S.E.X. Review~ The Soldier and the Bodyguard by RJ Scott

GLBTQ, MM, 
Trope: Hurt Comfort, Best Friends to Lovers, PTSD, Brain Injury, Peril, Found Family
Released: 17 June 2022
Publisher: Love Lane Books
Series: Ellery Mountain
Length: 60,000 words
Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Excerpt 

The lie in the mirror was that I couldn't see the bullet fragments in my head. Only machines could see the damage, but I knew what was in there, and I scratched near the scar, which itched like fuck.

“Hey, don't do that,” Adrian murmured and laced our fingers together so he could tug me away from worrying at the skin. He’d have been horrified if I’d told him I had this idea that, if I scratched hard enough and then tilted my head, the fragments would fall out. 

I did that in my dreams, but I’d also discussed it in my chats with my therapist, who told me it was understandable to feel as if I could reach into my brain and pick out the metal.

Understandable. Reasonable.

“Sorry.” 

Adrian squeezed my hand. “It's okay; I'm just jealous that you have a wicked scar for the ladies.”

I glanced at him. “And the men.”

He nodded and I wish I knew what he was thinking, but Adrian had this inscrutable way about him. Or maybe it was that my brain wasn't working enough to try to read his thoughts the way I'd always been able to do before. My doctor likened this challenging part of my recovery to face-blindness, saying that the part of my brain that understood expressions was damaged.

“Yep, all the men, too,” Adrian corrected himself in his usual upbeat breezy fashion, then pulled me away from the mirror and sat me in the chair. I couldn't tie my hair back on my own, but he knew that, and already had the thin leather he twined in my damp curls to tame them. “Ready for a shave?” He picked up the shaver, but I shook my head. “You're gonna grow a beard, JC? For real?” He was teasing me because that was what Adrian did. He pulled me out of the dark times, and he laughed with me, and at me, and he made me remember I was still alive.

I wish I weren't alive. I would give anything for Taylor or Asti to be here instead of me.

“It hurts,” I admitted, and as soon as I said it, I wanted to take back the words because Adrian dropped to a crouch in front of me.

“What hurts?” he asked with urgency.

“The… thing,” I patted my cheek, but my hand was shaking, and I dropped it immediately.

“Your head hurts?”

“No.” Yes.

JC and Adrian were a wonderfully refreshing addition to the Ellery Mountain series by RJ Scott. The Soldier and the Bodyguard hit all the marks. Lots of mystery and intrigue, and an abundance of love.

There were so many things I loved about the story building in this tale. The veterans at the center and the community they created. The infusion of all time favorite Sanctuary operates. But the pinnacle was the love between JC and Adrian. Usually in a storyline the slow burn is so slow, that I lose interest. Ms. Scott created their love from the start and then allowed it to flourish to love/sensuality. It enhanced the story and told of the friendship, through good and bad, with a lifelong commitment in the end.

Ups and downs, twists and turns, The Soldier and the Bodyguard hit every mark. You need not read the entire series to understand this book, but if you are looking for sexy men with strong characteristics and large hearts, Ellery Mountain series was worth the read.

Definite S.E.X.

A five handcuff review

 ~~~~~

2022 ©Evelise Archer All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

S.E.X. Review~ The Gardener & the Marine by RJ Scott

Harrison is alone and hurting with his memories gone, but Toby shows him that love can heal even the most broken of hearts.

After losing his entire team in a roadside bomb, Harrison is left with a traumatic brain injury, a broken body, and scars on his heart that might never heal. Staying at the Ellery Mountain Veterans Center is the first step in healing, but short-term memories evade him, and the only thing he trusts is the love of Barney, his support dog.

Until he meets Toby.

Toby lands the chance of a lifetime, using his horticultural skills to aid in working with veterans during their physical and mental recovery. Meeting Harrison on his first day goes badly, but there is something between them that could be more than just friendship.

With time, it could even become love.

Excerpt

And that was when I spotted him.

He was staring right at me. Dark hair, brown eyes, and a scar that ran from his forehead down the left-hand side of his face. His hands were in fists in his lap, and there was tension in every line of him. A black Labrador sat across his feet. 

“Hi,” I said.

His stare didn’t falter, and I could see his scars, some of them running down and under his thin jacket.

“I’m Toby, and I’m here to work with you,” I blurted out and took a step closer, but I wish I hadn’t moved. He flinched, then stood shakily, whistled for the dog, and pulled himself tall an inch at a time. Then, shoulders back as much as he could, he stumbled up to the main building.

Despite all my training and the fancy words I’d used in my proposal about how I knew what I was doing, I’d failed my first test.

