Ex-marine Atlas works for the Whitehorn Agency doing protection work. To help his sister out, Atlas agreed to a job that no one else wanted but was crucial to the business. When Atlas met Christian, he believed the gorgeous man to be the bratty son of a wealthy mogul. What he got was an adventure that led him into the world of the paranormal and answers to his nightmares.

Damn, what to say about this story? The concept is simple – business empire, family feuds, a tug of hearts, and more. I loved it, and I am hooked.

The story is told in the third person from Atlas’s viewpoint, and that’s all I can say to you on the technical front because I was so engrossed in the unfolding drama. The worldbuilding gave me enough to form a picture in my head without going into minute detail.

The plot kept me turning the page, and although a revelation or two were not unexpected, the story’s craftsmanship kept my heart in my mouth. The action scenes, too, were well thought out and executed. At times, I couldn’t read fast enough, and I cussed at having to put the book down to go to work.

As for the cast, Atlas is a marine who has seen and experienced atrocities. Every aspect of his character reflects this, and his PTSD is a part of him where he seeks answers. He takes his job seriously and plans accordingly. Initially, Christian comes over as a privileged, intelligent brat, but his vulnerabilities and strengths come to the fore as the story progresses. It was a lovely process to witness. The extended cast, too, is a well-balanced mixture of protective friends, family, and people out to get them. Several personalities develop through the story, and people I had one view of, at the beginning of the book, I had another picture of by the end. I hope that sentence made sense, but if it didn’t – read the book, and it will.

The plot has just the right number of twists that kept me interested without getting me lost. Secrets get revealed, people misjudged, and mistakes made. The results of a few will no doubt be carried over to the next book because this story ends on a cliffy.

I found Rare Vigilance to be the perfect paranormal book for me. It had an engaging story, splendid pace, believable drama, and compelling action sequences. I want to read more NOW.

4.5 stars

So good. I couldn't put it down. One of the MC's is a former military soldier who saw some crazy things and came home with PTSD. His sister owns a bodyguard business and he begins working for her. His first assignments throws him in to the world of vampires and other things that go bump in the night. Great chemistry between the two MC's. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

**ARC provided through Netgalley**

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This is the first book in a trilogy, and I believe all books are out now. I’m doing Netgalley November where I try and get through some outstanding Netgalley books and this was one. I really loved this book; I actually read it all in one day. Atlas Kinkaid is a former marine who is now a personal bodyguard for his sister’s business. His newest contract has him protecting Christian Slava, who is more than just the son of a top businessman…he’s a vampire too.

Rare Vigilance is the start of a romance, but there isn’t much in this book. Instead, Atlas is learning about Christian and figuring out just what kind of person he is, while also trying to keep him alive from unexpected threats. Atlas is also dealing with a unique sort of PTSD after his time in the Marines, and I am definitely excited to learn more about both men in the second book.

This unfortunately didn't work for me as much as the authors other series did. But I will try again with the next book

I love paranormal romances featuring vampires and this book features an unusual vampires that I liked.
It's the start of a new series and I found it engrossing and highly entertaining.
Christian and Atlas are two well rounded and interesting characters, the romance is realistic and I rooted for them.
The world building is interesting and there's plenty of action.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was such a fresh and interesting take on the vampire story! I will admit, I didn't read the tags on Goodreads, and I love how the synopsis skirted around vampirism because when I got to a very telling part in the book I was genuinely surprised. I was already interested but my interest little skyrocketed after that.

I am very excited for the sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley and Carina Press for an eARC of this book.

I absolutely adored this book! It was the perfect beginning to a new paranormal series. I loved how this beginning was full of action and mystery. I had an inkling of some of the twists in the book, but not all of them. I loved how Atlas was portrayed. I also really loved how there was discussion of PTSD and the effects of combat on a person. Atlas' character was so well thought out and fascinating.
Christian was also really interesting as a character. I really liked the kind of enemies beginning of these two characters and how over time they gradually grow to trust and rely on each other.

I am really looking forward to the next installments of this series. I was not expecting that twist at the very end and I can't wait to see where it goes next!

The perfect blend of fantasy and realism. Easy to love characters and engaging prose make this a must read for fans of the genre.

I use to stay away from any LGBT+ romance books because I thought I would not be able to relate to main characters or love stories. Once I gave it a shot, I saw that that could not be further from the truth- if the story is good, it's good (and romantic) no matter the genre. This is one of the very best ones, I've read in a long time. :)

Atlas is a former Marine, suffering from PTSD. He bears scars from a mysterious attack on his last mission, that still haunts him every minute. Now he works for Whitethorn agency as a bodyguard. The latest job, is the one everyone quit from, protecting Cristian Slava. Gorgeous and bratty son of a known businessman.

