Book Review — Singe (Guardian Protection) by Aly Martinez

“No one in the entire world understands what it was like for me that night except you. I’ve never been ashamed of my scars, but our first night together, you traced over them and told me they were yours. You made me feel like they were something beautiful.”

• Buy SINGE (Kindle)
• Buy SINGE (Paperback)

Alpha male romance fans, you’re going to want to check this book out! I’ve enjoyed many of Aly Martinez’s books over the last few years and true to her distinctive style, SINGE had a wonderful balance between sexy hotness, humor, strong feels, heartfelt romance, thrilling suspense, and even a surprising twist! If you love PROTECTIVE, POSSESSIVE, and BROKEN HEROES who fall completely in LOVE with their women, then don’t miss this book!

She was my nightmare. Every time I closed my eyes, I watched her fall into that inferno. Over and over, I failed to save her.

I hadn’t been able to reach her, and the guilt only burned hotter over time. Four years later, I was the unreachable one.

Heroes aren’t always saints. Sometimes, we’re nothing more than jaded sinners driven by sleepless nights and hearts full of darkness.

And then I met her. She was a dreamer who managed to soothe my scars and heal my wounds.

But, as the flames closed in around us, I feared I wasn’t the right man to save her. That is until I realized she was the one woman I’d burn the world down to protect.

Our hero in this book is a cop who was haunted by one life-changing event years ago when he tried to save a woman from a blazing building. Her falling had haunted him, his dreams, and his conscience ever since.

Years later, he’s divorced yet devoted to being the best step-father he could for his ex-wife’s daughter. When he takes a new job with Guardian Protection as a body guard, it brings him back to the one woman he never though he’d see again. Suddenly she was everywhere. There. In his life. And every feeling that had been haunting for years came rushing back to the forefront of his life. Desire. Regret. Remorse. Guilt. Longing. It all came back along with her…

While I guess you could possibly consider this a type of second chance romance (more in terms of the type of feels it evokes), I’d more consider it a romance about two people who shared an intense, traumatic, but deeply bonding experience being brought together and given an unexpected chance to rewrite their history with something new.

“I wanted her. And not just with my hands and my mouth — though I couldn’t deny that was part of it. My body came alive for that woman. But, with her, I wanted more. I wanted to know what she’d been up to for the last four years. Was she happy? What was she doing in Chicago? What did she actually do for a living? Why was she so private? Did that night haunt her dreams too? And, most of all, had she thought about me even a fraction of how often I had her over the years?”

At its heart this is a story about a delightfully crazy girl and a broken Alpha hero reunited after years of pain and given a chance to reach for the happiness, healing, and love they both deserve.

They had such an intense, passionate connection but it was tempered by the fact that, as her new bodyguard, he was determined not to mix business with pleasure and I have to admit that it was damn sexy to see him ride that line between professional protection and personal desire. Seriously. IT. WAS. HOT!!!

“My job is to protect people. Those people expect me to put my own life in the line of danger in order to keep them safe. And I absolutely would. Those are people who pay me. People I don’t give a damn about.” His fingers swept down my neck and traced over my collarbone before traveling to the subtle line of exposed cleavage, sending a shiver down my spine and a spark to my core. “And, Butterfly, I don’t think I have to point out that those people are not you. There are no limitations to the lengths I will go to make sure you are safe. I lost you to the flames once. It won’t happen again… You’re safe with me. It’s a truth. A fact. And a promise.”

Aly Martinez is one of the few authors who I recommend as “what to read after Kristen Ashley“. You can always count on her books to have deliciously swoony Alpha heroes, seriously steamy heat, deep emotional feels, and a suspenseful element that’ll keep your heart racing. Each time I read one of her books, I’m impressed with her ability to balance all of these qualities in a way that truly delivers a romantic, sexy, and thrilling read!

I read this book in one sitting and generally really enjoyed it! My only small complaint is that, at times, the story felt a little disjoined and there were so many side characters that I sometimes felt a little overwhelmed and had to re-read bits to keep things straight. But it wasn’t a big deal. I still totally loved the story!

Ooooh and I have to mention that this book has some awesome ‘inside jokes’ directed at the reader world — with special shout outs to Penelope Ward, Ella Frank, JR Ward and more — that are sure to give a well-read romance reader a few extra chuckles!

“Chaos broke out as the four women started laughing and talking in some kind of code that I was positive no person with a dick would ever be able to decipher. Something about cliffs, triangles, and HEA. None of us dated interrupt them.”

As the book hurtled towards the finish line, its suspenseful elements really ramped up even surprising me with a twist I didn’t see coming — one that made me quite hopeful that a ‘certain’ character gets their own book soon!

This can be read as a standalone, but it is also the first standalone in a series of standalones about the Alpha bodyguards of Guardian Protection. There are slight connections to this author’s previous books within the side characters but you don’t have to read any other book first in order to enjoy this one. Aly Martinez’s standalone series are always very well structured in that you could read any of them alone if you wanted, but you’ll always get a special kick out of the story if you’ve read all her books. So really, you’re good no matter how you approach it.

Bottom line, if you’re a fan of Alpha male romances that have a great balance of heat, humor, feels, and suspense, then this is a book you don’t want to miss!

Rating: 4 — 4.5 stars. Can standalone. Adult Romance.

• Buy SINGE (Kindle)
• Buy SINGE (Paperback)