Series Recommendation: Guardian Security by Kris Michaels - Part One
Enter the world of Guardian Security - Kings of the Guardians Series
Book 1: Jacob - Victoria Marshall didn't cooperate by dying in the Afghani hell-hole as the CIA expected. Defying all probability, a privately-funded black ops group led by a handsome, sexy-as-sin southerner pulled her out of the warlord's prison cell and brought her home. Even half out of her mind with pain Tori knew this man was special. She made a date with the commander to meet one year later at a restaurant of his choice. Keeping that date was the best thing she ever did. Jacob King was attracted to the personality of the woman he saved from the warlord’s camp. Although it was hard to see what lay under the filth and suppurating wounds she suffered from countless beating, he admired her brave humor in the face of her agonizing injuries. This kind of tough-minded woman was someone he'd like to know, admittedly he never expected the leggy, blond bomb-shell in the red dress who showed up for their date. But then he never expected she would save his life, either. In a world of shadows, deceit, and dangerous covert missions, where people routinely vanish and living one more day was never a given, Tori and Jacob fight to build their happily ever after.
Book 2: Joseph - Ember Harris has sworn to save lives. Joseph King is an assassin. Death is their common ground, only they stand on opposing sides. Thrown together they find that in life, like death, everyone needs a Guardian. A dead man’s plea pushes Dr. Ember Harris headfirst into a swirling mire of drugs, death and political corruption. The Cartel boss who murdered Ember’s friend will stop at nothing to get the information entrusted to her. After all, finding and killing a mere woman in order to claim the evidence should be easy. A matter of a contract, time and money. Terrified, alone and on the run, Ember reaches out to the only person she knows she can trust. Joseph King is an assassin. He’d just unpacked his bag from an assignment he probably shouldn’t have survived. A life such as his comes with an expiration date. Sooner or later your competition or your target will get lucky. Out of spare lives, Joseph knows it is time to hang it up and walk away while he still can. Best laid plans, right? One phone call from the only woman he’d ever cared about successfully sidelines his disappearing act. Protecting Em will be his last mission. This time he’ll risk anything, including his life, to keep her safe. For her, he’d stroll through the sin-stoked fires of hell and gut the devil himself.
Book 2.5: Backwater Blessing - When Cole, Mr. FBI, and Logan, local cop and reigning Ice Princess, hook up to solve a case of Mississippi corruption at the highest judicial levels, sparks fly. Their attraction is hotter than the sultry southern sun. She wants to hate him—but she can’t. And Cole would never commit career suicide by staying in a backwater Mississippi town…not for any woman…especially not for Isabella Logan Church.
Book 3: Adam - Dr. Adam Cassidy knew two things: life isn’t easy and fate’s a bitch. Adam's last mission cost him an eye, his memory, and any chance of staying with his military brothers-in-arms on Guardian's Alpha Team. After two years he'd scraped together the remnants of his life. He’d refined, rebuilt and pushed on alone. Yet at night, when sleep eluded him, the fleeting memory of a warm, welcome press of soft skin and the distant memory of a faceless, nameless woman haunted him. Keelee Marshall knew all about loss. The man she loved beyond reason had disappeared on the battlefields of Afghanistan even though he now lived three buildings over...on the same ranch. She couldn't forget their brief nights of passion—but Adam had. Keelee would have to fight for Adam's love, because he was hell-bent on pushing her into the arms of a man she didn’t want and a future devoid of the one thing she needed most. Adam. For Adam and Keelee a life together may never happen, unless love can trump the cards fate has dealt. She'd go all in, but only if the man holding the cards was her Guardian.
Book 4: Jason - Jason King was presented the opportunity of a lifetime: assume control of Guardian Security from the billionaire who had built the world-renowned agency. As CEO, Jason would manage the best security resources in the world. Former SEALs, Rangers, Recon, Green Berets, agents from every alphabet agency in the nation, not to mention law enforcement stand outs, flocked to the organization he’d control. But the offer came with a painful stipulation. Jason King must lay to rest the demons haunting him. Faith Collins' stepbrother rescued her and her infant son from a hideous life, then died overseas in a black ops mission gone tragically wrong. Faith knew how to pick up and go on when things got bad. So she'd made peace with losing him--until Jason King arrived. Neither expected their meeting would tilt the world on its axis – and offer them the solace they both desperately craved.
