Along Came TroubleAuthor: Ruthie Knox
Release Date: March 11, 2013
Publisher: Random House/ Loveswept
Camelot Series #2
ISBN: #978-0345541611
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format(s): e-book (350 pgs)
Book Source: Publisher
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About the book:
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An accomplished lawyer and driven single mother, Ellen Callahan isn’t looking for any help. She’s doing just fine on her own. So Ellen’s more than a little peeved when her brother, an international pop star, hires a security guard to protect her from a prying press that will stop at nothing to dig up dirt on him. But when the tanned and toned Caleb Clark shows up at her door, Ellen might just have to plead the fifth.
Back home after a deployment in Iraq and looking for work as a civilian, Caleb signs on as Ellen’s bodyguard. After combat in the hot desert sun, this job should be a breeze. But guarding the willful beauty is harder than he imagined—and Caleb can’t resist the temptation to mix business with pleasure. With their desires growing more undeniable by the day, Ellen and Caleb give in to an evening of steamy passion. But will they ever be able to share more than just a one-night stand?
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What Nima’s talking about:
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After finishing Along Came Trouble, I think we may have to officially classify me as a Ruthie Knox groupie. Her contemporary romance novels are clever, funny, sophisticated, and well, let’s just put it out there—hot. Along Came Trouble is the romance of Clark sibling number two, Caleb. It is set some years after Amber and Tony find their happily ever after in How to Misbehave. In fact, they have three kids when they show up near the end of Caleb’s story. This particular tale is the one that Knox says was the impetus for the whole Camelot Series and started with a lazy daydream about Justin Timberlake. That’s as promising an inspiration as I’ve ever heard.
The book opens with single mom Ellen Callahan, resident of Camelot, Ohio, entirely annoyed by some stranger in her flower beds. Ellen’s brother Jamie just happens to be a mega-famous international pop star—and he’s in love with Ellen’s pregnant next door neighbor Carly. Caleb, hunky ex-military police with his own security company, has been hired to ensure Ellen’s safety and privacy when the paparazzi descends on the little hamlet of Camelot in search of a story about her, her son, or her famous by association neighbor.
I liked Caleb. His stern military edges are softened by the way he cares for his aging parents and his family. He helps maintain his parents’ rental property, opened his own home to his sister Katie following a devastating break-up, and oh, did I mention he’s great with kids? What’s not to like? Ellen is harder to like. She’s had plenty of legitimate heartache and fought hard to achieve her independence, but she’s emotionally damaged. She’s bravely picked herself up and carved out a new life for herself and her two year old son following her divorce from his cheating, alcoholic father. She likes, no needs, her world well-ordered and uses hard boundaries to keep it that way. Caleb not only messes with her property, he’s messes with her boundaries.
There is a secondary romance here between Ellen’s brother Jamie and her neighbor Carly. This is the source of much of the book’s humor. Ellen could have used a little more of it. She often takes out her frustrations and insecurities on Caleb when they might have been better directed at her brother who hired him in the first place. This is probably the only thing that kept me from giving this book all five stars. True to form however, Knox does deliver an outstanding ending. This is something that I think sets her apart from other contemporary romance authors. She always makes it worth the effort.
Katie’s story, Flirting with Disaster, is due out in June of this year.
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Nima’s Rating:
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Enjoyed – strongly recommend (A-)
Purchase Info:
Reviews in the Series:
Say no more. This series is already on my tbr pile. 🙂
Thanks for the great review! I just got my copy and I’m so excited to start reading! I’m such a Ruthie Knox fan 🙂
[…] Purchase Info: Making It Last (Book 4) Reviews in the Series: How to Misbehave (Book 1) Along Came Trouble (Book 2) Flirting with Disaster (Book […]