Part of the Romancing the Guardians series. This tale brings the story of Nathan and Talia along with intrigue and romance. Definitely a page turner.

Ebook from Netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.

A bit lukewarm, the thrilling factor wasn’t as high as I had expected, Nate and Tally had to work along with the Tampa Bay police, it was only wise to work along with the law, with a crazed serial killer on the loose, and a link was found to Nate’s tattoo shop. That doesn't mean they were all bosom buddies, nope, Nate was very distrustful of Tally and the other law enforcers. With limited clues leading to the killer they were at a loss until the killer strikes again, Tally and Nate not only found the rhythm of working together, but also the romance part of their relationship came into a smooth rhythm.

Cold female FBI agent falls for tattoo artist to whom she’s delivering a message. Not very likely, but that’s what makes these stories fun, right?
Right off the bat she says, “I was recruited during my last year of college and started training at Quantico right after graduation. That was sixteen years ago.” By I quickly forgot that, because she reads younger. As for him, he’s got quite a past, including some fantasy elements that tie in to the rest of the series, which I have not read, but that only comes into play here once.
Throughout the entire story it was hard to pinpoint if this was a procedural or a romance; turned out to be the latter, as there are many scenes that were strictly getting to know each other and didn’t advance the plot at all. This is especially true of the entire nudist colony setting. After finishing the romance part, it sets up for the next sequel.
I really like that this isn’t a 300-page epic like most in the genre, filled with thoughts of “I want to, but I can’t!” The romance, plus the murder mystery/serial killer plot that I figured out by chapter four—writer made it a little too obvious—took about 120 pages.

Lyn Horner’s Romancing the Guardians series has been a wonderfully enjoyable read since the very first book. As the series has progressed, readers have been introduced to new characters and also seen glimpses of the ones already met.

Profiling Nathan is book 5 in the series and it continues the exceptional world building and character development that has reigned throughout the earlier stories. Great dialogue, suspense and romance, all come together to make these stories addictive.

So, what did I like about it?
Lyn Horner is a new-to-me author; I found her writing style easy to read and enjoyed the way she paced the plot. I thought the opening chapter was good; it sets the scene, introduces us to our two main characters and gives us glimpses into their personalities as well as starting the serial killer aspect off.

Primarily, this is a romance story and I loved the journey that our main couple, Nathan and Talia (Tally), went on. The obstacles put in their way both real and perceived and the internal and external influences that added that depth of complexity to the tale that I look for in romances.

I liked the contemporary romance feel of this story; the mix of humour and action was good. The banter between Nate and Talia made me smile - as a Brit, I do love a bit of well placed banter. There is sexual tension from the off too which I liked and I appreciated the way that Nate and Talia’s relationship grew, building the anticipation for when they finally came together. Which leads me on onto the sex, which in my opinion, was good; enough explicitly descriptive prose to let you get caught up in the passion, without being unnecessarily crude.

So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
Dislike is too harsh a description in this instance; there wasn’t anything in particular about this story that I disliked, however, there were a few things that niggled me enough to affect my star rating.

Firstly, I knew who the serial killer was by the end of the second chapter :-( on the plus side the romance aspect was cute enough to remind me that this is a paranormal romance not a crime, thriller or horror story.

Secondly, although this is sold as a paranormal romance, there isn’t much paranormal goings on in this book. I was completely in the dark as to what or who Nate is exactly (especially having not read the previous Guardians books); there was only one tiny scene when Nate was confronting Ortiz that hinted at him having “something” that meant he could handle himself in dangerous situations but nothing specific describing anything “paranormal” until past 75% of the way through the book.

And finally, although I liked the contemporary romance feel of this story, I didn’t feel emotional connected to our romantic couple; can't put my finger on why. I didn’t invest myself in them enough to want to continue with the next book.

So, basically what I’m saying is...
This is a nice romance story set against a simple murder mystery with a sprinkling of hot passion and a smidgen of the paranormal thrown in. I would recommend this book to those readers who enjoy this sort of mix.