Scan barcode
aimish's review
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
olix's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
hacfhowe's review against another edition
3.0
This was a hard one for me to rate.
I genuinely enjoyed the drama and the action, I wasn't bored once. I loved both of the characters, especially Evelyn. Women like this (with tons of issues and insecurities underneath a mask lmao) always make me weak in the knees.
Secondary characters were also rather enjoyable, this was a good case of found family.
I think the main issue for me was that there wasn't a good balance between the plot and the character development. It felt to me that both of the aspects were kind of underdeveloped so neither of them caused the desired emotinal feedback from me.
It's not that I didn't believe the relationship for example, they had very good chemistry and they're fitting and healthy together. However there wasn't enough for me in the story to see how they got to the point of such deep feelings. I really wanted to spend more time with them and see them getting to know each other more.
All in all to me it was enjoyable I had fun I flew through the pages. But everything seemed to be all over the place which left me lacking emotionally.
I genuinely enjoyed the drama and the action, I wasn't bored once. I loved both of the characters, especially Evelyn. Women like this (with tons of issues and insecurities underneath a mask lmao) always make me weak in the knees.
Secondary characters were also rather enjoyable, this was a good case of found family.
I think the main issue for me was that there wasn't a good balance between the plot and the character development. It felt to me that both of the aspects were kind of underdeveloped so neither of them caused the desired emotinal feedback from me.
It's not that I didn't believe the relationship for example, they had very good chemistry and they're fitting and healthy together. However there wasn't enough for me in the story to see how they got to the point of such deep feelings. I really wanted to spend more time with them and see them getting to know each other more.
All in all to me it was enjoyable I had fun I flew through the pages. But everything seemed to be all over the place which left me lacking emotionally.
reeg_reads's review
5.0
Let me start off this review by noting that this is the first Erin Zak book I’ve read, but it certainly won’t be my last. Guarding Evelyn is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I’ve seen the hype for it on Twitter and knew from the blurb that I was going to fall in love with it (which I did). I was torn between wanting to devour it in one day and trying to take my time so it wouldn’t end. The story is so good that I finished it in just over a day and now I can’t stop thinking about it.
Guarding Evelyn follows our two MCs: Evelyn, a popular actress, and Arden, an ex-Secret Service agent who is hired to protect Evelyn. Now I’m a sucker for many tropes and Guarding Evelyn doesn’t disappoint. We have the ice queen (Evelyn), the wounded MC with a heart of gold (Arden), and an hate-to-love relationship to swoon over.
The secondary characters in Guarding Evelyn are just as delightful as our two MCs. My favorite has to be Talon, who I hope to see more of. *wink wink nudge nudge*. Evelyn’s children, Ethan and Stella, are also fantastic. Ethan is so adorable and I dare you to not love his relationship with Arden.
Guarding Evelyn is full of angst, romance, mystery, and lovable characters. I highly recommend you check it out.
5/5 stars!
Guarding Evelyn follows our two MCs: Evelyn, a popular actress, and Arden, an ex-Secret Service agent who is hired to protect Evelyn. Now I’m a sucker for many tropes and Guarding Evelyn doesn’t disappoint. We have the ice queen (Evelyn), the wounded MC with a heart of gold (Arden), and an hate-to-love relationship to swoon over.
The secondary characters in Guarding Evelyn are just as delightful as our two MCs. My favorite has to be Talon, who I hope to see more of. *wink wink nudge nudge*. Evelyn’s children, Ethan and Stella, are also fantastic. Ethan is so adorable and I dare you to not love his relationship with Arden.
Guarding Evelyn is full of angst, romance, mystery, and lovable characters. I highly recommend you check it out.
5/5 stars!
fsi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jacemchale's review
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jennabeebs79's review
4.0
What happens when a broken former Secret Service agent takes on the task of guarding a high-maintenance, stubborn, ice queen celebrity? Oh, the drama! Arden Ryan was shot protecting the president and quickly relieved of service. She returns to her hometown of Chicago to live with her parents where she's contracted to guard Evelyn Glass whose life is in danger. The two immediately butt heads as Evelyn doesn't take the threats seriously.
A narrator tells this story from Arden's point of view. I felt like this was a smart move because while the reader is able to hear all of Arden's thoughts and experience her pain and emotions, the enigma of Evelyn Glass and what makes her tick remains a mystery. The reader is then able to experience Evelyn through Arden's eyes. Erin Zak does a beautiful job developing both our main characters and their relationship. All of the supporting characters really added to the story's overall plot. There were a couple of plot twists that I never saw coming which made me enjoy this book further. Well done on this one, Ms. Zak!
A narrator tells this story from Arden's point of view. I felt like this was a smart move because while the reader is able to hear all of Arden's thoughts and experience her pain and emotions, the enigma of Evelyn Glass and what makes her tick remains a mystery. The reader is then able to experience Evelyn through Arden's eyes. Erin Zak does a beautiful job developing both our main characters and their relationship. All of the supporting characters really added to the story's overall plot. There were a couple of plot twists that I never saw coming which made me enjoy this book further. Well done on this one, Ms. Zak!
queerlitloft's review
5.0
It’s my understanding that this book has been in the works in one form or another for quite sometime, so to say I was excited to finally get my hands on it would be an understatement. As anyone who reads Zak’s work will know, you need to be ready to roll up your sleeves, and get ready to feel right alongside Zak’s characters.
