2.5 stars

‘The Agent’ by Nancy Herkness feels a little like a throwback romantic suspense story, which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you prefer to read.

When hairdresser Natalie Hart and security expert Tully Gibson meet, they’re instantly attracted to each other. And when Natalie reveals she has been receiving strange emails, Tully is the first one on the case. When the chemistry between the two becomes too great to deny, they’ll have to grapple with something unexpected: their growing feelings for each other.

While the plot was interesting up to a point, this book missed the mark for me. In an effort to peripherally “diversify” the cast of characters, Herkness utilizes a few stereotypes in her description of one of the antagonists that felt a little antiquated in 2020. Said character isn’t even really explored beyond the description of his accent. Though it seems like a tiny thing, I feel like it’s kind of representative of the writing style of the novel in general. It read like something that would have been written in the late nineties or early aughts rather than now.

That being said, if you enjoy this trope and the sort of damsel in distress vibe, you may enjoy this story. It definitely provides a healthy dose of escapism, and I applaud the author for writing about two protagonists in their 40s.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book had me sitting on the edge of my seat!! Loved the sexy times and the suspense. Now I have another author to put on my list of must reads. !!

While I enjoyed this book, I did not find up to the same standard as the other books in the series. I got bored of hearing about how wonderful the hero's physique was. The bad guys were really obvious and even identified fairly early in the book.

Great read!! Tully and Natalie are on fire in this one. This book is action packed with drama starting at page 1. Tully and Natalie's chemistry is off the charts. They both also deny and fight their feelings and in the end give in.

I really enjoyed this novel - it's a sit and read in one sitting type of read. Of the three books in this trilogy, this one was my favorite.

You can't go wrong with a Nancy Herkness book. Her latest, The Agent has it all. Excellent writing, interesting and believable characters, a bit of intrigue and plenty ofheat. Another 5 star book. I'm already eagerly awaiting the next one.

I've really enjoyed the books in this series. This one closes out the last of the 3 friends, with Tully finally falling in love with the third of the friends, Natalie. There is suspense, action and romance. I wish there was a bit more character development because I did feel the characters weren't well developed. And the end really annoyed me because I felt like Natalie was behaving really recklessly and unrealistically. However, this book held my attention, it was well written and it was fast-paced. So, I give this book 3.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy!

Received an ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
Probably the best in the series. Interesting characters and an easy read. I think Ms Herkness writes well and this one flowed easily. As a thriller, it lacks a bit of depth. However, it's an enjoyable read.

Great read! Kept me in suspense of what would happen next! And the chemistry between Tully and Natalie is off the charts hot!!

I liked the first 50% but then it became so repetitive and slow I skimmed my way through it. The action thrown in just keeps more away from the romance. Not my think

I really enjoyed the third and final book in The Consultants series, The Agent. With Natalie giving back to other abused wives by providing an out, more explained in the book, this has introduced a stalker into her life . Who better to protect her than the ex FBI agent, Tully.

The best thing about a series is you get to know the future main characters before their book comes out. Because of this, I am already excited to see both Tully and Natalie find love again.

Both have hinted at some hurt from their past and we finally learn the full truth that keeps them a bit apart from others. I love seeing that it just takes each other to pull them both past... well, their past.

We also get a couple new side characters that are more in Natalie's day to day life. I enjoyed their involvement and what they bring to the story.

Overall, this has been a fun series reading about 3 male friends fall in love with 3 female friends. It provided a bigger group of friends that you get to see in each book.

3.5 stars.
A very cool hero - powerful, wealthy, decent and very protective-, and a down-to-earth, confident heroine feature in “The Agent”, by Nancy Herkness (Montlake Romance), an entertaining, well-written romantic suspense story.
Tully is a really seductive hero, large, grey-eyed, intense, and a gentleman to his core, so very attentive and considerate with Natalie, and with an innate decency that is extremely attractive. I loved how the author portrayed him so well, both his personality and his physique, so that he became so real.
The attraction and chemistry between the romantic couple was written very well, in a smooth crescendo that lead to the inevitable sex scenes (in my opinion, they could have been less and shorter).
The hero’s reservations about commitment, marriage and parenthood give him a guarded, wounded dimension that makes him approachable, human. Natalie has scars and fears of her own, too.
They’re both basically very decent people who are mature and honest with each other, and I really appreciated that.
Some parts and dimensions of this story felt very romantic and I loved them.
The suspense plot was interesting and the cast of secondary characters, too. Some serious issues like domestic abuse are tackled in the story.

