The people we love are often those who could cost us everything.
For Detective Chase Guilliot, coveting a gangster's girlfriend might just cost him his life. After months of staring at surveillance photos, Chase feels like he knows Shelby Brignac, the breathtaking beauty who's found herself in his target's bed. From everything he's seen, Shelby doesn't look like a stupid woman, but when she walks into his precinct to sell out a career criminal, Chase has to wonder. She's either going to be the key to his case or the end of his career. Not that it matters since he's tasked with keeping her alive.
Whether she wants him to or not.
The Beginning of Us (originally titled The Switch) is the second book in the Men with Badges series about sweet and sexy alphas who know what they want and go after it.
As a child, JC was fascinated by things that went bump in the night. As they say, some things never change. Now, as an adult, she divides her time between the sexy law men, mythical creatures, bad-ass bikers, and kick-ass heroines that live inside her head and her Netflix addiction. JC is a San Francisco Bay Area native, but has also called both Texas and Louisiana home. These days she rocks her flip flops year-round in Northern California and can't imagine a climate more beautiful. Her dream is to own her own Harley and she feels compelled to tell you that she is Team Peeta all the way.
JC is the author of the Men with Badges series, The Birthright Series, and the Bayonet Scars series.
A complete thrill ride! Action-packed, suspense-filled romance that you can’t help but fall in love with. The Switch was an enjoyable read.
When Shelby finds herself in a bit of a jam, luck finds her way and helps her run, literally, into the arms of Chase- a rookie cop. Unbeknownst to her, Shelby’s table gets instantly turned when Chase offers her his help. Thing is, Shelby is in real deep with the wrong guys and Chase will have to figure out whether to keep his badge or say to hell with it.
I must say that although I enjoyed the plot, story line and development- I did read a pre-edited ARC and it was kind of tough to rearrange words and sentences in my head. Good thing is you all get to read a revised final copy- which I am sure will be amazing! Anyways, the story was good.
I gotta say though that in the beginning I wasn’t a big fan of Shelby. I found her to be kind of naive, I want to say, and annoying. BUT! Her personality and character develops a lot and she ends up growing into a mature, and powerful girl.
Chase- well what a hunk! He is the epitome of alpha. Same with Shelby, since he’s a rookie you get the feeling that he’s still figuring out his own way but has a good head on his shoulders.
Chase and Shelby had instant chemistry- I mean how could they not?! Although they meet in dire circumstances, sometimes chance encounters can last forever.
The Switch was a good book, although I haven’t read the first book in the Men with Badges series, I was able to enjoy and follow along just fine. Definitely worthy of yout TBR list :)
I didn't know what to expect with The Switch. I was a huge fan of Book 1 in the series Martial Bitch and had no idea what was in store for Book 2. Well, let me tell you JC Emery did not disappoint. If you love a story with a handsome, smart, heroic police officer with a heart of gold and a headstrong, brave, beautiful women combined with suspense, love, and the right amount of steam this is the book for you! I LOVED this story! Just imagine these 2 characters in the beautiful setting of New Orleans. Even if you have never been there, JC's descriptions and locations are dead on. It makes me so proud as a native New Orleanian to see the city's feel and descriptions come to life. Go ahead get the book, i promise you won't be disappointed, ********** I was graciously given an ARC of this book for an honest review**********
This book had it all: action, suspense, love and hot for each other characters. I loved the way Chase had immediate protective feelings for Shelby and made her want to be a better person. He was so sweet yet so in charge. Loved the flow of the book, never a dull moment. The ending was very good and very heartwarming, just wish it was a tad bit longer.
And I laughed at the mention of Marital Bitch, JC's first book. Too cute!
The Switch is a romance between "bad" girl and a cop. Not only does JC deliver on a great plot line, fully fleshed out characters, and enough action to keep you turning the page, but she fills it with serious sexual tension, explosive intimate moments, and a love between two people who really only met by chance in a horrible situation.
If you are a fan of crime suspense and romance The Switch is the book for you!
