Series: Kinloch, #3
Traits & Tropes: slow burn; soldier hero; starched heroine
Publication Date: 09.22.22
Genre/Setting: Contemporary; Scottish Highlands
Heat Level: 6
Rating: 4 stars!
Actress Valentina Valverde is exhausted when she arrives on the set of her latest film in Scotland, and not just from the travel. She’s been working nonstop since she was a child and it’s beginning to take its toll, but she knows she can’t stop now. There are too many people depending on her, but she is beginning to realize that she’s missed out on much of the beauty of life.
As head of security, Charlie Hamilton has seen a bit too much. He’s full of charisma and blessed with good looks, but inside he’s a wreck. He lost his last gig, has essentially no contact with his family, and no real direction, so when his best friend asks him to drop everything and come to Scotland to secure Kinloch Castle from the craziness brought by the film crew, he agrees. He just wasn’t expecting to fall for one of the cast members.
Charlie is unlike anyone Valentina has ever met. When he suggests she use some of the unexpected downtime she has during this film to experience some things she’s missed out on and step outside her comfort zone a bit, she can’t completely resist him. Charlie utterly captivates Valentina with his passion and sense of humor, but their fun soon has deeper feelings attached. Their relationship has a finite end date and will be left as just a Highland fling if they can’t find a way to step away from their past issues and into a future together.
I adored Charlie, scars, tattoos, flaws and all. I liked Valentina as well and found her insecurity relatable, though at the same time, she also frustrated me since she’s so obviously a very beautiful woman and it was frustrating to see her put herself down so much, to the point that it nearly came between her and Charlie. I had a similar frustration with Charlie and his inability to see his own worth and goodness, believing himself to be nothing more than your average, run of the mill cad. This made Valentina a little annoyingly grumpy towards Charlie at first and it was hard to feel like she wasn’t using him, but they were so cute together that I got over it. I loved the fact that Charlie and Valentina both had issues to deal with from their pasts and from their families and they were both a little lost. They helped each other grow as individuals and as a couple and it was obvious how truly good they were for each other. They were very well suited and that was obvious for anyone to see, and I loved the fact that their relationship was high steam, but that the bedroom scenes were obviously a huge part of their relationship development and were very big emotional moments for these two, especially near the end. I also loved Valentina’s abuelas and their interactions with Charlie. I only wish we’d gotten some sort of interaction between Valentina and Charlie’s family, but maybe that can be a bonus chapter or a Christmas novella or something. Either way, I really did enjoy this couple and their story and Charlie was fantastic as a complex, multi-layered, and often-underestimated hero.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1479327488
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4938801730
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