Out of the Blue

By: Kathryn Nolan

Narrated by: Maxine Mitchell, Troy Duran

There was no way I could protect her and my heart at the same time.

Cope McDaniels is known for two things: His cocky charm and his sterling reputation for keeping high-profile clients safe...until a security job goes bad, and he suddenly finds his career on thin ice. Cope’s newest assignment comes with serious consequences; he’ll keep his job as long as he makes no mistakes. Cope isn’t worried, until his new client turns out to be a beautiful blast from his past.

Big wave surfer Serena Swift loves the adrenaline of her sport. And the elite athlete hates being told what to do. That goes double when the orders are coming from the sexy bodyguard-in-a-suit who broke her heart. But she doesn’t have a choice when a mysterious threat materializes and Serena’s sponsor saddles her with the last man she’d want guarding her body. She’d rather focus on her next surf competition, not on some shadowy danger or the arrogant ex who dared to get even hotter since their breakup.

Cope can’t stop butting heads with his new client. Just like old times, Serena refuses to play it safe, even when it’s clear she’s in peril. Now the intimacy of spending every second of the day by her side is wearing away at his self-control. He can’t afford to lose focus, but everything about the woman is a constant distraction. Including the fact that their divorce was never finalized....

This scorching-hot bodyguard romance is perfect for fans of second-chance angst, sizzling sexual tension, thrilling action, and mysterious danger set on the warm, sunny beaches of San Diego.

©2021 Kathryn Nolan (P)2021 Podium Audio

Great Beach Read Body Guard Book

Loved the plot.
Loved the steam.
Loved the Enemies to Lovers
And
Second Chance Romance.
Great narration too.

Narration Definitely Enhances This Read

New to me author. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I never enjoy books quite as much when I feel like an author is using their books as a platform to vent their soap boxes. Heavy emphasis on climate/social injustices (especially sexism)…it’s not that I don’t agree with the sentiment, I absolutely do…but reading is my happy place/escape and I prefer not to have those topics so heavily mixed in. It takes away from the romance element when it becomes such a large part of the book. Also, I thought it very odd that this couple didn’t get divorced after 4 years of estrangement. And the way they ended things (1st time) was bizarre. When the story picks up in the present, the h made a point to continually mention the H as her ex-husband when he was not. And then there was a switch flipped, and “I never stopped loving you, I sleep in your old shirt every night, etc.” Honestly, this felt more like a story of physical connection than a true multi-level romantic connection (even the flashbacks to their previous time together were snippets of sexual encounters). Other than these points, decent overall plot and great narration. 3 star story, 5 star narration that definitely enhanced the read, and 4 stars overall.

Last audiobook of 2021

And it was stellar! So good, a great story, not too angsty(it could have taken that turn and been just as good), with a strong badass heroine and Maxine Mitchell was a winner! Troy Duran just keeps proving himself as a total favorite.

Btw, how cool is it to end my 2021 audiobook year on a five star book?!? ⭐️X5

Out of the Blue - second chance steaminess

I love this second chance romance between a professional sister and her new bodyguard who happens to be her ex but still legal husband. The audio was great. The narrators captured the personalities of the characters, and it was tense during suspenseful scenes and steamy when it needed to be. Love it.

Awwww love, laughs, and even a few tears

Loved this story, and the narrators killed it! The female narrator did read some in third person while male did not but that was easily ignored.. there was some action, sporting, lots of love and definitely steamy, and toss in a little suspense. Definitely worth the credit

Underwhelming

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I like bodyguard romances, but I wasn't into the fact the FMC was a surfer or that the main characters were married already when the story starts. But Troy Duran is the male narrator. So I took a chance. Even if the story is terrible, Troy never is.
I've read many sports romance novels and I don't recall any of them focusing on the sport as much as this book did. At some points, I felt like I was listening to a novel about a surfer with a splash of romance instead of a romance novel with a splash of surfing. The focus of this book was on the surfing more than the couple.
There was so much talk about female empowerment and equality in this book that it completely took over the FMC's personality. You want me to describe the heroine? The only thing that comes to mind is she fights for women to be taken seriously and treated as equals. That's it. I don't know what else. Maybe the book showed other aspects to her personality but this aspect was mentioned so much that it overshadowed everything else. As a result, her character lacked depth. Her cause is important, noble and worthwhile but when it's the only thing we know about her, it makes her pretty boring.
I had to take breaks listening to this. It was just so freaking boring, it couldn't keep my attention. Unfortunately, the conflict between the couple could have been solved years ago with communication. And they knew it. There wasn't a misunderstanding. They knew what the problems in their relationship were. But they just didn't talk about them. It weakened the love story, in my opinion.
Overall, the romance is overshadowed by surfing and female empowerment, which is fine if that's what you're looking for. I was looking for a romance novel.
Note to women: be a strong woman without having to tell everyone every five seconds you're a strong woman. It lessens your strength. True strength doesn't have to be announced and proclaimed. It's obvious and shines through in demeanor and actions. This isn't true of just women, but men as well. Weak men proclaim their strength. Strong men inspire others to proclaim it. Same goes for women. I don't have to tell someone, "I'm a strong woman; you can't walk all over me." I just don't let them walk all over me. Period.