I loved the first Men with Badges book, Marital Bitch. The Switch, is another great read by JC Emery. It took me a couple of chapters to get into the storyline, but after that it was a great read! Love the chemistry between Chase and Shelby!!!
Let’s get the little details out of the way. First, this is a standalone book so you don’t need to real Marital Bitch to understand the plot in The Switch. Next item up for discussion is this book is less than 200 pages and with the writing style it reads very quickly and the plot keeps you engaged, but I struggled engaging with the characters. While I had the same issue with book one, the humor in that one carried the story and enjoyment for me, leading me to give it a 4 star rating. This one is absent the humor and more on the drama and action being on the run from the mob. Had I been able to “feel” the characters, I would have been more emotionally involved in the story.
Shelby was very difficult for me to invest in. The author did a great job at explaining to the reader why Shelby was like this, she came from an attitude of grab what you can when you can grab it and make choice in the moment, not long term. She doesn’t always treat her friends and family and other people around her with the greatest respect and compassion BUT it was clear she did care for her best friend enough to risk her life for her and the longing she had to spend time with her mother was clear in the beginning of the book. Yet with those tender feelings, she still was willing to allow them to be put in dangerous positions to complete a job without question for her ex-boyfriend. She had done runs for him before but she had broken up with him and yet he still can find ways to suck her back into the business.
Chase was a newcomer to the New Orleans police department. With a passion that was burning in his soul to protect and serve he did what came to mind the first minute he saw Shelby and a gun man coming after her. He took her and ran, finding a safe place to hide before the thousands of questions came flying out of his mouth. The more he learned about her, the more agitated yet protective he became. For me, this is when the story really began to gain intensity and interest. She wasn’t forth coming with him regarding her answers and even made more stupid choices, but finally he was able to get the truth out of her. By this point I was screaming at him to put the cuffs on her and take her to lock up.
Since the story really took off in intensity from that point, I will refrain from going any more into a description so I don’t spoil the book for you. Danger, action and suspense feed this story and if you are looking for that alone, I say you will really enjoy this book. If you are more like me, where you need to be able to relate to the characters and have feelings for them, you might not be as happy with this story. The plot and idea was awesome, well written and kept me reading till the end to find out what happens. What I hated though, it was missing that one link of connection that I need in books. I want to feel as if I am part of the story, not watching from the sidelines. I wanted to care what happens to the characters but instead I was more focused on the details of the plot and how the author had some cleaver ideas regarding where the story was going to go next.
Summary – 3 Stars The Switch by JC Emery is the typical romantic story of a woman, Shelby, who makes one dumb choice after another until she is finally rescued by a good man, Chase. It's an enjoyable adventure where the main characters are chased by bad guys, and it's hard to tell sometimes who the good guys are. The dialog and characters aren't as outstanding as the author's first endeavor, Marital Bitch, but then again it's hard to top a book that good. This is the second book in the Men with Badges series, but each book can be read as a stand alone novel. The Switch is worth the $2.99 ebook price, and I recommend putting JC Emery on your authors to watch list.
Fantasy World The Switch takes place in and around New Orleans. The scenery feels real enough that I found myself craving beignets.
Tingle Factor The sex is hot although some suspension of disbelief is necessary. I'm not sure how frisky I'd feel while recovering from a stab wound.
Romance Shelby and Chase move from attraction to love within days while on the run. It's a classic situation of deep feelings developing while thrown together in a desperate situation.
Drama Most of the drama consists of Shelby trying to figure out what to do to get her best friend, Becca, back from the clutches of her ex-boyfriend. She wants to do whatever her ex tells her to do, and Chase wants to involve the police. Shelby and Chase come from very different backgrounds, and their belief systems come into conflict as they try to save both Becca and their own lives.
Heroine Shelby is immature and makes shallow decisions which end up harming others. She's done this her whole life until finally, her last few choices have resulted in her best friend being kidnapped, and Shelby having to commit armed robbery to ransom her. Not only does she make bad choices, but her parents are apparently helping her pave the path to self destruction. Shelby can be hard to like, and definitely needs a good dose of common sense. She can be very fun to hate though.
