This book will not make you smarter, but will keep you entertained (sort of).
I've read a couple of romantic suspense books in the past, but I never really explored the genre. I like the idea of romantic suspense. The genre offers a great escape from the stress and monotony of reality and they are often a bit soapy, which is always a plus.
Into the Fury is smack dab in the 'average' range of the romantic suspense books I've read, but since I haven't read all that many, this opinion is subject to change.
We have Ethan Brodie, who is an ex-cop/homicide detective turned P.I./bodyguard/security expert. He's hired to act as the bodyguard for La Belle Lingerie's top 10 lingerie models while they go on a tour (think Victoria's Secret televised fashion show, but not as big). Brodie is not excited about the work gig because he's "off women" since he hates his ex and has a low opinion of lingerie models.
Well, his opinion quickly changes once he meets Valentine Hart.
Side Note: It wasn't until the 80% mark of this book that I stopped mentally pronouncing Valentine as Valen-teen. In my head, it was like the name 'Valentina' but with an 'e' at the end. No wonder I was confused as to why Ethan kept thinking Valentine's name sounded like a stripper. Her name is Valentine like the holiday. "Valentine Hart"..... I completely missed the cheesy pun name and had been calling the heroine the wrong name for the majority of the book.
Anyway, Valentine ("Val"), is a stunning, smart and friendly lingerie model. But she's not a *real* lingerie model. Val won some contest and got a 6-month contract, which is perfect because she needs the money from the contract to finish vet school.
While Ethan thinks Val is gorgeous, he wants nothing to do with her because all lingerie models are self-centered and vain airheads (there are his paraphrased thoughts, not mine). Once he realizes Val has more going on under her flawless skin, Ethan changes his tune.
There's a lot of hesitancy on both of their parts whether to commit or not mixed in between some fairly non-descript sex scenes and A LOT of boring details regarding the comings and goings of other characters and convoluted murder plots. The last 20-30% of the book really dragged with a lot of unnecessary details as to where cars were parked and the décor choices of the houses of Ethan's coworkers, so I engaged in some serious skimming to get to the HEA.
Overall, this book was decent. Ethan's alpha views were way too antiquated for my tastes. Before he even considers committing to Val, he's demanding she see no one else and lets it be known he would never be comfortable with a woman showing off her body for anyone but him. 👎👎
I would have preferred that Val didn't have that whole veterinarian side story and had only pursued modeling. I say this because Ethan only treated Val differently once he learned she was "more than just a model." Excuse me, but FUCK THAT. You can be a lingerie model and also be kind and smart and interesting. You can also be a lingerie model and be the opposite of kind and smart. What I'm saying is, a person's career does NOT define them. *If* a woman is lucky enough to find a job that is both fulfilling and provides financial independence then ALL POWER TO HER, because that is damn hard to find.
I would have loved to see Val shine in her modeling job and show Ethan (and alllllllllll the men out there like Ethan) that his opinion of lingerie models is wrong and unwarranted. Then, when Ethan realized his errors and apologized, Val would tell him to eat shit. Though, if she did that we would not have a very long story. 🤷♀️
In summary, women have it hard and don't need to be pigeon-holed, stereotyped or be made to feel guilty for whatever job they do to put money on the table.
Rant over. 2.5 stars.