THE PROTECTOR by JODI ELLEN MALPAS :: REVIEW

‘I cling onto him like he’s all I have.
Because I feel like he is. Strong.  Dependable. My Protector.’

When we saw one of our favourite authors, Jodi Ellen Malpas was writing a standalone we were ecstatic. When we heard all about our leading man being ex SAS turned Bodyguard, who breaks his rule of ‘no emotional connection’ we couldn’t contain ourselves! When we were offered a review copy by the publisher……well, turn us over because we were done! Torn between wanting to rush straight into reading The Protector yet wanting to hold off to savour it for a little longer, we decided we’d been patient long enough and set ourselves some valuable reading time getting to know all about Jake!

Jodi Ellen Malpas is a dab hand at delivering those swoony, intense dominant alpha males and Jake Sharp is no exception. This guy is quite the protector that’s for sure! He’s damn dreamy, but would we expect anything less from this author? We think not and on that note, she did deliver.

“Take it all,” he commands hoarsely, motioning down his tall body. “Please, just fucking take it all.”

However, The Protector fell a little short of our expectations.  There were times it felt reminiscent to Jodi Ellen Malpas’ previous books and this was both a blessing as well as a curse. A blessing because we love the passion she injects in her stories, this aspect never fails to grip us and her descriptive prose allows us to become a part of her stories. A curse because at times The Protector felt as though we were reading the same characters placed in a different setting and so The Protector had a tendency to feel a bit ‘samey’ for want of a better word.

There is a lot of underhandedness and twists in this story, some we worked out, some took us completely by surprise and overall we did enjoy the story, however, we sadly weren’t convinced by the instant intense connection between Jake and Cami which saw declarations of soul searing love being professed within 2-3 days. This, despite the fact Jake and Cami didn’t really know each other all that well.

‘I’m mad for her. I need to keep her. I need to protect her.’

Sure, they connected on a physical level, of that there is no doubt, but their love felt somewhat superficial as neither really knew anything about the other and left us feeling as though we needed more. More build up, more revelations…… just more belief in their intense relationship.  We needed Cami to force Jake into revealing himself before she gave her heart to him. After all,  Cami had witnessed Jake’s volatile side yet never thought to question it. Jake on the other hand knew Cami more on a second hand information basis than a soul deep level. Neither really got to the depths of who they truly were, what they were. The ferocity and timing of their feelings was too immediate and a somewhat  unbelievable. In order to believe it we have to feel it…and sadly we didn’t in this case.

“You’re the missing piece I wasn’t looking for, angel. And now I’m scared of being incomplete again. I’m so scared of being without you.”

In saying that, the story picked up with vigour towards the end and the latter part of the book was absolutely beautiful revealing the real inner strength and torment Jake had endured. This was proper heart-warming stuff!  We did feel that the dual POV worked to perfection as we were able to catch a personal glimpse of both Cami and Jake. Whilst this wasn’t our favourite by this author, we did enjoy much of the story as a whole, we just wish Jake and Cami’s characters could have been fleshed out more and their relationship allowed to develop more organically in order for us to really and truly experience the intensity of their feelings for each other.