*Note that this is not a review and there may be spoilers*
Archer by Dr. Rebecca Sharp was a delightful surprise, even if I started playing “green eyes and hard muscles” bingo halfway through. 😅 For context: I don’t usually read romance, so take these notes as one fantasy reader wandering into another genre.
Archer was my vacation pick for our road trip from Florida to Utah. It had been on my TBR for over two years, as the Reynolds Protective series was a birthday gift. My main draw to this series was the premise that the main men are inspirations for the Criminal Minds TV cast (all of whom I loved and adored). And while I’m not into romance as the main theme, I certainly love true crime, and what could be better than a mob enforcer’s daughter and potentially stolen art?
That’s all needed to know. And being who I am, I got the whole dang series.
💜What I Loved💜
You can read the blurb here. But what you really want to know are my thoughts on the romance, spice, mystery, and everything else that isn’t fantasy or sci-fi.
- What are the paintings? This isn’t revealed until the end, but I always held the suspicion that they were stolen art. Very good, highly entertaining story on the reveal.
- He just can’t stay away from her, can he? Chef’s kiss. The attraction was real enough for me that I wasn’t rolling my eyes. And I’m glad the theme of men dealing with their problems and internal conflict is becoming more reasonable than in the past.
- She faked her death to save her life. Legit. Loved and cried every minute of this decision as she and her father rewrote their existence.
- C’mon, man. This isn’t your fault! The emotional wreck of emotions (I did that on purpose), that Ranger goes through and then pulls himself out of is astounding. He slowly progresses from angry relief to anger while understanding why she chose that way out, to accepting the fact that it wasn’t his dang fault.
- Is there an FBI/WitSec mole? Oooooh boy, I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who the mole was that kept finding them and ultimately forced them to fake their deaths. Side note: it wasn’t their FBI contact, because he helped arrange the fake attack. There went my suspect list!
🧐What Didn’t Make Sense🤔
Keep in mind that I am not attacking the author or character; this is a work of fiction meant for entertainment. Bbbbuuuuuuutttttttt, can someone explain to me why the heroine, who is a tattoo artist, who studied impressionism and surrealism, NOT KNOW WHAT THE STORM ON THE SEA OF GALILEE WAS?!?!?!
Girl, you studied art. You recreate famous paintings on humans in your tattoo parlor. Now maybe I missed something. Maybe it was mentioned somewhere in the story that she thought her father painted it. If so, I surely didn’t catch it.
That’s it. That’s my only gripe. Moving on…
💋Romance Bingo❤️
*I skipped a lot of these smexy scenes, I wanted to know about those dang paintings.*
Green eyes/dark green eyes/deep green eyes: lost count, plus the whole family has green eyes!
Muscles/wall of muscles: at least once in every one of her POV chapters.
Hard cock in various scenarios: Really? Even when you’re having an argument with her? Almost twice in every one of his POV chapters.
🪶Final Thoughts📜
All in all, it was an entertaining story and for romance readers who love secret security… protection romance… (I’m grasping for straws here), you’ll love it! My rating?
- Will I read it again? Probably not.
- Will I keep it on my shelf as a trophy? Again, probably not.
- Will I finish the rest of the series? Yes, definitely!
- What if Dr. Sharp comes to my town? I’ll likely have her sign my copies then gift them to a friend.
I’m not much for star ratings. But if I must appease the algo gods and romance readers of this realm, then I shall pass on the rank of 4th star.
And with that, I shall end this quest and replenish my palate with an oldie but goodie (Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings) before I once again delve into the world of protection… security…? Romance.
Until next time, keep reading.
~Devon
