Release Reviews: Moonlighter: Sarina Bowen

by - Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Moonlighter
Sarina Bowen
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Release Date October 22, 2019

Only in my family could a professional hockey player earning seven million dollars a year be considered a slacker.

I’m at the height of my athletic career. Yet my arrogant brother is always trying to recruit me into the family business: a global security company so secretive that I don’t even know its name.

Pass, thanks. I don’t need a summer job.

But the jerk ambushes me with a damsel in distress. That damsel is Alex, the competitive, sassy girl I knew when we were kids. Now she’s a drop-dead gorgeous woman in deep trouble.

So guess who’s on a flight to Hawaii?

It’s going to be a long week in paradise. My job is keeping Alex safe, while her job is torturing me with her tiny bikinis. Or maybe we’re torturing each other. It’s all snark and flirting until the threat against Alex gets serious. And this jock must become her major league protector.

Moonlighter is a stand-alone novel. No cliffhangers, no prior experience necessary. Contains: hackers, hockey players, and a hotel room with only one bed.


Eric Bayer thinks he is about to enjoy his brief vacation before hockey season starts up again, but his family has other ideas. Next thing he knows he is on a trip to Hawaii to help with security for an old family friend. The girl who always challenged him and made him smile. But he is kind of moody,  focused on hockey and dealing with an injury, not excited to be on this trip, and not interested in relationships. 

Alex Engels is a Tech Goddess and CEO. She is smart, successful,and still bossy. She is a work-a-holic, but also dealing with some new personal issues. Due to circumstances she needs protection and to feel safe. That is why Eric is lured in by his family's security company to take this assignment.

They have not been together in years. Neither expected the chemistry and sexual tension. It's undeniable and ill-advised, but they are adults and think they can handle it. Alex is stressed and there is a lot on her plate, so it is good to have an old friend around. And some extra stress relieving is not bad either.

But there is a reason she needs protection, and they are not even quite sure who she needs it from. So Eric will have to be alert and aware and use the resources of him and his family company. But he may find it is more than the bargained for. And Alex has everything to lose and needs people on her side. But it's just supposed to be a short fling...reality is a whole other story.

This is witty, sexy, and heartwarming. These two are so much fun and have such great banter and chemistry. I really enjoyed both of their personalities. I loved their competitiveness, but also their power exchanges. I liked the merging of her corporate tech world, his family's security company, and of course Brooklyn Bruisers hockey. There is also a suspense thread running through the story with multiple possible antagonists and motivations. So these two are dealing with a lot of external drama while trying to figure out what they really want and what choices to make for the future. And even though there are some familiar faces and references, this can be read as a total stand-alone. But with that being said, I hope we see his security guru brother, Max again or maybe even the rookies, Anton and Drake. 

Eric Bayer’s hockey career leaves him with little free time, but even so, his family doesn’t consider it hard work. During a short break from the season, his brother coerced him into helping out as a bodyguard for none other than his childhood friend, Alex Engles. Eric and Alex used to play together, but haven’t interacted more than briefly in years.

Alex Engles is a genius tech CEO struggling to prove her worth as she now leads the company started by her father. With a new product in the works, there is pressure from all sides to nail the launch.

They were supposed to pretend to be together so Eric could assess the threats around her and she can feel safe, but when their initial trip to Hawaii includes a shared room with one bed and plenty of opportunities to build on the friendship they once had, the line between pretend and real begins to fade, making Eric’s job even more serious.

This was an interesting combination of sweet and tense. Alex and Eric are sweet together and have very little drama as they shift their relationship from pretend boyfriend to something with a little more substance. But the shadow of the threat over Alex keeps things moving and drives much of the intensity to the story.

Though Eric is part of the Bruisers team and Alex is friends with the team’s owner, this book stands alone completely. I enjoyed getting to know Eric’s father and brother as they pull the strings behind the scenes, as well as the other Company team members that help as Alex’s security needs increase. I am looking forward to more from the Company as this spin-off expands.
Sarina Bowen
Sarina Bowen is the RITA® Award winning author of over thirty contemporary novels. She most recently hit the USA Today bestseller's list in January, with Overnight Sensation. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina holds a BA in economics from Yale University.

Sarina Bowen is a New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country since the 1760s. Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. On a few wooded acres, she lives with her husband, two boys, and an ungodly amount of ski and hockey gear.

Sarina's books are published in a dozen languages on four continents. In 2016, The Romance Writers of America honored HIM by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy with a RITA award for Best Contemporary Romance, Mid-Length.

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