Returning home to Grand Junction would not have been Rosie Perkins’ first choice, but with her mother no longer able to take care of herself, it’s the only one she has. As is working the night shift at a local hotel to bring in a much-needed income. Rosie juggles to keep all the pieces of her life together and has no room to add anything more. One morning after a long shift, when she witnesses a … witnesses a hotel guest crash into a dumpster, her careful control starts to unravel.
Security specialist, Jake Hutchinson, has his hands full protecting the arrogant lead actor of a movie being filmed in town. Since the production company and crew arrived at the hotel, the entitled star has been nothing but trouble.
The only thing that can improve his mood is the occasional nightly glimpse of the redheaded housekeeper.
Until he finds himself trapped between desire and duty.
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Hit & Run is the first book in the new PASS security series. I loved this romantic suspense story. The characters of Jake and Rosie are mature and very realistic and relatable. They have great chemistry together. When Rosie sees something she should not have Jake takes it upon himself to protect her. The other characters in this story are also amazing and I hope this series continues with each of them being involved. This has a great storyline with danger, death, and romance.
I cannot wait for the next book in this series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
5 Stars
The start to this newest series is full of action, suspense and a cast of characters you will love. Rosie is not your typical heroine, she is older, independent and used to working hard to take care of whatever needs to be done. Jake is not happy about his current assignment and is t sure what to make of Rosie when he first crosses paths with her. As the story continues there is plenty of mystery, intrigue and of course intense heat that will have you continuing to turn the page as quickly as you can! I loved all these characters and cannot wait for more from this series!
Cara – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog
Hit & Run is the perfect start to Freya Barker’s new PASS series. Did somebody say ‘Hot Bodyguard’?
Freya has a knack for writing a story that keeps you engaged the whole way through with characters you want to know and a story with the perfect combination of of fun moments, steamy scenes and intrigue to keep the pages turning.
Rosie hasn’t had an easy life but she has a heart of gold. When she is thrown into the middle of a crime scene by accident her life takes a dangerous turn. Then in comes Jake. Hot, alpha, protector and he has his eyes set on keeping Rosie safe, but their relationship turns into so much more than bodyguard and victim. Neither saw it coming but their chemistry will
set the pages on fire. They just have to figure out who is after Rosie before the can find their happily ever after.
Freya has a HIT on her hands with this one! Hit & Run will pull you in and hold you hostage with this intriguing tale!
Freya Barker writes some of the best romance out there about mature folk who have lived and learned, or are in the process of learning. And this is the start to a brand new series, hooray! I also love “coming home” books and Rosie has to return home to take care of her mom working at a boring job that merely provides a paycheck… until she witnesses something she wasn’t supposed to see. Enter Jake, ex-military, alpha male. Assigned to protect her, the chemistry between them is sizzling and their relationship flourishes to the point it becomes more than a job. I love that Rosie was a strong, independent woman who could go toe to toe with the hero. Throw in her best friend Grant, who provided some of the funniest lines ever, this book was a win for me. Grab it when it releases, you won’t be sorry!
Hit & Run by Freya Barker
PASS Series #1
BIG smile on my face as I finished this book. I have always enjoyed this author’s books and this is no exception… 🙂 I enjoyed every page of this book and am so happy that as the first book in the series I have more books to look forward to.
Rosie Perkins has come home to provide care for her mother who is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. The fact that her mother was NOT a loving caring nurturing parent does not keep Rosie from doing what she believes is the right thing. She has found a person to handle nights while she works as a housekeeper in a local hotel and does her best on limited funds to care for herself and her mother. Little does Rosie know that witnessing a car hit a trash bin while taking the trash out will put her in harm’s way.
Jake “Hutch” Hutchinson works for Protection and Security Services – PASS. He is not thrilled with the pretty boy entitled actor he is babysitting while a film is being made. The hotel the actors and crew are staying in just happens to be the one that Rosie works for so the two have seen one another around but don’t speak till Rosie becomes a witness PASS needs to keep an eye on. PASS is run by people he knows from his youth and the teach he works with are interesting indeed!
