Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

Renegade Protector by Nico Rosso is the first book in the Protector's series. This story started off with lots of action but left me unfulfilled throughout. It was a good read just not my exact forte.

Another suspenseful love story that while it had nice characters (especially a non-helpless heroine!), it unfortunately didn't draw me in as much as I would have liked. Still a nice story though and would recommend to those that like this genre.

A quick read but a very good one!! Loved the story and the characters and was rooting for their happily ever after when it came!

Mariana refuses to sell her lands to developers who seems to get increasingly aggressive in their approach to get her to leave. Ty manages to be there for her when some of the developers thugs decides to get a rough. From then on he decides to help her out as things get tougher but there's a reason hes sticking around as well that she doesnt know about.

I enjoyed this book there was so much going on that kept me hooked till the very end. I kept wondering what would happen next, and wondering why the police seemed to not be helping Mariana in the way that they should. I loved seeing how strong willed Mariana was, she loved her business and wanted to keep it going she refused to let others scare her away. Getting a pay off could've made things easier for her but she loved her business and refused to back down. I loved that attraction between the two. Overall this was a pretty good book I really enjoyed it.

The story starts off with a fighting, fire and mystery men saving the life of Mariana. Many times though the story the lead male Ty Morrison talks about how strong Mariana is and how she can change things for the better. The only as the story kept going I felt as a reader I was missing something. Never once did Ty explain why he felt that way.

The story is nothing more than a vigilant story with over the stop action, romance, sex and one over the top Alpha Male that didn't quite make since in this story.



Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Nico Rosso Renegade Protector

There are certain things I did not like about this book. Ty kept telling us how strong and impressive and tough Mariana was from the very beginning of the story, but there was nothing at that point to support Ty's strong believe in this. He acted as if she was a superhero from almost page one. That made things feel flat for me. Also, the premise of the book did not sit well with me. Going outside of the law to procure justice makes those seeking it little better than the criminals.

Mariana Balducci is being pressured to sell her family’s California apple orchard to developers. When the developers start switching from hard-sell business tactics to all-out threats and violence, Mariana doesn’t know if she can hold out...until Ty Morrison swoops in to lend support. Ty doesn’t offer much information about himself or why he’s there to help, but Mariana needs him if she’s going to get the developers off her back and preserve her family’s heritage. Ty has an alternate agenda, however, and when Mariana finds out she may never forgive him.

There were many things I liked about this book, and many things I didn’t. I did actually like the romance between Mariana and Ty. It moves too fast like so many romantic suspenses, but they do seem to have a great connection. I believed that they’d be a good couple going forward. I like that there was a lot of action in the book--there is a lot happening and it kept me interested. I also liked Mariana and Ty. Both were kind of broody but were smart and driven. Plus, the people in this world are diverse in a casual and realistic way, not entirely white as other Harlequin books would have you believe.

Unfortunately, the book also suffers from some of same criticisms I often have with Rosso’s books. He focuses much more on description and inner thoughts than on dialogue, and his description is sometimes overwrought and kind of silly. Take this passage where Ty is describing eating an apple from Mariana’s orchard:

"Savoring it this way strengthened the connection he’d been feeling with her all night. Her work, part of herself, was in his mouth, intimate and close. An apple had never made his blood rush like this."

A little dramatic, especially when he just met hours ago her, no? It’s not bad exactly, but it does get a little old as the story goes on. The plot also has way too much that doesn’t make sense. It’s never properly explained why these seemingly legit land developers would suddenly become willing to kill someone, beyond “money.” Mariana also just lets Ty into her life immediately, with very little mistrust or hesitation. Girl, you have no idea who he is or why he is there, and you barely ask any questions! It's dangerous and, more importantly, draws out Ty's lie of omission for absolutely no reason. 

Worse, the larger story arc that I assume will be continued in future books makes no sense. There is almost no explanation given for Ty’s secret mission. He wants to rebuild an organization his ancestors helped found, called Frontier Justice, that...got justice? On the frontier? I really had no idea what that meant beyond that they “helped.” And now Ty, who is AN ACTUAL POLICE OFFICER I might add, wants to create a vigilante justice organization. In this book they do some pretty illegal stuff to help Mariana, too. He doesn’t seem to plan to quit his day job so how exactly would that work? I don’t know if there was just not enough attention given to world building/explanation or if the whole premise is poorly designed, but either way I rolled my eyes a bunch.

It probably sounds like I hated this book, but I definitely didn’t and I really struggled with wanting to give this a 3 instead of 2.5. I was disappointed in parts of the plot, for sure, but I think (?) this will be the start of a new series. I hold out some hope that future books will work better on that front. Still, this book has a different vibe and tone than your average Harlequin Intrigue, and I appreciate that. I appreciate Rosso’s voice, even if I don’t always love his stories, which is why I am glad to see him bringing something fresh to Harlequin.

Grade: 2.5 out of 5