Book Binge

Mary's review of Right Hand Magic: A Novel of Golgotham by Nancy A. Collins

Like most Manhattanites, aspiring artist Tate can't resist a good rental deal-even if it's in the city's strangest neighborhood, Golgotham, where for centuries werewolves, centaurs, and countless other creatures have roamed the streets.

Her new landlord is a sorcerer name Hexe, who is determined to build his reputation without using dark, left-hand magic. As Tate is drawn into Hexe's fascinating world, they both find that the right hand does not always know what the left hand is doing-and avoiding darkness is no easy trick...

Tate, "Just call me Tate", needs a change of scenery after a bad break up and too many noise complaints from her neighbors. She needs something she can afford on the monthly allowance she gets from her trust fund while still purchasing the expensive supplies for her metal-working. So she braves Golgotham and winds up renting a room from hot landlord Hexe. While she feels instant attraction to him, she's too caught up in learning her way around this odd part of the city and trying to get settled. But there's something there—a little spark perhaps.

Collins is an absolute expert at building worlds (one of the reasons I was excited about this book), and the world of Golgotham is no exception. I loved the hansom cabs pulled by centaurs, the Irish pub filled with Leprechauns, and the motorcycle club composed of Amazons and Valkyries. The way the magic was used in this world was fascinating: right hand magic was good, "white" magic, left hand magic was bad, "black" magic, and then there were the "jugglers" who used a little of both.

While the world building was amazing, the plot didn't live up to my expectations. Sure there was an underground animal-shapeshifter fight club; a big, bad mafia boss; and racism on both sides of the Gate that divides New York from Golgotham but it kind of fell flat for me due a combination of little things. For example, the descriptions and action scenes could be a bit repetitive. And the action, which did build to an exciting climax, had several long lulls that could have been spiced up a bit.

The chemistry between Tate and Hexe wasn't very apparent at the beginning, except for her thinking he was cute. But I liked the way it developed. Many times, in paranormals or fantasies, the hero and heroine have an instant attraction or are soul mates (not that I'm complaining; I like those, too!). In RIGHT HAND MAGIC, however, the chemistry evolved a bit more realistically. She liked him, he did sweet things for her and for others, they talked, they revealed secrets, they kissed. It was nice. Plus, this was the first book in a new series so it really was just the beginning of their relationship. I'm thinking the heat index will turn up in the next books.

While this wasn't a homerun for me, I will definitely be picking up the other books in the series to see what happens between Tate and Hexe and to see what happens next in Golgotham.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

This book is available from Roc Publishing. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Casee: I am looking forward to May. With as many rain showers as we have had, I am eagerly anticipating May flowers and the sunshine that comes along with it.

I haven't had much time to read this week, but the book I'm reading is goooood. I think I was about to start this book last Friday. Night Magic by Jennifer Lyon is book 4 in her Wing Slayer series and just as good as the first two. I have no idea what I'm picking up next. I'll have to look to the comments for some ideas.

Rowena: I am looking forward to May as well. I have had a pretty shitty April so I'm ready for a fresh start in May. Like Casee, I haven't had much time to read outside of work this week so the only books that I've were ebooks that I read at work. I am reading The Edge of Night by Jill Sorenson though when I do find time at home and I'm really enjoying it. Jill Sorenson knows how to write the heck out of a story and I'm really enjoying Noah and April's story.

Holly: I'm not really reading anything right now. I keep picking up books and flipping through them but nothing is sticking. Hopefully next week things will pick up.

It's a new week, what are you reading?

Rowena's review of Royal Weddings by Stephanie Laurens, Gaelen Foley and Loretta Chase.

You are cordially invited To help celebrate the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton As we present a 77 page original anthology Written by three utterly wonderful authors!

Stephanie Laurens' The Wedding Planner: Lady Margaret is proud plan the ton's most important nuptuals—including that of a prince. But it's Lady Margaret who falls in love . . . with dashing Gaston Devilliers!

Gaelen Foley's Ever After: How scandalous! Eleanor Monford, Countess of Archer, is in love with her own husband. And as Princess Charlotte of England weds Prince Leopold, Eleanor's "secret" is about to come out.

