Narrated by Kirt Graves
Bad Deal is the third book in Annabeth Albert’s series of bodyguard romances featuring the guys of A-List Security, the elite private security firm run by long-time friends and former SEALs Duncan Lubov and Harley Burton. Like the other books in the series, it’s fairly low-angst and is entirely character-driven, which is this author’s real strength. There are quite a few tropes thrown in here – only one bed, adorable dog, fake-boyfriend, sexual-awakening – but she makes them work; Ms. Albert knows how to create engaging, relatable characters for readers and listeners to care about and root for.
Harley’s current gig is co-ordinating the security on the set of a popular TV show called Traveling (which sounds a bit like a cross between Quantum Leap and Timeless). Showrunner Ambrose Stirling describes himself as “a neurotic TV show creator prone to overusing big words” – which is probably true, although that’s not all he is. He does suffer from anxiety disorder (the ’adorable dog’ I mentioned is Hercules, his therapy dog) but for all that he’s a big deal in the world of television, he’s a very down to earth, gentle man who takes care to treat his staff well and who cares passionately about what he does. His sister Cressida is his business partner, and although they obviously adore each other and get along really well, he does have a tendency to defer to her perhaps more than he should. However, he’s not too pleased with her for teasing him about his crush on their hot, ripped and undoubtedly straight head of security within the man’s hearing.
Harley, of course, pretends he didn’t hear Ambrose’s comments about his “masculine beauty”, but can’t help feeling flattered all the same. He’s not sure why, but Harley has found himself noticing all sorts of little things about Ambrose over the last few weeks and he feels unaccountably protective of him – more protective than is warranted by his job. Those instincts prove to be useful however, when, towards the end of this particular day, Harley realises Ambrose is nowhere to be found and alarm bells start ringing. He heads out and arrives at the parking lot in time to see three young guys beating a guy lying on the ground – Ambrose. Harley runs off the thugs and calls 911, staying with Ambrose until the ambulance arrives and, seeing how agitated he is about his dog, offers to look after Hercules while Ambrose is in hospital.
A few days later Ambrose is recovered enough to be back at work, and Cressida reminds him that her daughter’s wedding is fast approaching. She doesn’t think Ambrose should go alone, especially as he’s planning to drive up to Oregon rather than fly, and wants him to take a bodyguard with him, but he’s appalled by the idea. The wedding is going to be a small affair, and he doesn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable (or look like a self-important prick), but Cressida is adamant he shouldn’t go on his own. Harley quietly suggests that he can go – he’s used to blending in at social events – but it’s Cressida who hits on the idea of Harley going as Ambrose’s plus one.
I liked Ambrose and Harley, and the way their romantic relationship grows out of their friendship. That they’re attracted to each other early on is clear, but Harley takes a little longer to recognise it for what it is; he knows he likes Ambrose, but has never had – or been all that interested in – a relationship before. He’s a bit cynical about them in fact, having seen friends’ relationships crash and burn, but it’s more that he’s never felt the need of one – he’s just not wired that way. Even so, he’s determined to be the best fake boyfriend Ambrose has ever had.
In the previous books, it’s been implied that Harley is straight – Duncan and Cash certainly think so – but at the beginning of Bad Deal, (in a bit of a throwaway moment, really) he comes out to them as pansexual. It’s not a new concept for him – he’s known for a while that he can be sexually attracted to men as well as women – but he’s only recently reached the conclusion that pan is the label that suits him best. But while he’s familiar with sexual attraction, emotional attachment is something he doesn’t really get, which leads Ambrose to suggest that maybe he’s demiromantic. They do act on their sexual attraction fairly early on in the book, but it’s clear that there’s more going on between them than just sex. Harley is able to explore the new feelings he’s developing for Ambrose and show him that he’s really on board with what’s happening between them in the face of Ambrose’s anxiety, which often leads him to second guess himself. He’s been burned in the past when he’s been made to feel bad for wanting sex to mean something more than just getting off, so he’s cautious about letting people in.
One of the things I enjoy about Annabeth Albert’s books is that she writes about a wide variety of different sexualities – I think the first time I read about a demisexual character was in one of her books – and sexual preferences. So many romances include what I call “sex-by-numbers” – the first sexual encounter is hands, the second is oral and the third is penetration, and seem to put a higher ‘status’ on the penetrative sex than other things the characters like to do in bed. What I particularly liked here is that Harley and Ambrose have some very honest conversations about what they like, discovering that their preferences are very closely aligned – and that anal sex isn’t something that absolutely has to be on the table. Ambrose explains that he doesn’t always like the emotional vulnerability he feels afterwards so he’s very choosy about when and with whom he does it. It’s a refreshing change.
On the downside, the book runs out of steam towards the end (the same thing happened in Hard Job); the only bit of real conflict happens here, but it’s so close to the end, it’s hardly worth it. One thing that needed to happen does happen, but otherwise, the last few chapters are a bit… meander-y.
Kirt Graves does a terrific job with the narration, delivering an insightful and nuanced performance that is definitely a strong argument for experiencing this story in audio. His portrayal of the leads is excellent, the deep, gruffness he employs for Harley a good contrast to the higher-pitch and lighter tone he uses for Ambrose. Mr. Graves captures the different sides of Ambrose nicely, allowing his insecurities to show without making him sound over-the-top neurotic and letting his more playful side come through. Harley’s imposing physicality is evident through tone and timbre and his deliberate way of speaking conveys confidence and unflappability. The secondary cast is clearly characterised and differentiated and I liked the way Mr. Graves fleshes out the key relationships in the story – friendship and familial. Cressida clearly loves her brother despite her tendency to steamroller him and the warmth of their mutual affection comes across clearly. The camaraderie and friendly teasing between Harley, Duncan and Cash is well done, and they’re easy to tell apart in their scenes together.
Bad Deal is a good bet if you’re looking for a character-driven romance with minimal conflict and protagonists who are prepared to put themselves out there and communicate their thoughts and feelings to their partner. I always appreciate a romance which avoids silly misunderstandings, so kudos to the author for that, and I’m always up for reading about more mature characters (Harley and Ambrose are forty and forty-one respectively) finding love. While I remain a fan of Annabeth Albert’s I can’t say that this book – or this series – is one of my favourites, but the on-point narration from Kirt Graves definitely puts it into the ‘worth a listen’ bracket.
Caz
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I’ve enjoyed, but not loved, this series. I enjoy it for all the reasons you stated, and I think I might like this book the best so far for it’s portrayal of the characters acting like adults and for the rep it gives different sexual orientations and experiences. I also noted the lack of pressure to have anal intercourse in my review, and how glad I was that Ms. Albert doesn’t make it the “brass ring” of m/n relationships. Ms. Albert pretty much always delivers a decent story and good characters, so she’s still an auto-read for me. However, I think for the fourth book I’m just going to wait for the audio, since Kirk Graves will probably add to my enjoyment.
Same here. I always enjoy AA’s books because she’s so good at creating interesting characters and situations. She’s yet to top the Out of Uniform series, IMO, but I have quite a few of her books on my comfort re-listens list.