One night brings them together. Another night tears them apart.Grace Miles misses her easy friendship with Asher, but growing up means growing apart. And really, how could he fall for her when they spent their childhood getting muddy in the creek and splitting sticks of gum?But this summer, something feels different. If Grace didn’t know better, she’d think Asher was flirting with her. Those dark … flirting with her. Those dark eyes, hard body, and wicked smile make her insides swirl and her heart dare to hope for things she’s convinced herself she’ll never have.
Falling for your best friend shouldn’t be complicated, but for Asher Bailey, loving Grace is anything but simple. The road to romance isn’t smooth thanks to his pack of wild brothers who are protective of the girl next door, a take-no-sass grandmother, a small town where gossip is a spectator sport, and a feud that spans generations.
But Asher realizes his feelings are too big to ignore. Loving her isn’t the risk. Losing her would be.
And one night, one kiss, changes everything.
Finally admitting their feelings is the beginning of their happily ever after. Until their fairy tale love story is tragically interrupted, and neither of them will ever be the same.
Author’s note: Lifelong soulmates, ridiculous pranks, brother shenanigans, and a feuding town. Protecting You is the Bailey Brothers series origin story. Be there when it begins and fall in love with this wild band of unruly brothers.
The Bailey Brothers is meant to be read in order, and Grace and Asher’s story concludes in book two, Fighting for Us.
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*5 Stars*
This was my first book by Claire Kingsley but it won’t be my last. This was a fast and easy read – I love a good friends to lovers – but this one had a twist I was not expecting at the end. I did not see that cliffhanger coming at all. I was getting close to the end of the book, looking at the reading time left on my kindle, going – oh no – how will this end?
I definitely need to continue this series and find out what happens next. I really liked our two main characters, they were easy together and had great chemistry. The secondary characters were all great too. Definitely recommend.
I loved the start of Grace and Asher’s HEA even knowing what happens. This is a sweet, swoony childhood friends to soulmates origin story that ends on a cliffhanger. Asher and Grace grew up next door to each other but drifted apart at the end of high school. Now four years later Asher realizes Grace is the one and Grace is all in. This book has a little bit of everything – sweet moments, strong friendships, laughs, messy families, sexy times, real life issues, imperfect characters, tragedy, and so much love. While short, the story also includes witty dialogue, characters with depth, and an engaging storyline. Unfortunately there is not a HEA at the end of this novella but I knew that going in since we knew about Grace and Asher from the Miles series. I am looking forward to see them finally get their HEA in book 2 which is the only reason I read this book.
This is my first book from this author and it will not be my last! This book is two people from a small town who are best friends and each secretly had stronger feelings for the other until they played their cards and let it all out then in all true book fashion fate steps in a throws one hell of a curveball and a cliffhanger. Onto the next book for the conclusion
Sweet & Romantic Friends to Lovers Romance!
Protecting You was a great beginning to this world of Bailey Brothers!
I won’t lie, starting out….it took me a little while to get into it. I could feel the love but it was just so sweet & mild…and it had me thinking that perhaps Claire Kingsley was just a really sweet romance writer. Nothing wrong with that, I love books like that at times. However…at that moment, I wanted something with more grit and passion. Then all of a sudden, Asher & Grace completely sucked me into their world completely and entirely! My heart STOPPED, I couldn’t breathe and my soul just might have been crushed! All of a sudden, Claire had me so hooked on this world that I went from this book immediately into the second book (Fighting For Us)! I needed it that badly!
It wasn’t just Asher & Grace that hooked me either! I’m here for Logan, Levi, Gavin & Evan!!! Gram too…I just love Gram! I’ll be finishing this entire series!!!
OMG! I could not put this book down … so good! Claire Kingsley has the Midas touch of writing. She spins gold with this story. As the story got closer to the end I wondered how she was going to shore it up into a HEA and then SURPRISE!
I loved getting the backstory on Asher’s and Grace’s relationship. I fell in love with all the Bailey boys. I’m intrigued to know Evan’s story. Why is he the way he is? And don’t get me started on Logan’s and his ‘bro’ words. TOO FUNNY! I am excited to read the series and get to learn all the cubs’ (as Gram calls them) stories.
I highly recommend this book. It’s a can’t-put-down must-read!
Joy, happiness, looking forward to a future of love and promise all falls apart when bully people try to hurt the one you love…my heart breaks for Asher & Grace
After rushing through the Miles Family Series, I could not wait to dive into the Bailey Brothers. I’m a huge fan of Small-town Romance with Brothers involved. Best friends that grow apart and then fall in love, only to have tragedy strike their lives. We are introduced to Grace in the previous Miles Series and a small insight into her being engaged to a man who is incarcerated. This is Asher and Grace’s story
Once again we are introduced too Characters to come in the rest of the series, and the connecting story of the town feud and its mysterious secret.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next in the series.
