Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
When bodyguard Max Connery is called to headquarters to meet his new assignment, Prince Lucien, he doesn’t expect to encounter the shy, sweet, young man who wants nothing more than to finish his university studies and to continue to participate on the swim team.
Max looks younger than his twenty-eight years and, in fact, is often mistaken for being under twenty-one. He’s five foot nine, blond, muscular, and a former RAF pilot who retired after his plane crashed and the ejection mechanism failed to get him out before being injured. He’s overcome his disability but not interested in going back.
Lucien is twenty-five, having delayed starting university due to problems in his homeland and his own personal issues surrounding the death of his younger brother, which he took hard and was slow to recover from. He’s received threatening letters from a stalker, both in his homeland and now again in Wales where he attends school, but he refuses to leave, because attaining his degree and competing with the swim team are very important to him. Besides, the letters aren’t really outright threats to him, or requests for money; they are more like missives with hidden meanings and he won’t give in to his stalker. They decide that Max can pretend to be his boyfriend, rent one of the rooms in Luke’s apartment, and hang out with the swim team, even if it means swimming with them.
Most of the story is the development of the romance between Max and Luke who are not able to stay away from each other. Max is experienced but has never been in love. Luke is a virgin but has had one minor experience in the past. They are attracted to each other right from the start, though it takes a while for Max to overcome his reticence to get involved with a client.
There’s quite a bit of speculation about the source of the letters Luke receives since they don’t explicitly state anything threatening, and there’s a lot of discussion between Max and people at the BI office, but it takes a while for the clues to start to make sense. I would have liked to know more about Max’s employer, Kyle, and his assistant, Ross. There’s an implied backstory there, but not having read the first books, it’s hard to determine what it is. The blurbs for the first books don’t mention the formation of BI or Kyle’s and Ross’s names so, although this book can be read as a standalone, readers who have a chance to read this series in sequence should do so.
The story also has a subplot about Luke’s roommate who was addicted to pain medication and a few scenes involving a drug dealer who was eventually murdered in their house by Luke’s stalker. One subplot that seemed to be out of the realm of believable is the fact that Max showed up at the swim team training with Luke and was not only accepted there with him but included in the practices and eventually as a backup for competitive meets. I just couldn’t buy that one—not on a university team.
The conclusion was anti-climactic and overall the story seemed very unlike the R.J. Scott books I’ve read in the past. This one was too simple, light, fluffy—I’m not even sure I can find the right word. I’d recommend this to those who like a very light, fairly short, hot M/M romance with a twist of mystery and intrigue.
Cover design by Meredith Russell is a photo of a handsome, dark-haired young man. Since Max is blond, one can assume it is a photo of Prince Lucien, bare-chested and likely ready for a swim meet.
Sales Links: Love Lane Books All Romance (ARe) Amazon 
Book Details:
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 
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