Riley

Men of Courage #2

by Lori Foster

The first exciting story in a new, multi-author Harlequin Temptation miniseries American Heroes that will launch with the May 2003 collection Men of Courage. Steamy romance meets irresistible heroics in this brand-new tale.

THE BAD GUY
Regina Foxworth has no clue why an unknown assailant is out to get a small-town reporter like her. Or why the police won't take her concerns seriously. So Regina gets a guard dog -- make that a four-pound "guard" Chihuahua! -- and signs up for self-defense classes. But defending herself is not on her mind when sexy instructor Riley Moore has her pinned to the mat.

THE GOOD GUY
With Regina vulnerable beneath him on his gym floor, Riley breaks out in a possessive sweat. He wants her, but first he has to protect her. She needs more than her "don't-muss-my-hair" style of defense and that ridiculous so-called dog. Riley is ex-SWAT -- and his new life as an evidence tech hasn't softened his lethal training one bit. But Regina isn't quite the princess she seems, and she's about to catch him off guard!

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Harlequin, Category Romance, Romantic Suspense, Adult

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 23, 2003

About the author

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN.

Lori hosts a very special annual “Reader & Author” event in West Chester, Ohio. Proceeds from the event have benefited many worthy causes, including the Hamilton County YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, the Animal Adoption Foundation, The Conductive Learning Center for children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy, and The One Way Farm, Children’s Home.

Each year Lori donates all proceeds from one book to charity. You can see the benefit romance books here: http://lorifoster.com/benefit-books/

Career Highlights
•In 2001, Lori received the prestigious Romantic Times “Career Achievement Award” for Series Romantic Fantasy.

•In 2002, Lori’s book Too Much Temptation was the top-selling romance title for Amazon books.

•In 2003, Say No To Joe was the second “Bestselling Original Contemporary” romance title for Waldenbooks.

•In 2004, Lori Foster was a clue in the New York Times crossword puzzle.

•In 2004, The Secret Life of Bryan was the “Bestselling Original Contemporary” romance title for the BGI group.

•In 2005, Lori received the prestigious Romantic Times “Career Achievement Award” for Contemporary Romance.

•In 2006, Jude’s Law was the “Bestselling Romantic Comedy” romance title for the BGI group.

•In 2007, Lori launched a new “urban fantasy” series under the name L.L. Foster. See more on her “dark side” at www.llfoster.com.

•In 2007, Causing Havoc was among Amazon’s Top Ten Editor’s picks in Romance.

•In 2008, Hard to Handle made #2 on The New York Times.

•In 2009, Servant: The Acceptance was Amazon’s #1 Editors’ Pick in Romance.

•In 2010, Lori was a clue in the USA Today Quick Cross puzzle.

Reviews

[Ivonne. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esta serie trata sobre heróes locales y empece mal, no figura en kindle como serie, así que los personajes ya se conocen del anterior libro, Riley es un ex SWAT que ahora trabaja como técnico de pruebas, además tiene un gimnasio, al cual acude Regina, (la protagonista) una reportera que se ha visto envuelta en varios atentados y necesita aprender a defenderse, Riley carga un pasado con una gran decepción en el amor y a pesar de no querer involucrarse con nadie por temor a volver a sufrir, no puede evitar sentirse muy atraído por ella y viceversa, aunque Regina siempre trata de disimular (para mi gusto una protagonista tonta y demasiado ingenua para la edad que tiene), el aunque por momentos es muy posesivo, me ha gustado un poco más, el tema del suspenso ha sido poco creíble, la parte buena han sido las risas que nos regalan los amigos y el perro chihuahua.
Le doy 2.5 #RetoRita4 #RitaFoster

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picks up with a miniseries started in an anthology focusing on local heroes. This one involves Riley, a CSI, ex-SWAT member and gym owner. He's loving and lusting after Regina Foxworth, or "Red" who he knows is in trouble and he wants to be there to help her, so maybe he can finally get her to see that he's the one for her. She's oblivious though, until Riley lays a kiss on her and tells her point blank they're going to bed together. After that, she's on board, but still hesitant because of her past. When Riley realizes that Regina's life is being threatened, his protective instincts kick into gear and he'll do anything to get to the bottom of this, so he and his woman can have their HEA.

This is fairly fluffy, with a mild amount of suspense to kick up the action a bit. There isn't really any relationship angst between Riley or Regina - they kinda work out that they're in love and want to be married fairly smoothly. It's drawn out, but decidedly snag-free. But it's Regina's being stalked or threatened that keeps Riley in action, as he chases down burglars and basically does the police's job (for which he takes them to task too). Riley was pretty much a great hero. He's the first to fall in love (and I'm a sucker for stories where the hero falls first) and he's infinitely patient with Regina, which probably makes him a TRUE hero to me. Riley also seems to be a jack of all trades, with awesome fight skills, the analytical mind of a crime scene investigator and apparently the skills of a business owner. Where does he find the time?

Regina was quite a bit less enjoyable for me. She's your classic ditz I guess. Not too bright, painfully naive and a little slow on the uptake for some things. I'm pretty sure it was the moment that Regina says she's eager to go in her new home in the suburbs, all alone, without a security system or protection and she KNOWS she's being stalked and threatened by some mystery villain, that I knew I was in for a struggle with her. Most especially when Riley says he'll be staying with her to ensure her security and she gets all prudish and argues about propriety instead of considering her own fricking safety. RME. Hardcore. Then she agrees to get a dog, so she'll have some protection. And she ends up shelling out $600, which she says she didn't have, for a pure-bred Chihuahua because he's so adorable. Meanwhile, she later talks about doing a story on animal shelters and feeling so bad for those animals. Now, I presume she either went to a breeder or a pet store or something - didn't say anything about being at a shelter and she talked like she could have gotten a dog much cheaper elsewhere, so I want to know why she didn't. If she was so caring and compassionate, she'd adopt a mutt from a shelter, wouldn't she? But she takes this dog home and proceeds to spoil it rotten (and being a dog owner, gah, it made me so mad). He pees all over the place and she says, "That's not nice" and then holds him because he looks so remorseful and ends up reinforcing the behavior. She's one of THOSE dog owners. Granted, this was a small part of the story and I could get over her behavior to read more about Riley, but I wasn't really connecting to this heroine or dying for her to be with Riley or anything. I was very meh about her and somewhat annoyed by her.

[Cheesecake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually read this ages ago, and didn't realize when I got the audiobook. But I still enjoyed it ; )
Read by Candace Tate, it had a smooth flow.
Regina is sure that someone is out to harm her but nobody believes her. So she starts taking self defense courses from Riley at the gym he owns.
I loved how Riley is besotted with her but tells himself he just has the hots for her.
The first half is pretty predictable and reads like your typical 90's (but written in 2003) harlequin. The H isn't abusive but just won't admit he has feelings. He has friends that joke around. She is conservative in style and doesn't ooze sexuality but there's just something about her he can't resist.

Anyways, the second half gets more interesting with more back story and Riley confronting the ghosts of Regina's past and kicking their asses. He now is totally sure there is someone out to hurt Regina and is determined to keep her safe.

It's pretty obvious from early on why someone is 'after' her. But that doesn't hurt the story any and the answer actually isn't as obvious as you'd think.

Safety is all good. no mention of Riley's history except he was married before and she cheated on him with a good friend of his. There's a lot more to his back story but I will leave that for you to discover. He has hookups and nothing more. But nothing since he met Regina. She briefly had a fiancee so she isn't a virgin but hasn't had good sex yet. Like I said... 90's

[July · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book hard to get into. In fact I did not even start enjoying the book until past the middle of it. I hope that if there are others in this series they are better. I found the first 4 books wonderful. I was so looking forward to this story of Dorian who is a sniper of the DarkRiver Changelings. He meets up with Psy Ashaya Aleine who helped the children escape from the killer in the last book.
The overall book just was long and drawn out.

[monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

En defensa del amor

Buena bonita y con mucho romance.una historia corta donde se mezclan la amistad y el amor .me a gustado mucho.

[Rosemarie Grainer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story with some action

I liked Riley when I read met him in the short story Trapped in the Men of Courage compilation. He is even better in this story. Riley is a former SWAT member who now teaches self-defense and works part time for a small town police department. He meets Regina when she comes to do an interview of his friend who is a fireman. She is nervous about something, so he offers to teach her some self-defense moves. She gets a fierce Chihuahua defender, and Riley is smitten by both of them. His reaction to the tiny dog is precious. The way he and his friends all work together on solving her problem is great.

The pace is fast and the tone is hopeful with a character and action oriented storyline that has some steamy scenes. The characters are vivid and endearing. I totally enjoyed this and hope to read stories about the other two friends.

[catzkc · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was nearly a DNF for me - would have been if it wasn't so short.

The woman is a pompous, pretentious prude. What single, adult woman in the 21st century is mortified for someone to find condoms in her bedroom?

She's also a naive idiot, who, among other things idolizes a local politician like he's the incarnation of JFK.

Then there was the whole thing of her shelling out $600 to a breeder for a full-bred Chihuahua, and then later goes on about a piece she did about the local animal shelter and how she wanted to give all of them homes.

The only thing good about this one was the cover.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Butch & scenes with the guy friends made the entire story tolerable. I liked Riley a lot but Regina was an immature, naive idiot who was pretty unlikable. She acted like a teenager around men and nothing indicated she was extremely sheltered. She was also a terrible reporter - her "interviews" with Riley's friends about him for her hero article were more like high school discussions.....tell me about the boy I have a crush on. And her viewpoint on politicians and the world would never have her get hired or prosper as a reporter. I thoroughly disliked her and was hoping for a much better match for Riley.

[Brenda Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

just as good the second time

The story line is great the characters were really and very funny. I knew I had read it before but didn’t remember all the details. I’m glad to get read this series in order now.

[Sue Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great couple - enjoying this series!