Book 5: Jared - Jared King had endured more than the normal amount of danger in his life. He’d jumped from planes into hot landing zones, been shot at, almost blown up—twice, damn near killed more times than he cared to remember. Yet, nothing in his past compared to the danger of admitting his feelings for Christian Koehler. When Jared pushed Christian away too hard, once too often, the young man finally left and took Jared’s heart with him. Once upon a time, Christian Koehler had idolized Jared King. But after two years of the arrogant man's hot and cold mind games, Christian avoided the sexy Guardian like the plague. The jagged line between love and hate was paper thin and razor sharp, and Jared had pushed Christian across that line, with prejudice. When Christian discovers what he believes is a common thread in several disappearances of the homeless and at-risk teens in his area, he immediately tells his superiors. But neither his employer nor the D.C. cops believe the missing children are connected. Desperate to find out the truth, Christian swallows his pride and returns to the Kings and Guardian for help. Jared seizes the opportunity to investigate the missing children and the unexpected chance to once again be part of Christian’s life. What he finds leads to a tempest of deceit, danger and intrigue that pulls Christian back into Jared’s world.
Book 6: Jasmine - Jasmine King loved her chosen profession until she was assigned as Chad Nelson’s personal security officer. The sex-fueled country superstar was either a stone cold killer or the target of a deranged psychopath. Regardless, the self-absorbed bad boy was now hers to protect, and she’d be damned if she’d fail—despite the singer’s best efforts to make things difficult. One minute Chad Nelson the reigning king of country music and in the next, an FBI murder suspect in not one, but two murders. As if that’s not bad enough, he’s in the cross-hairs of someone who wants him dead. He’s got a front row seat to the destruction of his wildly successful and carefully constructed life. Jasmine and Chad are plunged into a deadly situation when the race to get him to safety reveals pursuit by not only Chad’s enemies but worse, Guardian’s. Now, positions are reversed as the country star reaches back to a military past to help free Jasmine from a bloody confrontation. Thankfully, Chad’s not the shallow performer Jasmine originally suspected, and she’ll use any advantage to protect her man as Guardian scrambles to find the killer.
Book 7: Chief - Cloaked in the identity of David Xavier, a billionaire player in multiple world theaters, Mike White Cloud worked to enter the Russian Mafia’s liar, by stalking a shadowy creature named "The Concierge." The Russian woman brokered young innocents into slavery and Mike meant to destroy her and the organization she worked for. He should have despised her for the atrocious crimes she facilitated, but too often love and hate are the flip sides of the same coin, and what Mike felt for Taty was not hate. It didn't matter. He'd destroy the Bravata and all its associates—even if it meant part of his soul sat in prison for the rest of her life. Driven by heartbreak, Tatyana Petrov joined the elite British M16 unit, and for eight years, wormed her way into the trust of the Bravata as she strove to identify the human filth selling those innocents to billionaires like David Xavier. She'd found it easy to loathe the wealthy men who bought her "toys"—until David. For reasons that she wouldn't acknowledge, she wanted to protect this one man from the retribution rapidly approaching. Neither knew the other's true mission but even as mortal adversaries, they'd each given the other a part of their soul and now only devastation and sorrow waited.
Book 8: Jewel - Obsessive. Toxic. Ice Princess. Witch. Jewell King ignored the epithets slung at her behind her back. Hell, after six, or was it seven, personal security officers asked to be reassigned rather than continue to guard her 24/7, maybe she deserved the names. She didn't care. Good riddance. Well… the last one had kinda weaseled his way into her daily routine with his compulsive cleaning and insistence on health foods. When he left, she noticed and was… hurt. But that didn't matter. She had no time for emotions. Handling the information and data systems for Guardian required 28 hour days and triple her current staff. On her shoulders rested the weight of defending Guardian against a brilliant hacker determined to take down all billionaire David Xavier had built and destroy her family in the process. He'd tried before. She had frustrated his first attempt by the slimmest of margins. This time he’d made it personal and he just might succeed. Zane Reynolds waded through several weeks’ worth of empty energy drink cans, cast off candy wrappers and stale pizza boxes, and viewed Jewell's office with a resigned sense of deja vu. He was back—against his will and despite his best efforts to stay as far away from Jewell King as he could get. The fact she hated him would make Jewell King a difficult assignment. He should walk away like all the others, except he couldn’t. He’d seen through the woman’s veneer and had witnessed the true kindness of the person hiding under the beautiful, yet caustic façade. This time, Zane had non-negotiable conditions before he'd agree to return as Jewell King's personal security, and he told the CEO of Guardian as much. This time, he was doing things his way.
