I loved this one. I loved the growth that Haley goes through. These characters go through some real emotions and I enjoyed reading the resolve. I love the music aspect to this story and how relatable these characters are. This story was written beautifully and I recommend it to romance lovers.

Also a fun side note:
When my husband was in college (I followed him shortly after we started dating. I couldn’t let him get away! Hehehe😏) he used to have a slot for the radio station and it was so fun to hang out and spend time in the studio. So I loved that connection I had with this story.


Thank you HambrightPR for this arc!

Tropes:
✧Bodyguard
✧Dealing with loss of a loved one
✧College romance
✧Second chance
✧Brother's best friend
✧Forbidden
✧Forced proximity
✧Woman in danger
✧Military hero
✧Enemies to lovers

The premise alone was enough to hook you. Haley Chapman is in college and trying to make it on the side as a musician. Her mom is a senator and she lost her dad and brother in the last decade. She is surprised when someone tries to abduct her. Thankfully, she is able to get out of their grip and get to safety. But when her mom starts to get death threats for the whole family, a body guard is assigned to her. Not just any body guard, but her childhood crush. Her brother's best friend growing up. The man who kissed her all that time ago, and never reached out since. It has been four years since they spoke, they didn’t even speak at her brother's funeral. And now here he was, there to protect her and be around her… all the time.

This book started out in the best way. I was instantly dying to know what happened next and could feel the tension brewing. The problem for me though, was that the tension was fixed within the first 35% of the book. I felt like it could have had so much potential if they had dragged it out, added more in the first half with the yearning and lusting over each other. This book was a miss for me, but that is okay! It might be a hit for you!

I am not sharing this on Goodreads yet because I do not want it to bring down the rating! I will wait a few weeks! Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

I DEVOURED this book!
It was enjoyable and the type of book that keeps you turning the page! The characters and the story?! Just loved it!
Glad I was able to ARC read this

4.5 rounded up to 5 stars!
Brother's best friend, Bodyguard, Fake Dating - all in one, and it's a dream come true
To be honest, I was excited yet nervous to have all of these tropes combined but I genuinely loved this book and the journey of our main characters.

Haley is put under protection after a (failed) kidnapping attempt having something to do with her senator mother's political career. In comes brother's best friend, Ace, who is assigned to protect her - with a touch her and die mentality, a severe case of survivor's guilt, and not-so-secret pining since childhood (on both sides of the equation). When he poses as her boyfriend to fit in on her college campus, the two experience the very real feelings that started years ago in their pre-teenage years.

This story is told in alternating timelines - present timeline from both Haley and Ace's POVs, and past timeline that slowly builds up to the present timeline to show the dynamic of their relationship over the years.

The bond between Haley and Ace is palpable, yet fraught with complications from grief over her brother and father's deaths, and a desire to test the boundaries of safety. There is a LOT of back and forth for their relationship, which does get old after a while, and yet I still felt like their dynamic was founded on logical feelings and reactions to life experiences. And this gets VERY spicy when they throw all caution to the wind and hook up every few chapters because they're horny 20-somethings.

The physical ARC copy that I have did not include a content warning page, nor did the e-galley, which I think could be valuable due to some of the darker elements of this book, which include:
Loss of family members (in past, but as a central piece of FMC's trauma)
Grief processing (and lack thereof)
Kidnapping attempt (short and on page, with subsequent ongoing sense of danger)
General recklessness (due to a skewed sense of safety/danger)
Survivor's guilt / blame

Every single bit of the book was absolutely wonderful. These two have a wonderful bond, that honestly made me cry.
Ace came in to be Haley’s bodyguard after her life is put in danger. They have been family-friends for many years and this became the perfect bodyguard, fake dating, romance.

Grief and loss were a focal point in this book, so beware of that before reading.

Sarah Castille delivers another scorching romance with Steal My Breath Away, featuring a compelling mix of heat and heart. The story follows the emotionally scarred but resilient heroine and the brooding, dominant hero who harbors secrets of his own. Their chemistry is palpable from the start, and Castille doesn’t shy away from diving into deep emotional territory as they work through trust, trauma, and vulnerability.

There’s just something about a second chance at love that pulls me in every time.

After a failed kidnapping attempt, Haley is forced to accept protection from her brother’s best friend and former flame, Ace.

