Review: Guarded Souls

Guarded Souls by Amanda Carol
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've mentioned a whole bunch how I love enemies to lovers books. I've also mentioned that I love a survivor story. And a forced proximity story... Seriously, this book is all of that and more!

Amanda Carol wrote one of my favourite PNR series with The Awakened Trilogy and while I am DYING to have more books in that world ( #TeamBennettNeedsLoveToo ) I am overjoyed to have something new from her to read!

Guarded Souls is the first in her new Heroes of River Falls series. It's a story about a grumpy detective who's grieving the loss of his partner and best friend becoming the one thing that stands between a sweet, kindhearted yet sassy photographer and her stalker ex boyfriend who's hell bent on making her pay for putting his abusive ass behind bars. Welcome to the town of River Falls, the home of Aubrey Daniels and Dean Holden, and the place where they met and proceeded to be put through the wringer to fall in love.

Sounds like one HELLUVA romantic suspense doesn't it? Right?!?!

And who doesn't love a romantic suspense with a first responder as the hero? It can't be just me, seriously!

I caught a glimpse of the Gentleman Jack bottle he was looking at. I turned my head to look at him, and my breath hitched at how close we were. I could see a dusting of freckles on his nose, and his dark green eyes narrowed in on my face.

“I wouldn’t recommend the Gentleman for you—it’s way too classy,” I whispered low enough so no one else but Dean would hear. “Why don’t you try Fireball? It’s cheap, and it’s something you’ll regret in the morning.”

He leaned in closer, a smirk forming on his full lips. “It sounds like you know that from experience.”

With our gazes locked, he pulled the bottle of Gentleman Jack off the shelf, then left.

Seriously, these two! There's banter, but there's also a connection and a bond because they've both experienced the pain of loss and what it means to be the one left to live on through a traumatic experience. I swear, I wanted to wrap Dean up in blankets (there were a few moments for Aubrey too) which should tell you just how much feeling there is in this story. There's just something about the heartache that I like.



Aubrey's history is full of pain and heartache while for Dean, that's what his more recent past has been like. Everyone deals with grief in different ways and that point is hammered home with the difference in the ways Aubrey and Dean handle their respective grief at the monumental losses they've faced. This story is raw, it is very real, and the relationship between the grumpy, hurting, asshole detective and the sweet and kind photographer is one that I have absolutely fallen in love with!

It's the perfect mix of romance and suspense, and the characters feel real and welcoming and just suck you into their world. I swear, I loved the roller coaster ride for my emotions. Please take the trigger warnings to heart, there are moments that are just absolutely gut wrenching. Chapter 21 - I dare you to not sob!!! Absolute GUT PUNCH right in the feels!

I could wax poetic about Guarded Souls all day, but I want you to read it not just read about other people reading it! Sooo…

Let me leave you with some of my...



Favourite Lines -

There was something about her that when she opened her mouth, she didn’t give a shit what I’d been through; she would give it right back to me. She gave what she took, and if I wasn’t careful, she could take all of me.

“You know, if you took a picture it would last longer.” His husky voice brought me to my senses.

“I’d love to,” I quipped back. “Then I’d have something to remind myself that you can keep your mouth shut."

“Will somebody please explain what’s going on?” I commanded, and Aubrey narrowed her eyes on me.

“What’s going on is none of your damn business.”

I jerked back. Usually, this was the other way around. The way she would meet me tit for tat was becoming a bit of foreplay for me.

Dean was only wearing a button-down flannel with the sleeves rolled up. I guessed his muscles kept him warm, or his hatred for the world—it was anyone’s best guess.

I looked at her, and damn did a part of me want to wrap my arms around her. The more time I spent with her, the more my walls started to crack. I needed to plaster that shit up now. I could hear Wyatt now.

You’d be an idiot to let this one go.

Well, sorry pal. I had to let her go. I would be poison to her, never allowing her to blossom.

I never thought that I would be hiding in shadows until the sun came up ever again.

I felt the corners of my lips tip up, and her mouth gaped open.

“Is that a smile?” She lifted a brow.

“No.”

“Oh my gosh. Is the Dean Holden smiling? Hell must have frozen over.” Aubrey chuckled, and I couldn’t help but smirk. She lifted her camera and snapped a picture, then glanced down at the screen. She stopped laughing, but her smile stayed as she looked up at me.

“You should smile more often. It suits you.”

I was scared. I was scared of never seeing my friends again. I was scared of being away from home, my safe haven. I was scared of falling in love with someone who had the potential to break my heart. I was scared to let down the people I loved…I was scared of Ray finding me.

I’m scared of dying.

His kiss was intoxicating, bourbon and mint, my new favorite flavor.

Sinking down onto the floor, I came to one realization that rocked me to my core.

I had finally surrendered myself to Dean Holden, and there was no coming back.

Kissing Aubrey was like breathing in fresh air after a night of rain. I had forgotten all the pain and the grief as my mouth moved against hers. I gave in to temptation, and I would sell my soul to the devil if it meant getting to taste her just one more time.

If kissing Dean meant giving in to temptation and possibly damnation, then let me be damned.

“You know, if you take a picture, it’ll last longer,” he said, but I could hear the playful tone in his voice. The last time he said this to me, we were not on great terms.

I smiled. “Don’t tempt me with a good time, Holden.”

“C’mon, Holden, crack a smile for once in your life,” she joked, and I grimaced. “A real smile.”

“I am smiling,” I said through my teeth, half-amused, half-annoyed.

“No. You look like you have a stick up your ass.”

I shot her a look, and I heard the distinct click of her camera going off.

Her first and only experience was with someone who didn’t cherish her. He used and abused her. That’s not a man. A man knows the real value of a woman—that was why Aubrey would never be “mine.” She belonged to no one but herself, and I counted my lucky stars that this woman trusted me enough to allow me to cherish her in all the ways he never did.

She’s my partner. My best friend. My equal.

She wasn’t a possession and never would be when she chose to be with me.

Yes… I am going to say what I always say now but I swear with everything that I am that I MEAN IT. RUN, don't walk I need you to RUN -





And one-click this baby today! You're going to fall in love with Aubrey and Dean and be demanding the rest of the series because I know I am demanding the hinted at Saving Grace couple's story (*cough, cough* Is that Cassie and Dylan I spy? *cough, cough*). And if we all beg loud enough, maybe she'll have them ready for us faster. I don't like waiting…





I promise you, you will not regret picking this one up and tucking in with it!




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