✨3.5 stars✨

This was a cute, quick bodyguard romance! The beginning had me hooked and I ended up reading it in two sittings.

I just felt that the writing was a bit bland and somewhat juvenile (yes this is YA but the writing felt very young YA in my opinion) and I would have preferred if the romance developed a bit slower.

Overall, this was a fun debut and I would pick up any future books this author writes.

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

EDEN!!! YOU ABSOLUTELY JUST WON MY ENTIRE HEART!! This one was such an anticipated read of mine so thank you SimonYA for giving me the NetGalley arc. I read this book in a day basically, on my phone!! I've never read so quick like that before so this is how you know I was addicted. I just couldn't scroll off the book, it was just so captivating. I did not know how much I loved close proximity until this book oh my God. The plot in this was done so well and the pacing was just incredible. Every single character in this was fleshed out and written with such depth. Oh, and the twist?? I've never felt so stupid because of course that's what it was going to be, like duh?? And last but not least, the ROMANCE!!!! THE SLOW BURN AND YEARNING!!! MY HEARTTT WAS SCREAMINGGG!! Milosh and Daphne, a new favourite couple of mine, I miss them already. This book is a cross of The Princess Project Programme and First Daughter and gives you everything you want in a romance. My heart was skipping beats with the action, the tension and the yearninggg. What a debut Eden. I knew I'd be obsessed but wow, just wow. Highly recommend, go and pre-order now, Waterstones is doing pink sprayed edges!! Just so heartwarming and done to perfection. No notes. Zero thoughts in my head, only Milosh and Daphne. 🥹💖🥰📚

It took me a bit to get into the story. It had all my fav things going for it like fake dating, bodyguard romance and grumpy sunshine but I just couldn’t get into the story.

Close Protection by Eden Victoria delivers exactly what you’d expect from a fun and swoon-worthy YA contemporary romance. With a mix of beloved tropes—fake dating, bodyguard romance, and the ever-entertaining grumpy-sunshine dynamic—it sets up an engaging premise that keeps the reader entertained.

Daphne and Milosh’s interactions were a highlight, filled with playful banter, undeniable chemistry, and a slow-burning tension that made their dynamic enjoyable to follow. Their moments together often had the perfect blend of lighthearted fun and deeper emotional beats, which added layers to their growing relationship. The plot itself had a solid foundation, keeping the pacing lively with just the right amount of drama and stakes to maintain interest.

That said, the romance could have benefited from a more balanced pacing. At times, the development of Daphne and Milosh’s feelings felt rushed, leaving some emotional beats underexplored. A little more depth in their individual character arcs would have made their connection even more compelling. Additionally, while the writing style was easy to read, it occasionally lacked the richness that would have made certain scenes more immersive.

Despite these minor critiques, Close Protection was still an enjoyable read, perfect for fans of trope-heavy YA romance looking for something fun and quick to devour. Eden Victoria has a strong grasp on crafting engaging premises, and I look forward to seeing how their storytelling evolves in future books.

As expected, Close Protection from Eden Victoria was a cute, swoony and quick read. It had all the good tropes of a great YA contemporary romance:fake dating, bodyguard romance and grumpy-sunshine to name a few. Daphne and Milosh’s scenes were fun to read and the plot of the book was quite engaging.
However, I do think that the love story could have been paced better and the overall writing was not the most fulfilling.
Yet, I look forward to the author building upon their creative process and seeing what they have in store for the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK for the arc!

Loved this sexy bodyguard romance with a bit of a Russia twist! Highly enjoyed the characters and great storyline that kept me in suspense and hooked throughout the entire book. This title would make an excellent movie

This was absolutely brilliant. I really liked all the tropes that are in the story, the fake dating, found family, bodyguard elements. It was just the perfect mix to create a enjoyable story.

This story was beautifully written and really fast paced. I flew through it in two days. The characters drove the story. I loved all the main 4 as they were really fleshed about and cared for each other.

Now the romance was wonderful, it had the perfect mix of slow burn with initial attraction. I also loved that Daphne was a strong feminine character. And Milosh was the best Bix of broody and caring.

You can really see how much time and effort Eden has put into the story. There is so much attention to detail. I personally loved the specific perfume and brand references. I also loved the film and High School musical references scattered throughout.

I highly recommend this story to anyone looking for a new bookboyfriend to obsess over. Or their new favourite female MC. This will definitely be your new Romance/Thriller favourite.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Close Protection by Eden Victoria is a first person dual-POV YA contemporary interracial romance. When seventeen-year-old Daphne’s home is broken into, her father hires Milosh, a twenty-year-old Bulgarian-American bodyguard who has already had a brief stint in the military. When the two meet, Milosh and Daphne quickly pretend to be a couple to hide the real reason they’re always together, but it soon stops being pretend.

One thing I really liked is that Daphne is Black British and she is constantly framed by pink and orange blossom and marshmallow perfume and blueberries and other more delicate, fragrant, colorful things. I feel like we still don’t often see young Black women being framed not only in a romantic light, but surrounded by explicitly feminine things and food that isn’t meant to be a reference to their skin color. More than that, Daphne is a very sensitive soul and has a very giving heart. She could take her father’s place at a very powerful business but she wants to be a midwife and her reasoning is one full of compassion. We just don’t get enough characters like Daphne as leads and it’s very special when we do get a young Black woman who is unapologetically soft and feminine.

Milosh grew up in the child care system and was never formally adopted by another family. There’s more of a hard edge to him that plays well with Daphne’s softness, though they both have their soft and hard bits. I really liked that he wanted to learn British Sign Language to have a better relationship with Daphne’s cousin who is deaf and depicting that on page was very cool of Eden Victoria. Milosh also respects Daphne’s boundaries and keeps his jealousy in check instead of flying off the handle when someone else hits on Daphne or is close to her.

The age difference might be a turn-off for some readers as Daphne is almost eighteen, but is still seventeen when the book opens and Milosh is twenty. It’s a three year age gap that I have seen in real life, with many of them usually starting in high school, but everyone has their personal squicks and things they are uninterested in picking up. Because Daphne sets the pace of the relationship and makes most of the major decisions for what is and is not going to happen within their relationship, I was personally fine with how the romance played out.

Content warning for depictions of sexual assault

I would recommend this to fans of bodyguard romances looking for a YA contemporary romance and readers looking for an interracial romance starring a feminine Black woman

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.