marbles66's review against another edition
4.0
I have enjoyed all of Lisa Marie Rice's books that I have read so far.
whiskeyinthejar's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
Standing in the shadows in the cold of a Manhattan winter or the steamy furnace of a Manhattan summer for an hour or two a month, without his bodyguards, without any security whatsoever, for a glimpse of a woman…it was madness.
The beginning of this was crazy good. The suspense, danger, and action was gripping. Then the story started to become the hero constantly talking about how the heroine is not like any other woman and his fantasy of banging her. We don't get a sex scene until the second half, which shocked me because this is categorized as erotica but the constant fantasizing by the hero and then the second half focus on sex more than earn that category.
I wanted more action because the author wrote it so well. The villain was good, the hero's dark background was good, and I could even handle the very good girl but,
It had also been clear that she wasn’t wearing a bra, because she didn’t need it. Her breasts were perfect as they were.
No. She's sweet, amazing, no make-up, perfect no-dyed shade hair, amazing artistic talent, etc, etc, but no to the perfect breasts not needing a bra to look "perfect". I can sustain my disbelief only so far. Really though, I just couldn't with the perfect all other women are scum heroine, as viewed by the hero.
The sex didn't grip me because I didn't "know" the characters enough. Great first two chapters, though.
Standing in the shadows in the cold of a Manhattan winter or the steamy furnace of a Manhattan summer for an hour or two a month, without his bodyguards, without any security whatsoever, for a glimpse of a woman…it was madness.
The beginning of this was crazy good. The suspense, danger, and action was gripping. Then the story started to become the hero constantly talking about how the heroine is not like any other woman and his fantasy of banging her. We don't get a sex scene until the second half, which shocked me because this is categorized as erotica but the constant fantasizing by the hero and then the second half focus on sex more than earn that category.
I wanted more action because the author wrote it so well. The villain was good, the hero's dark background was good, and I could even handle the very good girl but,
It had also been clear that she wasn’t wearing a bra, because she didn’t need it. Her breasts were perfect as they were.
No. She's sweet, amazing, no make-up, perfect no-dyed shade hair, amazing artistic talent, etc, etc, but no to the perfect breasts not needing a bra to look "perfect". I can sustain my disbelief only so far. Really though, I just couldn't with the perfect all other women are scum heroine, as viewed by the hero.
The sex didn't grip me because I didn't "know" the characters enough. Great first two chapters, though.
tita_noir's review
3.0
As I was reading this book i was really, really enjoying it. I think I've on;y ever read one LMR book before and was nicely surprised by her style.
But after I finished and mulled it over for a bit, I realized that even though the read was crazy enjoyable there were some things about the book that keep it from being a 5 or even a four star for me.
Except for a few forays into the increasingly bat-shit crazy mind of the the guy who is out for Drake's blood, this story is told almost exclusively from Drake's POV. On one level that is really great because it is a rarity to get a book that is almost completely from the perspective of the hero. But otoh, it made for a very opaque heroine. Because we are in his thoughts constantly and know what he thinks/feels for her, she almost seems like a manifestation of his deepest fantasy. She is THE perfect woman for him as we are told in many different ways. But because she rarely had a voice, we just have to take it on faith that she really is all these things (and that his perception of her isn't just wishful thinking on his part).
It is also important to note that the hero is a truly bad guy. He isn't a Navy SEAL, he isn't an undercover cop or CIA agent. He is a Russian Gangster. An illegal arms dealer who sells all over the world to unstable countries etc. This particular thing doesn't bother me in a fictional sense. However, I had to groan when the heroine, clearly knowing that she wouldn't have been shot at and her friend murdered in front of her eyes, unless this guy was into something kinda bad. So what does she ask him? She wonders if he deals drugs. He says no...and that's it. I guess being a drug dealer is the only deal breaker with her. Couldn't she at least have asked if he trafficked in child pornography? Was wanted by the Secret Service for trying to assassinate the President? Ran a prostitution ring? She seemed remarkably uninterested in what he was.
And then there is the fact that Drake knew that someone in his organization betrayed him and he knew that the guy trying to kill him would just keep trying. So what does big, bad, super smart Drake do? He decides to spend the next 3 days fantasizing about boning Grace and then boning her at every possible moment. That's it.
I liked that he did (finally) get at the guy who was trying to kill him. But I was more disappointed in the fact that there was no attempt or effort to even find who in his organization betrayed him. That betrayal resulted in the murder of an innocent man (Grace's friend) and several members of his own security detail. But Drake has the fabulous Grace and that is all that matters to him.
So yeah, not a five star book. I still liked it in spite of those things, but it would have been a much stronger read in the end if the characters had a made a few different choices.
But after I finished and mulled it over for a bit, I realized that even though the read was crazy enjoyable there were some things about the book that keep it from being a 5 or even a four star for me.
Except for a few forays into the increasingly bat-shit crazy mind of the the guy who is out for Drake's blood, this story is told almost exclusively from Drake's POV. On one level that is really great because it is a rarity to get a book that is almost completely from the perspective of the hero. But otoh, it made for a very opaque heroine. Because we are in his thoughts constantly and know what he thinks/feels for her, she almost seems like a manifestation of his deepest fantasy. She is THE perfect woman for him as we are told in many different ways. But because she rarely had a voice, we just have to take it on faith that she really is all these things (and that his perception of her isn't just wishful thinking on his part).
