Sunday 1 December 2013

Book Review: Security by Mandy Baggott

Autumn Raine is a pop vocalist at the very top of her game. She’s a style icon, the paparazzi’s darling and everyone wants to be her friend. But when her safety is threatened, her whole life starts to unravel.

Enter Nathan Regan, an ex-elite soldier who is assigned to protect her. He’s a good man doing bad things but what drives him? Passion? Madness? Or grief? Demons from his past are threatening to consume him. Can he win the fight alone or will he have to admit he needs help?

As the threat deepens, Autumn starts to find out who she really needs in her life. Is there still room for personal assistant Janey or rapper boyfriend Rockweiler? When everyone around her is feeding her lies, how does she work out the truth? Does her record producer know more than he’s letting on? What is her mother, the British Foreign Secretary’s involvement in the situation? And can Autumn put her faith in a forty-something Jamaican woman who handles an automatic weapon as expertly as she cooks?

Eluding kidnap and trying to stay alive, can Autumn find the strength to be the person she longs to be? And can two people, poles apart, forge something strong enough to survive anything?



My Best friend blog’s - Reviewer Laura.
Book received from the Author - Thank you.

Security is the story of Autumn and her bodyguard Nathan Regan. I have to say that my first impression of the book was of disappointment as it reminded me so much of The Bodyguard storyline and I was worried it would feel like a copy, however as I got further in I started to quite enjoy it. It’s written as a RomCom crossed with Whodunit. I think as a romance novel it is quite good but the whodunit aspects of the book really let it down. 

Personally I think there are far too many twists and turns from the crime fiction side of the story. The storyline is so unrealistic that it is hard to get into it and believe the characters. I thought the introduction of Autumn’s long-deceased father is a step too far, It over-complicates the story without adding anything to it. I am still left a little unsure as to why this ‘twist’ was even added into the book other than to validate the kidnapping storyline, which I’m not sure it even does. I also felt the use of a top terrorist organisation to manipulate a kidnap of a celebrity is just a little far-fetched and extremely unbelievable. Overall the explanations of the plot were weak making it unclear and difficult to get into.

In terms of the romance side of the story, this is much clearer and believable. You can really feel the relationship between Autumn and Nathan developing. Even though it was clear from the very beginning that their relationship would develop from hatred to love, I felt I was still kept in suspense throughout. I liked the way Baggott flicks between characters throughout the book,  this really helps to understand the relationship from both sides. 

Overall a good romance story however it is hampered by the over-complicated kidnap plot. It is unfortunate but I would still be keen to read another of Baggott’s books in spite of this one not being for me.

I would give this book 4/10 - Fruit cake - Not one I would pick but if I had to eat it then I could force it down, I managed to finish it but pretty poor, would not recommend. Remember though, all books and readers are different and this is only my opinion.

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