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Dangerous #1
Dangerous Lover
Riddled with medical expenses after the death of her young brother, Caroline Lake desperately takes in boarder Jack Prescott, a seemingly down-on-his-luck stranger with a high-stakes past who awakens previously unexplored passions in Caroline.
337 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2007
129 people are currently reading
2840 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Marie Rice
57 books1,610 followersLisa Marie Rice is eternally 30 years old and will never age. She is tall and willowy and beautiful. Men drop at her feet like ripe pears. She has won every major book prize in the world. She is a black belt with advanced degrees in archaeology, nuclear physics, and Tibetan literature. She is a concert pianist. Did I mention her Nobel Prize? Of course, Lisa Marie Rice is a virtual woman and exists only at the keyboard when writing erotic romance. She disappears when the monitor winks off.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 333 reviews
March 2, 2014
Opening Line:"She was here. He could feel her, he could smell her."
~GREAT HERO, AVERAGE STORY, INCOMPLETE ENDING~
This is a well written story and Rice has obviously done her homework regarding issues in Afghanistan and Africa. I also really enjoyed Jack as our hero; he's brooding and sexy with a repeatedly described hard body. He's also been written as the savoir; rescuing our heroine in a snowstorm then continually caring for her every need, making sure she's warm and fed, fixing her falling down house, shovelling the driveway and mending the bad-tempered boiler while she sleeps, all this while being a thoughtful and generous lover too. I suppose this is every woman's fantasy but DANGEROUS LOVER never really grabbed me, it was just okay.
Jack Prescott has been in love with Caroline Lake since he first met her while living in a homeless shelter years before. After the death of his alcoholic father Jack took to the streets, but not before one last look at Caroline surrounded by her wealthy, loving family as they celebrated Christmas. Twelve years later Jack returns. He has spent years in the military and witnessed some terrible things now all he wants to do is get back to the girl that he`s never forgotten. Caroline's world has slowly crumbled over the years. After her parents died in a car accident she was left caring for her paralyzed and ailing brother. As the medical bills mounted Caroline struggled to cope with a house in desperate need of repair and a mass of debt. Now her brother is also gone leaving Caroline alone.
Jack arrives on Christmas eve fresh from the field, still in fact with sand in his boots. Caroline now owns a bookstore and also takes lodgers in the old mansion. So within hours of being back on US soil Jack is speaking directly to Caroline. The internal dialogue here is great as Jack struggles to keep calm in Caroline's presence and shake off the war that he's just left. She rents the tanned stranger a room and while on their way home Jack saves her life after the car goes off the road during a snowstorm. He then becomes "savoir Jack" doing everything for the wimpy and somewhat fragile Caroline.
I actually have no idea how she ever managed without him but anyways. After a lavish dinner the couple immediately fall into bed. This is a good thing because I was getting tired of hearing about Jacks `tight jeans' The sex scenes are strong but nothing especially kinky goes on and I found them to be quite repetitive. As they stare at each other in the afterglow Jack doesn't tell Caroline that he knew her years before or that he now has millions of dollars worth of diamonds. Bad idea Jack. The two spend the next few days exclusively in bed except of course when Jack is fixing things or shovelling snow.
Throughout the book we are given several different POV's. Jacks was my favourite but we also hear from the antagonist Vincent Deaver. His perspective is quite suspenseful as he gradually gets closer and closer to our couple in his hunt for the diamonds. We also hear briefly from Caroline's loser ex-boyfriend, Sanders who hopes to win her back.
I kept hoping that this book would get better, that something would happen because there was so much potential but alas. The ending was incredibly disappointing. It just kind of well... ends. You are left unfulfilled, assuming that somehow everybody got their HEA but without any of the details that we as romance readers need to know. All in all except for the incomplete ending this is a pretty good read. Cheers!
~GREAT HERO, AVERAGE STORY, INCOMPLETE ENDING~
This is a well written story and Rice has obviously done her homework regarding issues in Afghanistan and Africa. I also really enjoyed Jack as our hero; he's brooding and sexy with a repeatedly described hard body. He's also been written as the savoir; rescuing our heroine in a snowstorm then continually caring for her every need, making sure she's warm and fed, fixing her falling down house, shovelling the driveway and mending the bad-tempered boiler while she sleeps, all this while being a thoughtful and generous lover too. I suppose this is every woman's fantasy but DANGEROUS LOVER never really grabbed me, it was just okay.
