He’d give his life to protect the president’s son. But he never expected to risk his heart.Growing up gay in the White House hasn’t been easy for Rafael Castillo. Codenamed “Valor” by the Secret Service, Rafa feels anything but brave as he hides in the closet and tries to stay below the radar in his last year of college. His father’s presidency is almost over, and he just needs to stick to his … to stick to his carefully crafted plan. Once his family’s out of the spotlight, he can be honest with his conservative parents about his sexuality and his dream of being a chef.
It’s definitely not part of Rafa’s plan to get a new Secret Service agent who’s a walking wet dream, but he’s made it this long keeping his desires to himself. Besides, it’s not like Shane Kendrick would even look at him twice if it wasn’t his job.
Shane’s worked his way up through the Secret Service ranks, and while protecting the president’s shy, boring son isn’t his dream White House assignment, it’s an easy enough task since no one pays Rafa much attention. He discovers there’s a vibrant young man beneath the timid public shell, and while he knows Rafa has a crush on him, he assures himself it’s harmless. Shane’s never had room for romance in his life, and he’d certainly never cross that line with a protectee. Keeping Rafa safe at any cost is Shane’s mission.
But as Rafa gets under his skin, will they both put their hearts on the line?
Valor on the Move is a gay romance from Keira Andrews and the first part of the Valor duology. It features an age difference, Jane Austen levels of pining, forbidden love against the odds, and of course a happy ending.
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I read both books as a complete Duology.
MM, Age gap, First Time, Hurt/comfort Contemporary romance. Easy to read and page-turners, the books flowed from book 1 to book 2 seamlessly. Both main characters were likeable and both had their own insecurities and pain to cope with, lots of drama and action throughout. I enjoyed both books and read them in one sitting. HEA.
The way to a man’s heart, really is through his stomach! Rafael Castillo kept his sexual preference quiet as a gay man growing up in the white house. He gave a new meaning to keeping his head down. He just wanted to survive low key until his Dad completed his 8th year. He had a nice lavender relationship with his best friend, Ashleigh who also had conservative parents from whom she needed to hide her preferences. Rafa was patiently settled, then everyone got a new rotation of agents and Rafa met Shane. There was interest, bumping against work conflicts. Rafa secretly tested his recipes for Shane late at night. Nice story. The struggles are real. Do they discuss a relatinship? Can they have one? I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is my review of Valor: The Complete Duology – Overall 4.4 Stars
A Secret Service agent, assigned to protect the President’s son. Protecting him is not the only relationship either wishes to have. Definitely a forbidden romance. One of the best kind.
Valor on the Move 3.75 Stars
Rafael Castillo grew up in the WH. Being gay was never easy. Not free to explore. Especially when you’re always being watched. There was always that innate fear of stepping out and being true to himself. Add conservative parents and you have a recipe for disaster.
Shane Kendrick, worked his way through the ranks. Professionalism is very important to keeping your job. No personal relationships with those you are sworn to protect. Being assigned to the president’s son… anything but harmless.
There were some pace-of-story drawbacks with how their relationship came together. Not the right kind of conflict, given what their match was destined to become.
Shane had lots of world experience and Rafa didn’t posses any. Rafa was definitely immature. I guess it’s to be expected, given the sheltered life he lived in the WH and with strict parents.
Test of Valor- 5 Stars
We continue to follow the story of Shane and Rafael.
Shane gave up his career as a Secret Service agent. Rafa is awaiting his chef classes to begin. Both in Australia, living their best life… until Rafa’s parents and brother, decide to make their presence known. There can be only one reason for the visit. While on a trip across Australia, Rafa and Shane begin to have an unusual amount of disagreements. Then unthinkable happens. Now they are all in danger. It takes Rafa and Shane working together and bringing them to safety.
Facing Rafa’s family as a unit, was the best choice for them.
Rafa has grown so much and Shane is a positive influence on him. These two are weathering their storms together. After reading the second book, we can have a greater picture of how their story has naturally progressed.
**I received this duology ARC via Gay Romance Reviews for my honest feedback.**
Rafael “Rafa” Castillo AKA Valor (Mouse to the secret service jerks) is in the closet. He’s ready to step out as soon as his last semester of college is over. His dad will be out of the White House and he will be free to be himself. It’s time to get a new secret service detail and Rafa has hit the jackpot with Shane.