Loretta Chase's The Jilting of Lord Rothwick: On the eve of Queen Victoria's wedding to Prince Albert, the Marquess of Rothwick learns his fiancÉe, Barbara Findley, has broken their engagement! So he desperately rides out of London to seek her out . . . and to win her back.

This is one of the shortest anthologies that I've read and while I did enjoy it, each story was far too short for me to love. I was left with each story, wanting so much more than I got.

In the first story, Stephanie Lauren tells a quick story of Lady Margaret and Gaston. They know each other from their past and while Lady Margaret is mourning her fiance (even after all this time) and planning a wedding, she can't help but be attracted and distracted by Gaston Devilliers. Gaston has his own plans and he's going to see them through. This story zipped right on by and was enjoyable. It's not my favorite of the bunch but I think that Laurens did a great job of making me want more. I enjoyed both Margaret and Gaston but at the end, I didn't feel like I got to know them as much as I would have liked. I also pictured Gaston as Gaston from Disney's Beauty and the Beast but that was okay. He was still likeable.

Grade: 3 out of 5

In the second story, Gaelen Foley tells the story of Lord and Lady Archer. This was my favorite story of the bunch because in this story, the couple is already married. They're just not happily married and by the end of the book, they are. I love these kinds of stories. In historical times, it wasn't unheard of to marry for duty, instead of for love so to watch Eleanor and Archer fall in love with each other was much more believable in such a short story.

Lady Archer has done the unthinkable and has fallen in love with her husband. She's not at all happy with how busy he is with his political career and she's heard whispers about him having a mistress and even though she knows that it's the thing to do between husbands in the ton, she's pissed. She's livid about it all and she's turned ice queen on him.

Archer has no idea what has gotten into his wife. He's confused because their marriage had been going along swimmingly and so he's not sure why his wife is being so cold to him. She understands that he's got his eye into getting into politics and she's helped him out before so he doesn't know what flew up her bonnet.

It is at the royal wedding of Princess Charlotte of England and Prince Leopold that husband and wife finally make peace with each other and fall in love out loud. I thought this story was cute and if it had been longer, I would have loved the hell out of it. It's hard to love these short stories but Foley did a wonderful job of engaging me in the Archer's story and I appreciated her efforts.

Grade: 3.25 out of 5

In the last story, Loretta Chase tells the shortest story of them all. The Marquess of Rothwick needs to get married to some lady who is super rich so that he could restore his crumbling estate. He goes after Barbara Findley, who has the kind of money that he needs and he pursues her like no other. Barbara falls madly in love with him but isn't sure if he returns the feeling and she wants to marry for love instead of for her money so she breaks their betrothal and that's when things get interesting.

Rothwick is down in the dumps after having been dumped by Barbara and he's more than a little pissed off that he now has to start all over again so he does what any other man would do...he gets rip roaring drunk. He gets so drunk that he doesn't really remember Barbara coming to his door to explain why she couldn't marry him.

As all romance stories end, it ends happily but it ends most abruptly. This story was like ten pages long and the whole story was crammed in and I think I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't feel like their entire story was being jammed down my throat. It would have been more enjoyable had the story been drawn on a bit longer and the relationship between Rothwick and Barbara would have been more real if I got more from them but this story felt rushed and it ended too soon.

Grade: 2.5 out of 5

Overall, the stories showed lots of promise and while I enjoyed them, I was left wanting so much more. I know that it's hard to cram an entire story with feelings and believable storylines into such a short amount of pages but these stories would have been so much better if they had more to them.

Overall grade: 3 out of 5

This book is available from Avon Impulse. You can buy it here in e-format.

Mary's review of ON THE HUNT by Gena Showalter, Shannon K. Butcher, Jessica Anderson, and Deidre Knight

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter, Shannon K. Butcher, Jessica Anderson, and Deidre Knight present a steamy collection of all-new novellas featuring sexy paranormal hunters. With shadowy creatures, intoxicating magic, vividly imagined worlds, and sizzling passion, this is an anthology no fan of paranormal romance will want to miss.