~~~~~

RJ Scott

RJ Scott, author of M/M romance.

Writing love stories with a happy ever after – cowboys, heroes, family, hockey, single dads, bodyguards

 

USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott has written over one hundred romance books. Emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, single dads, hockey players, millionaires, princes, bodyguards, Navy SEALs, soldiers, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, cops, and the men who get mixed up in their lives, always with a happy ever after.

She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing. The last time she had a week’s break from writing, she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a box of chocolates she couldn’t defeat.

Website | Newsletter | Email | BookBub | Amazon | Pinterest | Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook Reader Group | Facebook Author Page| BingeBooks | TikTok  | YouTube |  MeWe |  Facebook MM Hockey Romance Group

The Gardener and the Marine by RJ Scott was a nice addition to the Ellery Mountain series. The series overall dealt with troubled individuals and how they found peace in Ellery Mountain. This new book hit the mark with compassion and good vibes.

I adored Toby and his patience, understanding, and love for Harrison. Ms. Scott was realistic in her depiction of Harrison and in her characterization of what occurred when soldiers were traumatized both physically and emotionally.

The love between Toby and Harrison was not to be taken lightly as issues hindered Harrison from truly feeling his self-worth. But, with Ms. Scott’s careful hand, both men blossomed.

The series does not need to be read in order, but I highly recommend connecting with all the men of Ellery Mountain.

Definite S.E.X.

