Forbidden Hero

Redleg Security, Book 2

By: Jackie Walker

Narrated by: Robert Hatchet, CJ Bloom

Things that awaken my inner rage monster (in no particular order):

*The F-nugget who thought it would be fun to try to kidnap me. Throwing me in a trunk? Rude!

*My oldest brother - For insisting I need constant babysitters since I’m in danger. Oops! Did I say babysitters? I meant bodyguards.

*Same brother again - For having a ridiculously hot best friend, then assigning him as my primary bodyguard and telepathically forbidding him from dating me, even though I’m starting to suspect that he’s seriously crushing on me. (The best friend is crushing, not my brother. Don't be weird.)

*My brother’s best friend (i.e.: my new bodyguard) - For having a jaw so chiseled it could probably slice through a huge block of aged cheddar, and yet, not letting me lick it. (His jaw, not the cheddar. Now you’re waking up my rage monster.)

*My bodyguard’s stupid rules - For forbidding me from flirting with him, touching him more than necessary, and kissing him again. Even though he started it!

*Wine - For having calories.

*My ex-husband - For breathing.

*The law - For prohibiting st*bbing.

*My heart and bodyguard - Both for making me fall in love again… the audacity!

Forbidden Hero is a bodyguard romantic suspense with romcom vibes. It's written in alternating first person point of view and contains steamy open-door scenes, profanity, a strong heroine with mild anger issues due to her bumpy past, a hero who will make you laugh one minute and swoon the next (especially when he helps her reclaim her body). There's heart-pumping action and all the feels, along with a healthy dose of humor and spice.

Author's Note: Forbidden Hero is book 2 in the Redleg Security Series. Although it can be listened to on its own, but there are suspense-related spoilers if you listen out of order. The audiobook is narrated by Robert Hatchet and CJ Bloom.

©2022 Jackie Walker (P)2024 Jackie Walker

perfect casting!!

I loved this book before, but the audio brought a whole new dimension. Robert Hatchet is perfect as Sawyer, with his sunshine, upbeat disposition and many crazy voices and accents the character uses to hide his pain. CJ Bloom is great as Sammy and her rage monsters inside. Sammy goes through so much in this book, and it was a gift to hear her inner thoughts voiced by CJ. A 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for sure.

Meet your new book boyfriend 🫠

This book is AMAZING!! Forbidden Hero has hit me in all the feels! The banter is hilarious. The sexual tension had me on the edge of my seat until it broke. His level of understanding of her trauma. The brother’s best friend and bodyguard lover story line was better than I imagined. These Redleg Security guys are going to be the death of me.

The narrators for Sawyer and Sammy were on point. Robert Hatchet (Sawyer) and CJ Bloom (Sammy) really embodied these characters and brought them to life. I couldn't imagine not listening to the audiobook and only reading it.

YOU NEED TO READ OR LISTEN TO THIS BOOK!

The trauma Sammy endured can be triggering so I do suggest reading the trigger warnings.

Jackie Walker did it again.

Perfect Narrators!

OMG! I absolutely loved this book! Sawyer and Sammy are great people apart but put them in the same room and they are bumped up ten notches. The internal dialogue in both of their brains are hilarious!

I listened to this audiobook and was a little hesitant on the narrators at first but as it went they were spot on for Sawyer and Sammy. Loved the whole thing!

Loved it

Yes this is a suspense with some good spice, but it’s also hilarious. I could not stop laughing. The suspense, the love story and the spice were all good, but the characters one liners were amazing. I kept snickering even when it was totally inappropriate to be laughing. This book deals with some very serious stuff and both the characters have some horrible traumas, but the way they still found ways to laugh made the story for me. Loved every second of this listen and would highly recommend.

Great Addition to the Series

This book was great...dealt with heavy...but balanced with humor and romance.

The narrators did a good job bringing these characters and the story to life.

Full Book Review:
I enjoyed this addition to the Redleg series...it tied into book 1 really well and tied into the storyline from that book and the characters we met.

I appreciated how Jackie handled Sammy's past and the issues it caused in her life as she tried to move forward. She handled it with care and in a honest and raw way.

I also really loved that while it wasn't something he'd done before, Sawyer was 100% on board letting Sammy take charge during intimate moments as she worked to heal from her past. Made him even more swoony in my book.

We got some lighter bits of humor thanks to Sawyer and Sue, and that really helped balance the book as it did deal with a lot of heavy.

I am really excited to continue the series...I know whose book is next but to be honest I really want Big Al and Madeline's story!

Rob & CJ are the ONLY choices as Sawyer & Sammy!

Narrators:
Thank you, Jackie Walker, for bringing Robert Hatchet into my audiobook loving life!!! He was the most absolute perfect Sawyer!!!! As a Sawyer lover I had high expectations for his portrayal and Mr. Hatchet nailed it from Sawyer's accents, to his inner obsession talks pertaining to Sammy, to him openly being affectionate with her. Robert sounded exactly how I imagined Sawyer sounding when I read this book two years ago.

C.J. Bloom is always a pleasure to listen to. She is so good at those female characters that are full of snark. She knows the exact way to channel the characters feelings and make them hit the listener deep in their soul. I really don't know if it is C.J. being perfect for Sammy or Sammy being perfect for C.J!

Story:
Oh my goodness....Jackie Walker has done it again. I swear her books always show up right when I need them. She has such a knack for writing a romcom/suspense story that will have you laughing out loud one minute and your heart racing the next.....I love books like that.

