Pride & Protection

Southern Boys

By: K.C. Wells

Narrated by: John Solo

What happens when an out-and-proud bear moves to a small Tennessee town, and takes a shine to the closeted cop? Fireworks, that’s what.

When Del Walters agrees to go into business with his brother, he has one condition. Since he’s putting up the lion’s share, they’ll run the bike shop his way - and that means he gets to choose the name. And in a small Tennessee town, a business called Rainbow Racers, complete with a not-so-subtle sign, was always going to attract attention. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong kind of attention, and after a few incidents, Del is forced to call on the local police to deal with the culprits.

When Officer Taylor Cox walks into his shop, Del thinks Christmas has come early. An earlier encounter with the younger man left Del with a growing desire to know more about him. There’s only one problem - Taylor is in the closet, and there’s no way Del is going back into his.

When Taylor lays eyes on the sexy bear who owns the bike shop, he knows he’s walking into trouble. Not that he’s about to let Del know he’s interested: His view from the closet is just fine, thank you very much, and besides, that ship has already sailed, thanks to their first meeting. Now all he wants to do is forget Del even exists. But as time goes by, Taylor realizes how badly he is torn between protecting the persona he’s created, and giving in to his desires. And Del making it obvious that he wants Taylor isn’t helping matters.

Between an out-and-proud bear and a firmly closeted cop, something has to give. Problem is, it might be their hearts.

©2019 K.C. Wells (P)2019 K.C. Wells

Love it so much!!

I love this book when I was reading and now listening to it I fell in love even more. Del and Taylor's story is just something I love so much. They made me happy with how they are with each other. Then John Solo just brings everything to life. I just couldn't stop listening and I fell in love with this story all over again.

Cute coming out story

It was a cute/sweet coming out story. If you done like a lot of drama, but just want fluff, this book is for you. No angst, minimal to no drama.

Loved it!

KC Wells brings us back to the Southern Boys with this beautifully written story about Del and Taylor! I had previously read this as an ebook and really enjoyed it but John Solo takes it to a whole new level! Wonderful book!!

As great as the ebook!!

The story is always full stars, because if I wouldn't like the story as ebook, I wouldn't listen to the audiobook.

The performance from the narrator is also very important for me. I can't listen to a lot, because my English as a non-native-speaker isn't so perfect to follow a whole story over hours, when the narrator speaks too fast or too sloppy. Normally I have to SEE the person, who is talking to me in English.

PLEASE READ MY RATING SYSTEM!!!

To my ratings:


5* - very very good
it's like an A+

4* - very good and will be often re-listening
it's like an A

3* - it's more then a one-time-listening, but not more then twice a year.
it's like a B

Pride & Protection

When Del agrees to help his brother open a new business he never imagines that he would find someone like Taylor, especially in such a small town. It almost seems like fate has something in store for the two as they continue to be at the same place and times. Del begins to wonder if there is more to officer Taylor than what he shows the world. The two are more than surprised to see each other in Atlanta. Secrets cannot be denied and the two begin a tentative friendship but soon emotions begin to erupt and misunderstandings may end something that has just begun. Can Taylor step out of the closet and find the strength to go after what he truly wants?

This is a sweet and sexy story that gives readers a wonderful rollercoaster ride of emotions. Del is a good man and will not back down for anyone but he is willing to give Taylor what he needs without drawing attention to them. Taylor is a young man struggling to deal with so much hate and bigotry but with Del's help he can find safety and love for the first time in his adult life. As the two spend more time together feelings come to the forefront and Taylor must face his fears or forever live in fear. The two make a great couple. They are good together in and out of the bedroom. It was nice to see their relationship build as well as the few others that Taylor finds to have his back and love him no matter what he chooses. Their story moves along at a good pace. It is full of emotions and strong characters. Narrator John Solo does a good job of bringing life to these characters. I quickly found myself lost in the story right from the beginning.

Absolutely amazing love story!!!

It's not often that I am so blown away by a narrator's performance as I was here, but this was absolutely amazing!! I loved listening to John Solo, he did such a wonderful job with Del and Taylor, not to mention all the secondary characters. I just about melted each time"Taylor" spoke. Mr. Solo really got these characters and brought them to life with his narration.

I’ve been waiting for Taylor to get his chance at a HEA ever since Truth & Betrayal (love!) came out and this story was all I had hoped for and more. He has found such a caring and loving partner in Del Walters. They are equally sweet and hot together. The push and pull between Taylor and Del was a delight to read.

