Singe

IT DELIVERED SO MUCH MORE THAN I'D HOPED FOR

Jude was a Cop who got a call that would change his career and his future.. because that call led him to an out of control house fire and a frantic woman trapped on an upstairs balcony. It should never be advised but the roof was her only option so Jude told her to climb.. and she did - but then she fell and Jude's life was forever changed. In the years that followed horrific nightmares were a constant reminder of his mistake, of his butterfly - the woman who survived the fire and the fall despite his bad advice.

Rhion is a survivor and she shows her tattooed over scarred arms with pride.. but she lives in fear of her brother - because he's the violent person who started the fire, wants her fortune and her death. Rhion never ventures out, is protected by various members of Guardian Security and their offices are only a couple of floors away from her apartment. So Rhion feels safe as she writes her romance books which are fuelled by her passionate thoughts of Jude.. the stranger who saved her life all those years ago. And then Guardian take on a new Bodyguard and Rhion comes face to face with her dream man.. and Jude comes face to face with the woman from his nightmares.. his butterfly.

These two characters are instantly drawn to one another and when Alpha hottie Jude becomes aware that Rhion is in danger it brings out his possessive and protective side too. There's drama, emotional turmoil, sexy times, passion, some angst, good secondary characters and a tension-filled twist that puts Rhion's life in danger as the addictive well-written storyline plays out. But perception is the shocker here because Rhion's vivid recollections of that fateful night and what subsequently followed don't match Jude's guilty ones. Dual POV and great narration.

Worth a credit? Yes.. and it's a good start to a new Bodyguard series as you are introduced to some of the team.

14 of 14 people found this review helpful

Suspense, Secrets And Surprising Twists!

This is one of those stories, the more I listened the more I was drawn in. While I felt the story had a slow start, Aly did an amazing job weaving the secrets, the plot twists, and keeping the listener in suspense throughout the whole story, by the end I was totally captivated, and listened almost non stop.

Jude (hero) and Ryan (heroine) first meet when he arrives at a house fire, and sees her standing on the ledge. With no one else around, he attempts to save her from the fire. Four years later, they both have scars, and deal with the horrors from that night in their own way. Jude has nightmares, blames himself, and lives with guilt. Ryan throws herself into writing, and romanticizes that night and being rescued.

Ryan's a complex character with secrets, and her story is more complicated. After surviving the fire, her brother tried to attack her, and told her he was the one responsible for setting the fire that almost killed her. He's angry their father left his entire fortune to Ryan and blames her. For several years, Ryan lived in fear of her brother, who stalked and terrorized her, so she hired the Guardian security agency to help protect her.

The Guardian's have become her second family, and they do what it takes to protect her. When the Guardians hire a new member, she comes face to face with the man who saved her the night of the fire. There's a connection, attraction, and chemistry between them, and they are drawn together like a moth to a flame. When they become romantically involved, Jude realizes quickly nothing is easy or black and white when it comes to Ryan. Protecting her will be a challenge, but getting her to open up, and tell him her secrets maybe the most challenging of all.

The character, and relationships building was great! I felt like I was right there with the characters listening to their banter. Not to mention, Jason and Andi did an awesome job portraying the characters, and bringing them to life. Definitely credit worthy.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Perfectly Flawed

I didn't even read the blurb before diving into this one so I had to no idea what to expect but I am so glad I picked this one up. It was so very good.

There is romance, suspense and humor all mixed up with familial drama and some hot, hot loving. All my boxes are checked.

Jason Carpenter and Andi Arndt were perfection. They always are. I don't even need to review their audio because if you look up the definition of good audio, their faces are plastered there.

