Love seeing more Harlequin romance titles with LGBTQ representation. Keep them coming! A thrilling, escapist romantic suspense perfect for the holidays.

My first Cindy Dees novel, and it is part of the Runaway Ranch series, but appears that all can be read as a stand alone.

The story follows two operatives that are after the same man for different reasons - and end up finding love along the way. A pretty good LGBTQ+ read in my opinion, but personally I would have appreciated more sweet scenes from the couple, as well as at the end of the novel after the action was completed.

This book felt more focused on the action and suspense, which might be what some people want, but I was looking for more from the couple, especially Alex and Nick. Both characters were well developed with their own personalities, and I appreciated their opposing stances on Christmas which played into the plot pretty well too.

I'd definitely check out future books, but to get my sweet MM romance, I might move to another author for that focus.

My opinion is my own and freely given.

Part of a series but feels like you can read it as a stand alone, loved the 2 main characters , and their interactions with each other , and will definitely be doing a re read of this as well as seen about the other books in this series

This one was OK--I did like the grumpy/sunshine pairing and spies are always fun. It was nice to read a Christmas themed story with a bit of an edge for a change ;)

Rating: 3 stars / B-

Interesting story with some intriguing elements, I like that this series line is branching into LGBTQ+ stories and I hope they continue to publish these stories going forward.

His Christmas Guardian pulls you right in from the beginning. It is part of the Runaway Ranch series but, all of these books can be read as a stand alone. The story starts out at a cocktail party in an art gallery where the main character Nick, a government ops operator, is tracking another guest. The individual he is tracking is a fellow operator named Gray who has gone rouge. After he leaves a tracking device on Gray's limo, he walks away, waiting for the opportunity to continue to follow him. Suddenly, he is attacked from behind by a man, who has also been tracking Gray for his own reasons.

Alex, the man who attacks Nick, is a CIA agent and who is tracking Gray because he has gone rouge and is suspected of theft and murder. It is believed that Gray and his men stole valuable international artifacts and murdering US military personnel. At first, Alex thinks that Nick is actually one of Gray's men so he wants to capture and question him. Neither man expected the other to be so strong in hand-to-hand combat and eventually the battle turns into a stalemate.

Although Nick and Alex are both still suspicious of each other, they agree to a truce and start working together to get Gray. It's not easy for them because they are each used to working alone and do not trust others. They each look for flaws in the other and are constantly waiting to be betrayed. Plus, the two are attracted to each other, and it is getting harder and harder to ignore. I enjoyed watching the evolution of Nick and Alex's dynamic. The fact that they are currency involved in a really intense situation also escalates this evolution. They get really protective of each other even when they don't see eye to eye.

While there was alot of intensity through this story as they are tacking a dangerous fugitive, there were also some sweet parts too. Most of these had to do with how Nick and Alex were bonding. In particular, it was nice to watch them bond over their differing views on the holidays. Alex tries so hard to bring a little Christmas spirit into Nick's life as he is a bit of a scrooge about it. It's so endearing and you can see how each little thing does truly affect Nick.

I was surprised how His Christmas Guardian turned out honestly. The mission to get Gray did not pan out the way I thought that it would. There is a good sense of mystery involved with it though, and it is intense down to the very last second of the mission. Most of this story does not take place in the same location as the previous three books in the series (Montana) but, it does bring in some familiar faces towards the end. I would have loved to see Nick and Alex interact with them more after the mission was complete. I did like the way that everything ended on a positive and hopeful note though filled with just the right amount of holiday cheer.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Kept me on the edge of my seat.

AFAIK, this is the first book I’ve read by Cindy Dees and I thought it was a great introduction to her writing. I don’t know if this is the first MM (male/male) book she’s written or not. If it is, she did a great job.

Two trained killers teaming up together and then finding love under difficult circumstances kept me engaged throughout the entire story. Alex and Nick were believable MCs and their connection felt real to me. I have only one small complaint…this story desperately needed an epilogue – something to let us know how they are doing a little way into the future. I guess there was enough information throughout the story, especially near the end, for readers to be able to form an HEA in their own minds but I wanted more closure from the author.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

This was a fun, very atmospheric novel that had me entirely surprised throughout. The high-stakes action combined with loveable characters made my heart warm even before we got to the soft, Christmas-y scenes. The romance was slow burn and lit me like a fire, and I had so much fun watching all the characters build their pasts and presents together.

I definitely, highly recommend this.

