Suspense

Dangerous Ground by Josh Lanyon

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
16150524
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m, mystery, suspense
Series: Dangerous Ground #1
Published: 4/22/2008
Reviewed by Anne
89 ebook pages

Taylor and Will are special agents for the Department of Diplomatic Security.  They’ve been together for three years.  They’re great friends and are both out of the closet gay men, but not lovers.  That doesn’t mean they don’t have an attraction to each other, but they’ve never acted on it.  Still, things were thrown out of balance a few weeks ago when Taylor was shot.  He’s almost ready to come back to work, but the strain between them is an issue.  They decide that a weekend camping together will give them time to work through things.  As if working around emotional shrapnel between the two of them isn’t enough, they stumble across the remains of a plane used in a crime a few months ago.  Now there’s a lot more on the line than just their friendship and work relationship.

I’m pretty picky when it comes to mysteries.  I really enjoy some authors, but find others to be way too intense for me, especially without the balance of a romance or HEA.  I do enjoy JD Robb, Julia Spencer-Fleming, and Josh Lanyon, though.  I’ve been slowly working my way through Lanyon’s backlist.  That’s what brought me to Dangerous Ground.  

Lanyon hasn’t failed me yet, and this was no exception.  Will and Taylor are interesting and distinct characters.  I liked the way they were both caught off guard by their feelings for each other and it was interesting to watch how they handled them.  They have a banter and humor together that kept me smiling.  The suspense was realistic enough to keep me wondering how in the world they would work things out.

I’m glad I read it, and now I’ve got a new series to read!  That said, it didn’t grab me and refuse to let go the way that the Adrien English series did.  Still, I look forward to the rest of Taylor and Will’s stories.  How about you?  Do you read mysteries?  If so, do you have a favorite series?

Throwback Thursday-Behind Closed Doors by Shannon McKenna

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Behind Closed Doors (McClouds & Friends #1)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series- McCloud and Friends #1
Genre-Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kate
430 pages

Haunted by dreams most of her life, Raine is on a mission to bring the man who killed her father to justice.  Even if that man is her own uncle Victor.  Seth is on a mission to hunt down his brother’s murderer.   And you guessed it, his brother’s murderer is Victor.  Seth has all of Victor’s properties under surveilance and has been watching the new hottie that moved into Victor’s former mistress’s house.  Raine got a job a her uncle’s company, and is staying in housing provided by the company (you guessed it
again, the former mistress’s old house).  So Seth has been watching Raine.  All right, I think we’re on the same page now.  Raine and Seth both want Victor dead. But can romance blossom at the same time?

I’m not a suspense reader, at all. But I decided that I needed to branch out, so as part of my yearly goals I decided to read one suspense book each month (fyi-I’m one month behind already).

I took Kay’s recommendation and tried this one. It was hot and steamy and full of tension and suspense. Everything that I imagine a good suspense is made of. I felt the first part of the story dragged a bit. Raine thinks she’s pulling off this huge con and her uncle doesn’t know who she is. Seth is still just watching Raine from a distance. But once the story picked up the pace, it just wouldn’t let me go. I simply had to keep turning pages to see how everything ended up.

If you’re a romantic suspense fan already, this one sure fits the bill. If you’re looking to give the genre a try, like I was, make sure you have enough time set aside because once you start, you won’t be able to put this one down.

Mine to Crave by Cynthia Eden

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne


                      Mine to Crave (Mine, #4)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Mine #4
Genre-Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kay
280 pages
 
Romantic Suspense is one of those sub genres in romance literature that can be very, very good or very, very bad. This is an example of very, very good.

You have a former military man who now owns and runs multiple casinos with a tortured past. He has everything that money can buy but happiness. To have happiness you have to trust and Drake Archer trusts a very select few people but never a woman. He learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago.

Jasmine Bennett is a thief, or is she? She’s on the run from a so called bounty hunter while she’s in pursuit of Drake for information about his business dealings. She herself trusts very few people. She’s always had to pretty much rely on herself, even from a young age. Her own past is interwoven with Drake that leaves her vulnerable and in turmoil.

From the moment she crooks her finger at Drake the first time to the second time she does it, it’s non-stop action. I couldn’t hardly put it down. I even stayed up late to read it. Cynthia Eden, I just want to kiss you and hug you so tight. You had my heart racing with the suspense, fanning myself during the love scenes and my eyes misting at the emotional parts. That’s not just good romantic suspense but that’s a good novel.

In closing, a couple of my favorite lines:

The memory of being in Drake’s bed was too strong. I could still feel him on my skin.

She tasted just like he remembered. Like every dream he’d ever had. Like everything he ever wanted but didn’t deserve.