I have come to love Janie Crouch's romantic suspense books, so I snagged Daddy Defender right away. This is part of a new spin off series called Omega Sector: Critical Response. It ties into a few events from books in the original series, but you don't have to read them to enjoy Daddy Defender. Crouch gives a 'Cast of Characters' in the beginning that is very helpful.

The story itself isn't stunningly original in any way. Young widowed mother falls for a guy she thinks is the handy man but is really a secret agent in Omega Sector. Also, he is kind of, sort of, responsible for killing her husband. Yeah, that hasn't come up in conversation though.

The villain is a bit Dr. Evil-ish. He and his misfit band of revenge seekers think they are too smart to be caught. Their plans are not diabolical or even inventive. Friehof is obviously the most diabolical of them all and has a much grander plan that simply killing a single agent. I think that the book focused on him as the sole villain it would have felt more cohesive. Even keeping Curtis as a puppet would have worked. But adding 'Fawkes' as a mole in Omega was strange. And ultimately, never resolved.

Chloe, her daughter, is adorable! Kids in stories can be hit or miss for me, but Chloe is adorable. The dangerous events in the story keep the plot moving along. Even though you know the identity of the villain and the ultimate plan, there are still a few surprises that keep the book interesting.

With fade to black sex scenes, Daddy Defender is great for readers who want romance and action without...well the other kind of action ;)

 

• POV: 3rd


• Tears: no


• Trope: secret identity, single mom, widow


• Triggers: spoiler


• Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series


• Cliffhanger: not really; Friehoff is still on the lose and you get a little glimpse into where he plans to strike next but Ashton and Summer plus Chloe are all safe


• HEA: yes

Rescuing Rayne by Susan Stoker, Celebrating Love by Maryann Jordan, Taken by Cynthia Eden...then you will probably like Daddy Defender!

 


Daddy Defender






 See full review on The Book Disciple ( )

Good mix of suspense and romance. Two years earlier, Summer's husband Tyler, a member of the Omega team, was killed during a hostage crisis. Since then, Summer has been raising her daughter and moving on with her life as best she can. She rents her apartment from the head of the team and calls on the attractive but shy maintenance man when she needs help.

Except the maintenance man isn't who he appears to be. In an amusing case of mistaken identity, Ashton had taken care of the first repair himself, after his coworker asked him to find someone to do the repair. Now Ashton is firmly planted in Summer's mind as that, and he hasn't been able to find a way to tell her the truth. He's fallen hard for Summer and doesn't want to lose those chances to see her. His coworkers at Omega know how he feels and tease him constantly. They also tell him he'd better tell her the truth soon before she finds out on her own.

I loved the relationship between Summer and Ashton. He is adorably tongue-tied around her, not shy, but afraid of saying the wrong thing and giving himself away. Ashton is haunted by what he sees as his fault in the circumstances of Tyler's death and doesn't know how to tell Summer about it. Summer is attracted to Ashton, both for himself and for the way he and her daughter have bonded. She has come up with multiple reasons to call the "maintenance man" so that she can see him. It was fun to see Summer take the initiative to go after what she wanted, and Ashton's realization that he's out of time to come clean. Luck being what it is, Summer ends up finding out the truth before he can do so. Her shock is understandable, and I loved the conversation when they were finally able to talk about it. I loved Summer's reaction once she has all the facts and has had a chance to process them. I ached a bit for Ashton, who was tied up in knots over what he thinks she'll do. I loved seeing them deal with this issue and how it brought them closer together. The ending was really sweet and I loved his "proposal."

The suspense of the story is great. Someone has it in for the people at Omega and is intent on making them pay via the people they love. In this case, Ashton is the target and Summer and Chloe are the vehicle. It was interesting to see how the one bad guy delights in pulling the strings of the others, making them believe they are partners. This includes "Fawkes" who has his own agenda. I loved the teamwork of the Omega folks and how each has an integral part in the investigation. The intensity continued to build with each attack as they race to figure out who is behind them. The final confrontation was riveting, but even more so was the aftermath. The "wall of clues" put together by the bad guy as his way of taunting the Omega team was scary in its complexity. It will be fascinating to see how the rest of the series goes. ( )