Guardian Angel

by Alexis Madison

Sensual. Affluent. Strong-willed.

Meet the billionaire who started it all...

Megan

I never expected to fall in love on the job, least of all with a man I'm investigating for murder.

Problem is, he's a prime suspect in my homicide investigation and also number one on Big Oil's hit list.

It's up to me to protect him - to be his guardian angel - whether he likes it or not.

Jack

If I fail, millions will die at the hands of Big Oil.

And now that I'm targeted by a rogue sniper, this pretty little brunette detective is my self-appointed bodyguard?

Please, I'm loaded!

But I can't allow my newfound affections for her slow me down and I refuse to let a price on my head get in the way of such important work.

Guardian Angel is a billionaire romance with no cliffhanger, no cheating, plenty of steam, and a guaranteed HEA.

Genres: Romance

167 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 23, 2020

About the author

Hi there. My name is Alexis and I'm thrilled you're here!

I'm a thirty-something supreme queen overlord, at least, that's what I tell my husband Jason when he gets out of line. I live in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington, with my aforementioned doting husband and two kiddos, seven-year-old smart as a whip Isabella and eleven-year-old Ethan who's as rambunctious as they come. I worry about him constantly!

Both kids keep me running nonstop from dance lessons to martial arts, at least, before COVID hit. These days I try to avoid pulling my hair out most of the day attempting to entertain them while constantly shooing our adopted (how-in-the-hell-did-we-inherit-this-cat?) and giant furball, Max, from the kitchen table. When I'm not doing that I'm probably sneaking too much chocolate--I'm a sucker for anything Godiva--or feeling guilty about not giving my lapdog, Stuart, enough affection.

Five years ago I quit a mind-numbingly boring corporate day job to spend more time with my kids. Thankfully, my husband has been more than supportive--he really is a saint--and I haven't looked back since.

But, to be honest, I've found that I still need something more in my life, a creative outlet, now more than ever. After all, talking to my sister over the phone or video conferencing my baby niece just isn't enough to keep my sanity these days. So, my husband suggested I dust off the keyboard and start writing again. And now here I am, mostly writing for myself and occasionally sharing my daydreams with you. I write when I can--sometimes late at night or early in the morning--hoping my kids never see what I'm typing. I doubt I could explain that!

Thus far my husband thinks it's great, especially in the sack. Just don't tell him what I write about or, Heaven-forbid, let him read any of my books...he might start to get a complex. ;)

Reviews

[Ilona (Inkmates Read) · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5 Stars.

Thank you to Voracious Readers and Alexis Madison for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I will start off by saying that I really wanted to like this book and I loved the idea of flipping the gender roles of the stereotypical protector and protected romantic suspense. The book also started out well. It was action-packed right from the beginning and did a relatively good job at exposing some of the struggles minorities can face working in law enforcement.

That being said, the flaws with the book quickly started to emerge and it became difficult to push through to the end. Megan's character, for example, I liked that the author tried to make her a strong female MC, but honestly, my takeaway for her was the image of an inquisitive and suspicious puppy on crack! Her thoughts were constantly shifting to new suspects and theories, whether they were logical or not, so much so that it was difficult for the reader to follow and often had me just shaking my head.

Similar to what some of the other reviewers found, this book in general just moved too quickly, which resulted in logic leaps that didn't make sense, and made it hard to get invested in the characters and the story itself. This also meant that the relationship aspect of the romance was lacking. It honestly felt like, besides the sex scenes, most of the relationship was insinuated and wasn't actually written about and then all of a sudden, hey they are in love. It makes the reader feel like they are missing something. I also would have loved if the author had included some of Jack's POV as well because I felt like I knew almost nothing about him.

I will give the author credit for the number of unexpected twists and turns she included in the story, which did keep me on my toes. However, I found it a little annoying that the book seemed to be trying to address issues and stereotypes minorities face but then turns around and has the only black police officer in the story end up being one of the shooters.

Verdict: This book had potential and a lot of good ideas but the execution needs some work

[BP34 · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'll love Megan and Jack's story. Full of suspense, some danger and lots of drama. He's at the top of big oil's hit and under suspicion for murder. Enter Megan who's investigating him and let the sparks start flying. This was a good book that captured my attention right at the beginning. It's a hard book to put down once you start reading. I loved the characters and the story line. Their chemistry was off the charts. No cliffhanger and an HEA. I read an advance copy via Voracious Readers and voluntarily chose to write a review.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story fell a little flat for me. Was enjoyable but felt rushed, like it needed more fine tuning.

