I really liked this story (which was picked for me in the m/m romance group monthly challenge). Never having read anything by this author, I was quite curious - and, as it turned out, not disappointed.

Soren is a crime boss' son who has always chosen the easy path, letting his father pay for everything. When he is pushed into a relationship with Jolina, a woman picked by his father and a terrorist, he finally decides to leave and talks to the FBI. The remainder of the book shows his path to maturity, as he realizes that he has to become his own man. Not just for his own self respect and well being, but so he can stay with Mason, the man who was originally hired to protect him.

The process of Soren realizing who he is and taking a stand, with all its back and forth, kept me glued to the pages. The writing was entertaining and the characters real. Definitely worth a read!

( )

When Soren Buchanan decides to leave working for his abusive, crime boss father he goes to the FBI for help. He is placed with former US Army Ranger Mason Ward, who has become a security specialist and lives an idillic life on board his yacht in Guam. Keeping Soren safe and at arms length should have been a cinch, but this proves more difficult than Mason anticipates and their attraction becomes harder to ignore, despite the presence of very real danger.

This was an wickedly enjoyable read. There was a great balance of strong characters, vivid surroundings and loads of over the top action.

Mason’s rather overwhelming masculinity (and muscularity O-o) was a great hook and his care for Soren is sweet, especially as his head is telling him to do the opposite! Mason is rather gruff and certainly makes the redhead work for it. Though Soren might need some rehabilitation, to get rid of his of his bad boy habits, you can see the willingness of Mason to stay and put in the hard yards. Their burgeoning relationship is fraught with sexual tension that builds beautifully and when Mason finally lets desire kind of take over, the surrender and passion builds up to some seriously sexy writing.

The pacing was good, although near the beginning there is rather a jump from when Soren arrives on the boat and then all of a sudden it seems to be some time down the track. Despite this, The Protector was an wonderfully engaging and sexy read, which kept me up way past my bedtime!

It is available in paperback, mobi and epub via the Seventh Window website. NL Gassert also has a great blog which is worth a nosey.
http://sharrow.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/the-protector-by-nl-gassert/ ( )

Inhaltsangabe:
Die Geschichte spielt vor der exotischen Kulisse von Guam. Soren, der Sohn eines örtlichen Gangsterbosses, sucht Schutz vor seinem Vater, woraufhin das FBI ihn bei einem ehemaligen Ranger auf dem Boot versteckt. Mason, in Ausübung seiner unerwarteten Bodyguard-Rolle, zieht mit Soren aufs offene Meer hinaus, da er sie dort vor dem Zugriff der Verfolger sicher glaubt. Zwischen den beiden ungleichen Männern entwickelt sich eine Spannung, die sich jederzeit sexuell entladen könnte, doch weder das FBI noch Soren spielen mit offenen Karten, weswegen die Gefahr sie bald einholt.

Persönliche Meinung:
Die Ausgangssituation kennt man aus diversen Action-Filmen: Mann der Tat mit Militärhintergrund darf Leibwächter für junge Schönheit spielen und muss Schießereien, Verfolgungsjagden und ähnliches durchstehen, bevor die beiden sich am Ende kriegen und im Hintergrund die Sonne im Meer versinkt. Hier hat man diesen altbewährten Plot einmal mit zwei Männern und allein deshalb ist er schon lesenswert.

Leider werden die Charaktere etwas ungleich entwickelt. Soren darf dem Klischee entkommen und Kompetenz zeigen, ist also nicht einfach hilflos sondern rettet sein eigenes Leben. Mason hingegen hat kaum Gelegenheit, sich als Action-Held zu etablieren oder seine Rolle als Leibwächter erfolgreich zu erfüllen. Trotzdem soll man ihn als eine solche Figur betrachten und das ist mir für meinen Geschmack etwas zu sehr auf die mitgelieferte Schablone gestützt. Ich hätte als Leser gerne mehr davon tatsächlich gezeigt bekommen, die Kürze des Buches gibt das jedoch nicht her. Zudem sind die beiden Männer selten gemeinsam an einem Handlungsort, wodurch für mich die Glaubhaftigkeit ihrer plötzlichen Gefühle füreinander gelitten hat.

