The Unlikely Spare (Unlikely Dilemmas Book 3) by Jax Calder

Jax Calder has returned to their Unlikely Pairings universe with The Unlikely Spare. This is opposites attract bodyguard and his charge romance. Can a man raised in the Belfast slums see past the royal persona to appreciate the man under the crown?


From the blurb:

What happens when a prince falls for the undercover agent pretending to be his bodyguard?

Nicholas
I’m the spare, the younger brother of the Prince of Wales. Ever since I was propelled up the order of succession, my job description has been: Exist. Don’t embarrass the Crown. Repeat.

After a security scandal, I’m assigned a new bodyguard. A hulking, brooding Irishman who glowers at me like I’ve personally offended his ancestors. He’s the first to be completely immune to my charm, which is rather inconvenient when you’ve always wielded wit like a defensive weapon.

And why I feel the need to continue trying to impress Officer O’Connell is anyone’s guess.

My upcoming royal tour of Australia and New Zealand should be a nice chance to escape the British winter and bask in some Southern Hemisphere sunshine. But it turns out that representing the monarchy in former colonial countries means confronting some uncomfortable truths about how all those Crown Jewels ended up in my family’s vaults.

And the whole visit would really be far more enjoyable if someone wasn’t trying to kill me.

Eoin
I’ve clawed my way from the slums of Ireland to the top level of Scotland Yard’s undercover agents. But a deep security breach within the force has me investigating my own colleagues while playing bodyguard to a privileged prince on a tour Down Under.

Something about Prince Nicholas gets under my skin like shrapnel I can’t dig out.

Still, I’m a professional. I can handle one posh git with a smart mouth.

But as we navigate koala cuddling sessions, didgeridoo lessons, and deadly spiders in hotel rooms, I see beneath Nicholas’s princely façade. I’m supposed to uncover which of my fellow bodyguards is a threat to Prince Nicholas, not become obsessed with the most complex, fascinating pain in my arse I’ve ever met.

The line between duty and desire blurs with each passing day and the danger to Nicholas intensifies.

How can I maintain my cover, protect Nicholas, and resist the urge to press him against the nearest wall and kiss that smirk off his face?

The Unlikely Spare is a royal romantic comedy/suspense featuring a party prince learning his place in the world and an undercover bodyguard with a chip on his shoulder. As threats escalate and attraction intensifies, both men must decide what they’re willing to risk—and what they’re willing to fight for.


Molly Otto's review:

Eoin is working for Scotland Yard, when the threats to Nicholas, the royal spare, become more credible. Scotland Yard decides to step in and has Eoin become a bodyguard to Nicholas to figure out who really has been in charge this entire time. To say a Catholic bloke from Belfast and the spare heir to the royal throne don’t see eye to eye is the understatement of the century. When the team is sent to Australia on a press tour, things become real, and these two see the real man behind the public/job persona. With so many secrets being held, they are bound to come out and it won't be pretty. Both men have been hurt in the past by those they should be able to trust, their similarities are more than they could have ever imagined with such different upbringings. The banter is top notch throughout; the tension of these two men is palpable. The hate from not truly knowing the other man drives these men, to the point you wonder can they get past their prejudices and allow something amazing to happen. A well-paced action tale, that keeps you enthralled from page one. It was a happy bonus to see how Callum & Oliver are coping with the royal life and the responsibilities they now share together. You technically don’t need to read the previous installments, but I would recommend for a more enjoyable experience to understand what has happened to make Scotland Yard chose this path.

SNik's review:

Third in series (Unlikely Dilemmas), can be read as a standalone, but might be more fun if read in order. Bodyguard. Slow burn. Dual POV. Heed content warnings. 

Eoin has worked hard to become a top undercover agent for Scotland Yard, and now he must find a hidden traitor among Prince Nicholas’s bodyguard detail, a difficult job for a man that doesn’t respect royalty. Nicholas takes his royal duties seriously and presents the playful prince persona well, but needling his judgemental new bodyguard becomes his favorite pastime, until a series of kidnapping attempts takes their relationship from flirtatious to desperately serious. 

Full of UST, suspense, and action, this story takes its time to unveil the hidden depths of Nicholas so that Eoin can slowly fall for the responsible, caring man that most people don’t get a chance to see. Both Eoin and Nicholas are likable and dedicated to doing the right thing, and even as they are blindsided by their attraction and unsure of the future, they soon grab onto each other with both hands. I was invested in these characters right away as they both struggled with personal hesitations while embracing each other and Nicholas acts as an equal in his protection which I really appreciated. A really fun read.

Heather's Review:

I think the first thing I said when I reviewed Unlikely Heir, was that we definitely needed Nicholas' story - because he was now the Unlikely Spare!  And I'm so tickled that it's happened... With the same blend of banter, suspense, steam and sweet that have been the hallmark of this series, Nicholas falls for Eoin, his rough and ready 'body guard' who is trying to unravel the plot to bring down the spare and disrupt the monarchy!

I love how Nicholas holds his own and how the two men grow close and build trust in each other.  The story is fast paced, well balanced and a joy to read!

 

The Unlikely Spare is currently available as an e-book