Kristie J’s review of Defending Hearts (Atlanta Skyline, Book 2) by Rebecca Crowley
Contemporary Romance published by Lyrical Shine 19 Sep 17
I had such a good time reading the first book in this series, Crossing Hearts, and since this one was an even better price – $.99 at Amazon at the moment – it was a given that this book would be up next. Interestingly, it has a completely different feel to it than the first book. I enjoyed it just as much, but the main characters were way different in this book than the hero/heroine in the previous story.
Oz Terim, the hero, is unique, truly unique. He’s Muslim by faith, though not at all devout. His parents are from Turkey, but he grew up in Sweden and considers himself a Swede. Where Rio, hero of Book 1, was open and all out there, Oz is controlled and I found him quite enigmatic, but in a very good and interesting way. He’s a planner and a controller and needs to be in command of everything – and I mean in control in a sometimes hilarious way. He has come to Atlanta with the new coach with whom he worked for in Sweden. But he went to school in the US and has a close-knit group of friends.
He is thrown for a real loop when he is targeted by a hate group because of his faith. He’s about as far from any kind of terrorist as one can get. He’s Swedish, for heaven’s sake. And while he follows some of the tenants of the Muslim faith, there are others that he’s quite lackadaisical about. He really doesn’t understand why him.
In order to guard and protect him, the team hires Kate Mitchell. She’s served in the military and went on a couple of tours. After that she worked on contract guarding a woman in Saudi Arabia. Now she’s back in the States working for a private security firm. She is as different as night and day from Oz, and considering how different they are, by all rights there should be no sparks between them. But they say opposites attract and this is what happens between Oz and Kate. Even as he’s drawn more and more to Kate, Oz protests it to himself. She’s just not his type. He’s rigidly controlled and she flies by the seat of her pants. He’s sure of himself and what he wants and she really has no idea what she wants out of life. And Kate is just as flummoxed that she is attracted to this rather tight-ass man. There are some wonderfully adorable scenes of the two of them clashing in their differences. She loosens Oz up some and Oz boosts Kate’s rather negative self-image.
And not wanting to give this away, there is something kind of unique and different about Oz and when we come to that scene, we just go, “Aaawwww.” At least I did.
I also quite appreciate how the author handles the insane hate that’s directed Oz’s way. I think she did a fabulous job dealing with the effects. And it’s also quite timely, given current events
Just like the first book, this one gets an enthusiastic thumbs up. I’m really two for two with Ms. Crowley.
Grade: B+
Summary:
Atlanta Skyline’s star Swedish wingback Oz Terim—or as the fans call him, the Wizard—has an airtight plan for his life, his career, even his meticulously renovated house, but he barely gives a thought to the Islamic faith he inherited from his Turkish parents. So no one’s more surprised than he is when he’s the victim of anti-Muslim hate crime. Refusing to take the threat seriously, he resists the security detail Skyline insists on . . . until he meets Kate Mitchell. There’s no room for her in his plan and she’s the exact opposite of what he wants. Then why can’t he keep his hands off her?
After ten years in the military—and getting fired from her first post-Army job in Saudi Arabia—Kate Mitchell has slunk home to her Georgia roots. Private security isn’t the career she dreamed of, nor is she thrilled to work with an uptight professional athlete who plays a sport she has no interest in. She never expected to be attracted to him—or for him to fall for her, too. As their opposite lives tangle up—and the threat against Oz grows more serious—Kate has to decide who she wants to be in life and in love.
No excerpt available.
Other books in this series:
