Review: Luke by Stephanie St. Klaire

Luke
(Brother’s Keeper #3)
by Stephanie St. Klaire
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: May 10, 2018
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Luke O’Reilly has seen it all, done it all, and lived through it all. When a career ending injury forces him to retire from the military, he struggles to adapt. Luke was born to be a soldier, not conform to the nine-to-five mediocrity of everyday life. He needs to protect and serve like he needs his next breath.

Angry, with a bitter taste of civilian life, he finds himself searching for purpose in dangerous operatives through the family business that is Brother’s Keeper Security. Working alongside his brothers, protecting them and those they love, gives him satisfaction. But he still wants more – needs more – and struggles to find it. That is, until the one thing he didn’t think he was searching for, lands on his doorstep. Literally.

Daisy King lives life on her own terms, just the way she likes it. A free spirit, until she finds herself in the protective clutches of Brother’s Keeper, one frustrating brother in particular. As the key witness to a high-profile murder, the stakes turn dangerous and take an unpredictable twist leaving her once simple life an existence she’ll never reclaim.

In a true tug of war between good and evil, Luke fights to overcome his past, to protect his future. Can Luke and Daisy save each other and find a happily ever after? Or, does murder and mayhem prevail, robbing Daisy of her freedom and sentencing Luke to a life alone?

 

 

Luke is sort of a mash-up story of a broken hero who feels unworthy of love, and a bodyguard romance. You see, Luke has been tasked with Daisy’s safety. After she witnesses the murder of a US Senator, she becomes target #1 for the bad guys. The only problem is, no one knows who the bad guys actually are. When you can’t trust your own government, who do you turn to? Luckily for Daisy, the team who saved her knows just the group, and man, for the job.

The O’Reilly brother’s run their own security firm and cover everything from your every day security to high-profile government stuff. So, when the only witness to a Senator’s murder needs a safe haven, the O’Reilly’s take her on and welcome her into their fortress. And boy was it a fortress. Their building, if you can even call it that, was equip with so many security measures and fail safes that it is probably more secure than the Pentagon. I mean, secret elevators, secret rooms, secret floors, they had the whole shebang. So, it was honestly the perfect place for Daisy to hide out at.

While this is the third in a series, I didn’t have a hard time catching up. You get a sense that each of the brothers have their own specialty. Obviously, Luke is known for his mercenary skills. Which is why he is tasked with keeping Daisy safe. You’d think it would be easy for the poor guy, but man was Daisy hell-bent on getting captured and tortured. I mean, I don’t know about you but if I just witnessed a Senator getting murdered, was whisked away to a secure location, and all I was asked was to use the building facilities and not leave the sanctuary of said building… I’d comply. Not Daisy, though. She’d go gallivanting around to thrift stores and karaoke bars out in town, completely oblivious to the peril she was in. Poor Luke was always on the verge of a heart attack with her. To say I wasn’t on Daisy’s side would be putting it mildly. I just felt like she didn’t take the situation seriously and was so quick to jump to conclusions and become emotional… when her life was on the line.

Luke was your typical broken hero. He didn’t feel worthy of anything. So, when Daisy waltzes into his life, he’s completely blindsided and tries to keep her at arm’s length. Considering that his specialty is taking out the enemy, he doesn’t feel like he deserves anything good in life. Watching his struggle with his emotions and beat himself up was kind of tough to watch. I just wanted to hug the guy and tell him he was worth it.

Luke was a fun story to read. The majority of it took place in their building, so there wasn’t a whole lot of adventure. I also never fully connected with the characters for some reason. I just felt like I never fully got to know them inside and out and was only presented with the basics. Even though I found Daisy’s character a bit irrational at times, it was hard not to fall in love with Luke and the gang.

 

 

Meet Stephanie

Stephanie St. Klaire debuted in 2016, launching her writing career with Rescued, the first book in the widely popular, five book series known as McKenzie Ridge. Stephanie is a Pacific Northwest native currently living in Oregon with her husband, five children, and two ferocious lap dogs.

As a writer, Stephanie brings realistic circumstances to the pages, and fills them with real emotion, reactions, and outcomes. Her characters are passionate, have bold personalities, and full of life. She writes happily ever after’s, with plenty of twists, turns, drama, and of course, steamy romance.

Stephanie has always been a story teller, with the gift of “gab”, and a life-long goal to be a writer. Unfortunate circumstances with her health, finally afforded her the time to do so. Irony at its best, she began writing her first novel at an adverse time, to escape her circumstance and explore the stories in her imagination for relief. She is happy to share those stories with her readers, and bring a little fun, entertainment, and of course smexy characters to the pages.

Follow Stephanie St. Klaire on Social media to learn more about her, and to keep up with her work.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

 

 

 

 

7 Thoughts on “Review: Luke by Stephanie St. Klaire

  1. I usually enjoy broken heroes stories a lot, but the lack of connection with the characters really puts me down 🙁 . . . Sorry it happened to you with this one, I totally get your point, though. And I kinda want to give Luke a hug, too!

  2. The cover definitely catches your eye 😉

    I’ve never heard about this series, and I’m not sure if I’d ever read it. HOWEVER, Luke definitely sounds like the broody, dark character, who has a lot of issues to work through, and I always fall for those guys!

  3. That sounds like a book I would like and I am loving that cover.

  4. Luke has a nice back, he should show the mips next time though *whistles* Have a great weekend <3

  5. I enjoy stories with a tortured hero, but not when the heroine acts out to keep the story moving in the other direction. (lol) I’m on the fence with this one I thin. Happy Saturday and Hugs…RO

  6. Sounds like a pretty decent read. I kind of like the “trapped” or secluded even if in the city type reads.

  7. What a great story line, and I do love the sound of the hero, but sorry to hear you had a hard time connecting with this one.

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