* Blog Tour/Review/Excerpt/Giveaway * HERS TO PROTECT by Catherine Lanigan

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Hers to Protect by Catherine Lanigan
Series: Shores of Indian Lake #11
Published by Harlequin Heartwarming on May 1, 2019
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

She’s sworn to protect…

But does that include a speeding celebrity?

Violet Hawks is a by-the-books police officer—so when she catches a man speeding, she arrests him. Only, the man is famous race car driver Josh Stevens. To make amends, Josh launches a charm campaign, and it works on the small town…and on Violet. But when Josh is connected to an investigation, Violet begins to wonder—can she trust her instincts when her heart is involved?

Sweet romance with a hint of intrigue! With a return trip to the Shores of Indian Lake series by Catherine Lanigan, we are always sure to find ourselves enmeshed into the heart of the small town culture very quickly. The supporting characters are always familiar with much loved updates on some of our favorites being weaved into the current story, and each new edition brings us a new couple to fall in love with. Violet & Josh were very easy to connect with. She is eager to do her job, and he’s living the life people can only dream of, but still has a heart that’s partially back in that life that wasn’t so easy. They are faced with adversity, but attraction wins out when they can’t resist starting a relationship even though they are at odds and keeping secrets. The intrigue was spot on, the relationship heartfelt and overall I loved their story!

Rookie cop Violet Hawks takes her job seriously, so when she apprehends a dangerously fast speeder in her hometown of Indian Lake, Indiana and he gives her flack, she doesn’t hesitate to cuff him and take him in … no matter who he is!

Infamous race car driver Josh Stevens eventually admits he was in the wrong, but he doesn’t have to like the fact that the pretty cop took his ego down a notch when she threw him in the slammer! Taking some mandatory downtime finds Josh returning to the small town that he’s determined to win over after his little skirmish with the law … but let’s admit it, it’s his arresting officer that he’s really interested in wooing!

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Hers to Protect
(Shores of Indian Lake #11)
By Catherine Lanigan
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 Pages
April 1st 2019 by Harlequin Heartwarming

She’s sworn to protect…

But does that include a speeding celebrity?

Violet Hawks is a by-the-books police officer—so when she catches a man speeding, she arrests him. Only, the man is famous race car driver Josh Stevens. To make amends, Josh launches a charm campaign, and it works on the small town…and on Violet. But when Josh is connected to an investigation, Violet begins to wonder—can she trust her instincts when her heart is involved?

Goodreads│Amazon│B&N│iBooks│Harlequin│Kobo

Excerpt

“Do you know what a Bugatti Chiron costs?” Trent Davis asked as he paced his office while Violet stood near his desk. Many times in the past she’d felt like running from confrontation, but this time wasn’t one of them. Deep in her belly, as much as Chief Williams and Detective Davis believed she’d bungled this assignment, she knew she was right. Josh Stevens might be a celebrity. He had fame, fortune and influence. And she was barely more than a traffic cop, but Josh had questioned her authority. She’d clocked him speeding. Anything over a hundred miles an hour was considered “reckless driving.” She was in the right, and she would stand her ground.

“A lot, I presume.”

“It’s so expensive, Officer Hawks, that I had a difficult time finding the price.”

“Sir?”

Frustrated he said, “I don’t care about the car or its cost. My point is that you left your post at the stakeout farmhouse.”

“Sir, I was told that Miguel Garcia was known to drive a very expensive sports car. The Bugatti fits that bill. I thought I was chasing Garcia.”

“That’s your first mistake, Officer. You assumed before you had the facts. Sal was working the database and had found that Garcia drives a Maserati 2016. If you had checked in with him, you would have known that.”

Violet remembered how fast the Bugatti had streamed past her. She knew what a Maserati looked like. But she’d never seen a Bugatti Chiron. They were both fast cars. It was an understandable mistake.

She promised herself that over the weekend she’d comb the internet for images of every expensive car made. She’d log them into her brain and the next time a Bugatti sailed past her, she’d know what she was looking at.

Trent was still pacing.

“What color is the Maserati, sir?”

Trent halted, lifted his head and cleared his throat. “Blue.”

Violet’s eyebrow cranked up in surprise, and she quickly corrected her expression. Blue. Well, she had that one right.

“The bottom line is that I’m disappointed in your work. The next time I give you an assignment, you carry it out.”

“Sir. Yes, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

Violet turned sharply and left the office. She went straight to her desk, avoiding Sal’s and Trey’s eyes. Trey was getting coffee, which was odd, because he didn’t drink coffee.

Violet halted like someone kicked her in the back. It was probably for Josh.

She couldn’t forget the look in his eyes when she’d put him in the cell.

Josh was her first lockup. Her first arrest.

As she’d ushered him into the cell, she’d felt her heart squeeze in her chest. Two steps inside the cell, his broad shoulders had slumped and his face had gone ashen.

Shockingly, he’d thanked her.

Why?

What kind of man thanked an officer for showing him his limitations? His vulnerability?

The unique kind.

When he’d looked at her, his blue eyes weren’t malicious. They actually held gratitude.

Every assessment she’d made about Josh Stevens from the second of his arrest was shattered in that moment.

Suddenly, she wanted to comfort him, but she didn’t know why. He was her prisoner. He was in the wrong.

Yet she’d nearly reached for the bars to touch his hand, to reassure him.

Other Books in the Series

About the Author

Catherine Lanigan is the international bestselling and award-winning author of over forty-five published titles in both fiction and non-fiction, including the novelizations of Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile. Ms. Lanigan’s novels have been translated into over twenty-four languages. Lanigan was tasked by the NotMYkid foundation to pen a collection of compelling and informative true stories of teen addicts. Ms. Lanigan’s SHORES OF INDIAN LAKE series for HARLEQUIN HEARTWARMING includes LOVE SHADOWS, HEART’S DESIRE , A FINE YEAR FOR LOVE, KATIA’S PROMISE, FEAR OF FALLING, SOPHIE’S PATH, PROTECTING THE SINGLE MOM, FAMILY OF HIS OWN, HIS BABY DILEMMA, RESCUED BY THE FIREFIGHTER and HER TO PROTECT (2019).

Ms. Lanigan is a frequent speaker at literary functions and book conventions as well as inspiring audiences with her real stories of angelic intervention from her Angel Tales series of books. She is an outspoken advocate for domestic violence and abuse and was honored by The National Domestic Violence Hotline in Washington, D.C. She has been a guest on numerous radio programs including “Coast to Coast” and on television interview and talk show programs as well as blogs, podcasts and online radio interview programs. She writes a monthly blog for Heartwarmingauthors.blogspot.com.

Website│Goodreads│Facebook│Twitter│LinkedIn│Pinterest

Tour Schedule