Kissing Alex (Bodyguards Inc. #6)

Title: Kissing Alex (Bodyguards Inc. #6)
Author: R.J. Scott
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: April 25, 2016
Genre(s): Contemporary
Page Count: 2652 kindle locations
Reviewed by: Vallie
Heat Level: 3 flames out of 5
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Blurb:

Martial arts expert Lewis is the kind of bodyguard who slips under most people’s radar. Quiet, reserved, but constantly on alert, he’ll do his job, keep his charges safe, then relax by reading Shakespeare in his spare time.

When he’s given a case involving a spoiled celebrity singer, Lewis isn’t all that impressed. The job is nothing but babysitting a pretty boy, and he’s used to diplomatic postings with depth and challenge. What could he possibly have in common with the man he’s being forced to look after?

Alex became the envy of many when he and his fellow bandmates won second place in a huge TV talent show. He has more money than he knows what to do with, no life goals, an ex-boyfriend selling a sex tape and now, someone who wants him dead, or at the very least maimed.

Can Lewis keep Alex safe, even when things usually in his control go to hell? Is running to a remote Scottish island the only way for them to stay alive?

Kissing Alex is the 6th book in the Bodyguards Inc Series but can be read as a standalone. Alex is a singer who’s found himself being targeted by the Russian mob and Lewis is the badass bodyguard assigned to protect him. Lewis reluctantly took on the case, as he was about to head away for a vacation to his home island of Stormeil, but agreed to take Alex with him. In that remote place, where Lewis is the Lord of the Island, Alex and Lewis become attracted to each other and eventually give in to it.

I didn’t buy it. There were so many things that bothered me with the plot and the characters’ actions that my reading satisfaction was seriously impeded upon. For a good 40% of the book, Alex and Lewis run around the island, fixing things, taking long walks, and attempt to flirt. The flirting came off kinda lame.

“ ‘I could ask the same thing of you. You looked like could get yourself into some good positions.’ Alex leaned in, acutely aware he was flirting with his bodyguard. ‘Me? You know how flexible I am. I can do the splits.’ He smiled. ‘Even lower to the floor if I wasn’t in jeans. If I was naked.’”

So yeah. They flirt, Alex sex dreams about Lewis when asleep and awake, and eventually they start making out. But it’s very slow going. I don’t mind slow-burn as long as it’s justified. There was no real reason why they didn’t start, well honestly, fucking like bunnies. It felt forced for the sake of anticipation.

Also, Lewis is supposed to be this super high IQ Mensa genius, but nothing in the way his character is portrayed supports that. He has an impressive academic background and can come up with some ridiculous chemistry questions about the pub quiz, but that created more of an impression about him being out of touch than ridiculously intelligent. My impression was that the intent behind Lewis’ high accolades was to make him more than a dumb heap of muscles, but it fell short.

Plot wise, some of the developments left me slack-jawed in wonder. Some tourists tweeted Alex’ location, which both Lewis and Alex’s management had tried to shield from the public at all costs, and Lewis’ reply was a zen ”Let them come”. You know, the whole, “This is my island” sort of gorilla chest-thumping fuckery that made no sense whatsoever. Sure, oh genius boduguard, stay there in that blip of an island waiting for the baddies like sitting ducks.

If it’s not obvious by my rant, I struggled to enjoy this book. It was boring and nothing really happened. I skimmed Lewis’ conversations with his sister and her love-life drama because they didn’t add anything to the story. The majority of the book felt like filler, waiting for some action from the villains at the end, where again, Lewis of the mighty protecting skills, fucked up.

The sex scenes were lacklustre at best and failed to move me in any way. The romance between Lewis and Alex seemed more like convenience than true attraction. I think the premise was interesting, with a lot of potential, but the execution fell short for me.

Can’t recommend.

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