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.
