure out. There were quite a few things I really enjoyed about this story, but I really wish it had a bit more depth in certain areas. I expected a much deeper character in Conrad, and while I liked him with Lucas, I thought their issues were wrapped up a little too quickly before they jumped into their HEA. If you like smart asses and closet dirty boys, you’ll find this one will fit the bill and should give it a try.
RATING: 
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