Review: Premise Reminiscent of a Classic
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 17, 2013
This was my first experience reading anything by the author, Dez Burke.The premise of Captured by the Bodyguard is reminiscent of the storyline in the movie The Bodyguard starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston.Burke's main character, Alexandra Duke, is the daughter and only child of African-American billionaire Donel Duke. She has been told by her father that a security detail headed by her own personal bodyguard has been assigned to her. Alex points out to her father that he's being overprotective. He insists that because of a business deal he's in the middle of negotiating he needs to make sure there's no threat to her personal safety.Cane Hutchinson, has been assigned through his security company to be her personal bodyguard. He's white, extremely handsome, and ex-military.  This is also where the inconsistencies begin with the development of this author's characters in telling their stories and history.First the author writes Cane signed up for the Navy at age 17, had a successful career as a Navy Seal, then left active service with Special Ops. Later in the book in a dialogue between Cane and Alexandra he says to her that "she would never had looked twice at some `ex-Marine bodyguard' who also happens to be white from a questionable background".So which is it? Was he a Navy Seal or a Marine? I can overlook spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. However, when one of the main characters changes branches of the military mid-stream in the story and this major faux pas wasn't caught in an edit, along with other inconsistencies, it takes away from the book overall, regardless of the author's talent at storytelling.The other area in which I had a problem was dialogue. For example, when Alex and her best friend Malia meet for lunch she says to Alex "Hey girl, don't look at me. If I'd known you'd be showing up with Bruce freaking Wayne I'd have been better prepared. I mean, damn".Seriously?  Who speaks that way? We are told they both have gone to the best schools and have had the best education. One would assume private schools since she's the daughter of a billionaire. However, throughout the book their conversations are more like two girls "from the hood".Spoiler Alert: There is sexual attraction, tension and yearning that builds between Cane and Alex.  However, it isn't acted upon, at least not right away. Also, eventually there is danger to Alex's person and Cane steps in to save the day.Finally, if you can keep reading despite the inconsistencies and see it through Ms. Burke's version of this familiar storyline has a couple of slightly different twists that makes the read palatable and the eventual outcome enjoyable.