Review: An Opportunity Seized – Donna Gallagher

Two unforeseen moments in time— One brings them together, the other is a danger so real it could tear them apart.

Antoinette ‘Toni’ Grimaldi prefers to keep out of the spotlight, blend in with the crowd and experience life the same as the bulk of the population. Being a mining magnate’s daughter is a difficult persona for her to uphold. She just doesn’t fit in with high society standards, always managing to say something inappropriate or trip over her own feet at the worst possible moment, resulting in that look of disappointment and embarrassment her parents inevitably wear whenever she’s around.

Meeting a handsome stranger who comes to her rescue and asks her out on a date is so much more than Toni could have ever hoped for on her dream holiday—one she is surprised her parents have even permitted her to take alone. Her fairy-tale moment is short-lived, though, when Toni discovers the stranger has been hired by her family to follow her every move—under the guise of keeping her safe.

Jason finds he is drawn to Antoinette. She is nothing at all like the socialite he was expecting to shadow around London’s nightclubs. After an awkward first meeting, he convinces Toni that there is more to his interest in her than just as her bodyguard. To his surprise, his attraction for the soft-spoken, thoughtful woman grows, despite his usual reluctance to commit to any kind of relationship.

Then a disaster at one of the family-owned mines and a string of death threats force Toni to return home, and her need for a bodyguard becomes a life and death reality.

Series:
Release Date: February 13th 2015
Publisher: Totally Bound
Source: Manic Readers
Reviewer: Elizabeth B
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

Today was supposed to have been a productive day at our house. I had big plans to clean bathrooms and straighten up. I was doing pretty well with my plan until I decided to take a break and start An Opportunity Seized. I almost immediately developed a little crush on Toni and Jason and couldn’t stop spending time with them and their adventures.

Toni is a wealthy young woman thanks to her father’s business, but as we get to know her we discover that the money doesn’t mean that much to her and that she is really pretty normal and down to Earth. Jason is the former soldier/security expert assigned to protect her from a distance while she vacations alone in London. Their very first interaction takes place when Jason breaks the rules to “rescue” Toni after a goose poops on her hair and shirt.

Toni and Jason are both very likeable characters and the way the author uses their internal dialogue to give us a clue to their real thoughts and feelings helps make them relatable. When an incident back in Australia forces Toni to end her trip early and Jason accompanies her home, you can’t help but root for them to figure things out.

We learn early on that Toni has self-esteem issues because of how she sees her relationship with her parents. Seeing how her time on vacation with Jason impacts her view of herself and her relationships is a nice sub plot to the story. There are times when the interactions between Toni and her parents seem forced and not realistic, but it is a small portion of the book.

An Opportunity Seized was a fun read, definitely worth almost having a kiddo late to preschool and a bathroom not getting cleaned.