EVER NIGHT by Gena Showalter: Rose Pascal is swept into a dark, haunting world every year on her birthday—a world ruled by a warrior king who hunts her kind. Neither of them can deny the passion that soon consumes them both…

In this story, Showalter introduces a new and very dark world (both literally and figuratively). I think this world has potential, with its dark, demonic aspects juxtaposed against the everyday human world and I was intrigued. But the couple in this story just didn't pull me in quite enough. I felt Rose (who started crossing over when she was 18) was just too immature, innocent, and lost compared to Vasili, the warrior king who ties her to him. There's a serious dominance vibe to Vasili but Rose, for all her naïveté, isn't really very submissive or dominant enough so it didn't quite gel for me. 

Rating: 3.0/5.0

THE COLLECTOR by Shannon K. Butcher: Demon hunter Neal Etan sets out to acquire a powerful artifact, but finds much more in beautiful Viviana Rowan, The antique dealer's touch strengthens his magic—and her life may be in Neal's hands if they don't recover the artifact in time…

This was by far my favorite story in this collection. It's set in the world of Butcher's Sentinels, where every warrior must find their mate or turn evil, a world that I was already familiar with. Neal and Viviana are a great pair and remind me why I like this series so much. I'm definitely going to read more of the Sentinels.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

CRYSTAL SKULL by Jessica Anderson: Archeologist Natalie Albright's dig gets shut down amid rumors she has awakened the local demons. But when the terrifying underworld creatures attack, Natalie must team up with her ex to survive. As they fight the ancient menace, they discover a destiny that binds them together—and threatens to tear them apart…

I loved the Tomb Raider aspect of it and the trouble that found Natalie. Lucky for her, her ex is nearby, still has feelings for her, and knows how to hunt what's attacking. Great action, fun plot and excellent chemistry between the characters.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

RED ANGEL by Deidre Knight: Jamie Angel, leader of the deadly Nightshades, has tracked every kind of monster and demon that roams the darkness, but none of his experiences can prepare him for falling in love with one of the reatures he's trained to destroy…

While I really liked Sunny and the whole Southern setting (I'm a sucker for a good Southern setting, what can I say), Jamie Angel is another story. A totally player, he gives off a bit of a slimy feel which only gets worse when he decides to seduce Sunny to find out what she is. Not who—what. Sunny can do better.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Tracy’s review of Darkfire Kiss (Dragonfire #6) by Deborah Cooke

For one woman, he will risk more than his life...


Rafferty Powell has exchanged challenge coins with his arch-nemesis Magnus Montmorency, and their next battle will be their last. But Rafferty never expected to meet a woman whose desire for Magnus’ downfall matches his own—and whose presence sparks Rafferty’s long-awaited firestorm.


Since facing her own mortality, investigative reporter Melissa Smith has resolved to live without fear. She’s determined to make the seemingly untouchable Magnus pay for his role in ending her friend’s life – no matter the price to herself.


When her quest entwines with Rafferty’s, Melissa finds herself risking more than she ever thought possible. Because the heat between them unleashes the darkfire—an awesome force of Pyr legend, one that won’t be sated until everything they know has been tested and remade.

Rafferty is outside the home of his enemy, Magnus, when he spies a thief. She is trying to get into the house and doing a surprisingly easy job of it. He follows her and ends up saving her from Magnus’s fury. Rafferty eventually tracks the woman down while in his dragon form with the intent of getting information from her. Not only does he not get the info he needs but the woman, an out of work journalist, takes pictures of Rafferty fighting another dragon and posts them on her blog.

Needless to say this is horrifying for the Pyr who pride themselves on secrecy but that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the shit hitting the fan. You see, Rafferty and the woman, Melissa, are mates and during the eclipse their firestorm begins. But their firestorm contains darkfire and because of extenuating circumstances the firestorm cannot be sated. Darkfire means that life is changing for the Pyr and not everyone is happy about it – especially Erik who is the leader of the Pyr. While Erik deals with his thoughts on the discovery of the Pyr and what that will mean for their kind, Rafferty and Melissa work together to find a solution to not only deal with the discovery but how to deal with Magnus as well as the legacy that was left to Rafferty by his grandfather.

