ARC Review: Pierce Her

Pierce Her by Kelly Finley
Book 1 in the Come For Her series
Publication date: 27 January 2022

I was fortunate enough to be gifted a copy of both Pierce Her and the prequel Protect Her by the lovely Kelly Finley. I am so excited to get to be a part of her ARC team for this release.

If you like badass women, then Charlie Ravenel is the gal for you. She’s a former Marine with secrets in her past that she would like to keep there, thank you very much. Her mission in life is to protect women and girls from harm, and she’s made a career out of it by working personal security for celebrities. Charlie’s current job is to protect teenaged Kierra from a stalker while the girl is shooting the new season of her popular show. The stalker is dangerous and devious, leaving no evidence as he terrorizes young Kierra.

Adding to Charlie’s stress is the fact that Kierra’s costar on the show is none other than THE Daniel Pierce, the sexiest man alive, who makes women, and a lot of men, swoon at his beautiful face and rock-hard physique. Charlie does not have the time or emotional energy to be thinking about Daniel’s muscles, or his mouth, or his hair with that damn tendril that’s always hanging down over his forehead…she definitely needs to keep him in the look but don’t touch zone.

Daniel Pierce may have a reputation as a typical Hollywood ladies man, but he is also the kind of man who knows what he wants, and he wants Charlie. He is patient and persistent in his pursuit, trying to break down her walls while keeping his own secrets locked up tight.

Now, let’s talk about steam. This book brings ALL the heat. The chemistry between Charlie and Daniel is off the charts, and it’s a sweet slow burn as they get closer and closer to each other. Finley gives us all of the delicious details and left this reviewer with a need to take a break for some Ben & Jerrys because it was getting a little bit warm even in the middle of December. 🤣 And if you want even more steam, be sure to check out the prequel to this book, Protecting Her. That one left me wanting to book a flight to Ibiza and find myself a hot tub there, stat.

With a solid plot and intriguing characters, this story is already a winner, but Finley gives us even more. There are larger and more serious themes at play in this book, and they really sucked me in. Charlie is a former Marine who served in Afghanistan, and she saw a lot of bad shit and experienced a lot of trauma as a result. She now suffers from PTSD, and the effects on her can be debilitating. Her experiences as a Marine have led her to what could be seen as an obsession with protecting women and girls. She is willing to go to any lengths to keep her clients safe, and although Charlie views herself as a loner, someone without a family in her future, I see some loving maternal instincts in her in the way she communicates with and protects Kierra.

Finley shows her commitment to supporting our badass female vets, with ten percent of the proceeds from this series being donated to AMVETS – Sheroes on the Move, a veteran service organization with the goal of providing support for women who have served their country in all branches of the armed forces. I applaud Finley’s generosity and hope that more authors find a way to funnel some of their book profit to worthy causes.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a darker side to their romance books; something with heat and heart, but which also explores themes of grief and trauma. I’m giving Pierce Her 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars because Finley left me tingling with anticipation for what comes next in Charlie and Daniel’s story.

Thank you again to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.