Title: First Watch
The job is high-profile.
The danger is real.
The attachment is the one thing neither of them can afford.
Griffin Hale is elite close protection—trained to read danger before it explodes and stop threats before they reach his principal. One catastrophic failure cost him his career, his confidence, and his place in the industry. When he’s offered a high-visibility assignment protecting Rune, the lead vocalist of one of the biggest K-pop groups in the world, Griffin takes it knowing the margin for error is razor-thin.
Rune lives under constant surveillance. Every movement scheduled. Every interaction managed. Fame has taught him how to disappear in plain sight—and how dangerous it is to want anything unscripted. Griffin is supposed to be another professional barrier between Rune and the world.
Instead, protection becomes physical from the start. Redirecting through crowds. Shared rooms. Hands at Rune’s back when things turn wrong. Trust forms fast under pressure, and the attraction that follows is impossible to separate from the job.
Then the danger turns real. A lighting failure leaves people seriously injured. An encounter among a crowd of ardent fans nearly turns deadly. Someone is testing access, timing, and control—and Griffin is certain this isn’t coincidence.
As the tour escalates toward Seattle, Griffin believes the threat is violent—and he may be right. The deeper he digs, the clearer it becomes that the greatest danger may be coming from inside the system meant to keep Rune safe.
Protecting Rune means confronting the failure that destroyed Griffin’s career.
Loving him means refusing to let him be managed into silence.
First Watch is a suspense-filled bodyguard romance. It’s the first book in The Guardians, a series about elite protection, public lives under siege, and the cost of choosing each other when the whole world is watching.
Review:
Griffin Hale is an elite bodyguard with a checkered past. On a previous assignment his charge was injured because a co-worker leaked the charge's location to people who wanted to hurt him. Now Griffin is doing his best after being let go from his last employer to repair his reputation as one of the best of the best. It hasn't been easy.
Rune is a Korean pop star who is part of a band called Violet Frequency. He's been with the band for years and writes most if not all of their lyrics. He's tired of having every moment of his life planned by what he refers to as the "system" or the "machine." He rarely has opportunities to make decisions for himself, and he's been taught from a young age that he should just obey without question. Worse strange and dangerous things have been happening around him and Chief Kang head of his security is bringing in a bodyguard to watch over him and to a lesser degree his bandmates.
When Griffin gets an assignment to guard a young Korean pop star, he jumps at the chance to prove himself. He knows his intuition is excellent and that he can do the job and keep Rune safe. But it becomes clear from day one that someone is targeting Rune in subtle but terrifying ways. Photographers being where they aren't supposed to be, lights going out and plunging the band into total darkness during a show and many other incidents, the really bad ones beginning right after Griffin arrives. It isn't long before Griffin realizes that it's not just Rune being targeted, someone wants him to fail at his job. Griffin realizes from the first time helps Rune feel safe, that Rune trusts him, and it's not long before that trust and the mutual attraction between them turns into something more. But if they don't figure out who is behind it all, someone could die, and Griffin isn't about to let that happen on his watch.
I absolutely LOVED First Watch! What a rollercoaster ride this book is. I read it in two sittings, and would have read it in one sitting if I could have figured out a way to get out of my work! This novel has everything, two hot men falling love, tons of suspense, intimate and emotional love scenes and so much more. One of the best parts about this book is the descriptions of Portland, OR and Seattle, WA both cities I've lived in. I recognized all the descriptions of where the characters went in those cities which really helped to make this story "real" for me. if you love MM romantic suspence, I highly recommend reading this book, it is so worth it and I can't wait for Book 2!