This was a really great book in the Dragonfire series. I was very much looking forward to Rafferty’s firestorm after reading the first five books but wasn’t sure what to expect. I loved that Cooke gave us another view into not only the Pyr but to Rafferty himself. With the firestorm not being able to be sated in the usual way – via conception – Rafferty and Melissa worked together to find a solution. Working so closely with each other and not depending strictly on sex to further their relationship really worked for me. I think showing the reader the intellectual side of the couple during the firestorm was a great idea and was done very well.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next with the Pyr. We’ve been set up with some stories and I think they’ll be great. There was also an excerpt in the back of the book for Cooke’s spin off series of the kids of the Pyr that were, in this book, toddlers, that was quite good. I’m not sure how that will work with the kids being teens so my curiosity is definitely piqued.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5

The series:


You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place


This book is available from Signet Eclipse. You can buy it here or  here in e-format.

Ames' review of Copping a Feel by Jamieson Wolf.

I'm not putting up a picture of the cover because IT IS SCARY. If you're curious, go see it here. (H: It is pretty scary)

Justin's world is thrown upside down when a cop gives him a blowjob in a hotel bathroom. But when the cop visits Justin at his home, he knows he's in trouble.

Copping a Feel was a quick, hot read. But not one that I enjoyed.

It's Valentine's Day and Justin is out walking - he's all alone and he's feeling down. He stops in at a hotel to quickly use the facilities and someone follows him in. That someone is Sergeant Matheson and he quickly puts the moves on Justin. Justin, who is usually more circumspect is swept along by the cop's desire and he's on the giving end of a blow job before long. After, Justin is a bit freaked out because he's worried he'll get arrested.

But the sergeant wants Justin and he tracks him down at home and him and Justin pick up where they left off. But Justin doubts his own appeal and he can't believe Matheson is for real. Maybe he isn't...

This quick read definitely had a twist to it. A paranormal twist.

So why didn't I enjoy it? I guess I didn't like that a cop would do something so risky while on duty. And then how quickly Justin let Matheson into his life. Mind you, this is a short story, so there is an explanation for that but it's not one that I like. It's too convenient. The sex was hot, but I just didn't enjoy the set up. It's not for me. 2 out of 5 from me. It was ok.

This book is available from Breathless Press. You can buy it here in e-format.

Today author Tessa Adams is here to celebrate her latest release, Hidden Embers, book 2 in her Dragon Heat series.


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Yesterday, I spent much of the morning doing something that I absolutely love: hanging with a few of my very good writing friends. We were supposed to be working on our latest WIPs, but I think the most prolific of us got about seven sentences written (just so you know, I only got two sentences done the entire time I was there). But that didn’t matter, even though I’ll have to make the time up later this evening—after all, we are involved in a weekly challenge here. We each decide on our word counts at the beginning of the week and then make a mad dash for the finish line. It’s lots of fun and the competition (and support) makes writing a book so much easier.

So as I was sitting here, trying to come up with a blog for today, it occurred to me that one of the few (very few) things I haven’t blogged about lately is how much my life has changed in the past few years since my first book came out. I mean, the heavens didn’t open, angels didn’t sing, but I’m still pretty thrilled with how things have ended up. So, with no further ado, I thought I’d do a top ten list of things I love about being a romance writer.

10. Reading romances is now part of my job description.

9. I get to spend a lot more time at home with my boys (which is a mixed blessing, especially when I’m on a deadline ;)

8. I get to spend my days thinking about mermaids, dragons, computer viruses, Greek myths and kissing clubs!!!!!

7. I spend hours, days, weeks, researching stuff that absolutely fascinates me 

6. I get to travel all over the country, speaking about romance novels to people who love them as much as I do.

5. My books are now tax-deductible (thank God! My husband has finally stopped hassling me about my little … addiction)

4. I no longer have to teach high school English every day (which I loved, but believe me when I say I don’t miss getting up at five a.m. to make sure that everything was ready for the day for both my boys and myself)

3. I get pretty, pretty covers like these for my April Dragon’s Heat novel, Hidden Embers, and my May YA mermaid novel, Tempest Rising.

