To the Limit is the second book in Gerard’s Bodyguards series and since my colleagues have reviewed a couple of the most recent books, I’m backtracking a little and filling in a blank. The first book featured Nolan Garrett and in this installment his twin sister, Eve, tackles danger and love as she tries to find a friend while dealing with a man from her past.

After seven years as a Secret Security agent and three years as a security specialist, Eve Garrett knows how to take care of herself. She was forced to resign from her first position after an attempt was made to kidnap the girl in her charge. This wouldn’t normally happen, since she did her job and protected the girl, but Tiffany Clayborne’s powerfully wealthy father was furious when Eve let the two kidnappers get as close as they did. Eve and Tiffany bonded during their time together and remained close friends until her father threatened to punish Tiffany for their continued acquaintance. Naturally, the girl felt betrayed when Eve ended their friendship and the two have not spoken for months.

Tiffany has acted like the quintessential spoiled party girl lately, getting into trouble again and again. When she suddenly calls Eve, crying and begging Eve to hurry and meet her, Eve rushes to help. Someone gets the drop on her, however, and threatens Eve’s life. The second time Eve nearly dies, Eve realizes that Tiffany is in way over her head and becomes desperate to find the eighteen-year-old. To make things more difficult, someone from Eve’s past is also on the case – someone Eve never wanted to lay eyes on again.

Tyler “Mac” McClain, an ex-cop turned private investigator, has been hired by Mr. Clayborne’s right-hand man to find Tiffany before she blows even more of her trust fund. He is shocked, but pleased, to find Eve Garrett while on the hunt. Eve feels more than a little angry, however, since the last time she saw McClain was right after high school when she indulged in what she thought would be more than a one-night stand. While Mac is truly sorry for never contacting Eve after their night together, he has left behind the immature boy he once was. What he does not realize is that Eve has another reason to be mad at him. She was one of those rare statistics(or at least rare outside of Romanceland): a virgin who got pregnant her first time. She was alone through the fear, guilt, and loss. So, vengeful thoughts and half a lifetime of anger at men in general come between these two until Eve starts seeing his softer side.

This book is cut into two parts for me, divided at the moment when the two main characters have sex for the first time as adults. The first half of the book intrigues the reader, with high sexual tension, danger, sassy bickering, and getting reacquainted. The second half lost much of the flare between Eve and Mac as they go on an increasingly boring chase. However, the secondary characters became more interesting and I felt disappointed that we did not see more of their story. Tiffany’s scenes were quite compelling, showing a sad girl seeking attention in all the wrong places.

I found several aspects of this story hard to swallow. Characters keep going on about Eve’s competence as a security professional, but when her life is threatened, she seems totally inept until the end. Eve is almost killed many times and luck or another person save her each time, yet she is fully aware that she should keep on her toes. Cartoon characters seem to understand the danger of an extended villain monologue, but these bad guys give a detailed life report before offing their quarry. And the author wraps everything up with a super cheesy epilogue that really should have been left out. Add to these the secret miscarriage and you have several annoyances. We know from the very beginning that Eve had a miscarriage, yet even after she voices her trust in Mac twice, she doesn’t tell him the truth and seems to have no plan to.

As you can see, I had some issues with the second half of this book, but some of those were minor surface problems. In addition, the first part was exciting, fun, and virtually qualm-free. Because I thoroughly enjoyed a good chunk of this story and found the rest moderately entertaining, To the Limit ended up being better than average and I would recommend it with qualifications. I’ll keep going with this author and see what’s in store for the rest of the Garretts.