Der Actionthrillerplot als solcher ist etwas dünn und nur Mittel zum Zweck für die Liebesgeschichte, bietet aber Gelegenheit, zu zeigen, wie Soren von seinem Vater misshandelt wird und warum er unbedingt jemanden wie Mason in seinem Leben braucht. Ich hatte das Gefühl, die Geschichte war in der Vorstellung der Autorin spannender als das, was zu Papier gebracht wurde. Andererseits bietet die Story genug, um sie sich beim Lesen in der eigenen Vorstellung spannender auszumalen, als sie eigentlich ist, was auch seinen Reiz haben kann.

Warnung für Verbalallergiker: Mason redet von Soren ständig als dem "readhead", so als wäre das ein neues Wort für "er" oder den Namen des Charakters. Wer auf so etwas empfindlich reagiert, könnte hier leichten Ausschlag bekommen.

Liebe und Triebe:
Homoerotischer Liebesroman mit Sex an den zugehörigen Stellen und ein paar Het-Elementen. ( )

Mason Ward is not our classical all action-no word hero. A former ranger, now security specialist, he lives in a boat and he is a controlled hygienist: he eats only natural things, he doesn't drink alcohol, makes a moderate use of sugar and exercises everyday to impossible early hours.

So when an FBI friend asks him to protect a spoilt brat like Soren Buchanan, the son of the notorious business man James 'The Smile' Buchanan, Mason is not at all happy of the mission: Soren is a younger of ten years man who has never done anything in his life, and with the reputation of moleste drunkness. But he was badly beaten by his father and he asked protection to FBI with the promise to reveal something really interesting to the authority.

And so Mason takes Soren in, and since the first time he meets the guy, he is taken: Soren is a red-head with a porcelan complex, right the type he likes, even in women than in men. Since Mason has finally admit that he prefers men over women, and this guy is exactly the type of man he can fall in love with.

Soren is not at all happy to be confined in a small boat with a man like Mason: they are at totally opposite for character, but Soren has to admit that he is intrigued by Mason, above all in a physical way. Soren has never had before homosexual experience, but he would be very glad to start with Mason.

The story is original in the way that both characters are not as the usual suspence-thriller characters you find in this type of romance. Mason is not a tought man that seems to be unaffected by bullets and with no apparent feelings. Soren is not the usual weak boy who needs a protector of his own. Soren is the son of an abusive father, and he searches escape out of his nightmare in alcohol and drugs. But even when faced with reality, he still loves his father and can't bring himself to betray him.

Plus the story is more a romance than an erotic novel. Sex is not the main event of the story, and even if we have our two or three sex scenes, they are well intertwined in the story and don't steal the scene to the main story.

An enjoyable story, I read it in a session... maybe I'd like it to be a little longer, but still is a good discovery.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0971708967/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

This book is foremost an action packed thriller complete with terrorists, drug dealers, some fierce fight scenes, FBI agents and so on. But it's also a very sweet romance between the two main characters, who seem to be a very unlikely pairing at first. Mason Ward is a security specialist and former US Army Ranger, who lives alone on a house boat docked off the island of Guam. His life is well organized and he doesn't take any unnecessary risks.

That is about to change when Soren Buchanan comes into his life. Soren is the son of an abusive crime boss and after the latest beat up from his father, he seeks shelter with the FBI. Mason is assigned the task of protecting Soren and in order to that, he brings Soren on his house boat. But the presence of Soren in the limited space of his boat not only threatens to disturb his perfecly organized life, but in the close proximity a lot of sexual tension builds up between the two.

Soon protecting Soren will not only be a simple job for Mason, but a very personal affair. But will he be able to keep Soren safe against terrorist and thugs sent to bring Soren home ... dead or alive!

This book is a very enjoyable read and an overall recommendation. I especially liked the tropical setting on Guam, which felt very fresh as a setting for this sweet romance. ( )