A five handcuff review

~~~~~

2021 ©Evelise Archer All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

S.E.X. Review~ The Sinner & The Saint by RJ Scott

Universal Buy Link

Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Length: 40,000 words approx.

Ellery Mountain Series

Book #1 - The Fireman & The Cop

Book #2 - The Teacher & The Soldier

Book #3 - The Carpenter & The Actor

Book #4 - The Doctor & The Bad Boy

Book #5 - The Paramedic & The Writer 

Book #6 - The Barman & The SEAL

Book #7 - The Agent & The Model

Blurb

Army medic Ben Rockwell is in Ellery to work with the Veterans Center creating a new specialist unit for post trauma care. Desperate to make amends for battlefield decisions he regrets, he is focused on the unit and nothing else. Until some stranger moves in next door and throws him a curveball. He’s no hero, even though everyone says he is, and the lies burn inside him.

Leaving drama and chaos in his wake, Nicholas Merrick fled London and is hiding out in his friend Jason’s house, until everything back home dies a death. The choices he made in his life were to keep his best friend safe, but as a result everyone sees him as the bad guy.

When these two meet, the attraction is instant. Can they ever be their true selves, and find love as a result?

April 25 - Xtreme Delusions, Hearts On Fire Reviews, Megan's Media Melange, Gay Media Reviews

April 27 - Reading In Sarah's Corner, Diverse Reader

April 30 - Love Unchained, Jim's Reading Room, Blazing Zane Book Blog

May 2 - Mainely Stories, MM Good Book Reviews

May 4 - RAM PA Group, Bonkers About Books, Katie's Book Corner, Sexy Erotic Xciting

May 7 - Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

May 9 - Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books, Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings, OMG Reads

May 11 - Dog-Eared Daydreams, MM Midnight Cafe, Valerie Ullmer, Drops Of Ink, Wicked Reads, Bookaholic & Kindle, The Geekery Book Review, Padme's Library, Bayou Book Junkie, Lillian Francis

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Loud banging, with added yelling, pulled Nick out of a nightmare. After a restless, irritable, crunchy-messy night of tossing and turning, he had finally fallen asleep some time before dawn, and now at fuck o’clock in the morning there was knocking at the front door. And some asshole shouting words that he couldn’t make out. Was this part of his dream? He couldn’t tell.

For the longest time he lay flat on his back, unwilling to move. The sheets were wrapped around him like a mummy, the quilt on the floor, and he was still in that half world between nightmare and reality. Even closing his eyes didn’t help dispel the vivid images of him walking up to the Oscar podium completely naked and with the Queen pointing and laughing at him.

Naked as the day he was born, hanging loose and free, and no one saying a thing. Apart from the laughing that was. Like it was okay that one of the Oscar nominees was walking up the steps free of any and all clothing.

Not to mention no one commented on the Queen throwing popcorn at him.

Yep, it had been that kind of nightmare, and it wasn’t the first time he’d had it. And where the Oscar fear came from he didn’t know. There would never be a chance of an Oscar for. Not for the guy whose acting career had happened by accident and formed only because of a personal rebellion against his straight laced family. His resume included two sequels to the highly profitable, but formulaic, shit-bad, Angels of Bedlam franchise, with his entire fee going charity because he didn’t need the money.

Nick hadn’t been in the first UK funded Bedlam film. Said film had been praised for its ingenious twist on a dark horror romance. No, he was the handy British villain in the next two, the studio cashing in on any money that was left out there in a saturated market by ticking all the boxes. Explosions, tick. Strong, but mostly naked, female lead, tick. Sexy down on his luck, in te wrong place at the wrong time, male lead, tick.

And him, the ubiquitous bad guy with the English accent.

The follow up were certainly not Oscar material, and once Nick pulled his fragmented sleep-addled thoughts into line, he focused on the statistical likelihood of even being nominated for an Oscar in the first place, let alone accepting it naked.

“Fuck me,” he muttered to the empty room and rolled onto his front. The banging had stopped and no one actually knew he was here, so, he wasn’t going to answer the door in a place that wasn’t even his.

Jason McInnery and his husband, Kieran, lived in this stunning home, in the small town of Ellery, Tennessee. Glass floor to ceiling, wide open rooms, a pool in the garden, and the most comprehensive jungle gym he’d ever seen for Jason and Kieran’s son, Jonas. Even the damn guest room was beautiful, a huge wood carving took up nearly one wall, and the view from the window out to the mountain was stunning. At least that was the adjective he was supposed to use for what he could see. Objectively, he could see it was spectacular, but was too lost in confusion since he got here to think about it too much. A quick glance at the clock showed him it was five am, like midnight or something back in London, and still dark in the shadow of the mountain, so he rolled over and pulled the covers up to his neck.

Even in the middle of the chaotic remnants of his nightmare he welcomed the heat that cocooned him and willed the knocking to stop. Which it did. The mess of dreams forgotten, he drifted on as many good thoughts as he could muster and was very nearly asleep when the banging started up again. He groaned and hid his face under the pillow, willing the person creating the noise to go away. Then it ceased again, and he closed his eyes, but didn’t remove the pillow. Dawn was too close now and the room would fill with light because he hadn’t even taken the time to pull the drapes.

Unfortunately, his bladder had other ideas about what he needed to do, and cursing, he grabbed the sheets and untwisted himself. Feet planted on the floor he scrubbed a hand over his face, the untamed beard was just another reminder of everything that was horribly wrong about his life right now. Normally he would have just the right amount of stubble, but the last instalment of Angels of Bedlam, cunningly entitled, Bedlam Adrift, called for him to be a castaway, hence the beard, which he’d left to tangle.

No point in worrying about it anyway. He’d left London to get away from paparazzi, and their incessant need for more, and he was in unofficial hiding. Therefore, no one would see his beard, or his bloodshot eyes.

He caught sight of himself in the mirror.

“Jesus, you look fucked.”

Bedhead. Bags under his eyes. Beard. It was a whole cacophony of B-shit. Yawning widely, he padded across the bedroom to the half bath, emptying his bladder and washing his hands. He’d gone to bed as nature intended. Well, warm nature anyway, completely naked, which probably led to nightmare. Packing back home had been done in less than five minutes, his priority was money, passport, his phone, his laptop and associated chargers. It seemed like his messed-up head hadn’t thought any kind of pajamas were needed, or indeed underwear.

The next choice was shower or bed, and the exhaustion of the past few days, the media attention, making sure Heather was okay, fleeing the UK, ending up here in the middle of rural Tennessee, it was all too much and he sighed.

“Bed it is,” he muttered to his reflection. As soon as he woke up he was going online to order everything he’d forgot to pack. Jason had said to help himself to anything he needed but helping himself to his friend’s clothes didn’t feel right.

He yawned again, and stepped out into the cooler bedroom, eyes only half open.

“Hands where I can see them,” someone shouted, and Nick, startled, his heart pounding, fell backwards into the bathroom, catching himself on the jamb as best he could. He blinked to focus on the man in front of him.

The cop.

The gun.

The cop holding a gun on him. Immediately he raised his hands, and then lowered them to cover his junk, and then raised them again when the cop didn’t move.

RJ’s goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.

RJ is the author of the over one hundred novels and discovered romance in books at a very young age. She realized that if there wasn’t romance on the page, she could create it in her head, and is a lifelong writer.

She lives and works out of her home in the beautiful English countryside, spends her spare time reading, watching films, and enjoying time with her family.

The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit and has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.

She’s always thrilled to hear from readers, bloggers and other writers. Please contact via the following links below:

Email RJ (rj@rjscott.co.uk)
Goodreads Page
RJ’s Blog
RJ on Twitter
Facebook
Library Thing Page
Tumblr (some NSFW (not safe for work) photos)
Pinterest

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

The Sinner and the Saint by RJ Scott was a wonderful addition to the Ellery Mountain series and one I have waited patiently for. All the characters in the series are well-developed, likeable and intriguing; Ben and Nick did not disappoint.

The two men were thrown together, as each needed to work on exorcising his own personal demons, and together they came out better on the other end.

I loved Ben’s bravado and take-charge attitude, and Nick’s big heart left this reader swooning. Sexy men who are even sexier together.

The storyline and infusion of helping those returning from was always held a special place in my heart~ a group society sometimes overlooks. Ms. Scott does a lovely job of creating realism throughout without patronizing the masses.

Definite S.E.X.

A five handcuff review

