The Bodyguard Affair by Anna Stone and Hildred Billings is a spicy age gap romance between an heiress and the woman hired to protect her.
The Black family has a problem. Something or someone is threatening the powerful Seattle family so matriarch Vivienne hires the best security team in town. Her daughter Bianca is frustrated with being kept in the dark about why she’s suddenly required to live with hulking bodyguards and never leave her apartment, even to go to school. She picks the hot woman on their website and insists she be her shadow.
It’s been a while since Founder and CEO of Rainier Protections Services Sam Reddy has been called on to personally guard someone. It didn’t end well last time, and she has no interest in watching over the bratty young heiress. She struggles against her need to control the growing danger and her own dark desires, even if the younger woman is willing.
Writing
Not one moment is wasted, the authors combining a hot attraction between the rich but not insufferable Bianca and the hot butch protection agent she chooses as her personal bodyguard. The threat builds at an even pace, as does the relationship between the women. Both aspects have a big payoff hinted at and both totally deliver.
The choice of character types is great. Sam is tough and seasoned and ready to take a harsh line if necessary with Bianca to keep her protected. Bianca is understandably frustrated at her life being invaded and decisions stripped from her. The transition from antagonistic to friendly to more than friendly was smooth and completely believable.
The authors have different styles in their solo works, and are a solid team that has come up with a strong new voice to blend their sensibilities and styles into a great series.
Narration
Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s the same narrator from one voice to the other. There is almost always a breathy quality, but every character is completely discernable. Even in a fraught, crowded situation all the voices are distinct. Her take on Bianca and Sam creates a wonderful duet with every section of dialogue, like a musical piece with Bianca’s soprano and Sam’s tenor complementing each other.
The narrator enhances drama and hot bedroom scenes with subtle sounds and pauses and emphasis when needed. Vivienne’s voice is so haughty you can’t help but despise her, even before she does anything. The male voices are in only a slightly lower timber, but somehow the way she forms their words makes them sound not female. It’s intriguing and very effective.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
I have not read the first two books in the series but that didn’t matter one bit. The writing style the authors have created for this book is great, and I felt completely comfortable taking up the Black family story at this point. Family dynamics and backstory are explained at enough length to make me feel like I understand Bianca. Sam is, for me, a much easier character to understand, and I really like both of them, especially together.
Bianca is a much more interesting character than she might seem on first glance. She’s young, yes, but she has grown up in the bizarre world of the ultra rich under the thumb of a mean and controlling mother. In different hands she could have been made into quite the jerk, but instead she is perfect for Sam to lavish her affection and loving punishments on.
Overall, the rich characters inhabiting this world is the biggest plus for me. I really, really liked the sympathetic characters, and the one we’re given the most ammunition to despise, Bianca’s mother Vivienne, is truly hate worthy. The narration perfectly captures her nasty personality. The same goes for the antagonist, when we finally meet them. While I couldn’t get behind their reasoning, I certainly appreciated how nasty and dangerous they are which made for a more fun read.
Heads Up
There is a bit of spanking in the sex scenes, but nothing more risqué than that. Infidelity becomes a plot point.
The Conclusion
Rich heiress Bianca Black, youngest daughter of the family, is frustrated by restrictions imposed on her life by her mother, including insisting on a bodyguard. Using what little independence she has available, she chooses the hot butch owner of the company to watch over her. Sam Reddy prefers running her company to solo work after a terrible experience with an earlier client. She’s prepared to impose her will on Bianca for safety reasons, but the strong attraction between them leads to her imposing her will in more ways than just bodyguarding. The looming threat over the Black family and Bianca in particular creates an escalating thrill that only adds to their relationship dramas.
Though this is the third book in the series, it easily stands alone. There are a large number of characters but the focus is on Sam and Bianca and their relationship. They shouldn’t fit together but the authors create a very satisfying romance and a truly threatening danger. Abby Craden’s narration captures the nature of each character in a discernable manner and adds beautifully to the drama and romance between the women.
Excerpt from The Bodyguard Affair by Anna Stone and Hildred Billings
Sam stood up, extending her hand. But Bianca only planted herself in the seat across from her, setting a small juice on the table and slinging her cross-body purse around the back of her chair.
“Samhitha Reddy, founder and CEO of Rainier Protection Services.” When it became clear Bianca would not be shaking her hand, Sam sat back down. “You can call me Sam.”
“Samhitha is a nice name.”
“Like I said, Sam is fine.” She was slightly taken aback that Bianca had said her name with a near-flawless accent. She’d been called ‘Samantha’ more times than she could count. But that wasn’t the reason Sam didn’t often go by her full name.
She waited for Bianca to formally introduce herself, but the girl just leaned back in her chair, arms and legs crossed as she studied Sam’s face. “I wasn’t expecting the head of a premier security firm to be so…young.”
Whether that was an insult or a compliment, Sam couldn’t tell. It was exactly why she didn’t often tell clients her age. As long as she got the job done, it didn’t matter that she was only 30.
But Bianca didn’t give Sam a change to reassure her of that fact. “Trevor and Brent made it sound like you were much older. My mother was under the impression that they’d be following me around all day, if you can believe that. I can’t say that fits my aesthetic.”
Her aesthetic? Is she serious? “Trevor and Brent are two of the best on my roster. They won’t give you any grief as you go about your day. This I can assure you, Ms. Black.”
“I don’t care if they can do magic tricks on command. I don’t want huge men following me everywhere, lurking outside my apartment door. I have a life to live.” Bianca picked up her juice and took a hearty sip through the clear straw. “It’s not my fault my mom is paranoid.”
It’s like talking to a bratty teenager She’s not taking this seriously at all.
But Sam’s irritation did little to quench the other feelings she was experiencing toward Bianca Black, all of which were decidedly unprofessional.
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Series: Black Diamond
The Girlfriend Arrangement
The Executive Liaison
The Bodyguard Affair
Bits and Bobs
ASIN number: B09XX19VVS
Publisher: Indie Author
Audiobook Publisher: Tantor
Narrator: Abby Craden
If you enjoyed The Bodyguard Affair by Anna Stone and Hildred Billings then you should also look at Strange Attractors by Ana K. Wrenn
Note: I received a free review copy of The Bodyguard Affair by Anna Stone and Hildred Billings. No money was exchanged for this review. When you use our links to buy we get a small commission which supports the running of this site
