REVIEW TOUR STOP: Review and Teasers: Guarding Hearts by L.L. Collins

Guarding Hearts

Author LL Collins

Released May 23, 2014

Ellis Warner is a police officer, everyone’s friend and every girl’s fantasy- funny, dedicated, and too good looking for his own good. Thanks to a childhood he would rather forget and a young adulthood riddled with mistakes, he knows that no one can ever find out who he really is. He lives his life pretending to be the guy everyone sees on the outside. The one thing he knows for sure is that he can’t be serious with anyone. When he takes a second job as security for a new country star coming into town, he has no idea how that one decision will change his entire life and expose everything he has worked so hard to bury.

Samantha Kerrigan won a nationwide contest that immediately forces her into the spotlight. Her dreams of being a successful country singer have come true, but dreams always come with a price. While going out on her first tour, a stalker’s advances threaten her safety, forcing her team to hire more protection.

The second she meets Ellis, she knows there’s something about him and immediately makes him her private bodyguard. But he’s determined just to do his job, and she’s determined to make him open up. When her life is threatened and his secrets are exposed, will Ellis be able to guard Sam from danger, and his heart from her?

The traumatic and heartbreaking situations that L.L. Collins is known for creating continue in the third installment of her Living Again series, Guarding Hearts. This time, readers are introduced to Ellis Warner, a 29 year old SWAT Team member and friend of Devin. Ellis’ backstory is not an easy one to read; it’s filled with an immense amount of pain and suffering, and while the heroine, Samantha Kerrigan, is now living her dream as a country singer, her past is also one of sadness and tough choices.

They’ve never met each other, but when Ellis and Sam see one another’s pictures, feelings that haven’t been felt by either in quite some time begin to spark. Sam is on tour in Florida and needs extra security due to a stalker who has been harassing her. Ellis needs the extra money, so he decides to take the job as Sam’s bodyguard for the week that she’s there. Neither would have thought being around someone for only a week could completely alter their lives, but that’s all it takes for them to be forever changed and also give into their desires. Ellis and Sam share an intense connection, but Ellis doesn’t believes he’s good enough for Sammi; he doesn’t feel he’s good enough for anyone, and she has no idea how to get him to understand that he’s worth it. Further complications arise when Sam’s stalker gets even more daring, and Sam’s safety becomes a serious issue. But how does the man who’s suppose to protect her from any harm, do his job when he feels he’s the one who could hurt her the most?

L.L. Collins definitely knows how to create fully developed, realistic characters. Readers are able to understand all aspects of the hero and heroine’s lives because they are vividly presented. Every emotion…every fear…every regret is meticulously described so that we aren’t left with any questions as to why the characters make the decisions they do. Ellis’ childhood has done major damage to his psyche; so much so that even when he cleans up his act and makes something of himself, he still doesn’t feel like he deserves happiness. He’s been closed off for so long, so when he immediately starts to feel something for Sam, it scares the hell out of him, and he wants to run, which all makes sense because of how L.L. expertly writes his point of view. Sam is not L.L.’s typical heroine, but Ellis needs someone different…someone who can give him his light back, and she’s just the woman to do it. She’s immensely strong and carries herself with such grace for only being 23 years old, and Ellis needs someone who will fight for him, and she never stops fighting even when he all but gives up.

Guarding Hearts is a fantastic addition to the Living Again series. It has the perfect mix of suspense, drama, and steam. Some scenes are extremely intense while others are sweet and quirky, which is exactly what I’m looking for as a reader. I want to be able to laugh, cry, yell, and swoon as I read, and L.L. Collins’ stories allow all of those emotions to be felt. I can’t wait to see where she’ll take her readers next.

A complimentary copy of the text was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 poison apples

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1t0lyrX

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1gURjTt

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/TzNrwT

B&N: http://tinyurl.com/k2clwbx

Amazon AUS: http://tinyurl.com/qzv2th7

IBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/guardinghearts/id881230936?mt=11

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/guarding-heartslivingagain-3

LL Collins is a teacher who loves spending her days in the Florida sun with her husband and boys, reading, and writing. Her love of writing has found a home in the self-publishing world. Living Again and Reaching Rachel are available on Amazon Barnes & Noble, Kobo and iBooks, in both eBook and paperback. LL has been writing since she was old enough to write. Always a story in her head, she finally decided to let the characters out and start writing and try to make her lifelong dreams of becoming an author come true. She has been a teacher for over ten years, a wife for 14, and a mom to two boys, 12 and 10.