My only issue is that this book travelled from past to present and there were no clear markings of which time period the chapter started with, so I would constantly be pulled out of the book not knowing where we were.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Wonderful story

A first time with this author and definitely not disappointed. Very hard having to put this book down, but had to get some sleep. Loved the story and all the characters. Jude and Ryan are amazing, but just want to hear more of the guardian men. Great read and always love when Andi is one of the narrators. Jason was awesome. O

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Ok mix of mystery & humor & sex

2.75 across the board.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Rhyan & Jude, at times, even though it was more like insta-love. It was overly sentimental at times, but the humor made it more palatable. There's a bit of sex, of course. But I think there were only 2 accounts, & the rest of the time there were sexual innuendos & occasional touching between the 2 main characters. It's a bit of a mystery. I attempted to identify the culprit. My guess was right, though I wasn't sure until the reveal near the end. The whole story depended on a huge coincidence, but it wasn't completely, utterly impossible so... As expected, there's a HEA, but they worked for it, & time elapsed in the story. So the HEA didn't appear so fast. The inclusion of Jude's step-daughter seemed unnecessary, but I guess it was to add to Rhyan & Jude appearing as great humans. Whatever.
There were 2 narrators. I wish both of them did a much better job of performing Aidan Johnson, who was supposed to be so scary but never came across that way.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Smokin'!!!

Any additional comments?

Holy hotness! SINGE was intensely emotional, sexy and brimming with testosterone!!! I loved this unique storyline where both the hero and heroine (as strangers) had shared an extremely traumatic experience together and then cross paths years later!! My heart broke for both Rhion and Jude as they both struggled with the guilt and trauma of their past. They are both so perfectly flawed and yet have an intense soul searing connection. This book was perfectly balanced with an unpredictable storyline, witty banter and a company full of HOT alphalicious bodyguards!! I cannot wait for the other books in this series! Aly Martinez's addictive narrative kept me glued to this book and it was unputadownable!!! A great listen with Andi Arndt and Jason Carpenter delivering stellar performances! 4 "butterfly" stars!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I love Andi Arndt!!!

Great Book and Series. Yes I said series. The Guardian Protection books are amazing. I accidentally read one of the later books before starting Singe.

I definitely recommend them all. Now for the second book.

Great Book!!

I have fallen in love with Aly Martinez’s style of writing. This book was very well written. Loved it.

Another Aly Martinez Hit!

Mostly I purchase an audio book after I read the story and love it. In this case, I purchased the audio the same time I purchased the audio for Thrive. I trust Aly to drop me hook, line, and sinker into her world. Andi Arndt is one of my favorite female narrators so I knew she would deliver. Jason Carpenter is new to me. He delivered a strong performance.

Singe is the story of Rhion and Jude. Singe begins with Jude getting called into work to answer a house alarm. Dispatch told him they were short of officers in the area and need him to return to duty. When he arrived at the house, he found it up in flames with a woman at the window ledge with no escape. The woman is of a wealthy influential family. As a result, the fact that Jude had a couple drinks. He was the department’s scapegoat and lost his job. The incident gave Jude nightmares and he continually questioned his actions.

Jude is a broken man in a way because he can’t forget his big mistake. After leaving the police force, he went on to work for private security and after five years he accepted a position at Guardian Protection Agency. Rhion, the woman who haunts Jude’s dreams lives in an apartment in the same building hat houses Guardian. As soon as they see each other, there is an opportunity to heal their emotional scars and in the process a relationship develops.

I love the way Aly Martinez creates “regular” characters with real scars and pasts that are believable. There are many emotional scenes. Her dialogue is good and reveal a lot about the characters. Rhion is secretive about what she does and tells everyone at Guardian a different story. They are all unbelievable but a fun way for her to tease the guys and keep them guessing about her. Jude is a sweetheart and a protector of the people he loves. He loves his step-daughter often more than her biological parent. Rhion is sweet and is an adult female Valerie can talk to about girl things.

I enjoyed the plot twist and the angst that came with the suspense. The story is told in dual points of view. The pacing is fairly consistent throughout. We meet some of the other men of Guardian, who I suspect will have books in the future. (Since I read Thrive I know Jeremy’s story.) I’m interested in Johnson. He must have a book to tell his story. That man is the star of the series so far.

Aly Martinez writes an excellent romance in Singe with a good dose of suspense and mystery mixed in for good measure. Ms. Martinez is becoming one of my favorite authors. She develops good characters that I fall in love with and wraps them in a world that captures my imagination. Since I read these two books out of order, I can honestly say that they are standalones. Each book has a complete story, and while some characters are in both, there isn’t anything revealed in one that is needed to read the other book. I can’t wait to read more from her.

Singe

This is my first audiobook/read by Aly Martinez and I am truly pleased. I listened to this book non stop. Great romance story. On to the next novel in this series.