“I’m doing be best to stay in control here.”
… She leaned in close. The whisper of her breath skated across my chest. “Lose control, Luke.”

WOOHOOOO!!!

I loved this book! It was a sexy, swoony small town enemies-to-lovers romance with a heart-melting, protective hero in charge of the heroine’s safety, and there was also a suspenseful mystery woven in that kept me flipping pages so fast until I reach the epilogue. I swear it felt like I held my breath for the entire second half of the book!

Now this book is part of the Tin Gypsy series which is a romantic suspense series that must be read in order. Each book is equal parts romance and mystery, and while the romance part of each book in the series is focused on a different main couple, the mystery part starts it the first book and the same mystery continues and develops throughout each book. That means that you have to read the books in order to avoid spoilers, otherwise only the romance will make sense. I’ve read each book in the series so far though and loved it and the good news is that there’s no cliffhanger so even though there will be more books in the series, it’s safe to start reading right now!

“The night Luke Rosen met Scarlett Marks was the only time he’s regretted becoming chief of police. One horrific night of blood and death, and now she’s living under his roof—all because he swore an oath to serve and protect.

Scarlett is stubborn and infuriating. She has no respect for the order in his structured life, and she never does anything she’s told. Worse, she doesn’t seem to care that the information she has on a motorcycle gang means she might end up dead. But her unwavering strength, her courage and tenacity and beauty, makes it impossible for him to abandon her.

If Luke is going to keep her safe, he’ll have to make the hardest decision of his life. He can either honor his values as a cop, knowing Scarlett is unlikely to survive… or he can break all the rules and protect the woman who’s invaded his home and his heart.”

Everyone in this heroine’s life had let her down, betrayed her trust, or hurt her in unforgivable ways so trusting this hero was not something that came naturally to her until he earned that trust. From his perspective, he saw her as being stubborn at first because he didn’t understand the history. From her perspective, this was simply how she’d learned to survive. But slowly but surely, he earned her trust.

“If you give me the choice of anything outside these walls or being here with you, I choose you. Ever time. Trust me when I say that I could much rather share dinner with you…”
Her mouth parted. “Really?”
“Yes, really. I didn’t like leaving you here tonight. I didn’t like that I had no way to call. All I wanted was to come home, have dinner, and let you win at cribbage.”
… “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“Because I was trying to protect you.”
… “You should have told me.”
“You’re right.” I held up a hand. “I’m sorry.”

He calmly, patiently, and unhurriedly showed her time and time again that there were genuinely good guys in the world, and that he was one of them. A guy who would respect her, protect her, stand between her and danger if needed, but never get in her way either.

“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
“I’ve brought so much trouble to your life.”
“Hey.” I leaned back, waiting for her to look up. When she did, I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’ll take the trouble. I’ll take it tenfold if that means I get you.”

Romance, mystery, suspense, danger, drama, sexy, swoon, this book has it all! I’ve read and loved every book in the Tin Gypsy series so far. If you’re looking for a new series to fall in love with, I would certainly recommend this one!

Rating: 4-4.5 stars!

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