To the Edge by Cindy Gerard

To the Edge by Cindy Gerard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've been kind of ho-hum about romantic suspense with no paranormal lately. I haven't been willing to take a dive into many of the newer authors out there, or some of the older faves. I'm glad that Shawna recommended for me to start the Cindy Gerard books. This was a very good book.

I just adored Nolan. He a well-structured, complex character: rugged, gorgeous, competent, humorous, down-to-earth, and tortured. The barriers that he erected against Jillian made a lot of sense. He knew that he couldn't have a permanent place in her life, and his troubles from his time in the Rangers and his friend's suicide were a heavy weight on his shoulders.

I liked Jillian a lot. At first, she had this facade of perfect, pampered, upscale, news anchor that didn't work for me. But, underneath, she was a whole lot more. Jillian was her own woman. She worked hard to get where she was in life, fighting to get away from the gilded cage and cloyingly overprotective and domineering family life she'd endured. Because of a lifetime of being the rich girl who was a target for kidnappers with no privacy and very few real people in her life, she'd had to build up a strong barrier of protection against others. She ended up earning my respect in a big way.

When Nolan is hired as her bodyguard, she doesn't like him, because he's mean and disrespectful to her. He reminds her of the bodyguards she grew up with, who never treated her as a person, only her rich father's daughter. But, she's also extremely attracted to him. She sees and is drawn to the sad lone warrior, wanting to know him as a person, even though Nolan makes this very hard. I was glad that she was willing to fight for him.

The sexual tension was great in this story. The build-up makes you think this will be an early to bed book, but fortunately it isn't. I was glad to see the emotional connection form between this couple and culminate in their love-making, instead of the other way around. By the time they get together, you know that there is love between them.

Good suspense and action in this story. I prefer a military storyline, but this was pretty good, because Nolan knows how to handle himself, and Jillian is in some pretty intense situations with her stalker. The underlying mystery actually surprised me. She really had me going with the red herrings. You know who one of the culprits is pretty soon, but it takes until the end of the book to find out who's pulling the strings. That was very well-executed.

To The Edge turned out to be a read well worth my time. I'm looking forward to reading the other Bodyguards books, after meeting Nolan's brothers and sisters in this story. Thanks, Shawna!


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