Shane Kendrick has worked hard to get to the White House detail. It isn’t the big league of protecting the president but at least it isn’t the other Castillo kids. He’s drawn to Rafa even though he doesn’t want to be.
Rafa and Shane bond over late night dinners made by Rafa himself. When Rafa finds out some hurtful news, he takes off recklessly from the White House. Shane and his partner chase after him, barely keeping up. When Rafa stops at a rest stop, he unloads his anger and hurt onto Shane and it’s a very intense/sexually charged few minutes. After Shane gets Rafa to calm down and agree to go back and talk to his parents, they are ambushed and Rafa is taken prisoner. Will they survive? Will they ever get a chance at a HEA?
I really liked the parts of the book that centered on Rafa and Shane. I felt like the two MCs had good chemistry and they had a believable attraction. The parts that had Rafa’s family not so much. I didn’t like Rafa’s mother at all. The father was little better. The siblings where absent and rarely came around, so I didn’t get much of a read on them except they all were self absorbed.
This is the second book by Keira Andrews that I’ve read and for the life of me I can’t figure out why it hasn’t been more. Loved this story. There was enough M/M to satisfy the gay in me. Enough Romance to satisfy the romantic in me. And, enough Action to satisfy the guy in me lol. Can’t wait to read part two.
Great read.
I totally admit to being a Keira Andrews fan. Likely because one of my favorite tropes is May/December and she writes it so well and often. This also has some suspense/mystery involved (though the mystery really wasn’t that much as it was pretty obvious who the “bad guy” was)
Rafa, code Name Valor, is the President’s youngest son and deeply in the closet (mostly due to his parent’s political affiliations). Shane is one of his Secret Service agents. I liked that Andrews took the time, and oooh-boy was this a slow burn, for Shane and Rafa to spend a lot of time getting to know each other.
There are a few sex scenes, but nothing that drowns out the relationship or harrowing circumstances the MCs are thrust into.
While part of a duet – this does NOT end in a cliffhanger. However, as the 2nd book is sort of an “after”, this feels like an HFN if read/listened to all on its own.
I’m definitely looking forward to the next book, Test Of Valor.
Iggy Toma does a fantastic job of narrating. He definitely gives Shane a mature sound and Rafa a younger one – while Rafa doesn’t sound like a child. Toma does a great job of giving everyone a distinct voice/sound – which says a lot given how many characters there are and how many of them are men.
Imagine being the son of a celebrity. We’ve seen so many that can’t handle the public image, get into trouble, drugs, and other nasty situations. Now imagine being the young son of the president of The United Sates – exponentially worse. And making things even more difficult, you are gay and your presidential father is a right winged conservative who is anti-gay in every way.
Rafael (Rafa for short) is that young man. He is smart, dedicated, and in the closet. His dream is to become a chef. Unfortunately that doesn’t comply with his father’s wishes. So Rafa finds himself in a no-win situation. How does he cope? He doesn’t! No he doesn’t get into drugs or crime, but he does things that gets himself and the Secret Service into hot water – lots of hot water.
Keira Andrews did a great job building the characters and the plot. I felt as if I knew them personally by the time I finished Valor On The Move. The plot had enough twists and turns to keep my sense of direction guessing. And I really had no idea which way the road would go.
When she put Shane and Rafa in danger, the book became even more interesting. I found myself wondering who would get killed and how that would affect the other characters – the family, Secret Service, the people of The United States. Yeah, when you are the son of the US President, the entire country either loves or hates you.
If you enjoy a book with plot, character development, romance, and mystery, Valor On The Move is for you.
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Light, but pleasurable summer reading. It could have lasted longer, though…I’ve devoured the whole thing in less than a day. Genuinely sweet with a side dish of action. Lovable and well rounded main heroes.
4.5 Stars
Wow, I found myself having difficulty putting this book down – I wanted to binge read it, it is so good. If you are expecting some kind of formulaic, “falling for your older protector” trope, be prepared for something far more: it is hugely substantive – and surprising! Rafa and Shane are each men who find themselves confined by their roles in life. Rafa, as the youngest son of the President of the U.S. is at times overlooked while also being expected to not rock the boat. In his case this means keeping his sexuality under wraps – publicly and personally. Shane, as a Secret Service agent who has attained the coveted assignment to a member of the First Family – Rafa – must put professionalism above personal feelings.
