He loved her—and lost her. Now she’s back, and he’s staking his claim.Shattered by the man she once loved, Millie Frayser returns to New York, flat broke and alone. Having survived ten years of hell, trust is no longer in her vocabulary—except a certain stubborn NYPD cop from her past refuses to get the message. To serve and protect. That’s not just a part of Cole Brook’s job description; it’s in … Brook’s job description; it’s in his DNA. Millie can raise her barriers, refuse his help, and try to keep him at bay, but now he’s found her again, he can’t let her go.
As Cole chips away at Millie’s resistance, her defenses begin to crumble.
Except she’s about to learn she can’t run from her past—and nor can she deny her future.
His To Protect is the third book following the lives of the Brook Brothers. Grab your copy today.
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Wow, what an absolutely incredible read this was. I have to say I think it’s the best book in this unputdownable series.
As always Tracie’s characters are excellently drawn and leap off the page. They become real in no time at all and have you rooting for them from the outset. Even though this story brought back painful memories from my past, it kept me hooked until the wee small hours of the morning. I ended up reading it in two sittings.
Cole is the quietest Brook brother or is he? He’s an NYPD cop with a fragile heart. His heart was shattered in two back in his teens when the girl of his dreams married someone else… now she’s back.
Millie has a tragic tale to tell, the question is, will she want to share her tragic past with those around her. She’s determined to make a fresh start but someone evil is standing in her way.
To say more would give the story away, you’ll have to grab a copy for yourself and see for yourself where the story leads you.
One of my top reads of 2018 without a doubt and I’ve read some incredible books this year.
This is my first book in the Brook Brother series, but it definitely won’t be my last. I’m not normally a romance fan, but I love Tracie Delaney’s style, and her stories. The characters and scenery spring to life with each page you turn.
Ten years ago Millie Frayser married Tanner Bailey and left New York leaving behind her family and childhood friends. It took her ten years to garner the courage to finally leave the man who had destroyed her emotionally, slowly breaking down her confidence, love and trust. She arrives in New York broke and alone, and the future doesn’t look bright. Until…
Cole Brooks couldn’t believe his eyes as he stared through the restaurant window and recognized the woman he’d carried a torch for since high school. But Millie had only seen him as a friend. Determined to find out what had happened with Tanner to put the fear in her eyes, he sets out on a course to protect her—something that comes natural to him as a NYPD police officer. He’d let her go once without telling her how he felt. He wasn’t going to let her go this time.
Millie welcomes Cole’s friendship, realizes she’s not alone and begins to recover the trust and love she thought she’d never feel again, but Tanner has other plans for her and if he can’t have her no one will.
A delightful romantic suspense, with both romance and spice. You may need a glass of ice water by the time you finish this one.
I’ve been eagerly anticipating Cole Brook’s story since we met him and his gorgeous brothers and I loved it! My favourite in the series so far, it’s getting better and better!
Cole is the quietest of the brothers, the mediator, the calm in the storm, the cop. He lost Millie, the secret love of his life years ago in High school, because he couldn’t tell her how he felt and he’s never been able to settle. When he sees her back in New York sitting alone in a coffee shop, he is determined to never let her go again. Millie is broken though, a shell of the carefree full of life girl he knew. She desperately needs a reminder that there are good people in the world, but can she trust her former best friend Cole when her past comes back to haunt her?
Awww, what can I say about Cole, what a gorgeous soul this man has, caring, protective, patient but full of regret and he struggles with his feeings. Millie has been through hell, a difficult subject but was written very sympathetically, the emotion and psychological damage beautifully written in a very real way. It showed the bravery and strength needed to break away from her heart breaking situation and then deal with the aftermath.
I loved the emotion in this book as Millie comes back to life with Cole. The interactions with the Brook family and in particular Laurella, the girlfriend of Cole’s fiery twin brother Calum, gave some great humour to contrast the tension and suspense.
This book flowed throughout and kept me turning the pages, both characters growing and developing throughout. I’m excited for book four and Nate the last of the brothers, although I don’t want this series to end. Highly recommended, not to be missed five stars.
