Texas Bodyguard: Brax by Janie Crouch
San Antoio Security #2

Action-packed romantic suspense ~ kept me reading quickly to see how it would all work out.

What I liked:
* Tessa: strong, resilient, lonely, mistreated by a so-called boyfriend, hard-working, responsible, alone, threatened in more ways than one, needs a safe harbor and might find one with Brax
* Brax: one of four adopted by the Pattersons, protective, strong, caring, takes on his half-brother’s son and wants the best for him, responsible, drawn to Tessa
* Walker: infant in question that doesn’t have much page-time but is central to the story
* The complexity of the story with both main characters in danger and wondering how the issues would be resolved
* Getting to see all of the Patterson family again and finding out how they were doing
* The plot, pacing, and writing
* That there were no loose ends and all was resolved by the end of the story
* Knowing that there are two more books in the series to look forward to

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about how many evil people there are in the world and what they are willing to do

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars ( )

Whew! Another gripping tale from the pen (keyboard?) of Janie Crouch. Like the book before this one (Texas Bodyguard: Luke), this one opens with Brax's introduction to the Patterson family. My heart ached for the boy and everything he'd been through in his short life. He's wary of the couple wanting to take him home with them, fully expecting his time there won't last.

When next we see him, Brax is pondering how his life turned out - from living on the streets at age twelve to owning a security company with his three brothers. They are of different races but have each other's backs, unlike Brax's feckless half-brother Robert. Robert shows up at Brax's house one night with a story of an emergency and drops off his baby boy. Brax is shocked but not surprised when Robert disappears and later has guardianship papers delivered to him. I had to laugh at Brax's first few days with little Walker - it had a Three Men and a Baby vibe. Brax thinks he's died and gone to heaven when he finds a phone number in the diaper bag that he believes belongs to Walker's nanny.

When we first see Tessa, she's caught in Robert's mess. The men who are after him believe that she knows where he is. After trashing her apartment, the next step is threats to her life. Tessa barely makes it out of her apartment ahead of trouble and realizes her only option is to go to Robert's brother. She knows nothing about him other than their brief phone conversation. When she shows up at his office, Brax assumes she's the nanny and asks no further questions.

I ached for Tessa, who would do anything to have her son back in her arms. Initially wary of Brax, she doesn't tell him the truth about who she is or the trouble she is in. I loved watching her settle in as Walker's "nanny" and smiled at her happiness in being reunited with him. Seeing how she and Brax connected and the unexpected contentment he found with his pseudo-family was sweet. But that peace doesn't last long.

The twists and turns that followed kept me on the edge of my seat. Brax isn't happy when he discovers Tessa's lies but believes the truth when he hears it. Complicating matters, Brax is due to testify against a local cartel leader who is determined to ensure that he doesn't live long enough to do so. As attacks from both sides escalate, Brax and his brothers work to find a solution. The final confrontation is a nail-biter with a twist no one saw coming. The resolution was excellent, and hopefully, everyone gets what they deserve!

I loved the development of the relationship between Brax and Tessa. Brax is protective of her from the moment they meet, sensing that she is in trouble. Tessa is wary of him, having been burned too often to trust easily. Simmering in the background are sparks of attraction neither is ready to deal with immediately. I loved seeing them grow closer over the next few weeks. Brax is adorable when we see him interact with Walker, which makes it easier for Tessa to trust him. But it takes nearly losing each other for them to admit their feelings. I loved the ending and seeing the Patterson family all together. There is so much love, and there is always room for more. ( )