Heat Factor: An extremely slow and unusually chaste burn

Character Chemistry: That “enemies” to “in love” switch flipped pretty fast

Plot: Government assassins put the Christ back in Christmas romance

Overall: Well…this was a thing I read


Subtlety, thy name is not His Christmas Guardian.

I guess categories are their own special thing, but I typically expect a book that runs about 200 pages to be pretty tight, and this book was not only unsubtle, but also often repetitive. Lots of internal processing, and, like, it’s been about 12 hours, I’m really not surprised that you’re still not sure about how to square your feelings about this guy. Or this mission. Or this guy being part of this mission.

Beyond all that, there were just some strange word choices (“crap-ton”? Really? “my dude”? Really?) and weird inconsistencies that made this reading experience…not spectacular. For example, Nick said would visit his sister and her kids, telling them he was a fish importer, which is only a necessary story after he’s become a secret operative…but about a paragraph later he says that after he became a SEAL his brother-in-law said he was too dangerous to be around his niblings. And then later on when he and Alex are talking about having a family, Nick says he’s never been around kids.

I often complain about not enjoying romantic suspense when I’m the one who can figure things out and the characters are being singularly short-sighted, but while this book seems like it could have used a more thorough (much more thorough) round of edits, it wasn’t so egregious that I got mad. Or maybe I have been filled with a surprisingly generous Christmas spirit.

Anyway, one of my fellow smut reports who shall remain nameless mentioned this book to me as (paraphrasing) Die Hard but make it gay, and I was like, UM YES because Die Hard is AWESOME. Lest you not read the back cover copy like me, let me assure you that this story is in no way a Die Hard retelling. Now I would like a Die Hard retelling. What this book is, is a spy story involving betrayal, revenge, and a fixer. Nick is tailing his former boss (though he hasn’t quit his job, so maybe actually his current boss?), Gray, intending to kill the man after he corrupted Nick’s whole team, murdered three marines, and stole something big from a made up west Asian country. Alex, a government fixer with exclusive power to be judge, jury, and executioner (and if that’s not terrifying, I don’t know what is) is also looking for Gray, and finds it extremely suspicious that one of Gray’s men shows up in his crosshairs. They spend one night on a stakeout together and then suddenly it’s super important to Alex that Nick have a happy ever after.

Obviously, Nick and Alex decide to work together, and many feelings ensue. Also knife fights, sniper nests, and gun battles on snowy hillsides. The pacing was a bit strange, with a few red herring problems thrown in that affected the reader more than the characters. All I’m saying is that a secret note that is not disclosed to a partner when trust is a serious issue should probably cause a problem of some kind, right?

I also had to go back and make sure I hadn’t accidentally picked up an inspie romance because these guys were almost strangely reluctant to have sex (but not so strange from a purity culture framework), there was basically no swearing (please see aforementioned “crap-ton,” which I am still not over), and it got more directly religious than we usually see in non-inspie romance (the thing that was stolen was linked directly to Jesus, and Nick and Alex took that very seriously).

So, this book was pretty weird, and I can’t say I liked it, but I kind of enjoyed the experience of being unable to look away.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

Nick Kane is a former Black Ops specialist who worked for years on missions led by Gray, a high level operative. Gray demanded ultimate loyalty, and Nick gave it, but he was too good to be used as an operative in a rogue mission, so Gray made him a pawn instead. Nick barely survived the horror show of that mission, and he’s determined to avenge his lost brothers sacrificed for Gray’s material gain. Now that Nick’s recovered, he’s using some of his own contacts, namely an all-female assassin unit called the Medusas, to hunt down his former boss and make him pay for his crimes. He’s staking out a huge auction, trying to pin down Gray or his goons, when he’s taken out by a stranger who is very good–nearly as good at black ops as Nick, and that’s saying something.

CIA Agent Alex Creed, known as The Judge in the black ops world, has enormous latitude to eliminate rogue threats. Alex thought Nick was still part of Gray’s personal detail and a rogue agent when he intercepted him at the auction. It’s a bit of a mess, but Alex and Nick end up taking out some of Gray’s men, a circumstance Nick believes will send Gray running for cover to any of a dozen safe houses. The thing is, Alex has an inside track on what Gray and his pals stole, the crime they tried to pin on Nick. Knowing how Gray operates on a day-to-day level makes Nick an asset to Alex, but only if he can keep Nick close enough to confide his secrets. Nick’s not holding back, though, because Alex’s reputation is legendary, and their missions are the same: to bring Gray to justice.

