I haven't read all the Masters and Mercenaries books because BDSM isn't really my jam, but If you like stories with suspense and danger and only a touch of BDSM, these are great! Wade and Genny are getting a second chance at love after Wade realizes he was wrong. He grovels well for sure! Add in the danger that Genny is facing and you have a steamy, action packed novella you can finish in 1 sitting! ( )

First off, I have a feeling that if you're a fan of this series, you'll really enjoy reading this book. Other series characters all over here, and who doesn't love seeing favorite characters pop up outside of their own books? If you're new to the series, though, no problem--you won't necessarily know who everyone is and you definitely won't know their backstories (seeing one character's "husbands" mentioned momentarily threw me...) but you don't need to. Protected could definitely serve as your intro to the series.

Genny and Wade's story is a second chance at love story, mixed with a healthy dose of romantic suspense. Trigger warning--Genny's ex was abusive; he's not in here a whole lot but he does play his parts. Her ability to heal and move on is dealt with nicely here, though probably because of the shortened novella format we don't see a lot of it on the page. I really liked the idea of the dual groups for survivors and their partners that they participated in, though--I hope that that is something that really exists and not solely products of the author's imagination, because it seems like a great idea.

The story itself does have some snags, though--for one, Genny's son Ash neither talks nor acts like a thirteen-year-old for much of the book, which had a tendency to pull me out of the story momentarily when he was on the page. Even kids who have to grow up too fast are still kids underneath and don't adopt PBS drama-esque speech patterns. Secondly, Wade went pretty fast from hating Genny for fifteen years to wanting to be with her forever (not to mention how fast she goes from pulling a gun on him to moving in with him and bringing her child)--toward the end he even thinks the following:
How could she think what he felt for her was guilt? He was crazy about her. He always had been. Well, except for all those years when he hated her. When he’d left her alone.
Again, "those years" was fifteen of them. "Always" means the year or so they dated in high school, plus the few weeks that they've been back together, I guess? Not too hard to see why it might be a little hard to jump right on board the forever train, there...fortunately he pulls his head out of his butt eventually. But that right there shows how self aware he isn't for a decent chunk of the story.

Still, this could definitely stand as an intro to the series for those who are new. The group's club that Wade's the Dom in residence for--Sanctum--is barely even a blip here. It's mentioned and he goes there once or twice to do some paperwork, but I think that's about it. The book's focus is more on Genny and Wade and the security part of the business he works in, which with the issues she's having with her ex, definitely takes up enough page time.

Rating: 3 stars / C+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. ( )