Review: Only a taste
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 1, 2011
Ever since finishing Desperate Deeds , I wondered what became of Lara, after the man she loved, Jason, was murdered and the traitor on the A-Tac team was exposed. This novella picks up Lara's story a year later. Lara has left the team and is working in Central Africa at a medical clinic. By healing other people, she hopes to heal her own wounds and, hopefully, move on from mourning Jason. She also decides a way to move on would be a one-night stand with Rafe, a mercenary who is the line of defense between the settlement and the rebels.I thought Lara was pretty well fleshed out, considering the length of the story. Plus, if you've read the rest of the series, you know her some already. Here, we get to see a bit more of her, especially her loneliness and her struggle to get over Jason's death. However, I felt I never really got to know a lot about the hero, Rafe. There was potential there, to fall in love with him more, but I feel Davis never really gave me any substantial insight about him.Also, there is a lot of action and not enough romance for me personally. Usually, I feel Davis balances this action/suspense well with a good romance and with good character emotion. I always feel a connection with her characters, but here with this story, I don't, not the way I wanted to. I feel as if the romance is too rushed due to the action and that Lara and Rafe arrive at HEA a little too quickly.  They are running for their lives, with no real time for any truly deep emotional connection, when the conflict is finally resolved, with the requisite I realize I love you moment.I do love Dee Davis and this series, with Dangerous Desires being one of my favorite books, but Daring is only an okay read for me. I know it's a novella, and not meant to be some long work, but I have read short stories that do manage to pack a punch despite brevity. I just don't think this story completely delivers. Combined with the length (story ends at 84%) and a deficit of romance and emotion, this story is more like a small bite, just a taste of what could have been, and it leaves me feeling a little dissatisfied. For me, this story is average and could have been better.If you're new to the series, here are the books in order:Dark DeceptionsDangerous DesiresDesperate DeedsDaringDeep Disclosure(Aug. 23, 2011)