Dangerous Promise by Megan Hart

Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

Megan Hart’s The Protector trilogy is set in the near future, in a world which has suffered a Second Cold War, massive environmental damage following an abortive attempt to colonise the moon and the near destruction of the planet’s computer infrastructure when an unknown hacker wiped out around ninety percent of the world’s servers and back-up data, deleting bank accounts, personal data and causing untold chaos. It’s a world that is recognisable (and eerily plausible!) yet subtly different from our own, and the author does a fabulous job in Dangerous Promise of balancing the need for backstory and world-building with the plot and the romance in the story.

I’ll say now that this is a trilogy in which all three books need to be read or listened to in order to experience the complete story and reach the HEA; fortunately, at time of writing, all three books are available so you’ll be able to jump straight in to the whole thing without having to wait months for the next instalment.

Nina Bronson is one of fifteen former soldiers who underwent experimental surgery after being severely injured. In fact, she was dead for seven minutes – and was brought back to life by the implantation of newly invented nano-technology in her brain, technology which gives her greater strength and stamina and the ability to control her physical and emotional reactions and bodily functions. But not long after these procedures were carried out, the program which created it was shut down and laws were passed forbidding any future research or experimentation on the tech, meaning that Nina and her fellow ‘enhanced’ are the only ones like them in existence, and that as the tech eventually degrades, so will they.

Prohibited from re-joining the military because their enhanced abilities give them an unfair advantage, the enhanced now work in private security. Nina works for ProtectCorps as a bodyguard and the irony of her latest assignment is that her protectee is none other than billionaire businessman Ewan Donahue, the most high-profile and influential opponent of the nano-technology which saved Nina’s life. Someone in his position is used to getting a fair amount of hate mail and even death threats, but these threats have recently escalated into actual attempts on his life, threats that most likely come from an organisation that wants to use the tech to create more enhanced humans and turn them into super soldiers. His last two bodyguards have been killed protecting him, so he approaches ProtectCorps and hires the best – Nina Bronson – to keep him alive until the threats against him can be neutralised.

The dichotomy of their situation is understood by both of them, and they engage in a number of interesting discussions about the ethics of technological enhancement. Ewan is adamant that the most controversial aspect of the technology – that Nina and her kind can have their memories reset at any time – is completely and utterly wrong, that a person’s memories are what make them uniquely ‘them’ and that nobody should have the ability to take it away. But Nina’s argument is a far more basic one; that without upgrades, she and the other enhanced will eventually die a painful death.

Their positions on either side of the debate don’t prevent a powerful attraction from developing between Nina and Ewan. The chemistry between them is sizzling, and given their situation – alone 24/7 – there is plenty of scope for that attraction to develop. Nina isn’t averse to a sexual relationship with Ewan and is safe in the knowledge that she can turn off her emotions and just enjoy the sex… but for Ewan, it’s different; he comes to know, like and admire Nina as a person (plus, her kick-ass strength turns him on) and he’s falling irrevocably in love with her. Before long, Nina realises she’s falling, too; with each passing day, it’s harder and harder to remain detached and she begins to open up and allow herself to have the sort of feelings for Ewan she’s never had for anyone.

But of course, there is more to the story than someone being out to get Ewan. Early on – so this isn’t a spoiler – we’re told that while Ewan is now the leading opponent of the enhancement tech, he was, in fact, the person who developed it in the first place. Desperate to help his older sister, who was dying of Dementia, Ewan pioneered the original software that connected to the brain and nervous system that should have allowed his sister to regain control of her mind and body. Sadly, however, the breakthrough came too late to save her, and after her death, Ewan realised how messed up it was to want to play god – and made sure the program was shut down.

With Ewan’s secret hanging between them, Dangerous Promise reaches a dramatic and heart-breaking conclusion that leads neatly into the continuation of the story in book two, Wicked Attraction.

Saskia Maarleveld is a narrator I know I can rely on to deliver an accomplished and entertaining performance, and she most certainly lived up to my expectations here. I’ve listened to her mostly in British-set historical romances; this is the first time I’ve heard her in a different sub-genre, and her versatility really is amazing. She sounds just as much at home in this sexy, action-packed story (which she performs in what her bio calls her “natural American accent”) as she does performing historical romances in a flawless English accent; her pacing is just right, her differentiation is excellent, and her vocal characterisations of Nina and Ewan are pretty much perfect. Nina is upbeat and snarky, quite prepared to challenge Ewan and not let him off the hook in their discussions, while Ewan is – to start with – abrupt, grouchy and obviously not thrilled at having one of the enhanced around him. Ms Maarleveld is one of a handful of female narrators whose male characters always sound convincing and, it has to be said, that naturally husky note in her voice makes her heroes sound terribly sexy ;). Ewan’s transition from grumpy to impressed to man-in-love is subtly conveyed in the performance, and Nina’s gradual rediscovery of her ability to feel emotion is equally affecting.

To sum up; the romance between Nina and Ewan is nicely developed, there’s plenty of action and steamy love scenes, the world-building is excellent, and the premise is thought-provoking. I’ve read the book as well as listened to the audiobook, and Saskia Maarleveld’s fabulous narration really does make the case for listening over reading. Dangerous Promise earns a very strong recommendation.

Caz