I am pleased to participate in the blog tour celebrating the release of
Emma Chase's latest novel,
"Dirty Charmer," book #5 in the
Royally series. "Dirty Charmer" is not a direct sequel to the earlier books but rather something of a spinoff featuring Tommy Sullivan, who served as a bodyguard for Prince Nicholas in book #1 and was a good friend to Logan St. James in book #3. In this book, we learn that Logan and Tommy have left royal service and become partners in their own private security firm, S&S Securities. A few characters from earlier stories make cameo appearances, but even so, "Dirty Charmer" reads as a total standalone, so it is completely appropriate for readers who are new to the series.
I have read and loved the entire series to date, so for me, it was a lot of fun to revisit the kingdom of Wessco. I especially loved seeing Logan and his wife Ellie, who were great friends to Tommy and helped him tremendously in his pursuit of the female lead, Dr. Abby Haddock. A full review of "Dirty Charmer" is included at the end of this post, but in short, I really enjoyed this funny, sweet, and steamy novel and would recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance.
About "Dirty Charmer"
"If I try to kiss you at midnight, when I’m off shift and you’re officially not a client anymore . . . would you let me?"
Abigail Haddock is stunning, sensible, and some would say . . . stuffy. But it’s not really her fault. She was raised in one of Wessco’s oldest, most affluent, aristocratic families—“stuffy” is their middle name. So is successful. Abby’s working overtime to distinguish herself as a top-notch physician, just as her family legacy demands.
She doesn’t have time for nonsense.
Tommy Sullivan’s all about nonsense.
Sure, he’s an elite bodyguard with lethal skills and co-owner of the renowned, S&S Securities Firm—protector of the wealthy and titled. But he’s also rowdy, fun and thoroughly irresistible.
Tommy knows how to have a good time, and he’s never seen someone more in need of a good time than Abby. The lass needs long, wet, filthy kisses—
STAT—and he’s just the man for the job.
It doesn’t take long for a wildly sexy, sinfully satisfying, no-strings attached arrangement to turn into something more. Something sweet and addictive and real. But Tommy and Abby are too royally stubborn to admit it.
Opposites attract, everyone knows that. But can they last—can they love…for forever?
Read an Excerpt from "Dirty Charmer"
Abby
Me: Are you texting while you’re driving??
Apparently, Tommy and his bodyguard brethren are trained to text without actually having to look at their phones, so they can communicate covertly with the device in their pocket.
But I’ve explained to him—
at length—that that doesn’t matter worth a damn.
I’ve informed him of the overwhelming statistics on the dangers of texting while operating a vehicle
and I’ve disclosed my firsthand experiences of seeing the deadly carnage of such behavior during my emergency room rotations.
And still, after a weighted pause, he replies:
Godly Orgasm Giver: Maybe.
Me: Well, STOP IT!!
For a moment, the screen remains quiet . . . and then those sneaky little dots appear again.
Godly Orgasm Giver: I like it when you get all shouty caps at me—have I ever told you that?
I’m going to revisit the idea of Tommy teaching me how to throw a punch. It would come in handy at moments just like this.
“Is everything all right, Abby?” my mother asks. “You’re all flushed.”
She examines me above her glasses like I’m a bug under a microscope.
“I . . .”
Grogg, the butler, bends down and dips his large, square head towards my grandmother.
“A gentleman is out front, Lady Agatha . . .”
Oh no.
“On a motorbike.”
OH NOOOO.
“Well, send him away.” The Dowager Countess shoos her hand in the air, as countesses do. “We don’t accept solicitations.”
I scramble to my feet. “Actually, he’s here for me.”
I throw my tablet and phone and books into my satchel, to hasten my not-so-great escape.
“Pardon?” my father inquires.
“He?” my grandmother prods.
I swallow hard, rushing out the words. “Yes. He’s a friend. I messaged him for a lift.”
My brother Sterling’s eggs-Benedict-laden fork pauses midair on its way to his mouth.
“I didn’t know you had the sort of friends who road motorbikes.”
“I didn’t know you had friends,” my sister Athena comments, not in a cruel way, but with sincere surprise.
I shrug, looping the strap of my satchel over my shoulder.
“Yes, well . . . you know . . .”
With that brilliant retort, I turn and walk out of the room.
I head towards the foyer, the heels of my knee-high boots clicking rapidly on the marble floor like a ticking time bomb. I yank open the giant front door and . . . come to an immediate stop on the veranda outside of it.