Hero Chase is fresh out of the police academy, and just starting his career when his plans get derailed by a pretty face asking for help. He knows better, but somehow gets sucked into Shelby's drama anyway. Chase also knows better than to sleep with a suspect who has been involved in illegal activity, but his hormones get away from him. Overall, he is a very likeable character with a lot of good qualities. Honestly, he probably deserves a better woman than Shelby.
I had read the first Men with Badges book, Marital Bitch, quite some time ago and I completely loved that book. I don’t know what it was about it, but I just loved it. So when it came to the second book in the series, which is a complete standalone by the way. You don’t have the read the first one to understand this one.
I felt kinda let down but I think that was just how the first book was hilarious. This book was more serious than that one was. But taking that into consideration the book itself was still really good.
The actual beginning part of the story only covers a few days. And to me, that was awesome because even though there was a lot going on in those few days, you were still able to follow the story. It didn’t feel like there was a lot of information in just a few pages. Everything that went on in the story was written with the right amount of details.
Shelby’s character, I have mixed emotions about her. Big time. On one hand I really liked her, but on the other hand she bugs me quite a bit with how she does treat her friends and family. And the fact that she admits she knows she treats them wrong, yet keeps doing it really upset me.
Chase is a complete sweetheart. And I swear in the fictional world if Shelby ends up hurting him, I will hurt her. Even with him being new on the job, he was willing to go that extra mile to keep her safe.
One thing that I did like about this story is usually when a book contains anything having to do with the Mob, they seem to focus more on the Mob part of it. With this book, that didn’t have as serious of a role as others do. We spent more time with Shelby and Chase than anything else in the story.
With that being said, if you like books that have the Mob influence, then I do think you will completely enjoy this book.
I received a copy of this book for an honest review
Not having grown up with the best of examples, or the clearest of structures, it really isn't a big surprise that Shelby, who despite her unrestrained and outgoing nature, is still fairly trusting and naive, easily gets sucked in with the wrong kind of people. With a rather immature and somewhat irresponsible view on life, she has given herself permission to grab what she can while it is dangling in front of her nose......right or wrong. No one has ever called her on it, until she meets Chase and he holds up a mirror and suddenly she doesn't like what she sees.
All Chase does is follow his instincts when he goes out of his way to protect this stranger who simply begged for his help. He had no idea he was dealing with such a manipulative creature. His reaction to Shelby is constantly flipping back and forth between simmering anger and pulsing attraction. One thing remains constant and that is his urge to protect her. For Chase the lines are pretty straight and black and white are clearly defined, whereas Shelby lives in grey.
Through the story, Shelby learns to better judge parameters and boundaries and where to place herself within them. Chase finds out that it is easy to draw a straight line when looking in from the outside, but up close and personal, it is impossible not to waver. And sometimes the hardest lesson is finding out that someone you would have put down your life for, just as easily sold out yours. Sometimes trust is better given with the heart than with the head.
Well let me start off by saying I am a huge JC Emery fan. Her Bayonet Scars series are some of my favorite books and up to this point, I had only known her as a biker romance writer. So when this book was offered as a freebie, it was a perfect chance to read something different for me as I am tired of the biker, rocker and dark erotica and needed to switch things up a little =) This book started off with a bang...fast paced and tense as hell, as Shelby finds herself in a mess after stealing a rare diamond to use in an exchange for her best friend who is being held hostage by her EX...the kind of "bad mistake" boyfriend that she hoped she could walk away from. Chase is a newbie cop...barely on the job and he finds himself intrigued as he is forced to protect this damsel in distress (or so he thinks) and from there begins a long and exciting adventure of "who can you trust", "what are your motives" and "how did we get ourselves in this messed up situation". I really liked the action mixed with seduction in this story...both Shelby and Chase have strong beliefs of what is right and wrong and though they are on opposites sides of the law, they are drawn to each other emotionally and sexually. It was at times funny, at times bloody violent and most of the time a passionate and hot as hell steamy romance. A different change of pace from my usual books but a really enjoyable one nonetheless. Get it while you can and have a suspenseful and thriller of a good time!