Protecting someone who doesn't want to be protected is very hard to do, but Atlas is not one to quit. There are mysterious things happening, and there is more to Cristian than meets the eye. His loyalty is drawn in different directions when he has to face his biggest fear and uncover who he really works for.

It's a very intense story, full of twists and turns. I read it one sitting, cause I couldn't put it down. :)

5 extremely excited stars! When I heard M. A. Grant was coming out with a new series, I was beyond excited. I LOVED her last series, The Darkest Court, and have been on pins and needles waiting to see what would come next. A paranormal m/m romance trilogy featuring Vampires?! Sign me UP!

This first installment did not disappoint! I love the characters so much….especially Cristian. He’s so intimidating, stand-offish, and, if I’m being honest, very jerk-ish in the beginning. But by the end we begin to see who he really is and I’m in LOVE! Atlas is fantastic, too, and I love their dynamic together. I’m very excited that this trilogy follows the same couple - I can’t wait to see how their relationship develops.

“No matter what you may believe, you are worth the wait, Atlas.”

*Thank you to NetGalley, CarinaPress, and M.A. Grant for providing me with an advance reader copy (ARC) in exchange for a fair and honest review.*

This book was just okay for me. It didn’t feel as epic as the books in the author’s Darkest Court series. The book was fast-paced but there wasn’t enough extraordinary magic and mystery and action overall.

It was pretty obvious from the start that the mystery about Cristian was that he was a vampire. Atlas took the job to be Cristian’s bodyguard because of the late night hours, which were better for his PTSD, severe migraines, and difficulty sleeping.

Cristian definitely had all the traditional vampiric qualities, seductiveness, inhuman strength, blood drinking, but he didn’t seem larger than life to me. He and his vampire clan didn’t use their powers much. For vampires, they weren’t very extraordinary.

Atlas and Cristian were a sweet and sexy couple, but it seemed like they fell in love pretty quickly. Atlas had been traumatized and terrified when he found out Cristian was a vampire, but his fear and distrust didn’t last very long.

Maybe, it was because Cristian seemed like a very normal vampire that Atlas didn’t think he was that dangerous. Cristian was a good guy no doubt, and he had fangs, but I felt like something was missing there in the transition from hate to love.

I also didn’t feel like the world building was as awesome as it could’ve been. I just wanted more of everything. The romance aspects of this book was fine, but didn’t especially woo me. At the same time, I had a hard time suspending disbelief that the US military would be operating in Romania.

Rare Vigilance is the first book in the Whitethorn Agency series by MA Grant. It's also the first book I've read by the author. The world Grant has created here is an intriguing one, and the characters are interesting. I liked the back and forth between Atlas and Cristian, and the attraction and chemistry felt real. That said, I did have some problems with a few things about this story. First, it's a slow burn, and there's nothing wrong with that, but this romance felt like it took forever to get off the ground. That may be because the story doesn't end here. It's a continuing storyline and this one has lots of loose ends to ponder. I still would've liked a better progression of the romance. The rest of the story moves along at a pretty good pace, so I'm puzzled about why the romance lagged. Then there's the whole bodyguard thing. In an effort to avoid spoilers, I'll just say that I didn't really get the need for a bodyguard - not when you consider the one being guarded or his entourage. Considering this is paranormal romance, we already know to expect it not to be based in too much reality, but that angle just didn't work for me. It's still an entertaining story, and I'll be interested to see where things go in the next book as well as learning what the deal is with the way this one closed.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book, my thoughts are my own.

This was a nice read. I have a soft spot for supernatural romances and can always binge read them. While I did not love the cliffhanger, I understand that this is the first book in a series.
The beginning of the story sort of threw me off, I wasn't sure if the guy we saw was our second MC, that quickly answered though.
If you loved this author other work called "the prince of air and darkness" , then you will really like this book, I found myself enjoying this one a lot more than the other book previously mentioned. Her books and story telling definitely get better and better, I really enjoyed it, I could've read a longer novel to be honest it was that entertaining.
I'm trying to keep it vague as the blurb doesn't say much and I really enjoyed going into it partially blindly to the true storyline and world.
Overall, quick fun read, will most-likely continue with this series if our MC's are the MC's of the next books !
4/5 stars
Bookarina

Holy moly... That was a cliffhanger of an ending!!! Readers avoiding cliffhanger ending might want to wait for (at least) the next book - or even the series completed - to arrive before diving into RARE VIGILANCE.

That said, this book was a heck of a way to start a new series. RARE VIGILANCE is first to MA Grant’s “Whitethorn Agency” series and as such set the path and world-building of this AU America and their supernatural beings. At the center is Atlas Kinkaid whose latest assignment a mysterious heir to a wealthy and powerful family, Cristian Slava.

