The Protector by Jodi Ellen Malpas

The new novel from the #1 bestselling author of the This Man trilogy and One Night trilogy!

People think they have Camille Logan nailed: daddy's girl; beautiful, spoiled young woman with her father's bank balance to fund her lifestyle. But Camille is determined to have a life free from his strings. Out on her own, she's made mistakes, including one that found her clawing her way back after a stint in rehab and plenty of bad press. Now, after fighting so hard to be independent and happy, she finds her life threatened as a result of her father's ruthless business dealings. Caught between resentment and fear, Camille prepares herself for the measures her father will take to protect her. But nothing could prepare her for the ex-SAS sniper who crashes into her life.

Jake Sharp resides in his own personal hell. He was distracted from duty once before, and the consequences were devastating--both personally and professionally. He vowed never to let that happen again. Accepting the job of bodyguard to Camille Logan isn't the kind of distraction from his demons he should take. Women and Jake don't mix well, yet protecting the heiress seems the lesser of two evils. But Jake soon discovers that she isn't the woman she's perceived to be. She's warm, compassionate, her presence settling, and his duty to protect her soon goes deeper than a well-paid job, no matter how hard he fights it. He needs absolution. He comes to need Camille. But he knows he can't have both.

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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Shannan – ☆☆☆
Cami was living the entitled spoiled life. Daddy had money and she was living life to the fullest, him giving in to her every whim.

Jake was hired to protect Cami. Their interest in each other is instant. Jake coming from a completely different backgrounds. Jake has a broken past he's trying to overcome.

There is no doubt this book is filled with suspense, but unfortunately it seemed more suspense driven than anything. There was a lot of buildup between the characters but I felt cheated on the getting together. It was a good story, but at about 50% in I found myself getting bored. I hate that I didn't like this one more than I did.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
Wow, this is a really engaging and intense read. I loved it! Set in London, and in the rarified world of models and the super rich, the book manages to combine high fashion with crime and danger.

Luckily Cam has Jake looking after her...well she does not think that, especially as her father has employed him, and the chemistry she feels for this ultimate gorgeous alpha male. Jake has plenty of darkness is his life, but somehow Cam chases away the shadows, but also makes him feel – something he has been avoiding thanks to drink and women. As the story unfolds and these two get ever more involved, the tension is brilliantly built up and I recommend remembering to breathe and having a tissue to hand!

A good long, standalone read which gets every emotion engaged. Highly recommended.


Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
As a fan of Malpas’s This Man and One Night series, I was quite excited when I learned the author had written a standalone romance and I couldn’t wait to delve into The Protector. While at its roots, The Protector is a bodyguard romance and certain aspects of the story will be predictable, Malpas doesn’t disappoint by infusing just the right amount of angst and suspense to insure that I remained glued to my Kindle until I finished it. I confess, I shorted our blog’s followers on the Labor Day posts because I couldn’t pull myself away from reading long enough to set them all up, but while I’m a blogger, I am first and foremost a reader and absolutely I loved this book.

I AM NOT TO BE IGNORED. Jake Sharp had no idea just how prophetic Camille Logan’s t-shirt would be to the relationship that would be forged between them. A former SAS agent and sniper, Jake is the best at what he does and only agrees to provide 24/7 bodyguard services to the spoiled model and daughter of prominent business magnate, Trevor Logan, because he needs an assignment. As much as Jake loathes the idea of babysitting a diva, his memories are haunting him and he hopes that having something to focus on will help him battle back his demons. But you know what they say – be careful what you wish for – and Jake quickly discovers that he may have exchanged one form of torture for another because Cami is nothing like he expected. For four years, Jake has numbed himself with work, women, and alcohol and for the first time in four years, Cami is making it impossible for Jake to remain numb. She tests his control. She tests his patience. She tests his professionalism. And he’s no longer sure they’re tests he wants to pass. If he gives in, he’ll lose everything, but he’ll gain her and the peace she offers him is worth it… as long as he can lay his demons to rest so that his darkness doesn’t ruin her. All the while, it becomes clearer and clearer that Cami’s father is hiding information that may be crucial to keeping her safe, leaving them all unprepared for the attack when it comes.

I loved Cami. Even though she is a successful model, she has goals and dreams that extend beyond being just a pretty face. While she refuses to accept her father’s money to fund her fashion line, knowing it would come with conditions she wasn’t willing to accept, she is quite willing to bank on her face and career as a model because she earned her professional reputation; yet she refuses to compromise on the vision for the company she and her best friend, Heather, have developed. Cami recognizes her worth and what she is and isn’t willing to compromise on, especially when it comes to who she allows to be a part of her life. Her independence is admirable, as is her fight for it; but even better is when she recognizes that accepting help is not a sign of weakness, but rather strength in recognizing when help is needed. I loved the chemistry between Cami and Jake. Yes, there was an instant attraction, but both fought it and while time-wise their relationship progressed quickly, Malpas writes the story in such a way that it felt like a whirlwind romance without feeling rushed. I will admit that there were times when Jake’s inner turmoil was a bit more reflective than I would have expected from his character, but he’s spent four years not feeling anything only to be overrun with emotions he’s out of practice dealing with. The author does a nice job of giving Jake just the right amount of growly possessiveness to balance out the introspection, keeping his alpha male standing clearly in place – and the beat downs he hands out don’t hurt either. I enjoyed the suspense element and hated that I actually felt sorry for Cami’s dad once it all came out, but not nearly as bad as I felt for her and her brother. But what really tugged at my heart strings and got my tear ducts working was the final chapter. I won’t say why because I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I found it to be the perfect ending to the tale. Of course, one I finished The Protector I was saddened by the fact that it is a standalone as I’d love to spend more time with Cami and Jake, but then again, I’m not sure I could have handled how much Malpas would have ratcheted up the suspense had she written this story as a trilogy instead. I found The Protector to be another great read from Malpas and I cannot wait to reread it so I can catch all the little things I missed on the first read as I devoured the book.

Jodi was born and raised in the Midlands town of Northampton, England, where she lives with her two boys and a beagle. She is a self-professed daydreamer, a Converse & mojito addict, and has a terrible weak spot for Alpha Males.

Writing powerful love stories and creating addictive characters have become her passion—a passion she now shares with her devoted readers.

She’s a proud #1 New York Times bestselling author, and all six of her published novels were New York Times bestsellers, in addition to being international and Sunday Times bestsellers. Her work is published in more than twenty languages across the world.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Protector by Jodi Ellen Malpas to read and review.