Review: Protecting What's His
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 19, 2014
Tessa Bailey is a mad genius. This is the fourth novel of hers that I've devoured in as many days, though it is the first in her LINE OF DUTY series and while it isn't my favorite, it's still a brilliant, quick read.Ginger Peet is on the run with a purse full of cash and a sister in the passenger seat. Ginger's mother is a wastrel of a parent that turned tricks in her living room, gets high when she's low and drinks to the point of blackout when another man promising to make her life better walks out the door. It's up to 23-year-old Ginger to be the adult and care for her 17-year-old potty-mouthed sister Willa. Ginger makes the decision that she thinks is in Willa's best interest: make off with the mysterious mound of cash Valerie has brought home in between stupors and trade Nashville (and two low wage jobs) for a fresh start in Chicago. There she meets her irascible, yet charming and handsome neighbor Derek Tyler who also happens to be a lieutenant and also happens to cause 1/2 of their combustible sexual tension. She and Derek fight more than they like each other, but that just makes for an explosive surrender. Throw in some secondary stories about Derek's job and the question of whether Ginger's past will catch up with her and in the end it's a fun ride for the reader.I've said it before and I'll say it again: there's very little uncharted territory in the romance genre, which means that many stories are subject to clichés and predictable plot lines. What separates fantastic romance literature from the run of the mill one-and-done story is the execution and Tessa Bailey is an adept hand. Both Ginger and Derek seem believable as characters and even more as human beings; they're both relatively fleshed out and it didn't appear as though Bailey was trying to MAKE them into well rounded characters. Some of these stories also tend to fall in the treacly or cheesy arena and somehow, Bailey manages to avoid the pitfalls--even when they should be there to trip up the pace. For example, when making up after one of their fights, the following dialogue occurs between Ginger and Derek: "Who's f---ing you, Ginger?" to which she replies: "My man. My man is f---ing me." Any other story would've inspired an eye roll. Somehow, with PROTECTING WHAT'S HIS (an eye roll title in itself) all I did was laugh and keep reading. This story is--as are the rest in the series--an absolute treat. 4.5 stars.