Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Protection
SERIES: Mobsters + Billionaires, Book 2
AUTHOR: Kelly Fox
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 291 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 22, 2022
BLURB:
I wait for the signal at crosswalks. I pay my taxes on time. And, despite my association with a certain Mafia family, I run a clean business providing security for Manhattan’s wealthy elite.
I don’t break the law.
Dr. Madhuban Laghari—Mads—is my newest protectee and my biggest problem. He fights his security protocols at every turn and makes me question all of my carefully crafted rules. Especially the one about not falling for the world’s most adorable billionaire.
Every time we go back and forth, I fall a little harder.
More dangerous than our sexy banter is the fact that the threats against him are starting to escalate.
He doesn’t want to face the reality that he’s got a stalker tracking his every move, not to mention the Russian government trying to steal his technology. The closer we get, the more I know I’ll do anything to protect him.
If his enemies dare to put a hand on my billionaire, they’ll discover how Mafia I can get.
***
Protection is a cameo-filled, globetrotting romance that features a reluctant mobster, a billionaire with questionable taste in fashion, and a found family made entirely of morally gray do-gooders.
The books in this series are stand-alones, and the HEA is always guaranteed. #murderswoon
REVIEW:
Kelly Fox’s Protection is the second book in her sexy MM romance series Mobsters + Billionaires. The first series book, Extradition, provides a sexy, absorbing read and introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters. That’s where we first meet Dr. Madhuban “Mads” Laghari, technology genius, CEO/Founder of Tracker Technologies, and billionaire BFF of Rand Wolfe (half of the couple featured in Extradition). It’s also where we first meet Anthony Edgerton, Rand’s head of security and close friend of Luca Stefano, one of Manhattan’s most dangerous mobsters.
Despite the enticing, highly enjoyable start to the series, Protection veers off course, deviating significantly from the auspicious series framework Fox establishes in Extradition. This story features the opposites-attract romance of Mads and Anthony. Anthony Edgerton had an intriguing “edginess” when we first encountered him in Extradition. He was shown as tough, clever, serious as a heart attack, and resourceful with a shrewd mind for strategy and defense. Unfortunately, the Edgerton we meet in Protection doesn’t feel like the same character at all. He’s watered down, unfocused, and lacks the sharp skills and incisiveness we expect. Whether by accident or design, he’s referred to as “Edgerton” in Extradition but “Anthony” here in Protection, perhaps denoting the shift in character traits and the loss of Edgerton’s edge.
Similarly, Mads is portrayed in Extradition as a brilliant if quirky billionaire. He bears some gravitas and respect, and while he jokes around with Rand and his billionaire friends, we take him seriously as the tech genius he is. Mads’ stalker situation is unveiled at the end of Extradition and it’s considered a serious threat even though Mads chooses to ignore it. While the last part remains true in Protection – i.e. the willful denial of the true threat – the rest is jettisoned, in its place leaving a ridiculous man who insists on wearing a neon orange parka (“Come find me stalker!”) in warm weather while sneaking around like a child trying to avoid being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The attempt to infuse the story with levity takes the legs out from the serious threat to Mads – a threat considered serious enough that it dictates Anthony’s vigilance and interference. It makes me wonder if this is all a not-entirely-successful attempt at parody.
Fox generally says that her stories are standalones, but generally, my experience with her follow-on titles is that they don’t lay enough groundwork from the prior books to truly stand on their own. That is also the case here as well. If you haven’t read Extradition, I think you’ll feel like a fish out of water in Protection. If you have read Extradition, you’ll understand the context and plot, but struggle with character schizophrenia.
Protection’s story had potential that, frustratingly, played out in an over-the-top fashion with banter that tries too hard. The saving grace here is the last third of the book which provides a number of welcome cameos in a crossover between Mobsters + Billionaires and some of the cast and crew from Fox’s Wrecked: Guardians series. Full Contact, book two in that series, is my favorite of Fox’s works. It features the crazy charisma of Anders Bash and his hysterical, hot-as-hell relationship with his former-enemy/now-husband Omar. Everett and Ravi from book one, Hard Target, appear as well. The dynamic between these four characters infuses life into the storyline and weaves together some of the backstories between the characters.
If you enjoy Fox’s Wrecked: Guardians series, you may want to give Protection a read. If you want context going in, read Extradition and Full Contact first. Seeing the gorgeous, blond, psychopathic doctor Anders Bash in action is welcome even if its zany, OTT, often grotesque humor is not as honed and on-point as in Full Contact. The dialogue and banter are still quite enjoyable, though, and if for nothing else, Protection is worth the read for that.
RATING: 
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