Review – Watch Your Back by Karen Rose

Watch Your BackPublisher: Signet
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: NetGalley

Baltimore Homicide Detective Stevie Mazzetti has suffered losses no woman should have to endure. And, despite it all, she’s still a fighter. When she learns that her ex-partner might have miscarried justice, she’s determined to put the past to rights, even when she becomes a target.

It’s former Marine Clay Maynard’s job to see the risk in every situation, but he doesn’t have to look hard to find the danger surrounding Stevie. Since the minute he first saw her, Clay has wanted to protect the wounded officer, and he started loving her not long after that. So when Stevie attracts the attention of a vicious psychopath, Clay will do whatever it takes to keep her alive. That is, if he can stay ahead of a killer with everything to lose—and something terrifying to hide…
*Blurb from Goodreads*

I have been waiting — not so patiently I might add — for Stevie and Clay to finally get their chance at a happily ever after. Now that the time has come, I dove right in and couldn’t put the book down.

Stevie lost her husband and son years ago, and the hits haven’t stopped since. She has been through hell and back with her daughter, but continues to push on. However, as Stevie works to uncover cases her dirty cop partner hid, there are people looking to take Stevie out once and for all.

Clay has been in love with Stevie since the first moment he laid eyes on her. She’s pushed him away time and again, but Clay can’t seem to stop coming to her rescue. Now that she and her daughter Cordelia need a full time bodyguard, Clay is willing to risk everything to keep them both safe. But between dirty cops and a crazed killer who’s waited years to take Stevie on, getting a chance for love might not even be possible.

I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I was to finally get my hands on this book. It’s Stevie and Clay. The angst and drama between these two has been off the charts since the moment they first met. Clay has always been head over heels, and never bothered to hide it from Stevie or anyone else. Stevie has been mourning for her husband and son, even years later is shutting out the possibility of ever getting close to anyone again. Yet the pull between these two is so tangible, even the reader can feel it!

I loved Clay before, but after this I loved him all the more. He is so patient with Stevie, so giving of everything he has and everything he is. He wants nothing more than to keep her safe and have her in his life, and my heart hurt for him every time she turned him down. Poor Clay just wanted a chance to show Stevie how much he could love and adore her, and she kept knocking him down. He took bullets for her, saved her life, and went above and beyond to be there for her daughter. Clay is serious hero material, and I think he might be one of my favorite heroes ever. He has that strong silent thing going on, but he is super protective, incredibly supportive, and so totally devoted to Stevie. There were times I wanted to swoon over the guy!

As much as I love Stevie, there was also a part of me that wanted to smack that girl silly for not being able to see what was right in front of her. But I could also understand how devastated she was at the loss of her husband and son, and how hard it was for her to move on, especially as her entire world started to crumble around her. She was devastated as blow after blow kept knocking her down. But I thought despite that all, Stevie was a dedicated mother and cop and there was nothing more that she wanted than justice and a safe environment for her daughter.

The bond between Stevie and Cordelia, as well as Cordelia and Clay was so amazing. I’m wary of kids in romance book (especially suspense ones!), but I thought that Rose did a fabulous job with Cordelia. She is shy and reserved and pretty mature for her age. But she’s also seen more than any kid ever should have to, and the relationship she has with both her mom and Clay was so wonderful to read. I adored that little girl and hope we get to see her grow up as Rose continues to write more of this series.

One thing that I’ve always come to expect with Rose’s books are an amazing and incredible and twisted mystery/suspense aspect. While the suspense was sky high at times, I also felt like the mystery aspect wasn’t as drawn out as previous books. Maybe it’s because we know a lot more about the killer… I’m not sure. But either way, this book didn’t always have me as worked up as previous Rose books. That being said, there were absolutely one or two twists and turns that I was not expecting.

All in all Rose has knocked another one out of the park. I love that this book felt very romance heavy, even as Clay and Stevie danced around the idea of making a relationship work. I loved getting to see their HEA, and hope we get to see them more and more in future books.
I give Watch Your Back a B+

3 thoughts on “Review – Watch Your Back by Karen Rose”

  1. I loved this book! I’m so happy for Clay and Stevie! He loves her so much! She fell in love with him too! They need each other! I know, that losing someone you love is hard but at some point, you have to move on! If it was me, I would want to shut down too! But even at some point, I would want to move on too! I also love that Clay never gave up on Stevie. At times he wanted to but deep down, he knew it was worth it! My hero!

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