Showing posts with label Grand Central Publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grand Central Publishing. Show all posts

5 Heart Book Review: Dangerous Desires by Dee Davis

Book Review: Dangerous Desires
By: Dee Davis
Romantic Suspense
Grand Central Publishing
5 Heart Review

As the extractions expert for A-Tac, and elite CIA black ops unit masquerading as faculty at an Ivy League college, Drake Flynn knows how to survive behind enemy lines.  But he’s about to meet one adversary he can’t subdue…or resist.

Stranded in the Colombian jungle after a mission goes bad, Drake has only one objective: evade the mercenaries hot on his trail and deliver “the package” to US officials.  But “the package” has a mind of her own, and she has no intention of trading one set of captors for another.  Madeline Reynard is beautiful, headstrong, and hell-bent on escape after years as a crime lord’s pawn.  She’ll risk everything for freedom, even if it means deceiving the dark, handsome operative who now holds her life in his hands.
Drake has been burned too many times to let a woman manipulate him, especially a secretive one like Madeline.  Even so, they cannot deny the attraction between them.  Now as enemy forces close in, Drake and Madeline must trust each other with their lives – or face certain death.

It was immediately obvious to me that this book is part of a series, one of which I haven’t read.  That being said – I was surprised that I didn’t get lost or feel like I didn’t get to know the characters.  Sometimes with a series, the author relies on previous books to do the character building and doesn’t give enough in the current book for the story to really click with a reader who hasn’t read the previous book…kudos to Dee Davis for keeping this one a stand-alone within a series.
I loved Madeline and Drake…and I especially loved them together.  There is nothing that draws me in more than two very strong characters.  Madeline is one tough cookie.  She doesn’t give in to anything that has happened in her life – and let’s just say she hasn’t exactly gotten it easy.  She is a true survivor, doing whatever it takes and dealing with the emotional backfire later. 

Strong women need strong men – and Drake is all that and more.  His attitude towards women is a bit suspicious at first, but the man has his reasons and he’s about to get a reality check on the integrity of the opposite sex.  For such a tough guy, Drake has a sensitive side that is endearing and adds to the complexity of his character.  He isn’t perfect, but neither is Madeline.
As for the rest of the A-Tac team, the term “adrenaline junkie” comes up a lot, and I have a feeling this is a recurring theme throughout the books.  Dee doesn’t delve into each character as thoroughly as I would expect from a stand-alone book, but since this is a series, the glimpses of each character’s personality makes me want to read more about each one.  I haven’t yet looked up the first book in the series (this is the second), but I don’t think it would take you long to figure out which characters were the main ones.  But that’s what I love about series, you get to visit the characters you fell in love with after their “happy ending” and see the continuation of their lives. 

The “bad guys” in this book are cunning, ruthless, and surprising.  While Madeline and Drake are battling their own enemies, there is a much larger villain that appears to operate throughout the books.   I’m a sucker for undercover operatives – give me a SEAL, or in this case CIA agent, any day and I’m a happy reader. 
If you’re looking for a hot romance with lots of action and intrigue, don’t hesitate to grab Dangerous Desires.  If you can’t wait to read this one, but like to start from the beginning, go ahead and do what I’m about to do – check out Dark Deceptions for the first book of the series.  Either way, you won’t be disappointed with this Dee Davis book.  I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of this series has to offer.

Happy Reading!
Cheeky Girl L.A.

Romance Book Review: A Touch of Scandal by Jennifer Haymore – 4 Heart Review

Touch of Scandal Romance Book Review: A Touch of Scandal
By: Jennifer Haymore
4 Heart Review
Grand Central Publishing
Historical Romance

The last thing Garrett, Duke of Calton, expects to find while tracking his sworn enemy is the delectable, mysterious Kate. This beautiful servant girl rouses a longing the battle-scarred ex-solider had never hoped to feel again. But when she turns out to be the sister of the man he seeks, he's convinced he's been betrayed.

Kate knows her duty is to her family, yet how can she ignore Garrett's powerful pull on her heart? Or the heady temptation of his stolen – and sizzling -- kisses? Scandal has followed the duke since the war. Now the greatest shock of all is on its way – the one that can separate Garrett and Kate Forever.

From the opening paragraphs, I immediately knew I was in for a treat with A Touch of Scandal. Who wouldn't be excited about a Historical Romance with this as the second paragraph...?

Taking a deep breath, she forcefully slowed her step, squared her shoulders, and lowered her eyes. She was simply a servant, finished with her duties for the day, ready to take the 3 mile walk home. Not a flustered woman rushing out to a secret secluded spot to watch a strange man – no a god, more like – bathe in the nude.

Loving the role reversal of the heroine watching the hero bathe in the nude and being the first to harbor lust was a pleasant surprise and a fun way to start this book. What follows is a well-plotted and lushly written romance I can honestly highly recommend.

As the reader, I felt equally pulled into the story from both the hero and heroine's perspective and understood their motivations and conflicts. It's not every book that I want to equally follow both the main characters and didn't have any issues with either of them. In fact, I thought Kate and Garrett were pitch perfect and the story made it so you never waivered in believing them to be made for each other.

The one part of the book that I couldn't get behind was the character of Kate's mother. You find out very early in the story that Kate's mother does not show love toward her and that I didn't have an issue with. It worked perfectly with the story. The issue I had was with the character of the mother at the end of the story. I'm very against spoilers of any kind – even small ones – so I won't say much here except that the ending did not match what this reader had hoped would happen with the mother's part of the story.

I wasn't alone in this thinking. A friend who also read the book felt the same way and we spent some time discussing the mother figure. It just didn't seem to fulfill what the reader would have wanted or expected at the end of this story for the mother. It almost felt like this was not the way Jennifer originally intended for the mother, but was somehow changed along the editing process. Now, I don't know that for sure but it felt slightly disjointed to me. It was the only thing I found out of place in the entire book. 

Besides the mother and her part of the ending, this was an absolutely perfect historical romance for me. You'll find no clichéd masque balls or members of the ton. What you will find is a story full of heart, expertly plotted, and with a hero and heroine you'll find equally lovable.