2. I have some of the best, most talented friends in the world, not to mention guaranteed roommates to the RWA national conference every year (within twelve hours it looks like a bomb went off in our room, but that’s half the fun—along with the scavenger hunt we have to go on to get dressed by the time the third day rolls around)

1. And the perk that can not be overrated, the number one reason I love my job--I get to work in my pajamas (although I’m sure my sons’ teachers think all kinds of terrible things when I drop them off— and sometimes pick them up-- at school in my robe and gorilla slippers)

So, how about you? What’s one thing you are particularly grateful for/happy about in your daily life? Leave a comment and be entered to win a copy of Dark Embers, the first in my Dragon’s Heat series and Unguarded, my December Superromance.

Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adams/Tracy Deebs collects books, English degrees and lipsticks and has been known to forget where—and sometimes who—she is when immersed in a great novel. At six she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow and a prince—and at seven she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit with her first Judy Blume novel. By ten she’d read everything in the young adult and classics sections of her local bookstore, so in desperation her mom started her on romance novels. And from the first page of the first book, Tracy knew she’d found her life-long love. Her first novel, A Christmas Wedding, appeared on the scene in November of 2008 and since then she has sold eighteen novels—including Erotic Suspense and Paranormal to New American Library, Contemporary Superromance to Harlequin, and Paranormal Young Adult Romance and Contemporary Young Adult Romance to Walker Books. Now a part time English professor at her local community college,she lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and three sons. She was a 2010 Rita nominee.
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Holly's review of Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart (Love by Numbers, Book 3) by Sarah McLean

She lives for passion

Bold, impulsive, and a magnet for trouble, Juliana Fiori is no simpering English miss. She refuses to play by society's rules: she speaks her mind, cares nothing for the approval of the ton, and can throw a punch with remarkable accuracy. Her scandalous nature makes her a favorite subject of London's most practiced gossips...and precisely the kind of woman the Duke of Leighton wants far far away from him.

He swears by reputation.

Scandal is the last thing Simon Pearson has room for in his well-ordered world. The Duke of Disdain is too focused on keeping his title untainted and his secrets unknown. But when he discovers Juliana hiding in his carriage late one evening--risking everything he holds dear--he swears to teach the reckless beauty a lesson in propriety.

She has other plans, however; she wants two weeks to prove that even an unflappable duke is not above passion.

I was somewhat disappointed with the 2nd book in this series, Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord, but this was much more on par with MacLean's first release, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake. I really enjoyed it. The characters came across well and the storyline was lively and fun.

Juliana has been feeling like an outcast since she left Italy to live with her brothers in England. The English are so reserved, so passionless. She longs for the day when she can leave and go back to Italy. Except..she can't quite get over this small attraction she has to Simon Pearson, The Duke of Leighton. She shouldn't be interested in him, he's haughty and cold..except when he's not. She wants to break through that icy exterior to find the heat beneath.

Simon is in a desperate rush to save his family reputation. Thanks to a reckless act by his sister, he must marry as quickly as possible - to someone with unimpeachable character. The frustrating Juliana Fiori is about as far as he can get from propriety. But when she stows-away in his carriage he has a hard time resisting temptation. Especially once she throws down a challenge - daring him to unleash the passion inside him. But Juliana doesn't understand what's at stake - passion could ruin his entire family.

Simon and Juliana have been dancing around each other since the first book. It seemed there was more to him than The Duke of Disdain, but he proved us wrong in the second book with his actions toward his sister. I wasn't sure what to expect going into this novel. While there were times I wanted to kosh him over the head with a chamberpot, I eventually came to love him just as much as Juliana did. The weight of his responsibilities sat very heavily on him, which made him a more likable character.

With Juliana, I was worried she'd be one of the harebrained women who acted first and thought later..but that wasn't really the case. Yes, she wanted passion, but she wasn't reckless. And most of the scandals she found herself wrapped up in - or almost scandals - were not of her making. Her attraction to Simon frustrated her, but she wasn't afraid to confront him about it. I think that's what I loved best about her..she wasn't afraid to speak her mind, or tell others what she wanted. Simon might have been a stick-in-the-mud, but Juliana called him on it.

