Guarding Mr. FineRating: 4.5 stars
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Length: Novel


 

Seth Lang is looking to blow off some steam before his next assignment begins. After the danger and craziness of his last job, Seth’s CIA handlers have given him an easy assignment guarding the new U.S. consul general in Munich. Seth has no interest in the low key job, and wants to get back into the field, but he has no choice. When Seth meets a hot guy in the local bar, the no-strings, back room sex is just the thing to take his mind off work and give him a night of steamy fun.

When Seth meets the new consul general, Rick Fine, Seth is shocked to find it’s his hookup from a few days earlier. Rick has been brought in to temporarily take over as consul general after the most recent man in the job committed suicide. What he reveals to Seth, however, is that Rick is suspicious that more is going on here. Rick works for the CIA as well and has been investigating the flow of weapons hiding under the cover of humanitarian aid. He has tracked the dealings to Munich and believes either the former consul general was involved, or he was killed to keep him quiet. Either way, Rick is there undercover to investigate, and Seth will publicly be his personal bodyguard, while helping Rick track down the culprits behind the scenes.

Seth does not do relationships, but despite his determination to keep a distance, it isn’t long before the sexual connection from the night the guys met is too much for them to ignore. Rick and Seth continue their hot hookups, all while tracking down the arms dealers. But Rick has a secret he is keeping from Seth, one about a shared past that Seth isn’t aware of. Not to mention that the more Rick and Seth look into the arms sales, the more dangerous things get. Now the men are falling for one another, but their lives are on the line. And even if they make it out alive, the secret that burns between them may destroy all they have built together.

Guarding Mr. Fine is the third book in HelenKay Dimon’s exciting Tough Love series. I have been really enjoying it from the start, and I was thrilled to see we were getting Seth’s story in this book. Seth had a big role as a side character in The Talented Mr. Rivers and I loved his snarky, sarcastic personality. So it was great to see him falling in love despite himself here. The first two books in the series tie together pretty directly as they deal with the Pentasus investigation. However, this plot of this story is independent of that case, so while I’d definitely recommend all the books, you could start here pretty easily without having read the others.

Like I said, I loved the glimpses we got of Seth earlier in the series. He is snarky and sarcastic and a bit grumpy, but at the same time, he is excellent at his job and totally dedicated. I loved that we still see that same personality here, and the banter and exchanges between he and Rick add a lot of fun to the story. We see Seth resist his feeling for Rick, but at the same time, it is clear he is falling for him. These guys are super sexy together and the chemistry between them is intense. But at the same time, there is a lot of fun and playfulness and I enjoyed watching them get to know one another.

The story, like the others in the series, has a nice suspenseful side. The investigation centers on the employees at the consul and we get an interesting case, as well as some high octane moments. I think things could have gone a bit further into the mystery end, but I still found the investigation to be well done and I liked the mix of romance/relationship building with the suspense plot.

I am not sure if this is the end of the series, but I have really enjoyed all three books. Dimon writes super sexy stories with a nice thriller angle. If you are fan of romantic suspense, definitely check these out.

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