Series: Guarded Hearts*
Release Date: November 5th, 2013
Due to heavy subject matter and sexual content, this book is recommended for ages 17 +
Annabelle Spencer’s life is every girl’s dream. She has wonderful parents, great friends, and of course the perfect boyfriend, Jack Roberts. That all changes on her sixteenth birthday when her life comes crashing down around her. Her dream night turns into a nightmare when Jack is murdered right in front of her, and she’s kidnapped by his murderer, Carter Thomas, a big time drug and arms dealer.
After five months of being with Carter, she’s found, but the experience has totally changed her. She’s no longer the happy-go-lucky girl that everyone used to know and love; she’s now cold, hard and suffers from night terrors. It appears that Carter broke not only her body, but her spirit too. A shadow of her former self, her slogan for life now: “If you don’t care about anything, then you have nothing to lose”.
Carter is currently serving time for the murder of Jack, a conviction that Anna helped secure. But his retrial is coming up because some key evidence appears to have been tampered with. Unbeknown to Anna, death threats are being received by her father, the Senator. it appears that Carter is still interested in Anna and will stop at nothing to get her back.
Ashton Taylor is brought in to protect her. He’s a newly qualified SWAT agent, a bright spark, the agency’s new golden boy. He is assigned undercover, posing as her boyfriend. His job is to help her through college and keep her safe until the end of the trial in eight months’ time.
For three years Anna has been the broken, damaged girl, refusing to feel emotion or pain, but can Ashton help her rebuild her life and finally deal with the grief of losing her childhood sweetheart? Will he be the one to make her see that life is, in fact, worth living and that not all men will hurt her?
All the while, the shadow of the trial looms over the both of them, taunting them, reminding them that it isn’t over yet. After all, Carter Thomas will stop at nothing to be reunited with his “Princess”.
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• The Heroine was kidnapped, held hostage and repeatedly raped by her boyfriend’s murderer (flashbacks and memories)
• Heroine suffers severe PTSD from her kidnapping
• Heroine was impregnated by her rapist and suffered a miscarriage when he beat her (memory)
• Heroine is severely depressed (on page) and has attempted suicide twice (off page)
• Heroine was repeatedly threatened with a gun (memories and on page)
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Heroine and Hero
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
*Books one and two are companion novels, whereas the following books in the series are Standalone
I have read and re-read Nothing Left to Lose so many times since I bought it in late 2013. And although yes, it was a little bit fast, and yes, the circumstances surrounding the media were a little bit iffy, I still loved it! Mainly because of Ashton Taylor. Now that’s a book boyfriend I have no plans of breaking up with.
I have to say that in the beginning, Anna’s back and forth with her relationship with Ashton got extremely old and tiring. But, once I re-read Nothing Left to Lose, I understood where she was coming from. It goes without saying that Ashton is exceptionally patient, attentive and loving to have to put up with the constant knee-jerking. Honestly, I think only in a romance novel would a person stick it out that long–especially when you’re in love with someone who is so absolutely terrified of love that they constantly remind you they don’t love you.
The fact that Anna’s traumatic past wasn’t quite in the past kept Nothing Left to Lose going. Anna’s past was sad, depressing, and disturbing to read, but I just love romantic suspense novels. And her dreams about Carter and her memories felt so real–so raw–I think those were the best-written parts of the book. The author really pulled through with creating a horrific image of a man who is not in his right mind.
Another element of the book I was giddy about was the media attention that Anna and Ashton received. I loved how they were classified as the sweethearts of the media–super cute. But, I have to admit that the likelihood of the Senator’s daughter staying out of the press (especially when she was kidnapped and witnessed her boyfriends’ murder) would’ve have been impossible. Especially once her dad (slight spoiler) started running for president. Because what’s the first thing you do when you run against someone? You look for dirt on your competitor, and the fact that Anna’s situation never came to light–however, didn’t really bother me when reading the book–wasn’t all too realistic.
The ending I absolutely adored, especially the part in the ambulance … and that’s all I’m saying about that part. It was bittersweet, and I cried!
Defiantly a four-star read! I hope I continue to re-read Nothing Left to Lose and enjoy it as much as I did the first time I read it!
Note: This review covers books 1 and 2 of the Guarded Hearts series before they were split into two novels (see below).Preview the Books I’ve Mentioned on Amazon Kindle
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