It is also important to note that the hero is a truly bad guy. He isn't a Navy SEAL, he isn't an undercover cop or CIA agent. He is a Russian Gangster. An illegal arms dealer who sells all over the world to unstable countries etc. This particular thing doesn't bother me in a fictional sense. However, I had to groan when the heroine, clearly knowing that she wouldn't have been shot at and her friend murdered in front of her eyes, unless this guy was into something kinda bad. So what does she ask him? She wonders if he deals drugs. He says no...and that's it. I guess being a drug dealer is the only deal breaker with her. Couldn't she at least have asked if he trafficked in child pornography? Was wanted by the Secret Service for trying to assassinate the President? Ran a prostitution ring? She seemed remarkably uninterested in what he was.
And then there is the fact that Drake knew that someone in his organization betrayed him and he knew that the guy trying to kill him would just keep trying. So what does big, bad, super smart Drake do? He decides to spend the next 3 days fantasizing about boning Grace and then boning her at every possible moment. That's it.
I liked that he did (finally) get at the guy who was trying to kill him. But I was more disappointed in the fact that there was no attempt or effort to even find who in his organization betrayed him. That betrayal resulted in the murder of an innocent man (Grace's friend) and several members of his own security detail. But Drake has the fabulous Grace and that is all that matters to him.
So yeah, not a five star book. I still liked it in spite of those things, but it would have been a much stronger read in the end if the characters had a made a few different choices.
weruintooeasy's review against another edition
2.0
*1.5
objectively not a terribly written book but everything about the romance (ugh insta!love) to the characters (ugh male leads who are pretty much stalkers being painted as an ideal romantic hero! no thanks!) to the constant "she's so natural and doesn't care about her looks unlike all those shallow women out there" description of the main female character was so damn annoying.
objectively not a terribly written book but everything about the romance (ugh insta!love) to the characters (ugh male leads who are pretty much stalkers being painted as an ideal romantic hero! no thanks!) to the constant "she's so natural and doesn't care about her looks unlike all those shallow women out there" description of the main female character was so damn annoying.
dumblydore's review against another edition
4.0
I just realised I'd skipped the second novel, after reading Dangerous Lover (thoroughly enjoyed that, until that incredibly abrupt end) and straight onto this one.
Drake is such a dream, despite his dubious and ethically tenuous line of work, the narrative is particularly linear for a suspense but the progression works seamlessly from the protagonists' and villain's alternating view points. Not to mention Drake is seriously hot.
I was just concerned by the way Drake got away with it (without giving too much away) at the end; could Grace have reconciled with this fact?
Drake is such a dream, despite his dubious and ethically tenuous line of work, the narrative is particularly linear for a suspense but the progression works seamlessly from the protagonists' and villain's alternating view points. Not to mention Drake is seriously hot.
I was just concerned by the way Drake got away with it (without giving too much away) at the end; could Grace have reconciled with this fact?
melluuvsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
This was a reread. I read this the first time in 2012. I liked it more then. I was straight up devouring this author then. This time I listened to the audio book, and I wasn’t wild about it. The narrator makes the H sound cartoonish with his accent…. Anyway, I think my tastes have changed.
The h is 28 and the way she talks is a little OTT shmaltzy to me… the language in general is overly flowery. And while I remember the H as being dark, dangerous, and mysterious (an anti-hero)…. On this reading, he just comes off off as sweet and gentle and… and… not my flavor.
The h is 28 and the way she talks is a little OTT shmaltzy to me… the language in general is overly flowery. And while I remember the H as being dark, dangerous, and mysterious (an anti-hero)…. On this reading, he just comes off off as sweet and gentle and… and… not my flavor.
jannat_'s review against another edition
4.0
It was a gripping read. The action was very well heightened with the stakes. I especially like that in each danger situation, it was Grace’s quick thinking that saved them.
Here’s what kept it from being a 5 - star:
1. He kept talking about f*ing her at many intervals which quickly turned redundant, and with each fantasy there was undoubtedly comparisons to other women which started to annoy me.
2. This was leaning on heavy inner monologue than dialogue.
3. The ending was unresolved. What happened to the traitor?
Here’s what kept it from being a 5 - star:
1. He kept talking about f*ing her at many intervals which quickly turned redundant, and with each fantasy there was undoubtedly comparisons to other women which started to annoy me.
2. This was leaning on heavy inner monologue than dialogue.
3. The ending was unresolved. What happened to the traitor?
misty24a8a's review
4.0
Own as part of Boxed Set:
Dangerous Secrets - Nick Ames & Charity Prewitt
Dangerous Passion - Viktor (Drake) Drakovich & Grace Larsen - Anti-hero & the artist
Dangerous Lover - Jack Prescott & Caroline Lake - Homeless kid returns, ex-military/security
Dangerous Secrets - Nick Ames & Charity Prewitt
Dangerous Passion - Viktor (Drake) Drakovich & Grace Larsen - Anti-hero & the artist
Dangerous Lover - Jack Prescott & Caroline Lake - Homeless kid returns, ex-military/security
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