I loved both characters – their emotions, their actions, their frustrations were all fully laid out and genuine. Every time I thought I knew where the plot might be going, nope – surprise and bingo! – a different and unexpected turn was taken and I was delighted by them all. The main theme is the relationship between Rafa and Shane, but along the way they deal with so much more. Rafa’s status and his relationships with everyone in his highly visible family, Shane’s status as a trusted and valued professional, and the potential fall out if they were to give in to their feelings for one another. This book has it all: personal growth, genuine romance, mystery, action, suspense and great plot twists. No story thread is left unexplored or hanging. Great entertainment. I immediately grabbed more by this author.
2.75 stars
Age gap romance between secret agent and his protectee. It is a forbidden romance and a slow burn. The time with them spent together was sweet.
Rafa is a kind young man who is in the closet. Does everything to avoid attention. When he gets a new agent to protect him things in his life take a drastic turn.
Overall an ok read with a HFN.
The one thing I was disappointed in was who was behind the kidnapping. I can understand the reasoning but still it was disheartening. If you are not good with child illness or death this may not be for you.
*ARC provided by GRR, this is my honest opinion.*
**ARC Review** Valor, the Complete Duology
This review will be mainly about the first book which was great. I loved the premise…older secret service agent falls for his young protectee. I loved the buildup towards the actual romance between Rafael and Shane…they got to know each other…was cautious and smart about being together. They did everything right then tried to work it out…wonderful. So the ending was good…I would have loved an epilogue which in my opinion would have wrapped this romance up nice and neat. Having an additional story about their life as a couple together with meddling parents…throwing doubts and problems into their happy ever after…ummm…I don’t think I want to invest too much time in reading about that…too much drama when knowing eventually they will have their HEA…I’m just going to leave this with a happy feeling for the guys and call it quits…for now…I may read the second one in the future but I doubt it.
“When I’m with you, I don’t have to hide.” I did so much swooning while reading about Rafa’s and Shane’s emotionally fraught but heartfelt journey. They have such a steamy, sweet connection and it made my heart full to see them find a way to be together even when it seemed like everything was against them.
This is the first book of a duology and it was everything you want in a book. Humor, action, drama, mystery, suspense, and all the feels.
Rafa is the President’s youngest son. Deeply closeted he has a plan for when his father is no longer in office, 7 months from now. He’ll have completed his degree but he’s not following the plan his parents think he is. He’s got his own plan and he’ll finally be living life on his terms, doing what he wants. Shane is a Secret Service agent, 39 years old and finally on a White House detail. Sure, it’s the quiet, youngest son rather than the big guy but he’s working his way up. As Shane gets to know Rafa, and Rafa develops a huge crush on his protective detail Shane, things get complicated. Add in some suspense and mystery as well as family drama and there’s not much more you could ask for in a book.
The writing here is crisp and the story arc moves well. There is some great social commentary and valid observations about our political environment. The detail about the job of Secret Service agents makes the story more realistic and adds to the ability to empathize with the characters. The mystery is well done and the red herrings are perfect for keeping possibilities open. The actual resolution is easy to guess but the other possibilities are just plausible enough that you can’t be completely sure of your conclusion before the end.
The crisis moment is so tensely written I’m pretty sure my heart sped up as I was reading. Even the family drama after that initial crisis was fraught. Really keeps the readers on their toes.
The ending is sweet as Rafa and Shane head for their HFN and head into book two. The sex scenes at the end seem a bit gratuitous and completely out of sync with the rest of the book. Guess the author felt a need to make up for fewer earlier scenes. I felt like it took away from the overall feel of the book.
I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to book two.
nicely written, characters sufficiently developed so you can like or dislike them
the end goes little over the top but what else could the author do if they weren’t all going to end up dead
This book was a total waste of time. There’s a kidnapping, but no action, the author failed to research the night vision goggles she wrote into her story, a Secret Service agent kills multiple bad guys, but we don’t get to see any of that. This is an object lesson on how not to tell a good story.