His Christmas Guardian is billed as a Christmas romantic suspense, and it sort of hits all of those marks. This is the 4th book in a series (the others being male/female romances), and I think I would have enjoyed it better if I’d read any of the previous books. These guys seem great, but it was a little tough getting to know them, with all the running, fighting, and scheming they had to do from page one. Their chemistry seemed a little tepid to me as a result. Meanwhile, Gray is always three steps ahead, and there are a lot of bodies piling up. Events happen so fast, without a lot of context for who’s good, bad, or ugly. I had sincere trouble keeping up. I’m generally cool with romantic suspense, but there was a lot of double/triple crossing, and all sorts of alphabet soup when it came to who was running what op with whom, so I got confused in the first half.

The second half is Alex and Nick loving up, and working together to take Gray down, using good old-fashioned sleuthing techniques, with a modern-day tech genius on hand. That part all made sense and really brought the suspense, because both Nick and Alex are determined to sacrifice themselves if needed. The creche treasure was interesting and kind of fun, given how heretically Gray treats it. The decorating of their safe house, including hanging of ammo on the tree, brought some much needed levity.

If you are really into romantic suspense, you might enjoy this one. It’s not a traditional Christmas romance, but there is a lot of Christmas in it, and these guys seem to have a good ending that will keep them connected beyond this tumultuous adventure.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Fast paced Christmas suspense. With romance that kept me turning the page. Because I just had to know what happened.

4.5 stars.

If I have to describe this book in one sentence, it would be like this: Alias meets James Bond in an Uncharted/Call of Duty: Black Ops games, gay version.

Alexander Creed's mission is to take down a dangerous criminal before Christmas. His only problem has first and last name: Nicholas Kane. The black ops agent is after the same target so, after a rough first encounter (including a man to man fight between them), they agree to join forces to capture the man. They both work on different sides of the same agency, after all. As agents trained to be enemies, they don't trust each other, but how does the saying go, "keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer"? That way Alex could keep an eye on Nick while they're doing the job. And vice versa. What they didn't expected was the powerful attraction they would feel for each other. Will they dare to surrender to their feelings? How what's happening between them would affect their mission?

Alex and Nick are the last of each other's shoes: smart, confident, clever guys with complicated families due to their sexual orientation. Both men live in a dangerous don't-trust-anyone world; one tiny mistake would kill them—literally. Yet their vision about the future makes the difference. While Alex thinks about retirement, Nick always sees himself dying in the line of duty. Something to mention is how they measure each other in the first chapters. They trying to decide whether to trust one another or not, after all.

As a couple, they're FAN-TAS-TIC. Their sexual tension builds in such a magnificent way. Their intimate moments (Nick fixing Alex's tie, for example) and how they tease each other spices the scorching passion they developed for each other.

"Alex mumbled, “Um, okay. Are we on a date, then?”
“Sure.” Nick grinned at him. “Just don’t call me sweetheart.” "

Nick and Alex are excellent characters. Both have real issues they have to deal and overcome, but they did it in such a smooth way it seems natural. The same thing with their romance. How their emotions grow as you turn the pages is organic and credible. Nothing is forced here. Their chemistry is all over the book!! Although I felt their first sex encounter a bit off for a moment. All the book you have this meaningful sexual tension surrounding the dialogues and interactions to end up making love at the wrong time?

As a romantic suspense story, there are some characters that come and go thru the plot. Of course there's Harlan Grey, the infamous target Alex and Nick are after, but the book is centered in the heroes, as it should be.

This is my first Cindy Dees' book AND my first Harlequin Romantic Suspense book, so I have to say that not only I loved it but I'm glad it's a MM story. The plot has a good pace, starting with a scene with an espionage vibe as Nick is following his target in an art gallery, ending his night fighting against Alex—both believing the other was part of Gray's team—and finishing it with a HEA this couple truly deserved. Ms. Dees made her homework well, as it shows her knowledge about the topic she presents in the story. Maybe she has some experience in the field? Yes, there were a few inconsistencies in some scenes an a bit rushed romantic ending but well...

A story packed with action, cool gadgets, suspense (obviously) and funny moments you will enjoy from its first page until the last one. I'm gonna look forward to Ms. Dees' books (especially this series since this is book 4 of Runaway Ranch) because first impressions do count and mine's a great one.

Good book that started with a rush and kept me hooked to the end. Nick is a government black ops operator tracking a fellow operative who went rogue. He used to work with this operative, and the betrayal he feels has made the search personal. After following Gray to an art gallery and planting a tracking device on the man's limo, Nick walks casually away. A few minutes later, he is attacked by a man who is easily as good, if not better, at hand-to-hand fighting as he is.