Book 9: Jade - Jade King lives life at full speed. After over a year undercover for the DEA, she’s back in play and wants what any hot-blooded woman who’s gone a year without sex would want: an alpha bad boy who is convenient, delicious and disposable. A fun one-night stand, multiple orgasms, and absolutely no strings attached. Right? If only. Nicolas DeMarco has a library stocked with little black books, and his bedpost is nothing but notches. His love ‘em and leave ‘em mentality served him well…until it didn’t. Now, forty years old and in charge of Guardian’s Domestic Security, he’s done with the biological catch and release game that used to thrill him…until Jade King let herself into his office and made him an offer. One he couldn’t refuse…but man, could he screw it up. When one of the Guardian’s family members is targeted for death, Jade is pulled from her much deserved vacation and into Nicolas DeMarco’s world—a world complete with strings, attachments, feelings, and danger. When the elusive head of the Triad maliciously plans and executes an event that devastates an entire city, it catapults Jade and Nic into a Guardian sanctioned operation. An operation that they may not survive.
Book 10: Justin - Being CEO of flourishing JK Holdings isn't a sufficient challenge for millionaire restaurateur Justin King. He craves the rush gained by challenging danger and triumphing—be it heli-skiing, rappelling, suit jumping from the peaks of Mt. Everest or racing performance cars. But nothing does it for him like breaking into impenetrable fortresses and rifling their vaults for Guardian Security. It's the best-kept secret of his very public life. Only Jason King knows Justin works for Guardian. Danielle Grant has built a life separate from the power and influence of her father, the owner of Phoenix Armament. As Acquisitions Manager of JK Holdings, she’s made herself indispensable to Justin King on a professional level, his steady constant as she watches the gorgeous women in his private life come and go. Never once did she allow herself to dream the romantic attentions of her boss would turn her way—until fate perched them side-by-side at the precipice of a deadly drop. Just as Justin and Dani realize what they could be to each other, a malevolent force rips them apart, and Dani vanishes without a trace. Finding her and getting her back will require Justin do the one thing he has avoided all his life—ask for the help of his family.
Book 10.5: Montana Guardian - Van Wheeler was an elite team leader of Guardian's Sierra Team. He'd fought in wars, survived firefights in forsaken hell-holes and moved like a ghost in foreign countries. His team performed missions flawlessly. He'd never regretted an assignment until he met her. The sweet, brilliant code-breaker who'd devastated not only the enemy’s communication cyphers but also his heart. For Cassie Valentine, life was anything but hearts and chocolates–starvation and physical abuse at the hands of her father and uncle was the norm. Her intellectual genius at solving code brought her to the attention of Guardian and a man who showed her what life could have been like. A cruel glimpse at happiness that she could never obtain. Compelled by a threat to her mother, Cassie returned to the shack in the Bitterroot Mountains. Without a word, she vanished, leaving Van Wheeler, the man who loved her, to forever wonder why she'd left. A year later, battered, broken, and protecting her child, she fled her family's cabin at the top of the Bitterroot Mountains. Cassie knew she and her tiny son would share the fate of her dead mother if she didn't escape. On foot and ill-prepared, she set out into the wilderness of mountainous Montana, unaware that fate, in the form of a Guardian, was about to intervene.
Book 11: Drake - Life wasn’t fair. Drake Simmons and his identical twin, Dixon, had had that lesson beaten into them early and well. Their past had so savaged their souls no amount of “confronting their demons” could heal them, but Drake’s twin refused to acknowledge that truth. For the first time in decades, Drake watched Dixon embark on a dangerous assignment without him. So, he did the only thing he could do; he prayed hard and pushed forward. While visiting with an old mentor, Drake's past reintroduced itself in the shapely form of one hell of a distraction. Her name was Dr. Jillian Law, and it appeared people were intent on killing her. Of all the people in the world her father could have asked to protect her, why did it have to be him? She’d known Drake, and of course Dixon—you didn’t get one without the other—through her teens and early twenties. For years, she’d painfully adored Drake with the raw passion a young woman could only feel for her first love. He’d never viewed her as anything other than a friend, and she’d hidden her feelings behind her thick glasses and shy behavior. Since then, she’d earned her Ph.D. and had invented a solar power source that provided almost limitless, cheap, energy—a device for which someone was willing to kill her. If circumstances were determined to throw them together again, the least she could do was make Drake see her as Dr. Jillian Law. She wasn’t “Silly Jilly” anymore. The girl was gone, forever, but the woman who remained had never forgotten Drake. Though torn and distracted by the absence of his twin, Drake grows to realize this benign shadow from his past might be the key to his future—if he can keep her alive.
