Review & Giveaway: When You Dare by Lori Foster

When You Dare
Lori Foster
Paperback, 448 pages
HQN Books
April 26, 2011
Amazon | GR | TBD

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….

Review:
Want to play a game of Truth or Dare?

If you pick dare, then you have just given Dare Macintosh what he hoped for. His name serves as a subtle warning, but in case you miss it then his menacing demeanor certainly clues you in that he is not a man to be trifled with. Just ask Molly Alexander.

On a stealth, one-man mission to rescue his friend’s sister from human traffickers, Dare finds Molly captive and abused. Different from the other would be sex slaves but still defenseless, Dare frees Molly too.

But Molly is hardly the damsel in distress type. She is a well known romantic suspense author who has more hidden enemies than she ever imagined, and now that Dare has helped her escape, she is hell bent on finding the person responsible for her kidnapping.

Little do they realize that as new possible suspects are revealed, so are new possibilities between them, including ones that uncover their heart’s desire.

Let the game begin!

It’s been a while since I’ve read a novel tagged as Romantic Suspense, but I didn’t find the storyline in When You Dare much different from those of my beloved PNRs, i.e. über hot guy and girl who doesn’t think she’s hot deny their insta-love until their loins explode all over one another. I’m not saying it’s a formula that doesn’t work. If fact, it does… The proof: When You Dare. Which was an enticing read but maybe a little lacking.

For me, I think the most disappointing aspect was that I expected a lot more heart pounding action and suspense, but other a few scenes which had Dare ducking and weaving, the action was more about telling than showing. Readers are told a lot about Dare’s background, which effectively paints him as a cold cut bad-ass when it comes to dealing with goons, yet this story was more about Dare and Molly fighting their feelings for each other because that’s what’s best.

When you read a book that has 448, even if it is a quick and easy read, you want to finish it and think that it had substance or offered something different. Though Dare impressed me the way any Alpha Male would and I grew to respect Molly for going after what she wanted, I don’t think the story strayed much from the beaten path. Sure there were some quirky characters, namely Dare’s personal assistant Chris, and Dare’s beloved dogs, but when the culprit of the crime was confirmed (I say confirmed because suspension of that person was pretty evident from the start) the motivation to take down Molly just didn’t make too much sense.

Still, I think Foster has a very distinct and provocative writing style. The romance may have not offered anything new, but it was nonetheless comforting and sweet. Plus, I always have fun reading about characters who have a carnal attraction for each other yet often misinterpret what the other is feeling. And because I highly enjoyed the presentation of Foster’s new line of Alpha Males, I will definitely continue with the series. The next book Trace of Fever (Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor) is about Trace Rivers who was introduced in this first book. I’m really looking forward to reading it! 

Challenge(s): 111 in ‘11 Challenge, Men in Uniform Reading Challenge

One person will win a copy of When You Dare (Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor) by Lori Foster! Giveaway deets:

• Leave a comment with contact info to enter.
• Open to U.S./Canada contestants only.
• Retweet for an extra entry! Include RT link in comment.
• Ends 4/30 at 11:59pm CST. Winner will be selected using random.org.

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Posted at 8:23 pm  •  Labels: 2011, 3 stars, Book Review, giveaway, Kindle Edition, Lori Foster, review copy, Risqué Reads, romance, Romantic Suspense