jamieb_19 's review for:

The Unlikely Spare by Jax Calder

4.0

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I don’t know why I want this man to see me as more than just a playboy prince. I don’t understand why his particular judgment cuts deeper than any tabloid headline, why I find myself performing for an audience of one who refuses to applaud.

If you’ve read The Unlikely Pair, then you’ll remember that the answer to who was behind Toby and Harry’s predicament was left up in the air. This book picks up shortly after that, as Prince Nicholas, the royal spare, is set to embark on a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand, but Scotland Yard has picked up on an increase in suspicious activity. Leading them to believe that whoever was behind what happened to Toby and Harry is gearing up to make a move on Nicholas. Enter Officer Eion O’Connell, one of Scotland Yard’s top undercover agents. He’s assigned to Prince Nicholas’s security detail, where he’ll play the role of bodyguard all while trying to unravel the terrorist threat and uncover the traitor in their midst. Falling for the man he’s supposed to be protecting was definitely not on the agenda.

My training has prepared me for many scenarios, but nothing in the Scotland Yard manual covers how to handle the sudden shortness of breath when Prince Nicholas looks at me like this, the laughter fading but his eyes lingering on mine, blue and bright.

I loved Nicholas and Eion; they were both great characters. Nicholas, in particular, was such a good character. There were so many layers to him and so much more beneath the posh royal facade he mostly showed to the world. In the words of Eion - he contained multitudes. I won’t spoil anything, but some of the decisions he made throughout the story were surprising but in a good way that only made me like him more. And I liked Eion as the protector. He had a tough task, but he was good at his job, and I loved his dedication to keeping Nicholas safe, even when he wasn’t sure if he liked the guy.

I liked them together too, although I was missing some of the more swoony moments that the first two books had. Though I suppose being on the run from international terrorists who want you dead doesn’t leave much time for romance. Definitely download the bonus epilogue, though, that was full of swoon. I loved it and was glad we got that little glimpse!

The suspense and the mystery of trying to figure out who was after them were fun! There were some good twists that I wasn’t expecting. The last third or so was pretty non-stop in terms of action. It was fun seeing it all come together. I also enjoyed all the thought-provoking parts pertaining to British colonialism. It added another dimension to not only Nicholas and Eion’s relationship, but to the story as a whole.

...somehow I seem to simultaneously want to protect him and possess him. And I’m not sure where that places me in the rankings of the threats against him.