Jack Prescott has been in love with Caroline Lake since he first met her while living in a homeless shelter years before. After the death of his alcoholic father Jack took to the streets, but not before one last look at Caroline surrounded by her wealthy, loving family as they celebrated Christmas. Twelve years later Jack returns. He has spent years in the military and witnessed some terrible things now all he wants to do is get back to the girl that he`s never forgotten. Caroline's world has slowly crumbled over the years. After her parents died in a car accident she was left caring for her paralyzed and ailing brother. As the medical bills mounted Caroline struggled to cope with a house in desperate need of repair and a mass of debt. Now her brother is also gone leaving Caroline alone.
Jack arrives on Christmas eve fresh from the field, still in fact with sand in his boots. Caroline now owns a bookstore and also takes lodgers in the old mansion. So within hours of being back on US soil Jack is speaking directly to Caroline. The internal dialogue here is great as Jack struggles to keep calm in Caroline's presence and shake off the war that he's just left. She rents the tanned stranger a room and while on their way home Jack saves her life after the car goes off the road during a snowstorm. He then becomes "savoir Jack" doing everything for the wimpy and somewhat fragile Caroline.
I actually have no idea how she ever managed without him but anyways. After a lavish dinner the couple immediately fall into bed. This is a good thing because I was getting tired of hearing about Jacks `tight jeans' The sex scenes are strong but nothing especially kinky goes on and I found them to be quite repetitive. As they stare at each other in the afterglow Jack doesn't tell Caroline that he knew her years before or that he now has millions of dollars worth of diamonds. Bad idea Jack. The two spend the next few days exclusively in bed except of course when Jack is fixing things or shovelling snow.
Throughout the book we are given several different POV's. Jacks was my favourite but we also hear from the antagonist Vincent Deaver. His perspective is quite suspenseful as he gradually gets closer and closer to our couple in his hunt for the diamonds. We also hear briefly from Caroline's loser ex-boyfriend, Sanders who hopes to win her back.
I kept hoping that this book would get better, that something would happen because there was so much potential but alas. The ending was incredibly disappointing. It just kind of well... ends. You are left unfulfilled, assuming that somehow everybody got their HEA but without any of the details that we as romance readers need to know. All in all except for the incomplete ending this is a pretty good read. Cheers!
January 28, 2012
LMR's books are one of my comfort reads. Is her writing "formulaic"? Yes, it is. But I happen to like her "formula" - especially her alpha heroes, who always fall hard and fast for their heroines - so I have yet to find a book by LMR that I didn't enjoy.
Dangerous Lover was no exception. It was hot, sexy and emotional. Even though Jack was basically obsessed with Caroline and his behavior at the beginning was borderline stalker-ish, I was OK with it. A guy like him would have freaked me out in RL, but he lives in Romancelandia and I can give him some leeway there, LOL. Seen through Jack's eyes, Caroline was the perfect, almost saintly heroine. Too good to be true but, again, it didn't bother me.
Now, the ending... WTF was that??? I'm kind of used to LMR's abrupt endings by now, but I thought this book took it way too far. Okay, there was an epilogue but, seriously, who cares about the darn diamonds? It was a given that Jack and Caroline would live HEA - after all, this as a romance book! - but I'd like to have seen at least some glimpse of it. That would have been a true and more satisfying epilogue.
Anyway, that was the only thing that bothered me. All things considered, this was still a very enjoyable read to me. :)
Dangerous Lover was no exception. It was hot, sexy and emotional. Even though Jack was basically obsessed with Caroline and his behavior at the beginning was borderline stalker-ish, I was OK with it. A guy like him would have freaked me out in RL, but he lives in Romancelandia and I can give him some leeway there, LOL. Seen through Jack's eyes, Caroline was the perfect, almost saintly heroine. Too good to be true but, again, it didn't bother me.
Now, the ending... WTF was that??? I'm kind of used to LMR's abrupt endings by now, but I thought this book took it way too far. Okay, there was an epilogue but, seriously, who cares about the darn diamonds? It was a given that Jack and Caroline would live HEA - after all, this as a romance book! - but I'd like to have seen at least some glimpse of it. That would have been a true and more satisfying epilogue.
