Book Review — BECK (Corps Security #3) by Harper Sloan

“When you love someone, you fight. You fight for them, and you fight with them.”

• Buy #1 AXEL (Kindle) – on sale
• Buy #2 CAGE (Kindle) – on sale
• Buy #3 BECK (Kindle) – new release

Calling all badass alpha male fans!! Have you met Beck yet?? I promise you’ll swoon 😉

“It’s time to make my woman understand she wants me.”

Ok, before anything, I have to admit I was a wee bit worried going into this book because, having read the previous two books in the series, I saw how much back-and-forth Dee and Beck went through and I wasn’t sure what to expect from their story. But once again I fell in love because the author took the time to explain the back story in such a way that it made everything that happened in the present day make sense.

I thought it was really clever how it was written because it made the readers realize that the way we were seeing Dee was in fact the same way that the rest of the Corps Security gang saw her too. But we quickly learned that that was not the real her and the only person who had seen through her facade all along was Beck.

Because we already knew Dee from before, I appreciated that this book jumped back in time a little for certain scenes and showed us events that we had technically already seen but from Dee’s eyes instead. Like the first time she met Beck three years earlier…

“He looks like a walking ad for pure, raw sex.”

My heart really went out to her. She came from a life of luxury and no love, with no one to build her self esteem or make her feel worthy of anything, and yet here she was a fiercely loyal friend doing her best to hide the pain she felt on the inside.

“I am Denise Ann Roberts. Strong, proud, and independent. A loyal friend, godmother, and I radiate fucking happiness so that people will never see how lonely I really am.”

Every man in her life had repeatedly let her down and especially growing up around her father’s unfaithful example, she had learned never to trust men and never to allow them into her heart because she knew that at the end of the day, they only thing they cared about was themselves. So she made a vow to herself…

“The first day I leave this hell, I am going to be a new person. I am going to be happy. I am going to be loved. And, I am going to find people to share my life with me that want to be around me. But I will never, ever, trust a boy.”

However, from the very beginning, Beck saw right through her walls and into the real her. And he loved what he saw and was willing to wait it out, be there for her, fight for her, and do anything necessary to make her his… even if it took a while to get her to come around.

“I didn’t ask for forever. You want to live in the moment, and get off while you’re at it, I won’t judge you. But fair warning, I’ll do my best to change your mind.”

Beck was just totally lovable. I’d always loved him but now I fell in love with him. He had his sights set on Dee… it just took him a while to figure her out.

“I can tell, deep down, that she wants someone to hold her hand through life, but damn if she’ll let anyone do it. There isn’t any doubt in my mind. She’s worth sticking this out for …”

Dee had a lot to learn. She lived her life ruled by the fear that her past had instilled in her. And there was so much in her past that she’d never told anyone until now — things that made her strength to go on that much more admirable and the absolute hardest thing for her was to lean on someone. But luckily, Beck had this totally rock solid and yet endlessly patient quality to him. I loved that he never gave up on her,  and I loved that he could see through to the real reason she kept pushing him away even when all of his friends questioned his sanity.

“Everyone around us looks at our fucked up relationship and does nothing but judge. They only see the outside, the window dressing. They don’t see this side of Dee. They don’t see her when she hits her lowest points… No, everyone sees perfect Dee, happy Dee, and the Dee that never stops smiling, even when she’s dying on the inside.”

To be fair though, I honestly thought there were times when I felt like he deserved a “Saint of the Year” award because as much as I understood where Dee was coming from, there were times when I wanted to just shake her. But his patience was why he was absolutely perfect for her.

“You’ve got nothing to be scared of with me. Not one damn thing… Fighting for you, and this relationship might drive me mad at times, but it’s the fight I want if it ends with you in my arms… Please, Dee. Take a chance on us, and I swear to you, baby, you won’t regret a day of it.”

So yeah… I’ll totally admit that there was a lot of “back and forth” between Beck and Dee but I really felt like the way it was explained gave us the reason behind it and did a great job of showing us that it was based in something real and understandable. As frustrated as I got with Dee, I also did understand her — she needed to feel strong on her own before entering a relationship and I felt like that explanation made me okay with something that might otherwise have frustrated me…. and thankfully, Beck understood that too.

“I have to let her fight for herself before she’ll be ready for someone to fight for her.”

Regarding the writing, the scenes were vivid and descriptive and the tone of it all was cheeky and yet full of heart and also with a more serious undertone. You’ll notice that this review has a whole lot more quotes than some of my other ones and that’s simply because so much of my book is highlighted!!!

But let me tell you, the rug was yanked right out from under me in the last 20%!!!! I just… I was so sure with the… and then…. especially since… I did not see that coming!!!!… especially since… and…. just…. *speechless*

I cried. I totally cried.

Ok – before you go freaking out, just know that… it’s bearable. It’s painful, very painful, but bearable. And it is not cheating!!!! Don’t worry. But it is a bit of a game changer and I’m definitely looking forward to watching how this new development plays out because I sense some hugely emotional stories coming up and I absolutely love  those!

Also, for your peace of mind, there is no cliffhanger at the end!

All in all, Beck was an action-packed, swoon-filled ride through badass alpha male land and once again, I fell hard for another Corps Security hero! I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

4 – 4.5 stars

*** NOTE: for anyone new to the series, I strongly recommend reading the books in order. While each book is a standalone about a different couple, the stories are still all interconnected and you’ll enjoy them a lot more if you follow the series order.

 

 ** SERIES READING ORDER **

#1 AXEL — Kindle | Paperback | My review

#2 CAGE — Kindle | Paperback | My review

#3 BECK — Kindle | Paperback | My review

#3.5 UNCAGED — Kindle | Paperback

#4 COOPER — Kindle | Paperback

Coming soon — #5 LOCKE