Chain Reaction: Bodyguard, Book 3

Wyatt still brings the heat but fumbles the character growth in her third Bodyguard contemporary romantic thriller (after Necessary Risk). Alexa Fairfax, heir to the Fairfax Hollywood dynasty, has always felt stifled by her hypercritical and denigrating mother, and has recently tried to break away from the abuse of her wealthy father. But when an attempt to flee her mother’s criticism during a dinner at the family home leads her to overhear her father discussing a murder plot with one of his colleagues, Alexa finds herself in way over her head. Fortunately, she stumbles into Zach De Luca, a mixed martial arts fighter and professional bodyguard. Alexa proceeds to be a cloying, helpless damsel; Zach is a marginally more interesting guy who’s inexplicably taken with the bland Alexa. Several sex scenes show up at the end, but the sizzle doesn’t sufficiently compensate for many of the eyeroll-inducing descriptions of Zach’s prodigious endowment, nor for some very questionable notions of what constitutes consent. This installment may satisfy fans of the series; others will want to pass. Agent: Jessica Watterson, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Feb.)