[Helen Causer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conspiracy Theorists will love this…
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 April 2022
I received a free download of this book via Voracious Readers, and am submitting an honest review willingly.
I found it hard to get into at first, but it did pick up pace towards the end, in which everything became clear. If you’re a fan of “Cop Dramas” or hot and steamy sex scenes, this book will appeal to you.
The writing was good, the characters well drawn, and the different locations well described.

[Krystle Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guardian Angel is a crime/thriller easy-read based on Megan, an LAPD detective, that gets wrapped up in the investigation of an informant's sniper-death as he was relaying information to her and how it ties into the sniper-death of mega-billionaire Jack’s personal assistant as they walk out of his mansion. It’s a steamy read with plenty of spicy scenes.

There is a twist at the end that I definitely didn’t anticipate happening and the author did a great job at keeping you thinking the book was going to end one way when it ends in a completely different way.

**spoiler alert**
I feel the romance between Megan and Jack happens a bit fast and the timeline to “falling in love” is unrealistic. If you can accept that fact and read the story for the thriller/steamy read it is, then you’ll enjoy this book!

Special thanks to Veracious Readers and Alexis Madison for sharing Guardian Angel with me in exchange for my honest review.

[Susan, aka Pooh Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review pending

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the personal assistant to billionaire Jack Keller is shot and killed outside the door to the office building, LAPD detectives Megan Meisner and Albert Ballard are sent to investigate. Keller has recently set up a group opposed to fracking practices used by the natural gas industry. Detectives believe Keller was the intended target but who was the shooter? While Albert investigates the background of members of Keller’s new group, Megan tells Jack she will be his new assistant. As she accompanies him to New York, their relationship turns personal. She is determined to find the shooter before anyone else is killed.

She was acting in her professional capacity as a detective when she had sex with the man she was supposed to be protecting. This is unprofessional to say the least! Even more of a conflict of interest when she lets him buy her clothes and jewelry while in New York. Lots of hot sex between Megan and Jack with each telling the other they loved them. They just met!

She and her partner Albert were looking at everyone else and Jack asked her if she had looked at her partner? She had caught him once pocketing some drugs but he told her it would never happen again. Was he still doing it? Could he be the shooter or know who the shooter is?

Identity of the shooter and reason was not a complete surprise but written well into the story.

Thanks Goodreads for a copy of the book. Enjoyed reading it and recommend it.

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free copy for an honest review.

I’m sad because this had so much potential but was just cliche after cliche and the story wasn’t good enough to pull them off. Jack was very flat as a character and I didn’t feel the connection between him and Megan. Megan was written better but still came off as a pick me girl.

‘His erection spitting a hot gush of its secret sauce’, ‘cherished concoction of juices’ and ‘want to gobble it down and hold him inside me forever’ all make me want to be sick.

‘Your kids are going to need braces and college tuition soon enough. You can’t afford that on your salary’ is just a ridiculous sentence? College tuition yes but braces? Do they have a history of crooked teeth?

The worst trope of romance novels for me is people pushing each other away and being cruel to keep them safe and Jack really takes the biscuit kicking off at Megan. She obviously forgives him because it’s a romance novel but it’s just LAZY.

Also Jack is being threatened in a Mexican standoff and decided to brag about his money ‘I transformed ten million dollars into two billion!’ Like go ahead girls, take him down, he’s annoying.

Also why is his name Jonathan in the wedding?
Also why does Gordon Ramsey turn up?!!

[Sabrina Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a suspense feel and a few unexpected twists! The character building was a slow development but once you understand them you follow them throughout the plot! Steamy in some spots yet not overwhelming to the story! I enjoyed this book! The ending twist was such a surprise it took my breath away as the main character was shot!!!!! Did it end HEA??? Read and discover!

[Claire Trickett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and the twists that it had. I couldn't put it down!

I would have liked more description around Megan's thinking and how she worked out who the suspects were.

The last crime was a shock. My fingers were crossed that it wasn't true!

Definitely recommend this book and author.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only and I'm leaving a voluntary and honest review.

[Kayjah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it was an interesting read and the book has a lot of potential!

Personally, the storyline for me felt a little sporadic. I couldn't quite follow the crimes because there were a lit of individuals involved, and I didn't feel particularly attached to anyone. As for the romance between the main character and Jack, it seemed very rushed and lustful rather than loving. Again, the book itself was nice, but the details could have been a bit more fine-tuned.