Grace Miles and Asher Bailey have been friends forever, and they’re also neighbors.
Asher hated seeing how Grace’s father treated her with such contempt. In fact, Mr. Miles traveled a lot for work, spent long periods away, and Grace was always hoping that when he returned home, he would notice what a wonderful daughter he had. Several times Asher wiped her friend’s tears and made her smile again.
And this friendship, which started between children’s games, became a deep love.
When they were adults was when they finally had the courage to expose their feelings and make the promise to be together forever.
However, the plans of the beautiful couple were interrupted when they go to a bar, Grace suffers an attack, and Asher protecting her, ends up going to prison.
Asher loses not only the golden dream of one day being hired as a firefighter, but also the possibility of having a future with the woman he loves. He doesn’t want her to wait for him. Grace doesn’t want to know Asher’s opinion; they were born to be together… she just needed to convince her stubborn fiancé…
5 stars
Asher Bailey and Grace Miles have been best friends their whole life. She is truly the girl next door and they had been inseparable until Grace went away for college.
Asher and his four brothers had been raised by their Gram after their parents died when the boys were young. Gram had some Native American blood and had spirit animals for each of the boys. Asher was Bear and Grace was Gracie Bear.
Asher was looking forward to his juvenile record being cleared after he had gotten arrested and charged with a felony after getting into a fight a few years ago and broke the guy’s arm. Ever since the death of his parents in an electrical fire his goal was to become a Fire Inspector, but until these records cleared he had to wait. So he volunteered for the Tillicum Fire Department and studied jiu-jitsu.
Grace was on break from college and Asher was watching her arrive from his bedroom window. When he realizes that she broke up with her college boyfriend he decides to rectify the mistake he made years ago. He has always loved Grace, but hesitated to ask her out because of how close their families were. How would their families react if they had broken up? He’d been too scared then, but he realizes he has to give it a chance because Grace is it for him. Now to convince Grace.
Every time Grace comes home from college she fills unsettled like things never move forward especially since she has no clue what she wants to do with her life. As she looks around her childhood bedroom nothing has changed. Until she sees her photos displayed everywhere. She had missed her mom and young brother, Elijah, while away at college, but most of all she missed Asher.
They used to be so close, but now they rarely saw each other and what used to be so easy now felt awkward. She wished they could refind that closeness. She had deliberately gone to college out of town since it hurt too much watching Asher with his girlfriend when they were in high school. It made her realize she couldn’t watch him be with someone else.
When Asher finally asked Grace out he was excited to find out that she was also in love with him and he was looking for the perfect time to propose. Grace and Asher were out celebrating and playing pool with a few guys from the fire department and their girlfriends. When the guys went to the bar to refill their drinks she decided to guard the pool table as the other girls went to the restroom.
And then her nightmare began. She was pulled into the back alley by the guys who had been fighting with Asher and the other firefighters. As they were attempting to gang rape her she fills arms pulling her to safety. Only when she is pulled out of the alley does she realize there are policemen everywhere. And Asher is in cuffs.
Asher? Who was defending her. Their nightmare has just begun.
This book is the first book of Asher and Grace’s story and the beginning of the Bailey Brothers series. It leaves you with a gut wrenching cliffhanger. My heart breaks for Asher. I loved this book even with the cliffhanger. The characters are amazing and I love the Town of Tillicum!
We have a town feud between two families that has gone on for generations and no one seems to remember why, but the Baileys and the Havens take every opportunity to one up the other with pranks. It is so serious that there is two of everything and depending on whose side you were on is which establishment you entered.
We have thieving squirrels and a mysterious treasure. We have a barbershop statue of a vintage girl blowing bubbles and wearing fishnet stockings and…..a beard.
This book is also available as an audiobook. The narrators for Asher and Grace are Aaron Shedlock and Samantha Cooke. I loved Samantha Cooke’s narrative for Grace, but I really had a problem with Aaron Shedlock. At first I was okay since he was after all narrating as an eleven-year-old boy, but the tone didn’t change as he grew into a man. It was like he was gasping at the end of each sentence.
Although it didn’t bother me enough that I didn’t totally enjoy hearing the story being read to me. I have read this book previously and somehow hearing it read gives you a better perspective to the story. I highly recommend this book in written and audiobook formats!
Please don’t let this being a cliffhanger keep you from reading not only this book, but the complete series. It starts out slow, but Asher and Grace are children so it is expected, but when it gathers speed get ready to pull out the kleenex.