~~~~~

2018 ©Evelise Archer All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

S.E.X. Review~ The Agent & The Model by R.J. Scott

Michael comes home to Ellery to face his past, only his present keeps intruding in the form of his agent Alex Casey, who won’t take no for an answer.

Michael Hardin is back in Ellery to face his past. The victim of a hate crime, he has memories that lie just out of his reach and nightmares that won’t leave him alone.

Alex Casey loves Michael but he completely ruined everything by treating Michael like someone who needed to be wrapped in cotton wool.

Can Michael discover more about his past and find love with Alex?

New cover, edited and with two new chapters.

There is no pretentiousness when reading R.J. Scott’s Ellery Mountain series, and The Agent and the Model did not disappoint. The title is exactly what we find; modeling agency owner Alex and model Mikey form a professional relationship turned personal one, with pitfalls that require healing. After Mikey was attacked six years prior, he left the sanctuary of Ellery to enter the world of modeling only to find himself attacked again, and Alex’s need to protect him, only compounded the problem by not discussing Mikey’s  potential stalker.

Mikey returned to Ellery, where his life as a teenager under the careful guidance of his Nana and the men of the Friday night jaunts, formed a protective cocoon around him. The dynamics between Mikey and Alex was heartfelt and sweet as each man attempted to get past the hurt and sorrow they had created in their budding relationship. Along with some loving guidance from Norma-Jean and our resident Ellery Mountain men, Mikey and Alex took the chance to enhance their relationship and moved forward.

Scenes brought me to tears as Ms. Scott crafted Mikey’s memories of his attack and the soul-wrenching affect which permeated his life.

Each book in the Ellery Mountain series has added a new and multi-dimensional aspect to the stories and the lives of the characters and I can’t believe that six years have passed since we first met Finn and Max. The men are getting married, children are on the way and the ever-sound life on Ellery Mountain remains steadfast and resolute.

As always, Ms. Scott has left me yearning for more but completely satisfied in what I have read. The enhanced version of The Agent and the Model is pure S.E.X.

Book provided by author/publisher in exchange for an honest review (Previously reviewed, slightly edited)

Definite S.E.X.

A five handcuff review

2016 ©Evelise Archer All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.