THE HEART YOU BREAK is the fourth book in Cynthia Eden’s Wilde Ways series. Each book in this series, centered around bodyguards and the clients they fall for, works as a standalone story. In THE HEART YOU BREAK , Cynthia Eden plays with the rock star trope. Bran Copper is a rock star with a stalker and Julia Slate becomes his undercover bodyguard. I love a kickass heroine, and Julia absolutely qualifies. It’s adorable and amusing when Bran tries to shield Julia from any danger and general unpleasantness. Bran’s protective streak is endearing but makes Julia’s real job as his undercover protector that much more challenging.

Julia may look delicate, but she is a battle-hardened former firefighter who has survived a lot. Her current assignment for Wilde Securities - protecting a bad boy rock star from a mysterious psycho - doesn’t have Julia particularly excited. Having been burned, in more ways than one, by her last serious relationship makes her cynical about men and what they have to offer her. Bran turns out to blow her expectations apart. Both are struck by a sudden and consuming physical attraction, but both try and fight it for different reasons. Although Bran is a celebrity, he has a certain level of self-awareness and empathy that throws Julia for a loop. He resists having any kind of protection for himself because he doesn’t want anybody else to be harmed. Bran and Julia grow closer, even as they both keep secrets from each other. The Blue Ridge Mountains make for a suitably romantic, as well as isolated and eerie, backdrop for this story. In addition to the perspective of the hero and heroine, Cynthia Eden includes the perspective of the unknown and seemingly omnipresent killer. The killer could be a man or woman, and a known enemy of Bran’s as well as somebody who appears to be a friend. Cynthia Eden brings it all in THE HEART YOU BREAK: thrills galore, steamy love scenes, and an intriguing mystery surrounding the identity of a killer.

THE HEART YOU BREAK is a splendid example of romance done right with evil lurking where you’d least expect it. I love all the books in this series, but this may be my favorite yet. It seems that Julia’s friend Rick will be the subject of the next book in this Wilde Ways series. I look forward to reading Rick’s story, but I can’t wait for Cole’s story (if Cynthia Eden gives him one too).