Alex is a CIA agent whose job is to go after operatives who have gone bad. Gray and his team are suspected of stealing valuable international artifacts and murdering US military personnel. His first impression is that Nick is one of Gray's men, and he wants to capture and question him. He did not expect to encounter someone who could fight him to a stalemate.

Alex and Nick agreed to a wary truce as they worked out who each other was and why they had a mutual interest in Gray. These men have worked in the shadows for so long that neither of them trusts easily. It was sad and amusing to see how each was constantly looking for signs of betrayal, even once they figured out they were on the same side. Deciding to work together was logical, but there was still some struggle for control until they got past their trust issues.

Matters are complicated by the attraction Nick and Alex feel for each other. Each tries to ignore it while concentrating on their mission, but it is always there, simmering under the surface. I enjoyed seeing them get to know each other and discover their differences and similarities. I found it interesting that Alex, the "fixer" who has dished out so much death, has dreams of a peaceful retirement. Nick expects to die in the line of duty which lends itself to some reckless behavior on his part. I liked Alex's determination to get Nick to stop seeing himself as expendable.

I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Nick and Alex develop. It was fast, helped along by the intensity of their situation. Each felt protective of the other, which had the potential to create some problems while they were working. There were some fun parts, such as their differing views on Christmas. I loved watching Alex try to bring a little Christmas spirit into Nick's life, from the Christmas tree with its unique decorations to the snowball fight. Alex's sensitivity is unexpected, given his vocation, and I enjoyed seeing it come out in his desire to help Nick. Both have some insecurities regarding relationships, but their love for each other overcomes them in the end. I loved the ending and their plans for the future.

The suspense of the story kept me turning the pages. The backstory of Gray and what he did are explained as the story goes on but can be read in more detail in the previous book in the series <i>(Her SEAL Bodyguard).</i> The tension remained steady as Nick and Alex looked for clues about what Gray had stolen, then planned ways to draw him into a trap. The intensity ramped up when they found the stolen crate and what was in it (WOW!). I was glued to the pages as they prepared their trap and set the bait. The final confrontation was a nail-biter as Nick and Alex were significantly outnumbered.

DNF @ 57%
I struggled with this one and ultimately decided to put it down. The writing was just fine, but I struggled with the characters. I feel like there was no chemistry between them, and I’m not invested in their growing relationship or the case they’re working on. I don’t normally rate books that I’ve DNF’d, but I’d give this one a 2.75 or 3 star so far from what I’ve read. I did want to finish this book just to give it a proper review, but I feel like it’s putting me in a slump.
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Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin for sending me an eARC to review! HIS CHRISTMAS GUARDIAN is available now.

I'm glad that Harlequin is finally including queer romances in a variety of their category lines. It made sense for Roan Parrish to be the pioneer, (Special Editions' The Lights on Knockbridge Lane), because she had a healthy backlist of queer romance novels. I can easily think of numerous authors (Josh Lanyon, Abigail Roux Tal Bauer) who would have been great candidates to write the first M/M Harlequin Romantic Suspense, but for some reason that honor went to Cindy Dees, who as far as I can tell has never written a book with queer MCs.

I have to admit that romances featuring CIA Special Ops agents are not my cup of tea, so this was a hard sell from page one. It's hard to believe that two people can fall in love while they are busy killing multiple bad guys and fighting for their lives. In this case, we're also asked to accept that they are celebrating a quaint small-town Christmas at the same time. I might have tried to suspend my disbelief if the plot was interesting or the romance believable. But Nick and Alex spend a lot of time chasing and being chased, shooting and being shot at, etc. without ever actually accomplishing anything (view spoiler).

As for the romance, at least the MCs don't engage in sexytimes while they are in a life or death situation. However, once they find themselves in the aforementioned charming small town, they not only find time to do it, they immediately declare their love for each other. It felt like someone dropped a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie into the middle of Call of Duty.

The author does have military experience, so I suppose her fighting and shooting scenes are realistic. But there's no way in hell that two hardened operatives would participate in the small town's annual snowball fight - and leave their backpacks filled with ammo and emergency supplies on the sidewalk as they frolic. Neither would they propose to each other while pinned down by enemy fire. Nobody expects romance novels to be like real life, but the characters' behavior shouldn't make me feel like I've slipped into a very odd multiverse.

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review.

