The Protector by Carla Capshaw

Description:

Quintus Ambustus is a slave--Adiona Leonia is a wealthy socialite. He fights for his life in the gladiator's ring--she plays cutthroat politics in Rome's high society. He's sacrificed everything for his Christian faith--she believes in nothing and no one. But when Adiona's life is threatened, Quintus is chosen as her bodyguard, and their fascination with one another shocks them both. Neither thought to find joy in a match society would condemn...but their feelings cannot be denied. Have they lost too much to believe in happiness? Or will their growing love let them leave the past behind--and build a new future together?

My Opinion:

Well, may I just start out by saying that I love the cover! This Guy is SMOKIN' HOT!!! I had no problem whatsoever with picturing Quintas like this.

Based on the first book, whenever Adiona and Quintas saw eachother I thought Quintas would look away and do other things because he did not like her and found her annoying. However, I was definetly wrong. He would look away because he didn't know how to act in front of her without feeling embarrassed by his decline is social status. Not only that but just the way she looked sent his heart into a frenzy. It was really cute.

Adiona hated the whole male race, except her best friend Caros, because of her past experience with men. However, when she first saw Quintas she couldn't figure out why she felt drawn to him.

Over the course of the story Quintas and Adiona learn about eachothers past hurts and grow closer to eachother. I liked how they both had painful pasts. I think that made it more realistic for the time period of the story instead of one of them having a cookie cutter life. Also, it is their pasts that brought them together. If Quintas would of never been imprisoned he never would of met Adiona, and if Adiona would of never had a hatred towards men Quintas would of had know reason to get her to trust again.

I liked how Adiona came to Christ too. She hated her father and when she found out that Christians called God "Father" it was really hard for her. She didn't want another one based on how her first Dad treated her. But as she got close to Quintas, became friends with Pelonia, and saw Caros's transformation she couldn't help but acknowledge that God existed and played a role in everything in her life.

The only thing I did not like about this book was that, like the first one, it changed people alot without having a break or a pause in the story. So, I would be reading one persons thoughts one paragraph and another persons in the next. I had to do a little back tracking here and there because of it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a little bit of romance in their books as well as a good message.

Rating: 4 1/2