Because Tommy’s there, down the long gray steps on the front drive, sitting easily astride a shiny contraption of chrome and steel, wearing work boots, snug blue jeans and a black leather jacket—looking so sinfully good it might actually be illegal.
I have to remind myself that I’m angry with him, and when I do, I march straight down the steps. His eyes alight on my boots, skirt and light gray sweater—the ensemble gives off an unintended “naughty schoolteacher” feel—and the corner of Tommy’s wicked mouth hooks up accordingly.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
“Are you mad?!”
He takes a moment to think it over.
“Not the last time I checked.”
“What are you doing here?” I hold out my hands. “And what is this?”
“It’s a motorbike.”
“It’s death on wheels.”
He chuckles. “James loaned it to me for the day. The hills are beautiful this time of year—I thought we’d take a ride together. You wanted stress relief, didn’t you?” Tommy taps the shiny handlebar. “A ride on this is as stress-relieving as it gets—better than normal-bloke sex.”
I peer at him. Do I want to know?
Apparently I do, because I hear myself asking, “Normal-bloke sex?”
“Yeah.” He winks. “I mean it’s not better than how I do it—obviously. But the way an average bloke has sex—this is definitely better.”
I shake my head, folding my arms. “Do you have any idea how dangerous these things are? The statistics on motorbike fatalities are—”
Tommy covers my mouth with his hand.
His palm is warm, and so is his voice—a thick, sweet, honeyed tone.
“Do you trust me, Abby?”
After a moment, he takes his hand away and I gaze into those deep, dark eyes . . . falling into them so easily it should be frightening.
My answer is simple. True ones always are.
“I do.”
Tommy smiles fully, and my stomach flutters with that lovely swirling sensation.
“Then climb on.”
He places a helmet on my head, buckling the strap under my chin.
“And you might want to do it fast—your granny’s coming.”
I glance over my shoulder to see the whole family gathered outside the front of the door, a spectrum of curious and gob-smacked expressions plastered on their typically reserved faces. And my grandmother is indeed headed this way, her jeweled necklace jingling as she quickly descends the long slope of stone steps.
“Abigail!”
Her voice is high-pitched and harried—a tone I’ve never heard her use before, and one I’m not keen on exploring now.
“Have to be going!” I lift my hand and give them a thumbs-up. “Talk soon!”
Like a teenager running off with the town bad boy, I hike up my skirt and climb onto the motorbike behind Tommy. He clasps my hands together securely over his stomach.
“Hold on tight, lass.”
I do just that—squeezing my arms around his solid frame and resting my cheek against the warm leather on his back as he revs the engine to life and we pull away with a roar that vibrates in my bones.
And as strange as it is—or maybe it’s not strange at all—I’ve never felt safer.
My Review
I really enjoyed Emma Chase's "Dirty Charmer," the funny, sweet, passionate story of two people from vastly different backgrounds who fall in love against all odds. The male lead character, bodyguard Tommy Sullivan, seemed a bit rough around the edges at first, but he was undoubtedly a good guy. I loved how caring and protective he was of his love interest, Dr. Abby Haddock, as well as the way he looked out for his family and friends. As for Abby, she seemed very reserved at first, as well as intensely focused on her career. She and Tommy started seeing each other primarily because she needed to find a way to relax outside of work, but their casual relationship soon grew into much more than just a no-strings attached affair.
Both Tommy and Abby were likeable, well-developed main characters, and I found their relationship development to be nicely paced. It was a bit difficult for me not to get annoyed with Abby's behavior at times, however. I really felt for her because of her complicated family situation and because she had been hurt by men in the past, so I can understand why she may have been afraid to trust Tommy and the strength of their relationship. That said, it drives me crazy when couples fail to communicate, and that's essentially what happened here because Abby chose to keep secrets from Tommy, which led to them breaking up for several months. They managed to patch things up, but Abby later completely (and irrationally) overreacted and blamed Tommy for something that didn't even happen and wouldn't have been solely his fault anyway. I think Abby's fear drove her to keep finding ways to sabotage the relationship, and I just wanted to hug her and tell her everything was going to be OK so that she would stop torturing poor Tommy!
These were relatively minor annoyances, however, and I genuinely did like Tommy and Abby as a couple. I would recommend this book for all fans of contemporary romance and look forward to whatever Emma Chase writes next.
*ARC provided by the author via Valentine PR. All opinions expressed are my own.
