Above All, Honor

Cameron Roberts, a Secret Service Agent, has physically recovered from the assignment that killed the woman she loved, but she's not sure she'll ever be the same emotionally. She's initially frustrated when she's assigned to protect Blair Powell, the daughter of the President of the United States, thinking it'll be little more than a babysitting assignment and a waste of her skills. She soon realizes that guarding Blair is a lot more challenging than that.

The First Daughter has had so little privacy most of her life that she now does everything she can to achieve moments of freedom. Although she behaves perfectly at public functions, she rarely tells her Secret Service agents her personal plans ahead of time, and she can be nearly show more unrecognizable when she wants to be. It's not unusual for her to slip off for one night stands with women who have no idea who she is.

Cam intrigues Blair, but the agent is too tightly controlled and professional to let her own reaction show. However, keeping emotionally distant becomes more difficult when Blair finds herself the target of a stalker.

I got this from a used bookstore two or three years ago and attempted to read it back then but found that my disgust with the presidential administration at the time made it impossible to enjoy a story about even a fictional First Daughter. Thankfully, it was an easier read this time around.

I've been meaning to try one of Radclyffe's books for years. Some review I read somewhere described her as the Nora Roberts of lesbian romance in terms of quality and output. While I thought this book was decent, that description set up a few expectations I'd have been better off without.

For one thing, although I'm sure the series as a whole qualifies as lesbian romance, this particular book didn't follow the romance conventions I'm used to. Cam and Blair had sex quite a bit throughout, but almost all of it involved other people. I was initially okay with this, but one instance in particular threw me - Blair had sex with one of her Secret Service agents, primarily because she was upset that Cam rejected her. They weren't a couple, and didn't become a couple until the end of the book, but I still wasn't a fan of the way Blair behaved.

In general, I didn't really like Blair. I get it, she hated that her position meant she had people watching her all the time. She couldn't be open about her sexual orientation (although I'd be surprised if the tabloids didn't at least speculate about it, considering her frequent one night stands), and she felt fenced in. Still, she came across as bratty and childish. She knew her Secret Service agents had a job to do, and she largely made it as difficult as possible for them to do it properly. Thank goodness she at least cooperated at public functions and, somewhat, after it became evident that she had a stalker, or I wouldn't have been able to put up with her at all. I thought Cam was remarkably patient with her, considering.

I was disappointed with the stalking subplot, which was barely developed and never fully resolved. It felt like it was introduced mostly to make sure the book wasn't entirely about Blair doing her best to have sex with nearly any woman who caught her eye while Cam did her best not to show any reaction. Maybe the next book ties that thread up? As it was, this didn't feel like a complete book.

I'm not sure yet whether I'll continue on with this series. The writing was decent, and I'd definitely be willing to try another one of Radclyffe's books, but Blair and Cam didn't work for me as a couple until nearly the end.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Blair is the daughter of the President of the United States, an artist, and really, really doesn't like having a security detail from the Secret Service.

Cameron is the new head of Blair's detail. The two of these things put together makes for an often explosive narrative in the novel.

And then add in quite the thriller subplot to the rest of the crazy mess and it's an insanely intense novel.

Before I read this first book in the series I had read some of the more recent in the series books, and I have to say that I was very surprised by how the characters of Cameron and Blair started in this book.

Still, it was a good story and a helluva couple of different cliffhangers, so, Honor Bound (number 2 in the series) here I come.

Romantic fiction is not generally my genre of choice, but given that Radclyffe is a popular lesbian fiction writer, I thought it was necessary to give this a try.

Radclyffe has some great plot ideas, and this one is no different. Her ideas for situations are unique and capture the reader's interest. Her characters aren't quite as developed as they could be, but they are still different and interesting nonetheless, except for physical features, which seem to standardize with fit and slightly muscular.

That being said, Radclyffe gets stuck in the romance aspect of romance fiction a bit too much. Above All, Honor is actually on the light side of the romance, and because of that, is probably the best one in her Honor series. I much prefer show more contemplating the plot than hearing about what goes on under the sheets.

Of course, quite a few people think otherwise, so that is what makes Radclyffe popular. She delivers for her audience. However, I can't help but be slightly disappointed that she doesn't take a slightly more serious approach to fiction and fully explore her strong creativity for plots and stories that engage the reader, rather than write for the largest common denominator. show less

She's a tough Secret Service agent with a tragic past. She's the president's closeted daughter who hates being surveilled. They don't exactly fight crime, but they do fall in love, with lots of sex with other people to try to avoid emotional entanglement. It was basically a standard explicit romance with bonus casual sex, though I'm not sure whether the constant references to the (butch) agent's "hardness" was a trope of lesbian erotica or merely this author's tic.

I read a lot about this story on other websites, so I decided to see what the fuss was about. Even though this story screams sex, it was moderately entertaining. I'm not too fond of Blair, but I could get used to Cam. I hope the other books in the series explore more of Blair and Cam's emotional commitment towards each other.

first book in the series introduces secret service agent Cameron Roberts, who must protect the presidents only daughter. Blair Powell has no intention of being easy to protect, as she slips away from agents to go bar hopping and picking up conquests.

Dato che ho letto da poco un romance di m***a (Sugar Daddy), mi sono detta: non sarà il caso di leggerne uno con una storia d'amore decente e donne normali (leggi: che hanno una volontà propria)? Tanto per riprendermi...

Girellando su Goodreads in cerca di ispirazione, mi sono imbattuta in Above all, honor: sembrava pieno di gente tosta e ipoglicemico, quindi mi sono buttata.

La caduta non è stata del tutto priva di conseguenze spiacevoli: la colpa credo sia principalmente delle protagoniste. Infatti, mi è stato difficile provare simpatia sia per Cam sia per Blair. Cam, che delle due è quella che ho apprezzato di più, è così fredda che fa apparire strano il suo interesse per Blair. Non si capisce bene come e perché sia nata show more questa attrazione, spuntata fuori dal nulla, e non si sposa bene con la descrizione di Cam, per niente interessata a relazioni sentimentali dopo la morte della sua compagna.

Da parte sua, Blair, invece, mi è sembrata una bambinetta viziata che vuole scappare dagli uomini e dalle donne della sicurezza solo per dimostrare che ne è capace e può cavarsela da sola. Rischiando i posti di lavoro e le carriere degli altri, però. Per questo ho trovato difficile simpatizzare con la sua sfortunata posizione di figlia del presidente degli Stati Uniti, che, oltretutto, deve anche nascondere il suo orientamento sessuale.

Quello che, invece, ho apprezzato in Above all, honor è stato il non partire subito con dichiarazioni d'amore assoluto (e neanche relativo, in effetti...): il che mi fa ben sperare per i libri successivi della serie. Mi anche sperare che questa caratterizzazione così poco simpatica abbia a che fare con la SiPriLi (Sindrome da Primo Libro) e che la Radclyffe si sia riservata il meglio per i libri successivi. È una serie così amata che spero proprio sia così... show less