The Forbidden Innocent's Bodyguard is a satisfying category romance in which main characters Elsa and Santi find their happily after once Santi puts aside his reservations about being too old for the Elsa.

Wealthy heroine whose family made their money in shipping & freight is in danger from the drug cartel who murdered her father (they wanted to use her father's company to move their product, Daddy said no, and here we are). Under guard in her Venice flat, she's shocked when the hero shows up to reunite her with her mother and sister. The hero she grew up with. The hero she's been madly in love with. The hero who is the sole reason she "ran away" to Venice. Now he's her bodyguard.

This should be an exciting read. Unrequited love! A dangerous drug cartel! Road romance! Instead it feels overly long (yes, a Presents that feels too long) and boring. There's an 11-year age gap and the hero feels indebted to the heroine's blue blood parents so naturally we get a ton of I'M NO GOOD FOR THE LIKES OF HER! nonsense, even though her parents never made him feel that way and there's no credible reason he should still feel she's off-limits. There's also a violent incident in his past that I think the author wanted to use to illustrate his feelings of inadequacy and protectiveness but just comes off as gross.

The heroine, while understandable she would be dense as a spoilt 18-year-old, is now in her 20s and frankly shouldn't be so clueless. Also, the fact that she so quickly threw herself up on the shelf after the hero rejected her was just eye-rolling.

There's a third act separation (of course there is...) that strains the seams considerably because the hero just comes off looking like an ass. But at least the heroine discovers some backbone after spending the entirety of the story up to that point mentally wringing her hands and throwing herself against the rocks of the past rejection.

And in case you think there's going to be some action/adventure-style scenes because, drug cartel, rest assured there aren't any.

Blah.

Author Michelle Smart brings you an enjoyable story following a mixture of tropes such as, young unrequited love, falling for the bodyguard, and forbidden love between social ranks. I always enjoy it when characters just can’t stop themselves from loving someone they have been warned about, it makes for the best angst filled slow burn.

The characters in this story are realistic, unsure of themselves, and both trying to live the life they desire. Elsa & Santiago have had feelings for each other for years yet they buried them and never allowed their feelings to flourish. There was always a reason why they shouldn’t be together. Santiago is the forever gentleman…except when he is enjoying a little banter with Elsa. Their behavior towards one another just made their chemistry much more palpable.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that flowed well with characters you fall in love with.

3 Stars

Enjoyable read. Elsa and Santi have had a thing for each other but never let on and kept it hidden. He was not going to give into his feelings as he respected Elsa's family too much. His was a troubled kid, the house keepers kid and they took him in and embraced him into the family pretty much. Elsa's at eighteen decided it was time to act on her feelings, she tried seduction and that didn't go over well at all.

Five years later Elsa needs Santi's, her family's in trouble. He's a self made billionaire and he had decided he will be Elsa's body guard and do whatever he needs to to protect her.

I loved the chemistry between these to. The added bonus was their sparring and back and bantering. The development of their relationship was well done, adult like in discussing what happened in the past. Plus very good pacing. I loved Santi and what a gentlemen he was. More of this type of hero please. Elsa was sweet too.

Great romance and great couple.

4/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I had a great time reading this book. With this book in particular I enjoyed the suspense aspect of traveling in disguise / going into hiding. I think it added to the story, which in turn also added to the chemistry. I loved that the characters had a history, they are both very attracted to each other and the suspense plot for sure added to the sexual tension. Overall a great read and would for sure recommend checking it out!

Harlequin romances are a sweet escape from reality. They are short, sweet and simple with a guaranteed HEA. This one unfortunately did not capture my interest at all. I only kept reading on because I was hoping knowing the author there would be some action or suspense to take the edge off.
Santi and Elsa had a childhood friendship which developed into romance. Santi stayed in the background believing his rags to riches story and her father's help in getting him there meant that he did not deserve her. When she took the courage to show up in his bed he shunned her quite brutally. This caused her to run off and start her life away from all that is familiar.
Now that she's in danger he's back to take care of her but all they do is smolder and ride first in his expensive cars and then in his expensive yacht. Given the mob chasing her etc. it might have been good to have at least a few close and exciting encounters.

I am a sucker for a bodyguard romance novel. Plus add the forbidden relationship and best friends element. These themes are what captured my attention.

If you have read harlequin before you know the format, the simple structure of the plots. I enjoyed Elsa and Santi's story. The banter and chemistry was good and I really like how they addressed the "miscommunication" as soon as they acknowledged it.

The Forbidden Innocent's Bodyguard was so dull. So very boring. Both characters spent too much time with internal monologues and I thought there was little actual development of their relationship beyond Santi's guilt. They spent, like, 40% of the book basically rehashing a single night inside their heads... I wanted more angst, more longing.... overall, I wanted more of an emotional story, somethings that would pull at your heartstrings at least a little bit - and it didn't. So: 2. 3 stars.

Elsa is in danger and needs to get to her mother for safety. Her mother sends an unexpected body guard to bring her home. One that Elsa is not pleased to see since she use to have a crush on him and had an embarrassing situation happen with him. She does eventually go with him and the adventure begins.
Love happens.