The Target Review | Gerri Hill | Is It Worth Reading?

If you love a romance where duty and desire collide under genuine danger, The Target by Gerri Hill belongs on your list. This is the book that gives you a homicide detective going undercover to shield a senator’s daughter, a two-week trek through the wilderness with a sniper on their trail, and a slow, careful attraction that neither woman is supposed to be feeling. It’s one of the most beloved entries in the lesbian bodyguard romance canon for good reason.

What Is The Target About?

Sara Michaels is the daughter of a senator who has just announced a run for the presidency—and whose family has been receiving death threats. Against the FBI’s advice, Sara insists on leading ten women on a two-week retreat through the Rocky Mountains, refusing to let fear dictate her life. So the FBI plants someone inside the group instead.

That someone is Jaime Hutchinson, a sharp, guarded homicide detective recruited to infiltrate the retreat and quietly keep Sara alive. Jaime blends in among the conservative, matchmaking women of the group—who, oblivious to her real mission, decide she and Sara would make a lovely pair. The irony writes itself, and the tension builds beautifully.

Then the bullets start flying. When a sniper closes in, Jaime is forced to lead the group out of the mountains and confront both the threat against Sara and the feelings she was never supposed to develop. It’s a story about protection as intimacy, and about two women learning to trust each other when the stakes could not be higher.

What Makes This Bodyguard Romance Work

Gerri Hill built her reputation on slow-burn tension and grounded, believable characters, and The Target is a showcase for both. Here’s what makes it land:

• ✓ A secret-protector setup with real stakes. Jaime isn’t inventing danger—there’s an actual assassin, which keeps the forced-proximity tension taut instead of contrived.
• ✓ A wilderness pressure-cooker. The Rocky Mountain retreat strips both women of distractions and forces genuine closeness—shared tents, shared danger, nowhere to hide.
• ✓ The delicious matchmaking irony. The retreat women pushing Sara and Jaime together—never knowing Jaime is an armed detective—adds warmth and humor to the suspense.
• ✓ Competence as romance. Watching Jaime stay calm under fire and shield Sara is its own love language, a hallmark of the best bodyguard romances.
• ✓ Signature Gerri Hill slow burn. The attraction simmers for a long time before it ignites, rewarding readers who love a patient, earned connection.

Tropes & Themes at a Glance

Element	In This Book
Core trope	Undercover bodyguard / protector
Secondary tropes	Forced proximity, slow burn, hidden identity
Setting	Rocky Mountain wilderness retreat
Heat level	Moderate 🌶🌶🌶
Pace	Slow burn with thriller momentum
Tone	Suspenseful, tender, gently humorous
Ending	Satisfying HEA

How Spicy Is The Target?

On the heat scale, The Target lands at a moderate 🌶🌶🌶 (3 of 5 chilies). Gerri Hill takes her time—the tension is drawn out across the mountain trek and the mounting danger, so when the physical relationship finally arrives, it feels earned rather than gratuitous. Expect meaningful intimacy and a few on-page scenes, but the emotional slow burn is the real draw here, not explicit heat.

A Content Note

Because this is a romantic thriller, the story includes gun violence, sniper attacks, death threats against a public figure’s family, and life-or-death peril in the wilderness. Readers sensitive to on-page shootings or stalking-style threat should go in aware. The danger is central to the plot rather than incidental.

Who Should Read This Book?

You’ll love it if…

• ✓ You want a bodyguard romance with a genuine mystery and real physical danger.
• ✓ You enjoy slow-burn sapphic romance where trust is built before the sparks fly.
• ✓ You love a competent, protective heroine and a heroine who refuses to be a passive damsel.
• ✓ You appreciate a wilderness setting that forces close-quarters proximity.

You might skip it if…

• ✓ You want high heat and a fast physical payoff—this one simmers.
• ✓ Gun violence and thriller peril aren’t your idea of a cozy read.
• ✓ You prefer contemporary, low-stakes small-town romance over suspense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Target by Gerri Hill a standalone novel?

Yes. The Target is a complete standalone romance with its own beginning, middle, and satisfying happily-ever-after. You don’t need to read any other Gerri Hill book first to enjoy it.

Is there a happy ending?

There is. Like most of Gerri Hill’s work, the book delivers a warm, satisfying HEA once the danger is resolved and the two women stop fighting their feelings.

How explicit is the romance?

It sits at a moderate heat level—roughly three chilies out of five. There is on-page intimacy, but the emphasis is firmly on the emotional slow burn and the suspense rather than graphic content.

Is the bodyguard trope central to the plot?

Absolutely. The entire premise hinges on Jaime going undercover to secretly protect Sara. The protector dynamic drives both the tension and the romance from start to finish, which is why it’s a staple of the lesbian bodyguard romance genre.

Do I need to like thrillers to enjoy it?

It helps. The Target blends romance with a political-thriller mystery, so readers who enjoy suspense alongside their love story will get the most out of it. If you dislike peril and violence entirely, it may not be your fit.

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