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down, great story line

[Alice Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot and steamy romance with a mystery twist.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s nice to read a romance that also has a great story line.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed the storyline

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book mystery and romance. I recommend

[Kathy Beall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guardian Angel is a good mystery that keeps you guessing, but the romance part of the book is lacking. The story is told from the Heroine's view point. And she has a chip on her shoulder so big it makes her angry all the time. And she seems to think everyone is out to get her. Then the Hero is introduced and he's such an asshole, I couldn't come up with a way those two would ever come together. Unfortunately, I don't think the author could either.

The two heroes getting together is jarring and goes against everything we think we know about these characters. There's no description about the hero's face when he looks at her, there's no bantering, there's only a professional relationship between the two. And even when they do get together it seems only about physical attraction. There's no hint that they really liked each other. At one point the heroine does a tiny throwback and thinks about the sex they'd had and says something along the lines of 'while we were having sex he made me tell him that I love him. But I'm sure that's no big deal.' And then suddenly they are in love. I didn't get it. At all.

I also didn't enjoy living in the Heroine's head. I didn't like her very much and her head was filled with martyrdom and contradictions. And some very long-winded thinking that occasionally felt pretty outrageous.

But if you like a good mystery and some hot sex (only described by body parts and movement, no feelings included,) then you will like Guardian Angel.

[Ashley Claus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, I wanted to like this book based on its blurb, and the fact that the guardian angel was a woman. I love books like that. However I could not finish it. I stopped at 24%
There were so many cliches in the beginning of the book, like the author just wanted to throw as many in as possible regarding the police. Racism? Check. Corruption? Check. Sexual harassment? Check. Boys club? Check. I’m not saying these things don’t happen in the police, I’m just saying I’ve never read a book that has all of them spoken about in the first 2 chapters.
I felt no connection between her and her partner, which considering the line of work there needs to be one. In the little interaction that she had with the other main guy who’s name I can’t remember I felt no initial sparks between them either.
It’s very rare that I don’t finish a book, and I was not even slightly interested in finding out who the killer was.
I was new to this author and wanted to like her unfortunately I felt let down by it all.
I received a complimentary copy from the author via Voracious Readers only.

[Cathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Megan is a LAPD detective investigating a murder. She has come to the conclusion that billionaire Jack is either behind the murder plot or the next victim and she is determined to find out which. She decides the way to accomplish this is to get up close and personal with him and hope she doesn’t fall too hard.
This was a likeable read with some challenges. The reader has to be prepared to let go of reality and enjoy it for the fictional work it is without getting caught up in the old ‘a cop couldn’t do that’ etc. I like the idea of a woman being the protector, however in reality, she didn’t really play the part of a protector and she wasn’t exactly logical in her musings. After this discovery, I just resigned myself to be carried along for the ride and found it more enjoyable. I also found it weird that half of the blurb is from Jack’s point of view, however none of the text actually was. I received a free copy of this book from Voracious Readers in exchange for an honest review.

[Natasha J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of the book through Voracious Readers and I'm writing an independent review.

Let's start with the pros first. The book has a lot of potential with many twist and turns. It's a nice change to have a strong female protagonist protecting the "hero" instead of a damsel in distress who can't think for herself. Also included are bold attempts to showcase challenges faced by minorities at the workplace. Anyone who likes steamy scenes, HEA and cop romance dramas are in for a treat.

However, it seems to fall short in terms of screenplay. Moves too fast (not in a good way) between scenes and plots with far too many characters. Being a crime caper, it gets confusing especially since its a book and not a web series or movie. Also the actual relationship between the leads is left to imagination as only the steamy portions are depicted - no background leading upto the romance.

One could give it a shot but keep expectations low!

[Beth DeLong · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, thank you to Voracious Readers Only and Alexis Madison for a free copy of the book; I'm voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. It was fast-paced, included some twists, and kept my interest. There's some spice, but also an in-depth story line.

I do agree with a number of other reviews that parts of the story felt rushed. At times I had a hard time keeping up with the line of reasoning between Megan's theories. I also would have loved some more development between Megan and Jack. In "Guarded" (prequel), the author describes the time Megan worked with her partner and their discussions, which provided a foundation for their relationship. But in this book, the deep love seems to come from nowhere other than physical attraction.

I did enjoy it, but I would have liked it more with a bit more development with culprit theories and with the love story.

[Scarlett Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Voracious Readers Only and Alexis Madison for the ARC of this book!

