Review: A page-turner!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 7, 2013
Dangerous Desire was a suspenseful, nicely romantic read that was difficult to put down--even when the characters were being less than cooperative. ;)I loved Jake. He was smart, sexy, and tough--and always honest with Gracie, even when she didn't seem to deserve it. I could really feel his frustration with his current position in life--it had to be difficult, suddenly being on the outside of police investigation, forced there by an on-the-job incident. The descriptions of the injury and his scar made me cringe every time. Although he had understandable bitterness, he was making the best of his situation by doing what he knew how to do in another capacity. Seeing him have to remind himself not to use the police lingo every time made me feel for him even more.His early coldness toward Gracie seemed a bit much at first, but when we find out his back story it begins to make more sense. Soon the protective streak that must have been a big factor in his job choice takes over, and from then on I was on his side 100%.Gracie is initially a very sympathetic character. Her sister is all she has in her life, and she is determined to do everything she can to find her. She is wary of Jake and unwilling to trust him, which is wise, but it felt as if that lack of trust persisted a little bit too long--and it will rear its ugly head in a huge way at the end, when it is most definitely not deserved. (She was scared, exhausted, and under huge amounts of distress, though--I suppose that could be a measure of justification. Jake forgives her, so I guess I can too.) She spends a lot of time telling herself that she is smart and capable--while making choices that definitely aren't. She makes up for it toward the end, though, when all heck breaks lose and she does manage to get herself to safety through some pretty big odds. She made up for a lot of earlier frustration by being able to pull it all together at the end--I especially enjoyed how random facts that she'd taught her kindergartners would come to her in times of crisis and help her out.The relationship between the two had just the right amount of steam, and nicely balanced the suspense parts of the plot. However, at times it felt like their relationship was pushed along unnecessarily by episodes of Gracie using her looks and sex appeal to try to manipulate Jake--which went directly against the "boring plain Gracie" she claimed to be the rest of the time. It felt a bit jarring, and uncharacteristic for her. Still, it made for some interesting scenes. ;)I definitely didn't see the twist at the end coming--nicely done.The HEA and epilogue are satisfying, though they felt a bit rushed. I was left with a few questions (Where does Jake's wealth come from? What happened to his marriage? Why didn't Reagan's email ever reach Gracie?), but they weren't enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of this book. Dangerous Desire was a fun, steamy, quick-paced romantic suspense, and I'll definitely be on the lookout for more of the same from this author.Rating: BI received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.