Why this book?: I needed some hunky alpha males this weekend.Disclaimer: This book was given to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Type: Romantic Suspense, alpha males, Seriously excellent names, Hunky heroes, Mercenary for Hire, Author chick, Gay best friend, Doggies!
Pages: 448
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 978-0-373-77571-2
About the book: Professional mercenary Dare Macintosh lives by one hard and fast rule: business should never be personal. If a cause appeals to him and the price is right, he'll take the mission he's offered. But then the lovely Molly Alexander asks him to help her track down the men who'd had her kidnapped—and for the first time, Dare's tempted to combine work with pleasure.
Fiercely independent, Molly vows to trust no one until she's uncovered the truth. Could the enemy be her powerful estranged father? The ex-fiancé who still holds a grudge? Or the not-so-shy fan of her bestselling novels? As the danger heats up around them, the only anchor Molly has is Dare himself. But what she feels for him just might be the most frightening thing of all…. [From the back cover]
My Review: I'm really getting into the whole romantic suspense genre. I would classify this book as suspense, though to be honest, there was far more romance than suspense going on, but considering the plot, I think the genre title is fair. I feel a little conflicted about the book, there were parts I really loved, and some things just fell flat. That said, I'm still very eager to check out the other two novels in this series, "Trace of Fever" and "Savor the Danger."
I'll start with the characters, since that was the most important thing for me. I really liked Dare, and not just for his name. Despite his violent lifestyle, he seems like a truly stand up guy, the type of person I really respect. He doesn't let the violence interfere into his regular life. He's a take charge character, and he is very knowledgeable about how to deal with difficult, and potentially dangerous situations. He knows he has to protect Molly, and he's willing to do anything and everything to make sure she's safe. I really do appreciate this sort of character, and the development that went into it - I didn't just read Dare's characteristics, I felt them. Also, he has an excellent name - Dare Macintosh - so it's hard to not like him.
Continuing on, I wasn't a huge fan of the heroine, Molly. I love tough chicks, heroines that take the hit and just keep going, that rise above the tough circumstances. However, it seemed like despite the fact that Molly never broke down from her ordeal, she wasn't really tough. Molly's character lacked the realness that Dare had. I will take a real feeling heroine over a tough one any day. She was in a terrible situation, and I wanted her to break down and show some real emotion. It seemed like she needed to process what she had been through, even just to take some time and cry it all out. But instead she was ready to just drop it and move on. I'm not saying that's a horrible way to deal with a situation, but for this character in this story, it didn't seem to fit.
Despite my issues with one of the main characters, I chose to stick with the book, mostly for Dare. But in the end, I'm glad I did - the ending sequence and reveal of the villain really did it for me. I actually skipped through some of the steamy scenes (practically unheard of for me) because I wanted to get to the action scenes, and to see Dare at work. So in the end, I would suggest this book to others, and I will definitely be reading the rest of the books.
Cover Loving: Excellent cover. Hard to pass this one up! I wish I had a nice poster featuring this cover...
Recommendation: Fans of romantic suspense will most likely want to pick this one up.
Final Rating: THREE POINT FIVE out of FIVE (3.5/5). Good, but not great. I enjoyed it well enough, but there were some things I just couldn't get over.
Have you read "When You Dare" by Lori Foster, or any of the sequels? Share your thoughts in the comments! Want to pick up a copy? Get it from Amazon.com!
Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda ~!~
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