A rowdy superstar in danger. His resentful new guardian. It’s hate at first sight until love takes an unexpected encore.Closeted actor Owen fears failure and betrayal. So after he’s stabbed by a crazy fan, the movie studio offers a hunky bodyguard for protection. Suspicious that the ripped security man is just a gossip-seeking plant, he pushes back at his bulging biceps, ignoring the chemistry.… chemistry.
Newly retired SEAL Jamal is having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. Reluctantly taking a Hollywood job for a bad boy with tight abs, he’s sure the star is simply paranoid. But when he discovers the sexy celebrity is in serious jeopardy, he doesn’t hesitate to jump into action mode.
As the peril hits closer to home, Owen finds himself falling for the handsome hero fighting for his life. And as the threats intensify, Jamal fears he might lose the man he has come to love.Will Owen and Jamal go down in a catastrophic climax, or will they star in their own happy ending?
Hollywood Lighting is the red-hot first book in the Bodyguards M/M contemporary romance series. If you like tortured heroes, intense predicaments, and steamy affairs, then you’ll adore J. V. Speyer’s tale of LGBT passion.
more
A bodyguard, an actor and fans walk on to a film set…
This is Hollywood. Not the glamorous, dazzling Hollywood. This is the cutthroat side. Studio politics, backstabbing costars, manic fans, family drama, biases, misconceptions. OK, and really cute kittens. Oh, and epic sex. Once Jamal and Owen get over their preconceived notions and start seeing each other as they truly are, the story takes off. I learned about the lurid backside of the film industry. I felt rage, anguish, joy, and love. Loyalty, and the meaning of family. You will become as invested in this story as I was. Don’t worry, HEA is assured. You are gonna love this book!
This book contains adult themes and language, mm sex and is intended for mature readers only.
Realistic interesting characters kept this plot moving, captivating, witty, twists and turns. Karma at it’s best which I loved. Owen and Jamal, at first didn’t get on, but with time there was some hot steamy scenes. This book is a keeper.
I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book for my honest opinions of which I’m under no obligation to do so. I definitely recommend this book.
Such a wonderfully exciting plot.
Addiction, homophobia, ill gotten gains, lack of parenting, crazed fans, child star, and so much more!
When a ‘fan’ attacks an actor, lives change immediately. Jamal is hired to protect Owen but it quickly becomes much more complicated once you discover the methods the studio is using to increase the ‘hype’ around the show.
Deceit runs through the entire filming of one production and a fellow actor is definitely a ‘loose’ cannon.
So many interesting characters and twists in the plot.
A great story with two guys who deserve their HEA!
Holy moly!! This was fantastic!! I got sucked into this story and couldn’t put it down!! Owen is an actor that has had a horrible past that he doesn’t share with anyone but his best friend. Jamal, a former SEAL is assigned as his new bodyguard when a deranged fan stab Owen. Major miscommunication becomes the norm for these two until they figure out, they need to work together. I loved the found family and secondary characters! There was suspense, drama, and romance! This was sooo freakin good!! I am voluntarily leaving a review from an advanced copy that I was gifted from the author. Thank you so much for letting me read your art. My reviews are solely based on my thoughts and opinions.
Hollywood can make or break you, it’s all about the bottom line.
Instead of love at first sight, this was hate at first sight. In fact Jamal detested Owen before he even met him, so romance was never on the cards. As the complicated twists and turns of the plot slowly unravelled, a happy ending was looking unlikely, but a very satisfying downfall for the bad guys, plus the complete opposite for the good ones, finally, wrapped everything up really well. The ending was never that obvious until you get there. A neat trick for any story.
Hollywood Lighting by JV Speyer is a contemporary mm romance that gives readers a fantastic enemies to lovers tale between an actor who has gotten a lot of bad press and the bodyguard who has to learn not to judge a person purely on heresay. The story is very well told , with suspense, drama, sweetness and steam. I was glued to the pages and did not want to put this one down and when it came to an end I felt sad I didn’t have more to read. These characters were relatable and likeable and I absolutely love them.
Thank you for the ARC read, I voluntarily give this book an honest review. Owen is force to be seen as someone he’s not, but really who is at fault for that…not the management team right? Jamal was about to find out that Hollywood was as cut throat as any battle-zones he had even seen, that was if he didn’t lose his job on day one. Can we say Jamal’s pre-judgemental take on all things Hollywood, as an ex-seal he finds it just as bad if not worse then battle-zones. After having to hide his sexuality in the closet due to the Hollywood elite gossip mill, Okay what a douche the executive producer Jim was, like it’s Owens fault for a fan attacked him and the fan wasn’t even his deranged fan. Owen gets stuck with a bodyguard/bully, was he a plant to get Owen gone from the studio because he sure didn’t treat Owen like a human sometimes. Owen is the actor that he gets hired to guard, the man is more then he was expecting that is for sure. One job keep Owen safe even if it’s from himself…Right? Oh and also no touching..One of these maybe just to much of to handle especially when Jamal learns more of Owen. Glad that someone people had Owen’s back at the beginning because the studio sure didn’t except for what they could get out of any of the diva-drama.
