Model Bodyguard

Model Bodyguard (2016) Lissa Kasey (Haven Investigations)

The second book in the Haven Investigations series switches from Oliver’s POV to Kade’s POV. Which is fantastic, because Oliver sees Kade as strong and almost perfect, whereas Kade actually? A huge mess.

This was the stuff of nightmares— a mental hospital.

It wasn’t my first trip. No, they’d put me there the first time at age eleven.
…
Will had snuck me out just before I’d completely lost my mind. Broken probably a half dozen laws to find me a safe place to heal and legitimate people to prove I wasn’t nuts. My head was okay. Mostly. Better now that I had a home and something to live for. Someone to live for.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All the trigger warnings here. They’re listed at the front of the book. I’ve tagged a bunch of them as well.

While Ollie was still considered on the thin side of normal for his height, he was perfectly healthy, no more possibilities of heart troubles or stroke because of malnutrition.

Bad things happen. HOWEVER. It’s not torture porn. They are private investigators and take on a bodyguard case where Ollie’s ex (the Rock Star) is getting some very ugly threatening things.

So not gratuitous, but it happens.

But what this story–and this series–does so very well is looking at the damage that both Kade and Ollie have, how they deal with it, and how each views the other.

The few times (Ollie)’d accompanied me to rehab had been brutal and left him shaking with tension by the time I was done.

This single sentence is actually really important and tells you how Kade feels like he needs to protect Ollie–and it’s not an unfounded fear that Kade’s pain will cause Ollie further damage, since Ollie still has not recovered from losing his brother to PTSD and suicide.

So very many little things just dropped into the story.

Sometimes I think Ollie still believed that sex equated to love, when it didn’t.

Another thing I really liked about this story is just how complicated Jacob–Ollie’s ex–is in this story and later books.

“But he’s being nice by taking care of his family.”

I had to glance up into the rearview mirror to see Kisten shrug. “I think they all use his kink as an excuse to keep him on a short leash.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“He takes care of them and they don’t go blabbing.

Points off, however, for ending on a cliffhanger.

Publisher: Layer Kake Publishing, LLC
Rating: 8.5/10

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