Abby A.'s Reviews > Hillbilly Rockstar

I've really enjoyed reading the books in Lorelei James' Blacktop Cowboys series and Hillbilly Rockstar is no exception. I also like how even though characters from previous stories are woven into the story, it's either done as a way that to move the story along or it's for emotional support to help the characters reach some kind of realization or an ah-ha moment.

As the synopsis of this book states, Devin, a country music star, is having issues with potential threats towards him and needing protection. That form of protection is Libby, a former soldier. They share mutual friends back in Devin's hometown, although none of know that she becomes Devin's bodyguard.

What I like about this story is first the respect given to the their initial roles in the book and that was of bodyguard and the one being guarded. There was a spark of attraction from both sides, but it wasn't as if they were going at it that same night.

In fact, Devin threw a bit of insult saying that Libby would not be the kind of woman that he would be seen with. By the way, the plan was for her to pose as his Personal Assistant slash lover, so that there wouldn't be an issue staying with him on his tour bus. Libby took that as a challenge and in their second meeting changed her look entirely, which ramped up Devin's attraction to the nth degree.

As the tour started and progressed, that attraction grew, but I liked that they continued to hold off from doing anything about it to the point that Devin even continued to have sex with groupies (albeit only hands and mouth). I wasn't actually bothered by this, although it might bother some readers. They weren't in any kind of exclusive relationship and these encounters did help the story.

First, while physically gratifying to Devin, it didn't feed any of Devin's emotional needs. Second, it made Libby feel jealous and made her realize that she may not be as unaffected as she thought when it came to Devin.

Then a couple of things happened that brought them closer together and they really started connecting emotionally. Eventually, it lead to them finally sleeping together. By the way, props to Libby because after this happened, she did the right thing by informing her boss, giving him the option to pull her off the job, which he didn't.

Along with the emotional connection, came the growth and depth of trust between Devin and Libby. The trust really deepened when Libby saved Devin from an attacker. That's when Devin really knew that he could trust her with his life because he was important to her. That's when Libby really knew that Devin accepted and had faith that she would do whatever it took to make sure he was safe because she cared so much about him.

Then something big happened while Devin and Libby were having some alone time, which caused Libby to doubt herself, to doubt that she'd be able to protect Devin. These insecurities are tied to guilt that she felt for not "saving" two people she cared about when she was in the military, although both instances were beyond her control. Guilt equals walls and Libby definitely put those up.

But by this time, those bonds were strong and though Devin had to first figure things out, he eventually pulled those walls down and got them to a better place. And when Libby ended things with him for reasons that she mentioned to Devin, Devin eventually was a strong enough man to not let her go.

Suffice to say, this HEA was richly deserved.