This book was a good read. It has a beautiful romance story with some drama and some suspense. There are a few sex scenes but they are sweet and pretty tame. The story all comes together in the end with a beautiful happily ever after.
A suspenseful thrill-ride that had me on the edge of my seat! This was a real page turner that kept me hooked. I enjoyed the push and pull from the characters and loved how their relationship evolved over the course of the story.
I love the enemies to lovers trope, especially when it involves bodyguards. This whole story was beautifully set up when the very first thing that Jamal said to Owen was demeaning and full of prejudice and assumptions. I loved that Owen had such a strong support group of friends that even while he might not have said anything about what was going on, they didn’t hesitate to call Jamal out on the BS that he was spouting.
With as deeply controlling as Mario was over his children, I have to wonder if he hadn’t bribed Jim to look the other way with each complaint that was raised. Otherwise, it just seemed to be a bit ridiculous for someone who was as risk aware as Jim wss to keep on condoning everything that was going on, in the set.
Ultimately, I loved how karma pretty much came back to everyone in this story. Owen and Jamal were beautifully blessed, while the monsters in their lives got their just, and delightfully fair rewards.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
4.25 Stars!
I’m a huge fan of J.V. Speyer’s Hunter series and I love bodyguard books, so I jumped at the chance of reading Hollywood Lighting.
I liked Owen very much from the start. I felt so bad about him having to live in his trailer and all he had to go through with his father and in the toxic work environment he had to work in and on top of that, having to deal with Jamal’s prejudicial views of him. *slaps Jamal* It took me over 1/3rd of the book to start warming up to Jamal, precisely because of how he treated Owen. Some bodyguard he was. *punches Jamal repeatedly* Frankly speaking, I was just about to give up on the book altogether because of how angry Jamal made me. Really, he might have been hot and Owen might have been attracted to Jamal, but he didn’t deserve Owen, at least not at first. He got better, although the progression was a bit too fast for me. Did they have chemistry? Yes, and thankfully, by the time they gave in to their attraction, Jamal was less of a twat, so there’s that.
The suspense storyline was really well-done and while the romance went from “nope, no way, no how” to “yes, please, take me, take me now” in the blink of an eye, I couldn’t put the book down because I needed to find out who was behind everything happening to Owen. The story tied all the loose ends and had a satisfying ending and I really enjoyed it, so I have no trouble recommending it!
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn’t a requirement. ***
** spoiler alert ** Jamal never thought that he would want to work with a Hollywood actor. Owen struggles with a enemy co-star. The heart wants what it wants. Will Owen be ready to come out? Will Jamal be able to protect him and see past the tabloids?
Have to say that this book definitely sucked me right in. It had the right amount of action, steam and drama to keep me interested throughout the whole thing. I loved how Owen wasn’t what everyone thought and that he was willing to do anything to protect those he loved. I wasn’t to sure about Jamal at first, but loved to see him slowly open his eyes to who Owen really was and to be determined to do anything to protect him! Good read!
This is a fast paced book and while it may be considered a romance, that is really just in the background. There is a lot of action in this book, that doesn’t have anything to do with the romance. Owen is a child actor who is not out of the closet yet, and known in the public eye as a bit of a playboy who over indulges in drugs and what not. That it not who he is at all, but he has to play the part (as ordered by the big wigs in the company) since all that bad boy stuff gets viewers, which means money. While they are ranking in the dough, he is suffering on set dealing with a jealous co-star. Jamal, an ex-navy SEAL is hired to play bodyguard/babysitter to Owen after a fan attacked him. The two didn’t get off to a great start. In fact, it was pretty brutal, but once the two actually started to understand the other, things took a turn for the better…. way better. The story flows quickly and there really isn’t any fluff. Pretty much everything written has its purpose to the plot. I actually liked how the characters said what anyone would have said or thought in the given situations. Nothing was sugar coated. As a reader, I often would yell at characters thinking they should have done this or that, well, I didn’t have to do that in this book. 🙂 Well, I take that back. I did do a lot of internal yelling, only it was at the ‘bad guys’ and what was happening to our poor Owen. There are a lot of frustrating situations that will make you clench your jaw in anger. (I think I got lock jaw from reading this book.) Oh boy, will you loathe the evil villains. And there are a few. They will make you sick, they are that bad. (Luckily for us, they get their dues.) Owen is lovable right off that bat, but it takes a little longer to find your fondness for Jamal (mostly due to their bad start.) There are a few other side characters that are just as likable… so not everyone is a bad seed. As I already mentioned, it is a quick moving story that reads easily. It alternates between POVs. The sexual content overly graphic. (Mostly along the lines of, “I entered him slowly.”) Like I said, while the romance is there, all the other stuff takes top billing, so this isn’t centered around the budding romance. The only thing that was a downer for me, was just how quickly the two guys went from cold as ice to burning hot.
*I received an ARC of this book.