Book 11.5: Christmas with the Kings - You are cordially invited to a Christmas with the Kings. I hope you enjoy this heartfelt holiday novella honoring love and joy, hosted by the King Family. This story—all tied up in shiny paper and wrapped with a satin bow—is an offering to all those readers who have fallen in love with the characters in Kings of Guardian and the Guardian Shadow World series and made them their own. This novella is not for you if you haven't read the previous books in this series. You will not understand the characters or the dynamics. If you have not read all the Kings of Guardian and Guardian Shadow World series, please consider not buying this story.
Book 12: Dixon - Alone, isolated from the vast resources of Guardian, Dixon Simmons reentered a world that had left him impossibly damaged as a child. Now, he voluntarily steps back into that evil alone, by choice. To protect all he’d come to love, he was willing to pay whatever price was demanded—even if the price was his soul. She went by many names. Her true identity, however, was as dead as her heart–until him. The man was every bit as lethal as she was and deliciously sexy. Dixon Simmons piqued her interest, and what started as lust turned into another “L” word. She gave a “forever after” with him no hope. They’d have to stay alive for that to happen. Caught in a violent abyss of ultimate malevolence and ominous threats, two damned souls find in each other a redemptive love that defies reason. However, redemption comes at a high cost. They must first save the world from a merciless force known only as Stratus.
Book 13: Passages - Life is a transition from one minute to the next. Moments end, lives change, and the ways and loves of the past fade into memories. Join the members of the King and Marshall family as they find their way forward. Note: This novella is not for you if you haven't read the previous books in this series. You will not understand the characters or the dynamics. If you have not read all the Kings of Guardian, Guardian Shadow World and Gabriel's story starting the Guardian Defender series, please consider not buying this story.
Book 14: Promises - Promises can be made between friends, families, or lovers. Each will be honored. Even the promise of payback, although Joseph King prefers the word revenge. Family fun at his expense? Not on your life. Join the members of the Guardian family as they delve into the nuances of promises made and kept.
Book 15 & 16: The Siege-Part 1 & Part 2 - For years Guardian Security has protected the world against evil. They were an offensive weapon against monsters that sought to prey on the unprotected. Until now. Attacked at the heart of their operations, both in Washington D.C. and the South Dakota Annex, the Kings of Guardian go on the offense to protect the lives of their families, friends, and innocents caught in the crossfire. This is War. Who declared it? Where are they hiding and how did the Guardians miss the threat that has blown their world apart? Survival isn't guaranteed. To turn the tide, the Guardians must survive and protect those they love. But in that effort, there are no certainties. Theirs is a dangerous profession.
Recommendation
Out of the many books I've read (and I've read A LOT), Kris Michaels is one of the best at intertwining the lives of all of her characters through multiple books and interconnected series while still ensuring each character has their own personality and journey. In the Kings of the Guardian Series, Kris Michaels intertwines the lives of the King family, Guardian operatives and the Marshall family. You are first introduced to Guardian's Alpha team when they rescue Tori from a not so enjoyable spa retreat (at least that's the story she's going with). Jacob and Tori have an instant connection but this is no instalove book where the hero rescues the damsel in distress and everything is perfect; Tori has some (a lot) of baggage from her time at the "retreat" and it's up to Jacob to be there for her and show her that when you love someone, you hold on tight and don't let go. But make no mistake, Tori is no damsel in distress; oh no, she, along with the other Marshall, King and Guardian women are made of tougher stuff than that and when Jacob needs her help to rescue his brother, she'll show him that she's just the woman for the job.
I don't want to give away too much of the rest of the series, but with each book in Kings of the Guardian, you will fall deeper in love with everyone in and around Guardian Security. From the Kings to the Marshalls to Alpha team to the former (and not so former) members of Guardian's Shadow World (don't worry I'll tell you ALL about them very soon). There is action, suspense, romance and throughout each book is the overlying emphasis of the strength and love of family, both the one you're born into and the one you've chosen. Part two of the Kris Michaels series recommendation coming soon!
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Where to Buy?
Amazon
Author Website: https://krismichaelsauthor.com/index.html
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