Well, that went downhill pretty quickly. And then the very end happened and it kinda earned it an extra star.

Meet Jake, a 35 year-old ex SAS-sniper, who is really messed up. Ever since his parents were killed in a terrorist attack, he’s had one purpose: war. He joined the forces as soon as he was old enough and lived with a burning need to fight evil. Then four years ago, two of his friends died on a mission in Afghanistan because of him, which can clearly mess with your head, and let’s not talk about the mess that is his love life. No longer part of the forces, Jake now works at a security firm in London and he’s the best; if you want to keep someone safe, you hire him. When he isn’t pouring himself into work, all he has to handle the pain is drinking and mindless one-night stands he kicks out at 6am. And that’s what he’s been doing for the past 2 weeks. That is, until he receives an assignment to shadow Camille Logan.

Enter Camille, 25 year-old London socialite, renowned party girl, model and daughter of a ruthless businessman who has stomped on anyone and everyone on his way to the top. But Camille is nothing like her father or how the press portrays her. She’s independent, determined and works hard to make her own way without touching a penny of her father’s money. She too went through a rough phase when her ex-boyfriend got her into drugs and, well, let’s say he wasn’t very good for her or to her.

When Camille’s father receives a threat on Cami’s life, he hires Jake to protect her (without her knowing, because that’s the kind of overbearing control freak he is) and that’s how the story starts. It was obviously predictable (except a few twists and turns near the end) but I liked the characters and they were perfect for each other. Much of both of them is a front and they’re both battling their own demons, so we see how they help each other through their struggles, while also trying to figure out who sent those threats an what’s really going on.

What bugged me was the insta-lust and constant sex scenes. From the moment Camille meets Jake, her brain stops working because he is oh so hot and is “unable to focus on him for too long for fear of bursting into lusty flames”. Of course, everything Camille does goes straight to Jake’s cock and all he wants to do is press her against a wall and kiss her senseless. It was too much, too fast. It wasn’t something that grows as they get to know each other, they already want to devour one another the moment they meet. And then when they get together, I feel like there’s a sex scene every 5 pages like we’re on the run and hiding but hey let’s have sex and they somehow fall deeply in love within the span of a week or two, to the point that the rest of the world ceases to exist and they know they’re each other’s forever. It’s kinda painful to read.

So I was going to give this 1 star or 1.5, but then Charlotte showed up at the end and made me cry and earned herself an extra star.