While reader could almost predict the gist of the story, the chain of events gripped me while I alternate between applauding and lambasting over Atlas’ antics. The story is told in sole POV from Atlas’ that played well into the guessing game of what’s actually happening. Not everything is black and white in RARE VIGILANCE. Even those considered ‘the good guys’ were not above reproach - even could be villains while viewed from different angle. It was an overall intense with a tad gloomy tone. One that Grant had a penchant with my experience with her previous series has any say.

The action came to a head at the most unexpected time and abruptly ended without warning. Personally, had I known this beforehand, I would prefer to wait until more installments release before digging in. But aa it is, RARE VIGILANCE is a riveting tale and I can’t wait for the next book to find out how Atlas figured everything out.


Copy of this book is kindly given by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw the cover for the first time, I knew this book was a great story, and I wasn't wrong. This is a kind of story you will love to read for sure.

Atlas works as bodyguard at her sister's company. His life seems to be pretty normal, but his mental health is fragile. Atlas past was hard, and the nightmares hunt them each night. His life changes when Bea, his sister, gives him the opportunity to work for her most importan client: Decebal Vladislavic. The job seems to be perfect for Atlas: great salary, good schedule and nothing difficult to deal with.
But being Decebal son's bodyguard could to be a challenging task. The guy is hot, a jerk and a vampire... And Atlas has some very bad memories about these creatures... But Christian Slava is a different vampire, and it's too late for Atlas to forget him.

I loved this story, I've enjoyed it a lot. It was very beautifully and carefully written. The writing style is just delightful. The book hooks you since the first page. It has the perfect dosis of mistery, thriller, friendship, love, humor and fantasy.
The characters are PERFECT !!!! I fell in love with Atlas: so serious, so deep thinking, so smart and strong. Christian is the kind of guy you will love to have in your life: funny, vain, helps others and shameless.
I became a very huge fan of this couple. They're so perfect. Seriously, please, read this book. It's amazing.
I'm very glad that I've discovered this author, and I definitely will read her others books.
A huge thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin and M. A. Grant to provide me with the copy of this jewel.

I think I’m the odd man out here, but Rare Vigilance was okay. I think I was expecting a lot more than what I got with this book. It took me awhile to read, because I kept finding myself wanting to read something else.

How would I read this series? Wait until the next book comes out then read them back-to-back. I feel like it would be more enjoyable that way.

What did I like? The idea of the vampires in this world. Vampires can eat and drink regular food, but also need blood. There’s a bond/connection that can be formed with the donor. There was history behind Cristian and his family. Things were hinted at, but we weren’t given a full picture.

There was a lot of build up for the story to end on a cliffhanger. In several ways.

I’m a fan of slow burn romances, but this was the slowest of burns. I wanted more for the relationship between Atlas and Cristian. There were hints of intense chemistry, but something about it was unsatisfying. Then the abrupt ending. I feel like there was no sense of resolution. I really wise this would have been released as one lengthy novel instead of being split up into two.

No surprise, but I think I'm gonna love this series. <3

I love it when the author of a series I loved comes out with a brand new series. M.A. Grant first showed up on my TBR list with the first book in her Darkest Court series, Prince of Air and Darkness. As much as I grew to love that series, I have to say if Rare Vigilance is any indication, I’m going to love the Whitethorn Agency even more.

Atlas Kinkaid was the kind of broken character that it was hard to not sympathize with. He had been through a horrific ordeal that was so crazy he soon learned to be careful who he shared the details with. His sister was his rock though and she believed him, but she couldn’t keep the haunting terror away. All she could do was be there for him, including giving him a job with the security agency that she ran.

His newest assisignment wasn’t an easy one, mainly because the man he was in charge of protecting had run off most of the other agents assigned to him. Atlas was determined though and he found ways to out maneuver Cristian and his seemingly childish antics – most of the time. Nothing was quite what it seemed though and soon Atlas had to decide if keeping his job was worth losing himself.

There were a lot of twists and turns, danger, suspense and at times it was hard to sift out the good guys from the bad. Atlas had to figure out who to put his trust in, which wasn’t always easy.

One word of warning, if you’re not a fan of cliff hangers, prepare yourself. The final chapter is a jaw dropper – but it also left me smiling. Needless to say, I can’t wait until the Whitethorn Agency continues.

Vampires, bodyguards and creepy creatures oh my! M.A. Grant's new series kicks off with Rare Vigilance and wooo it is so good! Atlas is still mentally recovering from a horrifying encounter with what he thinks are vampires during his time in the military when his sister offers him a job protecting one of the most well known families in town. Little does he know, his new clients are the thing he fears most. He and Cristian don't exactly hit it off from the start but eventually a friendship starts to form followed by something so much more.I love Christians family, blood and turned, especially Dinu! There are touches of snark, a lot of feelings and well...plenty of betrayal to go around! I can't wait to see how the secrets unfold and things play out in the rest of the series. Especially that ending!

I loved this book so very much. Rare Vigilance is exactly the story I was looking for, and I had so much fun reading it! I can't wait for more!