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A review by eesh25
Bad Judgment by Sidney Bell
4.0
4.5 Stars
Bad Judgement is the first book by Sidney Bell and, since I've all her other three novels, I went into this one with a general idea of what to expect: a lot of seriousness, some damaged but compelling characters, a bit (or a lot) of danger, and good writing. And I got all of that.
The book follows two characters. Brogan works for a security company and his newest job is to protect a rich asshole whose life has been threatened. It's supposed to be fairly normal job, if one that might test Brogan's abundant patience. Then comes Embry Ford, the assistant of said rich asshole, very attracted, very smart and heavy on the making-grown-people-cry-with-his-words, despite only being in his early twenties.
Brogan's is immediately intrigued, entertaining, and somehow charmed by Embry's icy demeanor, which could be considered a little strange. And though it's a terrible idea to pursue Embry, when Brogan starts to like someone and care about them, he goes all out.
I think the thing I love most about Brogan is how laid back he is. He doesn't get easily offended—or get mad in general, really—and he doesn't angst over stuff or have many secrets. He's also very aware of his own issues, like the fact that, when it comes to the people he cares about, he has no sense of self-preservation. It kind of makes him the perfect match for the extremely serious Embry, who totally makes up for Brogan's lack of angst and secrets, and then some.
So the two characters and both very different, interesting, and well-matched. Their interactions vary between fun and amusing, and emotional and heartbreaking. It's a slow burn romances that spreads over the entirely of the 450 pages and it's done very well.
The story starts off simple enough, just a bodyguard and an assistant. But there's so much more to it. A lot of stuff comes up from Embry's present and his past. He's hiding a bunch a lot and there's an added mystery element, figuring out who Embry is exactly and what he's doing. That's why the first half of the story is from Brogan's perspective (third person). The book is divided into three parts—each smaller than the last—and the first and third are from Brogan's perspective while the second is from Embry's.
This is a dark and angsty book and there might be some things that Embry does that you might not agree with, but there's no doubt that it's a really good book. The author manages to make a not-that-small novel have a great pace, and avoids quite a few cliches. I highly recommend her books and am looking forward to what she writes in the future.
Bad Judgement is the first book by Sidney Bell and, since I've all her other three novels, I went into this one with a general idea of what to expect: a lot of seriousness, some damaged but compelling characters, a bit (or a lot) of danger, and good writing. And I got all of that.
The book follows two characters. Brogan works for a security company and his newest job is to protect a rich asshole whose life has been threatened. It's supposed to be fairly normal job, if one that might test Brogan's abundant patience. Then comes Embry Ford, the assistant of said rich asshole, very attracted, very smart and heavy on the making-grown-people-cry-with-his-words, despite only being in his early twenties.
Brogan's is immediately intrigued, entertaining, and somehow charmed by Embry's icy demeanor, which could be considered a little strange. And though it's a terrible idea to pursue Embry, when Brogan starts to like someone and care about them, he goes all out.
I think the thing I love most about Brogan is how laid back he is. He doesn't get easily offended—or get mad in general, really—and he doesn't angst over stuff or have many secrets. He's also very aware of his own issues, like the fact that, when it comes to the people he cares about, he has no sense of self-preservation. It kind of makes him the perfect match for the extremely serious Embry, who totally makes up for Brogan's lack of angst and secrets, and then some.
So the two characters and both very different, interesting, and well-matched. Their interactions vary between fun and amusing, and emotional and heartbreaking. It's a slow burn romances that spreads over the entirely of the 450 pages and it's done very well.
The story starts off simple enough, just a bodyguard and an assistant. But there's so much more to it. A lot of stuff comes up from Embry's present and his past. He's hiding a bunch a lot and there's an added mystery element, figuring out who Embry is exactly and what he's doing. That's why the first half of the story is from Brogan's perspective (third person). The book is divided into three parts—each smaller than the last—and the first and third are from Brogan's perspective while the second is from Embry's.
This is a dark and angsty book and there might be some things that Embry does that you might not agree with, but there's no doubt that it's a really good book. The author manages to make a not-that-small novel have a great pace, and avoids quite a few cliches. I highly recommend her books and am looking forward to what she writes in the future.