[Danielle Nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Ms. Lori has created another excellent story. Beauty and brains are such an excellent combination!

I agree with her though... I'm not crazy about the cover either

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A guard chihuahua...Enough said!

[Anita Glover Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about Riley. It was a fast paced romance and I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Chloe Rodwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy to read but kept you interested the whole way through.

[Donna Magruder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting story it shows how people feel about being strong and doing things right.💜

[Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I mentioned in my previous blogpost, I'm in a bit of a reading slump, so I've turned to a favorite author of mine. Lori Foster writes pretty great novellas, which are perfect for me right now. Riley by Lori Foster is a shorter novel I've read before, and while it isn't a favorite, I enjoyed reading it again.
What I Liked:

Riley was pretty great. As I've said before, I usually really love Lori Foster's heroes, and that's definitely the case with Riley. He's strong, capable, a bit of an alpha-male, but never obnoxious.
Adorable little Butch makes his first appearance. He's such an adorable little chihuahua, and he was probably my favorite part of the novel. He sure is full of personality.
I enjoyed seeing how Regina always wanted to be put together. I could totally relate to that. She did frustrate me at other times (more on that below), but in general I liked her.
I wanted Riley and Regina to be together. I thought they made a good couple, and I could see how they would complement each other.

What I Struggled With:

Regina sometimes frustrated me. I mean, at times she'd say things that just didn't feel realistic. And I didn't completely buy her reasoning for why she likes every just-so.
The suspense aspect was kind of . . . unrealistic, I guess I would say. And I will admit, I'm not reading this for the suspense. But still it pulled me out of the story a bit because it was silly.
Riley was a bit pushy at times, and I didn't like that. He would say things to Regina like "think about Butch. You don't want him to get hurt?" which felt a bit too manipulative for my tastes. Even though his intentions were good, it was a bit much.

Final Thought:
Riley by Lori Foster was a pleasant read, and I enjoyed it, but I did have some issues with it, too.This review was originally posted on Quinn's Book Nook

[TINNGG · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok, realistically, if I'm practicing active avoidance of a book, it's time to ditch it.

A v. brief bit about why...

h, somewhat old-fashioned notions (by today's standards) of when one finally gets busy - not first date, and not with someone you've only known 3 weeks. Feels uncomfortable around men in general, and H in particular

H, typical knuckledragging chestbeater - thinks 3 weeks is plenty of time, everything said to h is full of innuendo and suggestion, has staked his claim that h is his, but can't be bothered to ask her out. She's just supposed to fall over with her legs in the air I suppose.

Convenient stalker - to give chest beating asshole an excuse to impose himself into h's live (still without bothering to ask her on a date).

Ok, I'm done.

[Debs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riley can come to my rescue any day! No one writes sexy romantic heroes like Lori Foster. Not only is Riley hot, but he is also a gentleman and the softness in him just makes him that much more intriguing. Who doesn't love a man that takes to a chihuahua his wanna be girl just bought. He brings out the best in Regina, who is beautiful but has very little self esteem. They are a match made in heaven. Just what you are looking for in a suspenseful romance book. Although a previously published book, these stories never go out of style. 4.5 stars!

[Rae · Rating 1 out of 5]

For the first time ever I have given Lori Foster a DNF. I am in love with this author but this book just would not work. Got to 30% and just gave up. The female character is a complete ninny. Dumb, naive and wimpy. And Riley was dominate and cheesy. They did not mesh at all for me. I'm sorry Lori because I truly love your books and will read them until the day you stop writing but just not that one.

[Toni Wulfekuhl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Riley Ex Swat currently works as an evidence tech and owns a gym, where he teaches self defense. He has loved Regina since he met her.

Regina small town human interest reporter believes someone is trying to kill her but no one will believe her. So she gets a four-pound "guard" Chihuahua and signs up for self defense classes.

[~ Stephanie Lynn ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lori Foster has a knack for writing heroes who are strong, dependable and incredibly sexy and Riley definitely fits the bill. Regina is very frou-frou but still a likeable character. Riley's group of buddies are great, I cannot wait for Harris and Butch's stories. Foster writes buddy scenes better than anyone. There is a lot of humor in this book, especially with the guard dog that Regina buys.

[Roxanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, light weight category romance read! I am a softie for animals, and babies/young children - this particular story features a chihuahua the heroine of the story, Regina, rescues from the pound...

[Karen Desmond · Rating 2 out of 5]

2

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a Lori Foster collection, Bodyguard. That cover is much better, but the story is the same!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got the feeling this book in the middle of a series. It was fine as a free standing book but many references were made to things that happened in a previous storyline.

[Jacqueline SG · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even "cliche" is an understatement. Extreme stereo typing of men and women of the Middle Ages imported to modern age.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was certainly a very steamy read but it had a story line that kept my attention. I easily read it in one evening.

[Dalesha R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boring!!! To mutch sex
I did like the dog

[Shelita · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Really didn't expect the culprits in the crimes.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: Passionate Protectors