Natalie has done the whole wedding/marriage thing before and it didn't turn out too well. With an abusive ex-husband, she isn't ever planning on doing it again. Attending her best friend's wedding she is happy for them but finds the wedding somewhat uncomfortable, partnered with Tully (one of the best men), they are the only single people in the wedding party. Asking her to dance leads them to feel the connection between them, however, Tully isn't one for marriage either.

As Tully drives her home, she asks if he'd mind just checking her house over - not wishing to confess to the former FBI agent that she has been receiving some suspicious emails. He agrees and sets her mind at ease, coming back the following day to help with a couple of security issues he spotted. Finding a note on her front porch she realises that she can't hide from her stalker any longer so calls Tully for help. Running a security company with his best friends he is more than capable of helping her - or is there more to it?

Working together closely leads to them giving in to their attraction, however, is it all becoming too much for Natalie as she feels overwhelmed. Can they discover who is the stalker? Are they able to remain friends or has the line been blurred too much?

The third book in the series, although works well as a standalone.

Blog name: storytellers by Marlou
Expected publication date: unknown. I'm currently on hiatus from blogging.

I'm so glad I got to review all three books in the Consultants trilogy. These books are lovely and the characters are so much fun to read about.

Writing style: Herkness writing is very easy to read through and you can clearly see she puts effort in getting it right. There's little details mentioned in the beginning and middle of the book that all come together in the end. She knows how to build up a story, it's not just smutty romance with her, there's a deeper story in every book of this trilogy and I like that very much.

Characters: I do think I liked Leland and Dawn (book two couple) the best out of the three couples, but I like Tully and Natalie as individuals more. They're just so strong and independent and I really appreciate that in a character.

Story: This book was about a stalker coming after Natalie and Tully trying to protect her. It really left me on the edge of my seat. I just couldn't wait to find out who the stalker was. There were many theories floating through my head, one more wild than the other.
The romance between Tully and Natalie lacked a bit of fire. Their domestic scenes were adorable, but we mostly got to see sex sex and more sex and no actual love, which was truly a pity.

I really liked The Agent and I'm giving it three and a half stars. Three stars for the book as a whole and half a star extra for the great writing!

Hooked from the second I started reading it. Adored the relationship between Natalie and Tully! The way he kept doing what he could to protect her.

Not going to lie, I had zero suspicions who the stalker could be from the beginning! And I'm usually fairly quick at knowing! So made up this one kept me guessing!

Third in a series, but could read as a stand alone if missed the others. Of course you'll want to go back and read them all if you do that. Each one just keeps getting better and better. The author's writing is getting richer and fuller with each book published, enjoy them all. Customers have started asking for her new releases since we've introduced her books in the store.

Unfortunately, the novel was a little bland for me. I didn't really feel the chemistry between the two main leads and the end was predictable, including the so-called Trojan Horse that lured Natalie in. She was also a little too meek.

I normally really enjoy Nancy Herkness but this book was just a bit blah. I'm not really entirely sure how the two MCs feel in love because it seemed to be that, other than having good sex, there was no other connection between them. It all seemed a bit prob with mild plot to me and I'm not sure that it's how it was intended.

3.5 stars

This started pretty solid. The plot was intriguing and engaging but... at some point it went off the rails. The last 25% there was a bit of info dump and a lot of things were not too believable so I lost some of the interest I was having. Its truly a shame because this story had so much potential to become a favorite.
Still it was a good book, even with its "problems ".

"Thank you Netgalley, the author and publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book"

This book is part of the series. It is the third book. But, good for me it can be read as a stand alone.
This is a first book from this author for me. And I just loved it. As a huge fan of suspense romance, I enjoyed this book a lot.

The characters are likeable. Nat is perfect and Tully is Wow. I love their relationship. And I love that the guy is first to say I love you.
4.5 stars for me.