This is a really complicated plot with several parallel threads that all come together at the end. Because of this very reason, it becomes tedious to keep track of all the various players and their motivations.
The story is a billionaire romance as well as a police procedural. I loved the idea of the female MC being the 'guardian angel' which was a refreshing move away from what is the norm in this genre/trope.
The 'hot-steamy' aspect of the romance is done well, but, for me it falls short on the emotional aspect of the romance.
Of all the characters, I actually found the supporting character of Albert the police officer the most well-developed. This is really a shame because that left me feeling not really invested in Megan and Jack, the lead characters.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like others have said I really did want to love this book based on the blurb but I just found it too difficult to connect with any of the characters sufficiently. It may be because it felt more like the main focus was highlighting the racism, sexism and general disgusting behaviour by the police department in such a way it felt like a lecture on police corruption at points.

The ending felt more like one of those "and everybody clapped" facebook posts than something that would have happened within the kind of environment described by the author.

All that aside, the plot twist was interesting and overall the book is an easy read. It would not discourage me from trying another book by this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel for review and this is my honest opinion.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Guardian Angel, in the end.

I have to admit it took me a couple of chapters to get into it. To start with I felt quite confused with the writing and couldn't work out where the story was taking you, or what was actually relevant to the story. However, this did turn around. And I am so so happy I continued reading and didn't give up.

By the end of the book I actually couldn't put it down. So many twists and turns, and the best part about them, I didn't see them coming!!!!

So yes, it took a few chapters to completely capture and hold my attention, but once there, it was brilliant!

4 out of 5 stars!

I received a free copy of this book via Voracious Readers Only and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kristie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly I'd like to state that I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author Alexis Madison via Voracious Readers Only

The story itself is okay. It tries to give you many twists and turns with different view points on the guessing of the story the characters are experiencing.
But I found myself disappointed with the female main character. I just felt she came across weak and had the typical swoon because a hot guy looked at her, type of element going.
She had grounds to be a badass woman who didn't fall easy in to bed and kept herself composed - but yet failed miserably. Just seems like all she was was a doting girlfriend.

The storyline itself is good. A little predictable, but still a decent enough read.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the fast pace of this book, and the steam, I felt the storyline was too rushed. The mystery surrounding the crimes and whodunit teased out was written well, but the romance, proposal all happened soo quickly that it really threw me off.

I also really struggled with the main character being portrayed as this tough-as-nails-cop but she never had an issue with her partner calling her "kiddo" (how does being called kiddo in a police department earn you any respect as a woman? Wouldnt she have shut that nickname down immediately, regardless of how she admired her partner?), and she threw her morals out the window on a pretty face. Very quickly.

I guess those just didn't jive with me but overall I did like the storyline and the writing.

[Megan Drummond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Alexis Madison via Voracious Readers Only, and what a great read it was.

Megan and Jack are a great duo and I look forward to reading more of Alexis's books. This usually isn't my type of book or genre but it was a great read. Quite a page-turner. Once the action started it was a great read. Took me a few chapters in before I was hooked but I really enjoyed it.

Would have liked to have heard how Jack and Megan both thought their ways to their shooter suspects. Otherwise what a great book.

Highly recommend if you like mystery, romance and a little bit of SPICE.

[Amber Keehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I liked this book- it had action, romance and a good mount of spice toward the second half. The writing felt a little stilted at times and I would have liked to get Jack’s POV as the reader might have surmised from the blurb (it was exclusive to Megan). I also tend to like the alpha more in my romances and Jack was a little less take charge (except in the bedroom) than I like in romantic suspense. But the storyline was good and kept me engaged- I’ll check out more of this author’s books in the future! I received complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers in exchange for an honest review.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, the story fell flat for me. The female main character, Megan, seemed like a pretty terrible cop; she jumped to conclusions and a lot of the “leads” she came up with were not logical or explained. The connection between the two main characters was mostly unbelievable; they seemed to share no emotional connection, yet during sex there was supposedly a deep, almost spiritual connection.

Side note: the sexual descriptions usually made me laugh and definitely took me out of the moment because they were either the scientific terms or you got gems such as these: “sigh and coo”, “blossoming pink flower”, snd “secret sauce”.

Voracious Readers Only book

[The Book Fairy Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

A crime mini series in one book. Megan the diligent investigator out to prove her worth and Jack the Billionaire out to do good for the world. Both caught up in a shooting both caught up in danger. Now the two are thrown together to solve the mystery of The Who is after them both.
A thrilling read filled with danger, passion and greed. We also get a good dose of politics mixed with feminism to round out a book that was good but had a pint to prove. I loved the sexy read but could not get over the agenda I felt was being pushed. I could have done with out the political topics thrown in.
Overall it was a great read, sexy, dangerous and passionate.