Sawyer and Sammy have great chemistry together and the attraction that is there from the beginning that I knew they were going to keep me flipping pages. Openly flirting with each other was one thing but Sawyer fighting his attraction to Sammy was both hot and hilarious. He is such a stand up guy that even when Sammy's life becomes endangered he is all business....well, for as long as he can stand it and then all bets are off.

Sammy had my heart really pulling for her to get an HEA b/c she deserves it. She has been to heck and back and deserves nothing but goodness. I was 100% behind her when she started taking control of her life and wasn't going to let any man dictate anything for her anymore.

The mental conversations these two have with themselves throughout the book show how comical Jackie Walker's mind is. Some of the stuff that she thinks up....I love it all! I cannot wait for more from Ms. Walker in the future.

Great Story!

I loved this book! But especially the audio! This is for the audio version & damn it was so good! The narrators did a fabulous job!! I loved it! Highly recommend this audio & series!!!

Amazing Story & Narration🎧Captivating & Steamy!

Jackie Walker turns up the heat for her second novel set in her “Redleg Security” series, an exciting and entertaining romantic comedy meets romantic suspense that has the perfect balance of drama, humor, mystery, action, thrilling suspense, heartfelt emotions and steamy romance. This book is Sawyer and Sammy’s story, and it is a brother’s best friend, off limits romance. Sawyer is Leo’s best friend, and they served together before working at Redleg Security. Leo saved his life while on a mission and his talking about his younger sister, Sammy, and thoughts of her also kept Sawyer alive. Sammy was stuck in an abusive relationship that was so bad that her husband faked her death and took her away from her family. It was a relief to them when they found out she was alive and Sawyer helped her get away. Two years later, she continues to deal with PTSD, but is getting help to rid the demons from her past and her mind. But then someone is after her again, is it her past coming back to haunt her, someone connected to her abusive ex or is it something else? Her brother and Sawyer are on top of it, as well as the rest of the Redleg team. Sawyer always had feelings for Sammy, but out of respect for her brother and his best friend, he would never step over the line, despite those feelings. Sammy was not ready for another romantic relationship since her ex, but she feels the chemistry between her and Sawyer and she feels she is ready to move forward with those feelings. Except Sawyer was hesitant, but they could only deny that chemistry for so long, especially when they were spending time together as he guarded her. These two were great together and for each other, the witty dialogue and their back-and-forth banter were hysterical and a great way to lighten things up to balance out the more serious and intense storylines. This book captivated my attention from start to end, the writing, plot and world building are fantastic, as are the character growth and development. Jackie Walker, thank you for another amazing story, the laughs and the emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 CJ Bloom and Robert Hachet were the perfect cast to bring these characters to life and did so with a complete understanding of who they were portraying, giving each their own voice and personality, making it easy to follow along and tell who was who. I loved how they took each role and made it their own, sounding believable and just as I imagined the characters would sound. You could feel how much heart they put into their work as they captured all the characters’ emotions and had you feel every single one. They set the perfect tone for the story, handled the witty dialogue effortlessly, landing the humor naturally and with ease. These entertaining storytellers are a pleasure to listen to and their performance elevates this already amazing story to another level. Thank you for another fabulous listen.

Sawyer Can Smash My Watermelon Anytime

Forbidden Hero is the story of Sawyer & Sammy.

Sawyer is a fun-loving, coffee-fiending, prankster, bodyguard. Sawyer has always been one of my favorite characters in previous books, his personality always adds humor whenever he is involved.

Sammy is Sawyer’s best friend Leo’s sister. She has just escaped a very troubled relationship.

Sawyer has secretly loved Sammy for years but has hidden it out of respect for his best friend. When Sammy is threatened, the Redleg Security family rallies to protect her. On the insistence of her brother, Sammy is assigned a babysitter, or as they refer to them, a bodyguard.

Being tasked with protecting her, Sawyer lays down some ground rules that frustrate Sammy. As we know, rules are made to be broken. When their chemistry becomes too much to deny, the dilemma becomes whether or not to keep it a secret.
The author weaves an enjoyable story of loyalty, love and heat. Forbidden Hero has all the things you love in a Forced Proximity, Friends to Lovers, Hero falls first story.

This was my first audiobook so I was a little hesitant going in, but I was hooked by the end of Chapter 1. The narrators did a great job of bringing the story and the characters to life. The female narrator portrays Sammy’s sassy attitude while the male narrator nailed Sawyer’s playfulness and love of accents.

I highly recommend both the book and the audio. ***CAUTION*** Contains steam, be aware of your surroundings and method of listening (invest in some headphones). @carlyrobinsnarrator @readbyrob @authorjackiewalker

DAYUM!! Addicted!

Bravo for the audio of this one - WOW!!! The narrators, CJ Bloom and Robert Hatchet, really brought Sammy and Sawyer to life. And for such absolutely hilarious and complex characters, complete with some of the funniest inner dialogue I have ever read/listened to, that is saying a lot! This one has it all - humor, spice (oh the spice!), and suspense too, which makes for an outstanding reader experience!!
This is not only my first by this author, it is also one of my first audio listens, and it is blowing me away! I haven't even finished yet (approx. 60%) because I do not want to let them go, but I already KNOW I need this one on my physical and digital shelf to revisit, because it is a keeper! Thanks to the author and the narrators for all the laughs and feels in this story!!!