As the story unfolds it seems that Rosie has been targeted by someone and her life is in danger. The more time Jake invests keeping Rosie safe the closer the two grow to one another. Throw in Grant – a bigger than life black man who is looking for a man to love – and Rosie’s best friend… AND then the team that works with Jake AND Hilliary the nurse that cares for Rosie’s mother at night…AND the mystery of who is after Rosie and why AND a delicious romance…and well…you have a wonderful story that I thoroughly enjoyed. I am eager to read what comes next and wonder just which of the characters in this book will find their life partner in the next book.
Did I enjoy this book? Definitely!
Will I read more in this series? Without a doubt!!!
Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
This is the 1st book I’ve read written by Freda Barker; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I loved the chemistry between the characters.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the first book I’ve read by Freya Barker. I don’t believe it will be my last, provided I can find the time to read everything I want to read. While there is so much to discuss in this story, I want to focus on only a few points.
The two main characters are compelling and relatable.
In Rose, you’ve got an innocent, unsuspecting woman who sees something she wasn’t supposed to see and suddenly this puts her in danger. She is a character the reader immediately relates to because she is your average, overworked, underpaid, 40 something single woman who’s hopes and dreams were never realized because life happened. When I say life, I mean the ailing health of her mother who never thought too highly of her in the first place.
In Jake, you’ve got a military veteran with an unspeakable past who has chosen to cope with life as a civilian by turning to a big-time, family-owned private security firm. Things are going well in this firm until their key client does something he shouldn’t have done. In protecting the client, he finds himself hopelessly drawn to Rose.
In Grant, you have Rose’s best friend, confidant, and coworker who is a flamboyant, large gay black man. I love this character, and a lot of his lines are funny and don’t seem contrived at all. But, I do fear they do toe the line between being a little too cliche. In some sense, he plays a form of comic relief to Rose’s tragic character. He also served to push her beyond her tragic situation and go for what she most desperately needs while reminding her to proceed with caution. He also reminds her of all of the things that make her exceptional attractive, and I am not just referring to her physical traits.
The overarching conflict in this story is compelling.
I touched upon this a little in my character descriptions, but I’ll go a little further. Basically, Rose is tracked by an unknown assailant out to silence her, even though she has literally said nothing of what she has seen. What first begins as an assignment to keep Rose safe, because a struggle for Jake to keep things professional. I won’t go into detail how this works out. But, I will say, Rose definitely has her eyes for Jake. So, there are two arcs occurring simultaneously: the sexual attraction turned beautiful romance and the ever-present danger of just staying alive.
Overall Plot
It unfolds in a smooth, natural way. There does seem to be a couple, with the most prominent being Jake rushing to see Rose because he realizes she is likely in danger. Then, he seems to forget about this completely and the reader is launched into a steamy sex scene. Later, Jake realizes he never told her about the danger. So, I’m left wondering how much of a military veteran and security professional Jake really is that he’s let himself turn to his most base desires for sex. But, that was the only point where I felt the story fell a little short in believability. Simply because I was lead to believe this danger to be so incredibly urgent that he had to rush to Rose, only for the two to wind up having sex.
A lot of stories end, then putter along for another twenty pages to wrap up the arc. When I got to the last 20% of the story, that’s what I thought Ms. Barker was doing. But I was pleasantly surprised by an unresolved conflict that worked itself out in the end. I say that, because I’d completely forgotten about the detail dropped so much early and so quickly. I was also pleasantly surprised that my own prediction was correct, though the reasons why it was correct was also a surprise.
Craft, style, etc.
Suddenly there are a bunch of books out for adults that are written in first-person present tense. When did that become a thing? For some reason, it works. Or, at the very least, Freya Barker makes it work exceptionally well. The present tense gives this story a sense of urgency, happening in the now feel. It also, in some ways, plays out like a film, even at the moments where we are getting into the character’s head.
This story is also told from alternating points of view between Rose and Jake. The voices are distinct from each other throughout, so it’s very clear who is speaking even without the subheading indicating it as belonging to Jake or Mary.
Regarding the employment of sex in the story.
I would describe it as poetic, rather than pornographic or erotic. It is an expression of love that does develop and build over the course of the story, culminating into something very beautiful in the final encounter.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
OMG I loved this book. It was the perfect combination of romance and suspense, I was never quite sure what was going to happen next and the twist at the end was amazing. I can’t wait to read more books by Freya.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I honestly do not think I’ve read a bad Freya Barker yet! Hit & Run is book 1 in the newest PASS series following Rosie Perkins who has come home to take care of her ailing mother, and Jake Hutchinson, a security specialist who has been assigned to babysit an obnoxious lead actor filming in town. From the first moments they see the other, the attraction is strong, unfortunately they both have a lot of baggage from their past. When Rosie witnesses a crime, Jake must intervene and figure out what she knows. This definitely causes conflict to their budding attraction. The conflict escalates when Rosie is placed in danger and Jake had to decide between what is right for his job and his feelings towards Rosie.
