REVIEW: Taken by Tuesday by Catherine Bybee

In Taken by Tuesday (The Weekday Brides #5) by Catherine Bybee, Judy Gardner is still getting used to her big brother, Michael Wolfe, being such a huge movie star. It doesn’t generally affect her, but it does come in handy when she needs a place to stay while she interns at an architecture firm in L.A. She and her best friend Meg know they will be protected by Michael’s security team while staying at his beautiful home. Luckily Rick Evans, a security specialist Judy has major chemistry with, is heading up the team. Just when they finally make plans to go out on a date, she is attacked by an unknown assailant. And everything points to it being a personal vendetta. When Judy comes up with a bold plan to (hopefully) keep herself and Rick safe, she just hopes he goes along with it and they can track down the person responsible for uprooting their lives.

‘Maybe her brush with death the week before gave her confidence, or maybe she realized, after said brush, how important it was to have someone in her life to share the good and the bad.’

Ex-Marine Rick Evans has known he would end up with Judy since their very first meeting. There is something about her that both challenges and calms him like no one else. He makes sure he’s assigned to be her bodyguard when the new college grad announces she’s staying at Michael’s home. That way Rick can get to know Judy better and eventually ask her out. His protective nature is thrown into overdrive when she is brutally attacked and the police have no leads. He and his security team begin their search for the culprit, finding more questions than answers. Rick knows he won’t rest until he can be assured Judy is once again safe and he can hold her in his arms.

‘Judy wasn’t some passing attraction, some easy fix for a lonely night…she was the real deal. The woman you took home to meet your parents, the woman you wanted to have your children.’

Taken by Tuesday is another stellar addition to Catherine Bybee’s Weekend Brides series. There were a lot of really fun, and some very tense, moments as Judy and Rick became a couple.

“With the serious nature of everything going on, we need to be open and honest. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
This was good.
“Right now I’m really frustrated,” he told her.
“Oh?”
“Yeah…we have a house full of people celebrating us and all I really want to do is unwrap that red dress and see the color of your panties.”

I have enjoyed every single book I’ve read so far in this series. Each couple has their own unique chemistry which keeps things fresh with every new story. The common denominator each time is the cast of characters, and I think they all more than hold their own in the plotline. If you’re new to the Weekend Brides, it is definitely possible to read as a standalone. But I think you’ll be reading them all. They are that good. 😉

The other similarity between books that works so well is that unlike most fledgling couple’s everyday struggles, our hero and heroine’s problems are a bit more, well, life threatening unfortunately. Ms. Bybee puts her characters through hell to get to that happily-ever-after. But it doesn’t make the overall tone of the book dark. Nope. Each time, the couple manages to lighten things up somehow. In this case, it was the fun and flirty bantering going on between Rick and Judy. They made me laugh more than once with how they teased each other and with their playful conversations.

I hope you fall in love with alpha male Rick, who’s always smiling, and beautifully resilient Judy, just like I did. Their story had intrigue, friendship, hope, and a ton of passion.

Book Info:

Published August 12th 2014 by Montlake Romance | (The Weekday Brides #5)

Judy Gardner: College graduate Judy stands ready to conquer the world?if she can get a job. Hoping to transition from aspiring architect to famous architect as quickly as possible, the dark-haired beauty moves to LA, staying in the home of her celebrity brother, Michael Wolfe. But it’s hard for Judy to focus on work when the sexy bodyguard she fell for last summer keeps showing up in her life and leaving her breathless.

Rick Evans: With his hard body, green eyes, and easy smile, Rick could have any woman he wants. But the Marine-turned- bodyguard only has eyes for Judy and her spitfire attitude. When a faceless villain attacks Judy, Rick will stop at nothing to protect the woman who opened his heart from the monster hunting her.