Review to appear on Smexy Books:

There is a lot to like in His Christmas Guardian. For one thing, it starts us right in the middle of things, with Nicholas Kane scoping out an art auction in search of his treacherous spymaster boss, Gray. We begin with intrigue, action, and a near death experience. We learn that Nick, an operative in the US intelligence services, was left out of a deadly and treasonous expedition to steal almost priceless artifacts. His sense of betrayal is extremely strong, because the men he trained and worked with for years apparently put monetary reward over duty, and loyalty to Gray over country. There are elements of the story – and yes the artifacts do have a Christmas theme – that made me think fondly of the tv series Alias.

Fairly soon into the novel, Nick meets Alex, a fixer. Alex’s job is to diffuse or take out intelligence assets like Gray, who have gone rogue. Alex is highly suspicious of Nick, for good reason, and for several chapters we get to see the two men get the measure of each other, as they decide whether to trust one another. In this process, we learn about their families and their backgrounds. One thing we discover is that Alex, who has meted out so much death in his career, has a vision of retirement, whereas Nick assumes he will die in the line of duty. It becomes Alex’s goal to get Nick to change his view, and not view his life as sacrificial and expendable.

The romantic and sexual tension builds so well – and even moments like doing surveillance under a mylar blanket while their shoulders touch seemed incendiary and meaningful. There is a little cheesiness in places – and that seems at odds with Alex and Nick’s hyper competence. And the Christmas tie-in seems tangential at best. But when the guys finally get their moment of consummation, it just did not feel right. For one thing, their relationship speeds up at the end – I am assuming because of the dramatic events and near-death experiences towards the end of the novel. But the sex felt formulaic and perfunctory. I was disappointed, because I really enjoyed most of the novel and the tension was built well enough that I didn’t mind waiting until near the end. But the wait was not rewarded. From what I understand, this is the first m/m romance under the Harlequin Romantic Suspense line, so perhaps it was an editorial decision to constrain the gay intimacy.

Grade: C+

I really wanted to like this, but this just fell very flat for me. It be and pretty obvious very early on that the author isn’t used to writing MM romance, and a dive into their work has proven this to be true. Neither Nick nor Alex were all that enjoyable to read as narrators, but Alex was a bit more tolerable. Nick lost me the second he referred to himself as hot. Both of them are full of themselves and unlikeable, which in turn made the story unlikeable. If the main characters aren’t drawing in the reader, then it’s not setting a good standard for the book. The conflict was confusing, the flirting was cheesy even by romance standards, and the blatant disregard for people living in fear of coming out with the line “being gay and in the closet is a completely dishonest way to live” was the nail in the coffin for me.

This title was a pleasant surprise as I hadn't read anything by this author before, but the story sounded intriguing so I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did because I found the book to be quite well done, with a fun mixture of suspense and action, with a healthy dose of romance thrown in and Nick and Alex were interesting characters with intriguing backgrounds. I particularly liked that the author threw the reader right into the middle of the story and started the action right away, with background being given to the reader as the book went along, which helped keep the story on a suspenseful pace.

I had a couple of quibbles towards the end with some of Alex's moralizing considering his line of work but I suppose this was meant to be a crisis of conscience of sorts. There was also a plot point that I found questionable in the first third of the book when Alex and Nick obtain some information through some phones (find my phone, anyone?) Still, the book did what it needed to do, which was keep me turning the pages, wanting to find out how the two of them got to their happy ending. Throw in some genuinely bad guys, and an interesting prize that they're all after, and you've got quite an enjoyable book here.

If you are looking for a sweet MM romance, this is not the book. Don't get me wrong. It has romance and steam, but it has so much more than that. Suspense, intrigue, action, and intensity. Two men meet while looking for the same criminal, and it is not sunshine and roses in the beginning. They need to trust each other enough to work together to apprehend the man they are after, but can they?

I really liked this story. The action kept going, and I loved the interaction between Nick and Alex. The characters and plot kept you wanting to turn the page. However, there were times when I think the story was a little rushed. It did not overly distract, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I suggest everyone get a copy. 4 stars.

His Christmas Guardian is a short, quick, and action-packed seasonal read. This is part of a series, but I haven't read any of the others (or any other Cindy Dees book) and I wasn't lost at all. The two MMCs, Nick and Alex, have good chemistry. The relationship develops fairly quickly (they say 'I love you' within a relatively short period of time), and I do wish that we got to see more of the couple at the end of the book, like an epilogue. I really enjoyed reading this, but it wasn't necessarily the most memorable book.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced reader copy.