3.5 Stars – It’s a cop romance – what more do you want?! =P
I’ve always had a soft spot for cops and Cole was no exception. But d.a.m.n., can I be honest and say that I absolutely loved Draven?! So, after staking my claim on him (and I don’t care what anyone else says =P), let’s talk about this book.
I liked it, I really did, but it wasn’t an all-consuming read. I can’t deny that I enjoyed reading it, but the story had not enough oomph, for the lack of a better word. Although there was an emotionally up and down for the characters, what with Tanner in the picture and Millie’s way to recovery, I couldn’t connect to them. I can’t pinpoint a reason to my emotional distance to the story so I guess it’s just a question of personal taste.
Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice read but it just somehow didn’t click for me. This made rating this book even harder because it was well written and it was a good story but it didn’t make my heart beat faster. Well, I guess you can’t love them all.
There isn’t anything outstanding to tell. The characters were nice and I liked to see the other brothers with their girlfriends again from the previous books. Although I still didn’t like Laurella calling Calum ‘stronzo’, even when she meant it in an affectionate way. I guess that’s one example of that personal taste I was talking about before.
As much as I loved the Winning Ace Series by this author, I wasn’t as charmed by this one.
Cole Brook had been friends with Millie at high school and while he’s always had a crush on her, she was always just a friend and the one who got away. Now that he found her again, he was determined to seize his chance and not let her go. But will he be successful at last?!
Millie wasn’t the girl anymore that Cole once knew but his friendly and charming ways helped her to finally see that good men really do exist. Her past still haunted her but with the help of Cole she was slowly getting herself back and maybe even gain something more.
It was a nice story about courage and learning about one’s self-worth. I liked the process of how Millie – even after all those years – found a way to claim her life back. Nobody’s responsible for one’s life than the person itself and it’s never too late for that. I don’t even want to go into ‘how hate can destroy a person’, because I’m sure we’re all aware of that and I rather wanted to point out the positive of the story’s significance.
Tracie is a must read author! This book will get you!!!
OK, I admit it, I was really looking forward to Cole’s book: I’m a sucker for a nice guy. Out of all the Brook brothers, Cole’s endearing nature really spoke to me. As such, I was thrilled to finally read his story: it’s all good.
The danger of having a really nice character in any novel is that the book can become dull owing to a lack of character progression or development. Not in this case. Tracie Delaney manages to convey the extent of Cole’s long-standing tortured soul whilst ensuring he isn’t a wet lettuce.
Don’t let the nice-guy image fool you – Cole Brook is all man, he’s just discreet about it.
Millie is a sweetheart and you see her character evolve throughout the story. She starts off as a timid little mouse, but you see her return to her former “strong and independent woman” self. And it’s not only because of the love of a good man, but also because that is the woman she wants to be.
Tracie uses quite a lot of flashback technique to very good effect in this novel. It enhances Millie’s past experiences. The timing and development of the flashbacks reflect, how each time, Millie’s experiences are that little bit worse. A subtle skill, put to very good use.
I’m not going to talk about the villain of the piece, Tanner, because you need to make your own mind up on that one. Other than to say, he is definitely a villain and causes some serious heartache.
Finally, there is plenty of banter thanks to the other Brook brothers ¬– the humour provided by Calum and Laurella is superb. They are ideally placed within the book to ensure things don’t become too dark because this is a romance, after all. Oh, and let’s not forget the scene-stealer that is Draven. I don’t have words when it comes to this character, suffice to say he better get his own book
All in all, you are completely drawn into the ups and downs of Cole and Millie’s story and the heartache it brings. There are some incredibly poignant moments where your heart breaks for the couple, but out of the ashes comes something stronger – you go, Millie and Cole! We are rooting for you both!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
This is the 3rd book in The Brook Brother series. Cole’s oldest brother Jax was first In The Blame Game, then his Twin, Calum, in Against All Odds.
Cole is the calm, cool, collected cop but with brothers like those 2 how can he be anything else? It’s just like Cole to be minding his own business when fait steps in his way. Only a special girl can get the Cole we don’t get to see comes out to play. This time he won’t let her get away. And this girl really needed a hero, maybe to even help her save herself. Cue the Swooning!!