A sweet introduction.
This is the first book in this series and it ends in a cliffhanger (I’m just warning and not complaining, because as I said before, I love cliffhangers).
The main characters were younger than I expected, but it ended up making sense in the grand scheme of things.
This is a friends-to-lovers romance placed in a small, adorable town, filled with younger brothers shenanigans. For the better part of the book, things progressed rather easily and it was even a little weird because of that. There seemed to be no drama whatsoever. But then all hell broke loose.
As I said, it was sweet and light, maybe a little fast paced, and it drew the path to a seemingly more complex and deeper story.
I’m excited for what’s to come.
I didn’t realize until after reading this that I am yet again reading things in reverse and there is another series that came before this one, but I’m into it now so there is no going back.
I also had no idea that this is kind of a prequel going in, so I think that kind of affected my reading experience as well. I enjoyed Protecting You, but like I said I didn’t know it was a prequel so it kind of felt like it was lacking something for me.
“He was enticingly new and intimately familiar, all at once. He was everything. He was home.”
I did enjoy both Grace and Asher, but I usually like a little more spice and angst and until the end this prequel it is pretty sweet, which isn’t really my jam anymore. Lol. But after realizing this is a prequel to get the back story for what happens with Grace and Asher I looked at it in a different light and I am thankful for the backstory now that I’ve started their main book.
I am also a sucker for friends to lovers and I really loved that aspect between Grace and Asher. I also loved the small mountain town setting, just the whole vibe of Tilikum was really cute and I loved it.
I liked it, it was just a little too sweet for my tastes, but it did accomplish hooking me into these characters stories and I’ve already started the next one and am excited to read more from the Bailey brothers. They are definitely a rowdy and interesting Bunch.
Oh my goodness!
I couldnt put this book down. The heat between these two characters is crazy flirty fun and kept me hooked.
I am now onto book 2 with the rest in the series downloaded.
Thank you for an amazing book.
I think I have read everything she has written. I need another book.
This was a wonderful book! I love any book by Claire!!
4
Spanish & English Opinion
ESP ::
Wow, este libro es la introducción a una nueva serie por la autora. Me gustó mucho la historia de Asher y Grace y me conmueve la forma en que la tragedia cambia el destino de toda una familia.
Este pequeño libro que parece un prólogo, hace que nos encariñemos con la pareja y con los personajes que formarán parte de los libros de la serie.
Tengo el corazón apachurrado por la forma en que acaba el libro, pero estoy lista para el siguiente.
ENG ::
Wow… this book took me by surprise! Asher and Grace have a beautiful history and it shocked me to the core that tragedy strikes, especially the way it did.
This is a perfect way to make us fall in love with the couple and to introduce the characters we will be reading about!
Can’t wait. Now, even though my heart is broken, I will be getting the next book!
This is not the type of book I typically read. It’s much too sweet and nice for me. That being said, it was a really sweet book with a not so sweet ending. Plus, cliffhanger. Grrrr. So, yes, I liked the book until it got to the end. Then I was very unhappy indeed.
Great start to this new series by Claire Kingsley even though the book ends in a cliffhanger. I loved reading how Asher and Grace first fell in love, how they were best friends first then finally admitting they were in love. I enjoyed meeting the Bailey brothers and Gram who I totally adored. Can’t wait to read the next book to see the next chapter of Asher and Grace’s love story.
I finished Chasing Her Fire, last night, and I have to say that Claire Kingsley did not disappoint. Logan and Cara are everything you expect, and 100% more. I’m lucky my Kindle didn’t go up in flames, because this book is hot. They had my emotions going in so many different directions, that I will be in a book hangover for days. This book deserves so many more than 5 stars.
This best friends to lovers story sucked me in and I never wanted it to end. I’m hooked and all in on these characters and feel a good binge read coming on. A perfect way to spend a weekend reading an author that has been on my tbr list for way too long. Cannot wait to dive into the next story to find out what happens next.
I’ve looked forward to this series for months. Yes, you wrote it but with Covid and all that going on, somehow I didn’t settle down to read this book and get started. (That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it) This short story to start the Bailey books, is wonderful. Get a Kleenex, settle in a comfortable chair and get going – that’s my advice. Getting to know Asher since I did fully read the Miles series, has been a great experience and I love how the author makes us fall in love with Asher and Grace. Leaving Asher in prison is heartbreaking but I’m on to the next book right now. I’m going to copy the author in saying this is not a happily ever after but it is a hopeful ever after. It makes me feel better to know the families are all working together to help Grace and I know I’ll love the rest of this series.