The second chance trope was done so well and pairing it with the bodyguard trope? THE BEST.

Haley and Ace had a lot of history, and their relationship didn’t just fall into place…it was full of tension, unresolved feelings, and real emotional growth.

I loved how the story didn’t shy away from grief or hard moments, making it more than just a light, fluffy romance. It kept me invested the whole way through.

If you love protective heroes, emotional depth, and a second chance that truly earns its happy ending, this one’s for you.

Thank you Hambright for the gifted ARC!

Thank you @hambrightPR for the opportunity to read this!

I am a sucker for a good second chance, brothers best friend romance. This one was cute! Ace really has such a hard up bringing but got lucky by finding Haley and Matt and their family. I can see how both Haley and Ace had a rough feelings after losing Matt.

This story to me was pretty predictable but it was still a fun read. I like the possessiveness of Ace and how he wants to protect Haley. Their second chance really went fast and I kind of wish there was a little bit more banter or something. Or it just happened at odd times.

🛡️ Bodyguard
👩🏼‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏼 College romance
🥂 Second chance
💙 Brother's best friend
🚪 Forced proximity
🎖️ Military hero
❤️‍🔥 Enemies to lovers

How I have been waiting for this book to come out!! This was so great I will definitely read this again and again! I need this for my shelf and it will stick with me forever

Haley is a young music lover just trying to survive the weight of her grief. After losing both her father and brother, she’s become the kind of person who keeps her emotions locked away. One day, while walking down the street, she’s nearly kidnapped by someone in a white van. Thankfully, her quick thinking—and the help of a friend—saves her. The only reason Haley can think of for being targeted is her mother, a senator currently running for re-election. Concerned for her daughter’s safety, her mother decides to hire a bodyguard—and she knows exactly who she wants for the job.

Ace is a celebrity bodyguard who takes his work seriously—so seriously that he doesn't even flinch when beautiful celebrities try to get his attention. But when his boss forces him to take some time off, he returns to his late grandmother’s home, burdened with grief over her loss and the death of his best friend. That’s when he’s asked to protect Haley—the one girl he’s never been able to forget.

I really appreciated the emotional depth in this story, especially the flashback scenes. They hit home for me. The moments with Haley’s dad were particularly moving, as they reminded me of my own father, who passed away nearly four years ago. Having also lost my brother in 2011, I deeply resonated with Haley’s tendency to bottle up her emotions. The letter her brother wrote to Ace had me so emotional.

There are plenty of tense, suspenseful moments as threats against Haley mount. What stood out most, though, was the relationship between Haley and Ace. Given their shared past and the way he left her before, I appreciated that their connection wasn’t portrayed as perfect or easy. It felt real—messy, heartfelt, and full of growth.

DNF at 24%.

This is not a book that really understands much about the way the world works, and while I'm generally OK with a lot of silliness for a romance novel, this pushed a little too far. Haley's mother is said to be a state senator, yet works in DC and interacts with Capitol Police, which are things that United States Senators do. Haley's dad has a Michelin star but demonstrates none of the other signifiers of elite cooking, as if that's just a thing that Sarah Castille had heard of as a way to make it clear he was good. The novel opens with Ace immediately after the Oscars, so in March or so, but then a couple chapters later it's almost election time, which would make it almost November? Haley's mom talks about her getting protection from the US Marshalls despite that not being a thing they do. All these things are the sort of thing that an editor should have picked up.

But the thing that really killed it for me was when, a quarter of the way through the book and after multiple flashback chapters that show us how much Haley's father meant to Ace, Ace looks at the watch that Haley's father had given him and thinks the phrase "He'd been like a father to me." No shit! People don't think sentences like that, and after giving us so many goddamn flashbacks we know that's true already! Enough. This wasn't funny or sexy enough to justify reading any further.

Haley Chapman comes from a prominent family and one that likes to keep a perfect image on the outside after tragedy. Her goal is to become big in the music world and currently DJ’s for the college radio station. When Hailey’s life is in danger her mother hires family friend Ace Murphy to be her bodyguard. He might be her late brother’s best friend but having Ace follow her all over campus might be too much to keep either of their true feelings at bay. On the other hand, maybe the time together might be what each needs to heal them both from their pasts. A touching bodyguard romance merged with music, second chances and action. Told in first person and present/past tense to see how their relationship began and unraveled. Dual POV.