They had chemistry in spades, but as we all know, chemistry isn't enough. I think MacLean did a good job of showcasing that for us here. Yes, they were attracted to each other, but duty and honor played a large part in their actions. So did friendship and mutual respect. They really came to rely on one another, which was touching.

I'm disappointed that MacLean didn't tie up all the loose ends. Since this is to be the end of the series I expected everything would be cleared up. Why did she bother to introduce Juliana's mother into the story if she was going to leave it unresolved?

Despite a few issues, overall this was a fun, sexy read. I found the story engrossing and the characters flawed but lovable.

4.5 out of 5


The series:



This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Tracy’s review of The Perfect Family by Kathryn Shay

Seventeen-year old Jamie Davidson doesn't think being gay should be such a big deal...until he comes out to his parents and friends. Even as Jamie celebrates no longer needing to hide his true self and looks forward to the excitement of openly dating another boy, the entire Davidson family is thrown into turmoil. Jamie's father Mike can't reconcile his religious beliefs with his son's sexuality. His brother Brian is harassed by his jock buddies and angry at Jamie for complicating all their lives. Maggie, his mother, fears being able to protect her son while struggling to save her crumbling marriage. And Jamie feels guilty for the unhappiness his disclosure has caused. Every member of their “perfect family” must search their hearts and souls to reconnect with each other in this honest, heartwarming, and hopeful look at the redemptive power of love and family.

This is the coming out story of a teen who lives in what appears to be the perfect family but the coming out throws the family into turmoil and at times it feels like it will never get any better.

Jamie decides that it’s time to tell his parents that he’s gay. He’s known about his sexual orientation for a while but since he never met anyone he wanted to date he kept the information to himself. When he does finally meet someone that he falls for he knows it’s time. But the coming out isn’t anything like he thinks it will be. His mother is in total support of him being who he is but his father has such a hard time because of his religious beliefs. The Catholic Church believe that homosexuality is a choice not something you’re born with and though the dad loves his son he’s not sure how to handle things. The father’s priest tries to help but it seems as though the dad, Mike, gets more confused about how to handle the situation. Then when the brother, Brian, finds out he calls Jamie names and has a hard time dealing with his brother, his family, his teammates and friends at school.

The story gives us a little insight into everyone’s points of view but the mom, Maggie, seems to be the central pov of the story. Maggie’s trying to keep her family together but it’s just so hard because Jamie’s homosexuality seems to affect every single thing they do. Maggie and Mike’s marriage hits the skids and though Brian tries at times to understand his brother he has a really hard time with it.

The book, I think, really showed us some incredible insight into how rough a coming out can be on not only the person who is gay, but their family, friends and community. There is acceptance on some fronts and on others abandonment and hate. It’s a tough road and I think that Ms. Shay covered the issues so well. I especially liked how every part of Jamie’s life was touched upon. We got views from friends, school mates, teachers, counselors, extended family members – it was just very comprehensive and I loved that the story didn’t only focus on the 4 family members.

While not an easy book (emotionally) to read at times it was very good and one I’m glad I read.


Rating: 4 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place


This book is available from Bold Stroke Books. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Holly's review of When You Dare (Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor, Book 1) by Lori Foster

The tougher they are, the harder they fall…

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…

Foster is really hit or miss for me. I decided to pick this one up after reading the sister's story in the The Guy Next Door anthology. I liked it, with the exception of a few dumb moves on the part of the heroine (She was a total Mary Sue) and the fact that I felt insulted by the author's mini-rant about readers. I haven't decided yet if I'll continue on with the series.

While on a mission to save his best friend's sister, Dare Macintosh comes across Molly Alexander. Like Alaina (the friend's sister), Molly has been kidnapped and is being held in Mexico. Unlike Alaina, Molly isn't about to be sold on the white-slave market. There's something else going on, and Dare wants to figure out what. He rescues both women, but isn't sure what to do with Molly. When she asks him to help keep her safe until they find out who had her kidnapped, he agrees. He didn't realize he was going to find her so intriguing..or that his feelings might deepen...

