The Mogul and the Muscle by Claire Kingsley

Category: Romantic comedy 
Publication date: 10/11/2019
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

The heroine in this book was great, but it earned all 5 of its stars on the hero, Jude. I love him. He’s my official new book boyfriend.

via GIPHY

Plot overview: Cameron Whitbury—billionaire aerospace mogul and engineer--has a stalker, so her friends talk her into hiring Jude, badass extraordinaire, as her bodyguard and personal security team. Laughs and sexy times ensue.   

First of all, I read a review of this one somewhere that complained that it wasn’t deep enough for their liking. Well, you know what? I’m not looking for deep, angsty, and emotional reads when I pick up a rom com. I want light, sexy fluff—and that’s exactly what The Mogul and the Muscle delivers. There’s a few laughs, there’s some killer sexual chemistry between Jude and Cam, there’s a super smart and successful STEM heroine, and there’s a muscle-y badass bodyguard. That’s more than enough for me. If I want a deeply emotional read that’ll wreck me for days I’ll look elsewhere. But this light, funny, low-angst, feel-good read was EXACTLY what I was looking for when I downloaded.   

Now that I’ve said that, let me count the ways I adore Jude: 

1. He’s a badass alpha male, but he’s never an alphahole. He’s confident in his ability to do his job better than anyone else on the planet, but he’s also surprisingly (and sweetly) a little clueless about his appeal to the opposite sex. It was all very endearing. 
2. There’s a scene where Jude’s on a first date before he meets Cam, and his idea of small talk is all kinds of hilarious and adorable. 
3. Jude is never in any way threatened by Cam’s success, intelligence, or wealth. He never feels like her successes diminish his manhood in any way. Her awesomeness is never a problem for them as a couple.
4. There’s never any angsty whining about how he can’t protect her if he’s sleeping with her. (I’m looking at you, The Bodyguard.) 
5. He’s not afraid to put on a pair of parachute pants and a mesh shirt and attend an 80s-themed party. 
6. He’s not some inexplicably super successful 20-year-old. He’s 40. I LOVE mature romance heroes. 

Cam is a pretty awesome heroine, too, but because I loved Jude so much, her awesomeness is somewhat diminished. But: 

1. I loved that she’s a STEM heroine and a billionaire. You just don’t get enough female billionaires in romance novels these days.
2. She has a workshop where she tinkers with her household appliances and makes them more efficient when she needs a distraction. How awesome and adorable is that? 
3. She’s a little irritated that she needs a bodyguard, but she never does anything terribly stupid just to spite him or show him that no one is the boss of her. I HATE it when heroines do crap like that in bodyguard romances.      

So, long-story-short, Jude alone is worth the price of admission on this one. But overall, it’s one hell of a ride and I can’t recommend it highly enough. 

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
No rehab needed. This one’s clean and sober.

Other reading suggestion

Strong, fearless romance heroines who kick ass and take names

STEM Romance heroines who prove smart is sexy

Romance heroes you'd let guard your body ANY time