Review: Livingston by J.M. Darbey (Trenton Security #1)


Note: This ARC was provided by the author via Vibrant Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Author J.M. Dabney kicks off her latest spin-off series with Livingston, which is the story of thirty-eight-year-old  Francis Livingston, a security specialist and a member of Trenton Security in Powers, Georgia, and twenty-two-year-old Fielding Haskell, an up and coming actor from Los Angeles, California. When Trenton Security is called in to provide Fielding with round-the-clock protection from a stalker, Livingston is assigned by his boss to be the younger man's bodyguard over the next four months. Liv balks at the idea, and when he meets Fielding, he knows he's in for a hell of time trying to resist the draw to the androgynous-looking actor. He doesn't think someone like him would appeal to the beautiful man, anyway. Scarred from a horrendous fire that nearly killed him as a child, Liv knows just how unattractive he is. But the more time they spend together in close quarters, the more difficult it becomes for Liv to pretend that Fielding doesn't affect him as much as he does. With a Fielding's career based on the opposite coast, Liv should stay away, one thing Fielding's stalker is incapable of.

Dabney's Trenton Security series gets off to a good start with Liv and Fielding's story. This falls under the M/M romantic suspense sub-genre with a May-December feel to it, given the more than fifteen-year age difference between the main characters. There's the mystery with as far as who Fielding's stalker may be and then there's the kink and romance going on with Liv and Fielding. As has been the habit of the people of Powers, characters and couples from the past series by the author more than make their presence felt here. This is, after all, a town with very few secrets, so everyone is up in everyone else's business. They do their bit to prod and push Liv along so that he can finally own up to his feelings for Fielding, while they also manage to make the younger man feel as if he's part of their family and community. This doesn't mean, however, that you necessarily have to read the series that came before this spin-off. You can definitely jump straight into Livingston and enjoy it separately from Dabney's other books. Overall, this series starter was a four-star setup for whatever's to follow. ♥

Date Read: 17 March 2018

Learn more about J.M. Dabney.

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