REVIEW & EXCERPT!!! Guarding Colton's Child by Lara Lacombe

Read Time:4 Minute, 54 Second

Guarding Colton’s Child

My Madness Level : Okay Madness

How much of a Madness : This book lighten up my crazy day.

What brings the Madness :

The suspense. The attempted kidnapping a child always upped the suspense for me. The fear of losing a child is really palpable here. I can feel all Dez’s fear and then all her insecurities and doubts. She’s the kind of character that I can’t not root for her happy ending. She’s been through a lot, so she deserves her very happy ending.
Dr.Stavros. I’m a weak for any men who’s really good with children, so yeah I love this wonderful doctor, he also has a tragic that he absolutely definitely needs his happy ending.

What Madness I don’t like :

The romance took the most of part of it and I kinda missing the sparks between Dez and Stavros and in the middle the repetitive of doubts and insecurities a bit dragging for me.
I wished there’s more suspense. This one started with a bang, but then ended too quickly for me.

Level of this Madness Recommendation : IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A SWEET ROMANCE SUSPENSE READ, TRY THIS ONE.

Where to buy this Madness :

My Madness Review : Goodreads

The Blurb :

To keep her family safe

He’ll risk everything, even his heart…

After losing his family, Dr. Stavros Makris 
could never imagine trusting again. 
So when Desiree Colton rushes her toddler, 
Danny, to the ER, Stavros must keep things professional 
with mother and son. 
But then a kidnapper targets Danny, 
and Stavros lets down his guard, 
forging an unbreakable bond with Desiree. 
As sparks fly between them, they work 
against the clock to protect the little boy 
from a criminal closing in…

EXCERPT

***

Stavros tapped his knuckles lightly on the door in announcement and entered the room. He was greeted by the sight of a woman sitting on the gurney, rocking back and forth as she held a boy in her arms. She looked up as he entered the room, and when their eyes met, Stavros felt a little shock jolt through his body.

He knew this woman. But how?

Feeling flustered, he frowned slightly as he studied her face, wishing he’d taken a look at the chart first. “Hi, I’m Dr. Makris. What’s going on tonight?” Even though the nurse had given him a report of the pertinent information, he always liked to have his patients, or their parents, tell their story again, so he could hear the tone of their voice and see their expressions. Sometimes, the way someone moved or what they didn’t say was just as important as their symptoms.

“Danny woke up about an hour ago with a high fever,” the mother said. “I tried to get him to drink water, but he refused. The night nurse at his doctor’s office said to bring him straight here.”

Stavros heard the fear in the woman’s voice; it was clear she was scared for her baby. Empathy swelled in his chest. He remembered all too well what it had felt like to hold a feverish child, to fret and worry over every little cough or sniffle. He’d thought his medical training would give him some much-needed perspective when it came to his daughter’s health, but if anything, the opposite had happened. He’d been so aware of the worst-case scenario, of all the things that could go wrong. He’d been the one to call the pediatrician for every little thing, his wife standing in the background trying to calm him down.

“Tell me about Danny,” Stavros said. He kept his voice level and calm, and walked Danny’s mother through the questions that would help him make his diagnosis.

She didn’t hesitate to answer him, and based on her detailed responses, Stavros could tell she was an attentive mother.

“All right,” he said. “Let’s see if your little guy will let me examine him.” Stavros already had a presumptive diagnosis in mind, but he always performed a physical exam to confirm his suspicions.

The toddler’s mother gently turned her son, and Stavros got his first good look at the boy’s face. “I know you!” The words flew from his mouth before he realized he was speaking.

Her expression turned guarded. “Oh?”

Stavros realized he’d put his foot in it, but there was nothing to be done for that now. He nodded. “I…uh…I helped look for your son a few months ago, after he was taken from the hotel.”

“You did?” Stavros heard the relief in her voice, noticed the way her body relaxed now that he’d explained his reaction.

“Yeah. I joined a search party after my shift that night.”

“Oh, wow,” she replied. “That was very kind of you.

I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. I didn’t get a chance to thank all the people who helped look for Danny.”

Stavros waved away her gratitude. He didn’t want to tell her that he’d had to do it—he’d been driven by the memories of his own daughter’s kidnapping. As soon as he’d heard another child was in the same kind of jeopardy, he hadn’t hesitated. He’d jumped in his car at the end of his shift and headed to the hotel, needing to help in some way. Logically, he knew he’d been trying to save this boy the way he hadn’t been able to save his daughter. But at the time, he’d been ruled by emotions and the desperate desire to make a difference. Finding Danny wouldn’t bring Sammy back—he’d known that. But he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he hadn’t at least tried.

***