**** 4.5 **** "protect and serve in more ways than one" stars
Shelby´s friend Becca was kidnapped because Shelby got involved with a wrong guy.
Victor Abraham, Shelby´s ex who kidnapped her friend, wants her to steal a purple diamond necklace in exchange for her friend.
Officer Chase Guilliot is a young cop who has just started to work.
One day when he was off-duty, he save Shelby´s life. He wants to protect her, to keep her safe. That when this situation is over, that everything will be ok.
The chemistry between Shelby and Chase is strong.
In a matter of hours, they both got under each others skin. She wants him to want her and he is afraid to admit that he wants her.
Will they be able to rescue her friend without being hurt? What will happen between Shelby and Chase them?
I really loved this book. Beautiful read.
The book won´t disappoint you. It will get you hooked and you want put it down until you finish it.
A thrilling read that you don´t want to miss it.
≧◔◡◔≦ 5 ✰ read ≧◉◡◉≦
>>>ARC received in exchange for an honest review<<<
This series I find is much more tame in comparison to Ms. Emery's Bayonet Scars MC Series. Though I liked the characters in this story better than in Marital Bitch, I liked the story of Marital Bitch better than this one. I think by this story Ms. Emery was already writing towards what people think the whole perfect body type should be as both characters were flawless in practically every way.
The first book in this series had more realistic characters and I liked that. Yeah I enjoy reading about hot sexy alpha men with glistening muscles and voraciously sexual appetites, what woman wouldn't, but let's face it, that's not real, at least not for many readers it isn't, so it's nice to come upon a book every now and then that offers characters that aren't perfect. Book one offered that.
Chase and Shelby were good together, your typical insta-love at its finest. He was your alpha, do good, hero and she was your bad girl, that was the only difference. It was an okay read..
As always J.C. has brought another amazing book to read. I love the humor, banter, emotions & HOT scenes. I was unable to put this book down. I do not give spoilers it is not my style but I will tell you that if you are looking for a great read then this is the book for you. The way the Author gives detail you are able to imagine yourself in the setting with Chase & Shelby. You feel their emotions you feel their desire. J.C. the Author is able to draw you in & keep you a part of the story. You will not want to put this book down until you read the very last page. This is a MUST read. Oh here is one spoiler though...It is a stand alone book...no book 2 no cliffhangers...You will not be disappointed.
A really good kind of suspenseful, romantic story that kept me interested right up to the end. Shelby is 23, too good looking for her own good who gets tangled up with a mob boss boyfriend in New Orleans. Chase Guilliot is a 21 year old rookie cop who tries to help Shelby as she is running down a street in New Orleans trying to evade a gunman.
She is a lot less innocent than she initially seems to the rookie cop -- the true story of which the cop eventually figures out. But, of course, she's not all bad and the rookie cop moves into a protective mode as he gets deeper and deeper into who Shelby really is and the suspense builds (and feelings deepen).
I really liked the writing and will read more of her books.
I really liked Marital Bitch, but I loved the Switch!
Shelby has found herself in some major trouble. It has ended up with her ex sending his goons out to kidnap her, but they grabbed her best friend instead. While doing what the ex, Victor, wants her to do to get her bestie back, she has to run from a gunman. In the process of that, she meets Chase. Not knowing he is a cop, but he saves her.
I really liked both characters, especially Chase. This story was action packed from the start to the end.
This is book 2 in the Men with Badges series. As much as I love Marital Bitch and highly recommend it, you don't have to read it first to read this book. The Switch is a quick moving story of Shelby and Chase, they meet, fall in love and work together in an attempt to bring down a drug smuggler and rescue a friend, all in a out the span of a week. I love that series uses strong willed women who are not looking for a rich man to come and save them.
I was expecting it to be a rom-com like the first. It is a pleasant story, but it was not written as a rom-com. Slightly through me off, but that was only because of my own preconceived expectations.