Crowne Jewel

By: CD Reiss

Narrated by: Samantha Brentmoor, Antonio Amato

Protect me at all costs.

That’s the mission my father placed on Anton Markov—my new bodyguard. Shield me from a ruthless, faceless stalker. The menace hijacked my online presence, levied chilling threats my way, and promised to unleash a barrage of damage to me personally and professionally.

There’s one problem with Anton.

It’s simple. I despise him.

He stole everything years ago—my heart, dreams, and dignity. With a four-line farewell note stuck to my kitchen table, he broke my heart and almost my spirit.

But it seems Anton has his own collection of grievances over what happened in New York, and he’s not willing to let them go.

It’s complicated. He hates me.

As my stalker escalates his threats, Anton and I are thrust closer together. His smoldering good looks, irresistible charm, and unwavering dedication to my safety blur the line between lovers and enemies.

He claims that he can't protect me if he falls in love with me. With the danger closing in, we’re about to put that theory to the test.

©2023 CD Reiss (P)2025 Flip City Media

Unlikeable Lead Female

I normally really enjoy CD’s books but this one didn’t land. I just didn’t like Lyric’s totally unrelatable, vapid character and didn’t care if something happened to her. I was annoyed how CD tried too hard with representing every identity, non binary, lesbian, every race, you name it. It felt unnaturally DEI forced and took away from the story. The line that made me almost DNF was Lyric saying, “I’m glad I got an abortion.” That whole underlying story line was extremely misrepresentative of the emotions that go into that decision or the feelings after. And the story never explained why Anton was ok with this. The male narrator was not the right fit also. So disappointed.

Horrible

This was a struggle to get through. This made me feel like I was 100. Forget about the social media stuff the story could have included more suspense.

The Crowne family is so much fun to read about!!

Lyric Crowne is a sister to all of the Crowne men we’ve read so much about! She’s an influencer who was a movie maker in college, but her confidence was shaken when her first film didn’t make it. At the same time, her significant other Anton disappeared, leaving a cryptic note behind. She moved back to where her family lives and stopped writing it even thinking of creating film.

Anton left to return to his country, which is at war and he knew she’d try to follow… so he left. Now he’s back and he works for Lyrics father… his first assignment is to protect Lyric….

What happens is a whole lot of mystery, angst, and a bit.. maybe a lot of steam….

You want to read this! Or if you’re a listener… listen.. the narrators did a great job!!!

Heartbreak hotel no more! Security d chance love💙💙💙💙

I loved the narration!!! Samantha and Antonio are so sexy together!😍😍😍😍 At first, it was a bit slow to connect with Lyric bc she seemed to have such a perfect life. However, her loyalty to friends and heartbreak is something most of us have been through.

I would role play with Anton anytime

This is a great second chance romance.

Lyric is the only girl in the Crowne family. In the previous books, we got glimpses of her, but she seemed like what I would imagine a young woman to be like (with her family background). It originally looked like she hung around with her friends and was a social influencer. But now we know she is so much more than that! And she has been hiding what had happened between her and Anton in New York.

And Anton (SWOON…) - he saw Lyric and was so into her after all this time. So protective and caring, even though he had been through a lot himself. And the role playing! It was great! It always gave Lyric the ability to be someone else for a while - accept and feel things that she wouldn’t normally have as herself.

They are perfect for each other….. I truly believe that you can read this without having read the other Crowne books, but you would be missing out on some other wonderful stories. And I also enjoy seeing mentions, or small glimpses of characters from Christine’s other books. Read it and enjoy!

I also enjoyed the narration - especially Samantha’s performance - it was so spot on. I got a sense of all the emotions that Lyric had, but didn’t say out loud - which made the performance that much richer.