Molly isn't sure what's going on, but she knows she feels safe with Dare. She hates feeling like she's clinging to him, but she can't help herself.  She wants to find out who was responsible for this and move on with her life. Unfortunately she can't seem to let it go without Dare. Are her feelings for him tied up in her rescue, or is it something deeper and more lasting..for both of them?

Dare was a strong man, a lot on the alpha side. His possessive attitude toward Molly could have been overbearing, but wasn't because he didn't want to control her. He respected her intelligence and genuinely cared what her opinion was. He isn't in the market for a relationship, but he can't help his feelings for Molly. From the first she confused him. He develops a healthy does of respect for her, along with a mighty case of lust.

Molly held up extremely well considering what she'd been through. Although she had some minor, throwaway flaws, for the most part I felt like she was a little too perfect. I kept waiting for the events of her ordeal to catch up with her so she could deal with them, but that never happened. Not only did she seem to take her kidnapping and torture in stride, finding out who was behind it didn't phase her either. She even went so far as to help another victim. All of that is admirable of course, but she just didn't seem very affected by any of it. A woman is held in a Mexican camp and tortured for 9 days, but other than feeling a little "clingy" toward her savior life goes on as usual? I didn't buy it. Especially since it was obvious someone was still after her (she almost got snatched twice more).

Because the timeline of the book was so short, I had a hard time believing that not only were they in love, but that Molly was emotionally stable. I was also bothered by Molly's complete lack of thought for her sister in the beginning of the book. In the anthology that comes before this, her sister is in a near panic because Molly is out of touch. Yet Molly doesn't even think about her sister once upon being rescued. That didn't ring true to me.

Molly's rant about readers and reviewers really stood out to me as out of place and a way for the author to get the last word about negative reviews. I blogged about it in a separate post, but I wanted to include a quote from the book so you can see what I mean:

"Well, the thing is, my last book garnered a lot of controversy. There was a vocal group of readers who really..." She looked from Dare to Chris, and shrugged. "They were really pissed off with a certain twist in the plot."
"How do you know?" Chris asked.
"Trust me, readers make sure you know when you've let them down."
(...)
Dare sat back in his seat. "How'd the book do with all that reader disgruntlement?"
"Great, actually." In an effort to explain to them, she leaned forward, elbows on the stone bar. "With every book, there are good reviews and bad reviews, rants and raves, readers who love it and readers who hate it, and a whole bunch of reactions that are in between those extremes. You know the old saying where you can't please all the people all the time? That sames goes for reviewers and readers."
Dare didn't look convinced. "So it wasn't a big deal?"
"Well, it was a big deal to me, at least in some ways. Given the level of anger over it, I'm sure I lost some longstanding readers. No matter what, I hate to disappoint anyone, but I especially hate to let down loyal readers who've been reading me from the beginning."
"Bummer," Chris said.
"But..." She lifted her shoulders. "I also gained new readers and expanded my audience. Truth is, if I had it to do all over again, I'd do it exactly the same way, because I have to write the story the way it wants to be written, not the way readers want me to."
Chris noticed that she didn't look overly hurt by that.

As I said, taken on it's own this probably isn't that big of a deal. But it seemed to come out of left field in the book, and when you look at it knowing about the controversy over Foster's last novel...well, it's suspect and it offended me.

The mystery plot wasn't much of a mystery. It became clear early on who was responsible for Molly's kidnapping. I was surprised at a few of the mistakes Dare made when it came to Molly's safety and the investigation. Maybe this is just a personal pet peeve (one of the many reasons I rarely read RS) but simple security mistakes from an expert because he's "distracted" by the heroine drive me insane. I will say his reasons for being distracted were better than most - it wasn't just lust, but her emotional well being that he was stuck on. That made it easier to take, but didn't totally excuse it.

They did have great chemistry, both in bed and out of it. I didn't doubt that they cared for each other or shared passion, I just wasn't fully convinced it was enough for marriage and babies and happily ever after.

3.0 out of 5

The series:
Savor the Danger (Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor)


This book is available from HQN. You can buy it here or here in e-format.