Chain Reaction (Bodyguard Book 3)

This is Tara Wyatt's 3rd book in this series and I loved it! I won't go into much detail but its definitely a winner. Super hot romance

Good book

as described

Chain Reaction is the third, and final book, in the adult romantic suspense, Bodyguard series by Tara Wyatt. I have not read either of the first two books in the series, however; I have a thing for bodyguard stories, so when I saw Chain Reaction float into my email, I couldn’t pass it up. The books can be read as standalones, and I had no problem picking up with this installment. The plot sounds yummy, and it totally was! I really enjoyed this steamy bodyguard tale. There is lots of bickering, plenty of action and a sexy romance. Yes, please.Chain Reaction is Alexa and Zack’s story. This book has so many things going for it. First, a bodyguard. Second, an undercover bodyguard and third a fake turned real romance. Bodyguards and fake romances, I am all over this book. It was such a fun read. However; with as many fun and sexy elements as this book had, the actual plotline of the story was also pretty creepy. The suspense part of the story certainly kept me on the edge of my seat and more than a little creeped out. Tara Wyatt hit the atmospheric writing out of the ball park. This is the first book I have has the pleasure of reading by her and I was super impressed. The suspense and the romance were on pretty equal footing, which is tough to do. And even tougher to do so well.Bottom line: If you like romantic suspense read, the Bodyguard series is going to be a great one for you. whether you start with Chain Reaction, or start with book 1, you can’t go wrong. If you like your romances to be on equal footing with the suspense plotline, you will love Tara’s writing. Plus, who can say no to a hot bodyguard?*Disclaimer- I was sent a copy of this book for free.

Alexa grew up Hollywood elite. Her parents are both actors and her dad owns/runs a movie production company with lots of power. She was raised to be the perfect child, doing exactly what her parents told her to until recently. She has moved out of her parent’s home and is happy to be out of the limelight. Alexa is working on figuring out who she wants to be on her own when she over hears a conversation between her father and his right hand man she was never meant to hear, and everything changes.Zack de Luca is a bodyguard with Virtus Security and an up and coming MMA fighter. Zack sees Alexa arrive at a mutual friend’s party and notices she is pale and shaky. They slip out to the gardens and she tells him what she heard. Naturally, Zach, who has had a thing for her for a year, jumps into protective mode. He goes undercover as her bodyguard, pretending to be her boyfriend.Her parents are truly despicable human beings. Despite growing up as she did, Alexa managed to turn herself into a kind, caring human being. Zach’s family is a tight knit, caring group and envelops her quickly and easily into their fold.While this is a romantic suspense, it is more romance than suspense. Zack and Alexa have great chemistry and heat. I liked watching these two figure out how to be together and get what they each wanted/needed from the other. However, him calling her “so damn sweet” over and over got old quick.Loved the reference to “the Costner effect”!This is the third book in the series but my first. While I am curious about the two previous books, the author did a pretty good job of filling in the blanks enough that you can read this as a standalone. I look forward to the next one.I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley.

What’s it About? Actress Alexa Fairfax grew up in what outsiders would consider the perfect family with legendary parents but to her it was a nightmare and when she overhears a conversation at her parents’ home she goes to the only person she knows she can trust: Zack DeLuca. Zack has always had a thing for Alexa but he’s trying to put his MMA career first but when her life is threatened and she asks for his help Zack doesn’t hesitate to say no. He pretends to be her boyfriend in order to keep her safe and all sorts of sexy goodness starts to happen.Overall reaction to the story? I’ve read Tara Wyatt before and I really enjoy her stories. But Chain Reaction was just “okay” in my opinion. The plot was strong and interesting, bringing a bit of Old Hollywood scandal into the modern era. There was no end to the suspense and action which is what I enjoy. However, to me Alexa was just too innocent and “cute” for my tastes and definitely gave off the helpless damsel vibe which I’m not a fan of. That was the major issue for me and it did make an impact on how I viewed the story.Describe the hero in five words: Committed. Brave. Compassionate. Stubborn. Irresistible.Did you like him? Yes.Why? Zack was a different kind of alpha male. The kind, considerate alpha. He had a way with Alexa that was equal parts sexy and sweet. I loved his empathy for Alexa and how gentle he was without being patronizing. He respected Alexa as a person but at the same time he could see how much strain she was under so he stepped in to help her in some of the simplest ways but all those little moments added up to make Zack totally irresistible and lovable. Make no mistake though, he wasn’t a pushover. He was deadly and had the training to prove it.Describe the heroine in five words: Kind. Innocent. Shy.Did you like her? Sort of.Why? Alexa grew up kind of sheltered and isolated from the real world which contributed to her shy, quiet personality but even with the parents she had, Alexa still managed to come out kind and considerate of others. For the most part she was smart about her situation and let the more experienced characters guide her through her life threatening ordeal so that wasn’t the problem. My hangup when it came to Alexa was that she was a little too sweet and innocent for my tastes and for a romantic suspense. I wanted to see her become a harder, tougher version of herself, maybe even learn how to defend herself in case she had to. To me she came off as a sweet, poofy kitten, you know, those ones who are really pretty to look at but for the most part can’t hurt a fly?How convincing were the main characters as a couple? There was a pretty fierce attraction between Zack and Alexa from the very beginning and there was a pretty great push and pull between them but Alexa’s innocent personality, sweetness and the fact that Zack described her as “cute,” (Which to me is a word used to describe friends, a pet, or a kid) put a damper on that adult chemistry. Sometimes I felt like Zack was guarding a kid instead of a grown woman just by the way he spoke to her and how defenseless she seemed. I think Alexa needed to grow up more, gain some more life experience. She wasn’t a bad character just underdeveloped to me.Click It or Skip It? Overall, Chain Reaction wasn’t a bad read. I expected much more from the heroine though and that did bring down my enjoyment of the story. However, Tara Wyatt is a talented author who shouldn’t be missed. I would recommend Primal Instinct to new readers.* A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review. All conclusions are my own responsibility and I was not compensated for this review.