Starred review from February 11, 2019
Pope artfully weaves unresolved threads from Mostly Sunny into a superbly paced love story full of flirtatious humor, genuine passion, and a touch of intrigue. Wynter Bates lives a purposely quiet life, but when her adoptive father, tech billionaire Warren Bates, runs for president, an illicit affair in his past makes front-page news and raises questions about whether Warren is actually Wynter’s biological father. Cullen Whelan, Wynter’s bodyguard, knows she’s a good person who doesn’t deserve to be hounded by the media. He whisks Wynter away to his home and found family on the island of St. Thomas to outrun the frenzy. Shared secrets and sultry nights weaken Cullen’s resolve to keep things professional with Wynter, and the pair give in to temptation. Wynter slowly coaxes an overprotective Cullen to accept that he also needs care and support, even as they prepare to confront Wynter’s past. Pope’s signature wit won’t disappoint readers as her delightfully well-matched couple overcome deep emotional scars to find love. Agent: Emmanuelle Morgen, Stonesong Literary.
February 15, 2019
A handsome Irish bodyguard helps the heiress he's protecting escape the frenzy created by a family scandal.Wynter Bates is the adopted daughter of a tech billionaire and presidential hopeful, but she lives a quiet life as a linguist and translator. Ever since someone tried to kidnap Wyn when she was a child, her father has insisted on a full-time bodyguard. For the past year, ex-military officer Cullen Whelan has quietly and efficiently guarded Wyn, hoping to earn enough money to retire and leave behind his violent past. Wyn's identity is thrown into question--and into a glaring media spotlight--when letters emerge that suggest she wasn't adopted from a South African orphanage but instead is the product of her father's love affair with a mentally unstable woman. Cullen whisks Wyn away to a privately owned compound on St. Thomas, where they pretend to be a couple rather than expose her situation. Although most bodyguard romances demand some sort of physical peril, here the only danger is to Wyn's feelings. Her parents refuse to communicate with her, leaving Cullen to protect her from the emerging details and sordid drama. This is a slow-paced story that focuses on the interior lives of each character. Wyn and Cullen are both loners who fear commitment, but neither can resist their growing attraction. However, instead of showing Wyn and Cullen exploring their evolving relationship, Pope (Mostly Sunny, 2018, etc.) moves the most promising action and intimate moments offstage. Only later do they individually think, reflect, and ruminate about their feelings. This narrative choice to "tell not show" creates emotional distance between the reader and characters, eliminating any spark and deflating the chemistry of the love affair. The mystery of Wyn's parentage is sidelined until the end, when the loose ends are tied up without much effort on her part.A slow-moving and conflict-free romance.
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March 1, 2019
Wynter Bates, a polyglot professor of linguistics in Washington, D.C., leads a very private life, unlike her famous father, a tech billionaire who is currently running for president. Her solitude is upended when a scandal involving her father and the birth mother she never knew emerges in the media, and her gorgeous Irish bodyguard, Cullen Whelan, must whisk her away to a private resort on a secluded island where she can avoid cameras and questions. The island serves as a very special kind of retirement community for ex-intelligence officers, friends of Cullen, who need an escape from a dangerous world, so in order to avoid their scrutiny, Cullen and Wynter must pretend to be a couple. Torn between professional duty and feelings for Wynter, Cullen breaks boundaries, both physical and emotional. The torture of being so close yet having to stay apart is exquisite, and Pope does a lovely job of bringing these two opposites together while keeping up a brisk pace, making this contemporary multicultural romance a real page-turner.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)