There’s some beautifully written angst and worry because Taylor is not out, and doesn’t intend on being out anytime soon. I also absolutely loved the storyline between Taylor and one of the other cops, with regards to his decision to come out, as well as his friendship with Denise.
Even though it’s a May/December romance, the difference in their ages is never a thing between them and that was actually really lovely. Del is just such a wonderful character, a strong, cuddly bear in the best of ways.

This book is a perfect example of why I love reading K.C. Wells’ stories so much. She has such a knack for making you fall in love with her characters and drawing you into their world. I’m in awe of the sensitivity and care with which this book was written, the wonderful growth arc its characters, especially Taylor, go through, the love and research that obviously went into creating the world and inhabitants of LaFollette… and last but definitely not least, the incredible love between between Del and Taylor.

Spot on Depiction

Outstanding story with a realistic performance! Small town cop living his life in a deep closet meets a “bear” of a business owner.

Recommended!

Amazing!

Great story, wonderful audio performance.

Pride & Protection is the second book in K.C. Wells Southern Boys series and I loved it! I've only recently experienced audio books performed by John Solo. I'd seen where other reviewers raved about him but only listened to my first one a month or so ago. He does an amazing job with this story.

We met one of the main characters for Pride & Protection in book one, Truth & Betrayal, but you can enjoy Pride & Protection just fine if you haven't read it yet.

This is a great story about an out and proud bike shop owner, Del, and a very closeted cop, Taylor. Taylor is mostly happy living in his closet but then he meets Del and they keep running into each other. Attraction is there from the beginning but there's no way that Taylor is going to act on it.

When they run into each other at a gay bar in Atlanta, Del convinces Taylor to let go and have some fun. Nothing sexual happens that first time but their relationship starts and grows from that point on. Del is pretty understanding about Taylor's need to stay closeted but Taylor himself soon begins to realize that staying there may not be what's best for him.

I am having such a hard time writing book reviews lately – even for ones that I love, and trust me, I loved Pride & Protection.

Here are some things I really liked while listening to this audiobook:
Taylor's relationship with his older partner strengthens when Dale opens up to him about his daughter Zoe coming out to him. Taylor at first is terrified that Dale has guess his secret but he still tries to guide Dale into seeing that he needs to change his ways if he is to save his relationship with his daughter.

Taylor's relationship with his momma. While he hasn't come out to her the love, they have for each other comes through loud and clear through K.C. Wells writing.

Secondary character Chaz – a young adult hired by Del and his brother to work at their bike store. He has his own story to tell and I can't wait for K.C. to write the next story in this series.

So, to wrap it up, I loved this book and John Solo's wonderful audio performance made it even better.

A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com*** (posting on July 3, 2019)

May/December romance set in the Tennessee hills!

I really enjoyed the audible version of this delightful story! I had read the story, but the narration really brought the story to life for me.

May/December romance set in the Tennessee hills. I enjoyed listening this engaging and hopeful story about finding love in a small southern town. There are wonderful people everywhere and i loved some of the characters that we found in this story. There were also a share of the hurtful side of prejudice, but we did see love triumph.

Del and Taylor are truly well developed characters and i enjoyed how they became friends and lovers. Their journey really had me grinning a few times and i liked how they interacted. These are guys you want to know and have live next door to you. Good men with a zest for bikes and having fun. I liked how we got to see both of these men interact with others and that enabled us to really get to know them better. There were several really good supporting characters and the story is richer for them.

Loved this story- HOT May/December !

The narration:
John solo is a fantastic narrator with talent in accent work and the ability to morph his voice into any kind of character imaginable. I enjoyed his take on the story, he brought the town and all it's people to life. He also brought the romance and heat to new heights with his narration, it was HOT HOT HOT and very enjoyable to listen to.

The story:
I rather enjoyed this book, much more then the first in the series , Trust & Betrayal. I think here the story was much better balanced while still having similar elements like: OFY, First time, experienced MC and virgin, coming out story, to name a few.
I was also super excited to see Taylor get a romance, and a HEA. As a side character in the first book his tale was very touching, and I was hoping he will find his place. Del is just the right amount of kinky and protective, and the May/December troupe was also good without being the center point and conflict of the relationship between them. even though (like book # 1) they get to the physical side rather fast for my tastes (like once they start they go all in). For me I prefer when a virgin MC has a few tries before he goes all the way, but it was a minor issue for me and they were super smoking hot together so it was not a problem.
Like in the first book, bigotry and hate are rampant in the little Tennessee town, but support come from unexpected places and people and that was one of the most touching parts of this story.
Looking for more stories from the characters and the little town they are slowly bringing all the colors of the rainbow to.