Guarding Evelyn is a bodyguard story through and through, and yet the plot is rather unusual compared to the blueprint usually seen within this trope.
Arden Ryan is back in her childhood home of Chicago, having recently been placed on a leave of absence from the Secret Service. A job where personally protecting the first female President of the United States led to physical activity of more than one kind, and healing of more than just bloodied and broken skin.
Tasked with guarding celebrity actress Evelyn Glass, is no easy assignment for Arden especially when her charge refuses to take the threats to her safety as seriously as she should. But all that changes when the threats are suddenly directed towards Evelyn’s children.
There’s a simmering attraction between Arden and Evelyn right from the off-set, and whilst the temptation might ebb and flow as both characters navigate their own complicated baggage, the increasing pull towards the inevitable is never far away for either of them.
Zak expertly uses the characters’ individual emotional struggles, and their ever growing physical attraction to blindside readers with a fair few twists and turns in the plot. I can honestly say I saw zero of them coming down the garden path, which only served to make the mystery/intrigue elements of this story all the more enjoyable.
Plot twists, emotionally wounded characters, and hot sex aside, Zak gives readers some fantastic side characters alongside Arden and Evelyn. I particularly enjoyed Talon an ex-felon turned evasive driving extraordinaire, (I’d love to see Zak take this character elsewhere) and Arden’s mom, Edie – who is a funny and yet convincing mix of over bearing and caring, whilst simultaneously not really knowing how to be there for her daughter. Some how their relationship just works, which feels somewhat true to potentially most care giver/parental relationships out there in the real world.
Overall, a really great bodyguard story that’s a little bit different to its contemporaries, and a book I’m happy to have ended my 2022 reading year with.
Guarding Evelyn is a bodyguard story through and through, and yet the plot is rather unusual compared to the blueprint usually seen within this trope.
Arden Ryan is back in her childhood home of Chicago, having recently been placed on a leave of absence from the Secret Service. A job where personally protecting the first female President of the United States led to physical activity of more than one kind, and healing of more than just bloodied and broken skin.
Tasked with guarding celebrity actress Evelyn Glass, is no easy assignment for Arden especially when her charge refuses to take the threats to her safety as seriously as she should. But all that changes when the threats are suddenly directed towards Evelyn’s children.
There’s a simmering attraction between Arden and Evelyn right from the off-set, and whilst the temptation might ebb and flow as both characters navigate their own complicated baggage, the increasing pull towards the inevitable is never far away for either of them.
Zak expertly uses the characters’ individual emotional struggles, and their ever growing physical attraction to blindside readers with a fair few twists and turns in the plot. I can honestly say I saw zero of them coming down the garden path, which only served to make the mystery/intrigue elements of this story all the more enjoyable.
Plot twists, emotionally wounded characters, and hot sex aside, Zak gives readers some fantastic side characters alongside Arden and Evelyn. I particularly enjoyed Talon an ex-felon turned evasive driving extraordinaire, (I’d love to see Zak take this character elsewhere) and Arden’s mom, Edie – who is a funny and yet convincing mix of over bearing and caring, whilst simultaneously not really knowing how to be there for her daughter. Some how their relationship just works, which feels somewhat true to potentially most care giver/parental relationships out there in the real world.
Overall, a really great bodyguard story that’s a little bit different to its contemporaries, and a book I’m happy to have ended my 2022 reading year with.
zefrien's review
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jamietherebelliousreader's review
3.0
3 stars. I liked the writing style a lot. I will definitely try something else by Zak but this one didn’t do it for me unfortunately. It was all over the place tonally and the characters were inconsistent as hell. Also, I wasn’t buying the romance between Evelyn and Arden. Their connection was seriously lacking for me. The went from 0 to 100 really quickly.
Evelyn was a very bizarre character in that she seemed to change personalities depending on the scene. I never feel like we really got to know her (or any of the characters honestly). She was an ice queen and then she wasn’t and then she was again and then she was smitten with Arden. A mess. Arden was no better. For her to be a professional bodyguard she was pretty shit at her job honestly. She was also a bit whiny and I couldn’t take her serious. I didn’t need her to be super tough or anything but she was super flighty and unprofessional. Again, a mess.
Evelyn has kids that she interacted with maybe once in this novel and the thirteen year old boy had more sense than all of the adults. This book was a trip.
Overall, not very good but I was entertained and seriously baffled but I got some unintentional amusement out of this so three stars for that.
Evelyn was a very bizarre character in that she seemed to change personalities depending on the scene. I never feel like we really got to know her (or any of the characters honestly). She was an ice queen and then she wasn’t and then she was again and then she was smitten with Arden. A mess. Arden was no better. For her to be a professional bodyguard she was pretty shit at her job honestly. She was also a bit whiny and I couldn’t take her serious. I didn’t need her to be super tough or anything but she was super flighty and unprofessional. Again, a mess.
Evelyn has kids that she interacted with maybe once in this novel and the thirteen year old boy had more sense than all of the adults. This book was a trip.
Overall, not very good but I was entertained and seriously baffled but I got some unintentional amusement out of this so three stars for that.