This was a fantastic story with intense chemistry, twists and turns that was actually pretty surprising and an awesome happily ever after. I loved it all and cannot wait for the next book in this series.
A new series from Freya Barker?! Yes please!
This story will really pull at your emotions for several reasons including caring for our parents, dealing with our own moral compasses, heart pounding suspenseful moments and a great love story! I loved all the characters, including a wonderful secondary character that just jumps off the page – yes, I talking about you Grant. Every time I thought I knew something or had figured something was over, BAM! This book kept me entertained as I absorbed each and every word.
A new series but the same great characters and suspenseful elements we expect from Ms. Barker. Rosie is over forty, single and working the night shift as maid in the hotel of her hometown. The hometown she returned to in order to care for her aging mother. Feeling less than successful after ending a bad relationship, Rosie doesn’t expect to catch the eye of the hot guard working in her hotel on the set of the movie. But when Rosie sees something she shouldn’t catching the attention of someone out to cause harm she finds herself very much at the attention of Jake Hutch. Jake has job to to do, like it or not, and part of that is to keep an eye on Rosie but he can’t help falling for her. As these two grow closer, Jake finds that he must not only protect Rosie but convince her she is more than a job. A well rounded story with action, heat and a crazy gay friend this is a great beginning to a new series. A must read.
Excellent start to a new series
Rosie is a hard working women who hasn’t had much luck or support in her life and now cares for her mother who has Alzheimer’s as well as working the night shift at a hotel .. When a film crew take over the 2nd floor of the hotel PASS security is employed to keep things under control.. Jake is an ex military guy who is assigned to the star of the movie who is trouble with a capital T. Jake has already noticed Rosie and after an incident in the early hours of the morning Jake has to investigate which includes speaking to Rosie which he is more than happy to do.. unbeknown to him Rosie witness the incident but is keeping it to herself.. As the chemistry starts to ignite between the two someone has decided it is time to eliminate Rosie and with the attempts on her life this only ratchets up Jakes protective instincts much to his surprise ..I loved the interaction between the characters especially Grant Rosie’s best friend who made me laugh out loud, he is the sort of guy that you would love to have as a friend…this is another page turner from Freya .. Bring on the next one !!
Hit and Run is another great book by Freya Barker. This story follows Rosie, who works nights at the local hotel so she can look after her mum with Alzheimer’s during the day and Jake who is working as security detail for the cast of a Hollywood movie being filmed locally. When Rosie witnesses the lead actor drinking drunk and killing a homeless person her life becomes in danger. Jake initially bonds with Rosie to find out how much she knows but soon his loyalties change when he falls for her. As usual with Freya Barker’s books there are a few twists and turns. Love her books and really enjoyed this one too, hoping there will be others following some of the other characters.
A new series on Bodyguards? Heck yes! Jack is part of the security detail for a movie production filming in town. They have rented out the second floor of the hotel that Rosie is working nights cleaning the hotel. Things get a bit dicey when Rosie witnesses something she shouldn’t have.
Rosie is 42, single and came home to take care of her mother that is suffering from Alzheimer’s. She has to work the night shift so that she can be home to take care of her mom during the day. Her money goes to the care of her mother who does nothing but belittle her when she is in her right mind. To say the least, her life is not full of sunshine.
Jake is 38, lost his parents when he was young and didn’t find a family until he was in his teens. He enlisted in the army right out of high school and like many former military, he struggles with guilt over what happened while he was enlisted. He doesn’t really know how a relationship should work but his connection to Rosie proves he doesn’t need to know. All he cares about is protecting her from the danger that seems to be following her.
One of the things I love about this author is that her characters are so real. They have everyday problems they deal with and seeing how a romance growing in a real way is very appealing. Plus, her characters are usually a bit older and more mature. Like many of her other books, this one had me completely engrossed with Jack and Rosie’s life. I loved it and can’t wait for the next in the series!