REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Made Mine
SERIES: Made Marian
AUTHORS: Sloane Kennedy and Lucy Lennox
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 288 Pages
RELEASE DATE: August 31, 2018
BLURB: What happens when a group of tough vigilantes meets up with a big-hearted family with boundary issues?
Reese:
It’s supposed to be an easy job. You know, the kind you get after you’ve been gone a while and the boss is unsure of how capable you still are? But then there’s a mugging, an abduction, two thugs, and a blackmail scheme.
And smack-dab in the middle of it is a beautiful lost soul who needs me. The scared, young gamer-geek pushes all my protective buttons and awakens something inside me that’s ready to dive right in and inhale the man.
But how could I have anything to offer someone like Ben? I’m a mess. Injured, scarred, practically closeted, the recognizable son of a famous man… There’s no way I can ask him to give me a shot at forever. Right?
Ben:
It seems like I’ve been looking out for myself my entire life. Heck, I was even given away the day I was born. And, yeah, maybe if my adoptive parents had survived, I would have had a nice life. But they didn’t. And I don’t. Instead, I’m forced to put up with a hateful, scheming foster parent for the sake of sticking around to care for my little sister.
Only, when a blackmail plan lands little Georgie in the hands of thugs, it’s clear I’m her only hope. At least… until I meet the big, strong bodyguard someone sends to watch over me.
Reese is everything I’ve ever daydreamed about: protective, attentive, affectionate, and dedicated. But he’s hiding something, and I don’t have the time or energy to figure out what. Because time is running out, and Georgie is the only family I have left.
Until the biological brother who never wanted me shows up and turns everything on its head.
After having finally accepted it’s just Georgie and me, suddenly falling for my protector and being surrounded by Griff and the Marian clan makes me question everything I’ve ever known about myself and what defines a family.
Can a guy with a broken past ever build a family with someone who seems too good to be true?
***Reading Order Note***
CAN BE READ AS A STAND-ALONE.
While the authors recommend reading both the Made Marian series by Lucy Lennox and the Protectors series by Sloane Kennedy, it isn’t required in order to understand the story. At the least, you may want to consider Grounding Griffin (Book 4, Made Marian series by Lucy Lennox) and Unexpected (Book 10, The from the Protectors series by Sloane Kennedy) to get a little bit of background. However, this novel, despite being a crossover, has been written in a way that it can be read on its own.
REVIEW:
I won’t rehash the premise here because I’m a bit late to this party and just about every other review out there gives you the rundown, not to mention you get the main idea from the blurb. Unfortunately, I really struggled with this one. I’m a huge fan of Sloane Kennedy and have read most, if not all of the Protectors books. I have not read Ms. Lennox or any of her series, but I’ve noticed they have quite the following. She just tends to lean towards the fluffy sweet men with kids side of the road, which I try very hard to steer clear of. But, I was looking forward to seeing Reese’s story play out so thought I’d give this duo a go, especially as it states clearly that you don’t need to have read the other series, though a certain book in each might be helpful.
This starts out okay in usual Sloane Kennedy form. The usual MO is there, and all systems were go. Until these guys had to hide away at a resort owned by one of the Marian guys. From there, it just got too crazy with just about every possible character making an appearance. It was just too much for me to keep track of when all I really wanted was to see the main part of the story play out. This followed through with the main couple not having much alone time or time for relationship development, and I just struggled to stay invested. I’m going to chalk this one up to just not being my cuppa and move on. I have no doubt I’ll be in the minority on this one, so be sure to check out some other reviews if you’re on the fence after reading this one.
RATING:
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