Anyway, that was the only thing that bothered me. All things considered, this was still a very enjoyable read to me. :)
August 31, 2015
Reviewed for THC Reviews
"3.5 stars" For the second time in a row, I have finished a book and been left waffling over how to rate it, which is very unusual for me. There were things that I liked about Dangerous Lover, but quite frankly, there were also things that I thought could have been greatly improved too. Lisa Marie Rice has a very languid writing style characterized by extended passages of descriptive or introspective prose punctuated by brief snippets of dialog. In my opinion, this gave the story a rather slow and uneven pace, but I wouldn't really characterize it as dull or boring or say that I entirely disliked it. Since this is my first read by Ms. Rice, I can't say if this is her usual writing style or a peculiarity of this book, but my personal preference would have been that there be more dialog especially between the hero and heroine. In spite of being inside their heads almost constantly, I still felt like I was lacking a full and complete understanding of their feelings and motivations. Often I felt like the author was telling me things instead of showing me, and I think that at times it was a bit too wordy and simply didn't get to the point quickly enough for me to grasp it.
To say that Jack was the strong, silent type would probably be an understatement. Although I've already mentioned the general lack of dialog throughout the story, it seemed to me that Jack had the least of anyone. I suppose in some ways this added to the aura of mystery and danger surrounding him, but I still like my heroes to be a tad more talkative. Jack was a tortured hero and a hardened ex-military guy who was an ultra-protective alpha male. What I really liked about him though was that when it came to Caroline, he definitely discovered his softer side and always treated her very gently. However, what impressed me the most was his gentlemanly behavior towards her such as opening doors, pulling out chairs, etc. I may be in the minority, but I love it when a man does these sorts of things for a lady. Jack may have engaged in combat in some of the world's worst hellholes but around Caroline he was never uncouth, right down to watching his language, which I found to be a really neat dichotomy. I also found his frequent kissing of her hand to be a swoon-worthy gesture.
Caroline was an interesting heroine who is extremely kindhearted and trusting of others, but perhaps too much so. She was certainly a tortured heroine and an emotionally strong one to have lived through the deaths of her entire family, but I thought that having all her friends and neighbors basically ignore her because they were uncomfortable with the tragedy was a little overkill. I guess it added to her sense of isolation and vulnerability, but one would think that there would be a few people who would offer up some kind words or support during that difficult time. While I like a heroine who isn't afraid to let the hero take care of her, I also think that ideally she should have a little spunk as well. I thought that her previous on-again, off-again relationship with Sanders, especially when she didn't enjoy the sex and didn't really even seem to like him all that much, made her seem weak and indecisive. I also would have liked to see her defend herself a little better against his unwanted advances. Overall, Caroline was a nice, sweet heroine, but I would have preferred that she exhibit a bit more backbone.
While Dangerous Lover had quite a few romantic moments between Jack and Caroline that I enjoyed, there were also some things about the story that bothered me. I am not usually a fan of the instant “meeting and mating,” but I was able to overlook it to some degree in this book since I understood Caroline's loneliness, and she and Jack had a previous connection, even though she wasn't initially aware of it. Nevertheless, I do tend to be a proponent of safe sex especially in contemporary romance, and the lack of it in this book did bug me. Even though Jack was certainly a prepared, plan-ahead kind of guy, I maybe could have lived with neither of them having any condoms available in the middle of a snowstorm, and I probably could have accepted the flimsy reasons for Caroline fortuitously being on birth control. However, when she said, “You look healthy” I couldn't help but roll my eyes and have a WTH moment, since careless assumptions like that in real life would likely end in an STD. Sometimes I can live with the condoms being left behind if there seems to be a decent reason for it, but in this case, I didn't really see any compelling rationale for the author to write it that way. The safe sex argument aside, I also found some of the violence a little off-putting. I'm generally not overly squeamish, but I found the descriptions of the atrocities being committed against the women and children in Sierra Leone to be somewhat disturbing. I think this was probably due to the realism of it and the fact that these things are actually happening on a daily basis rather than just being committed by some fictional, warped, psycho villain. Lastly, there were also quite a number of continuity errors as well as incorrect or incomplete word choices. While these errors weren't totally egregious, they were sometimes distracting and should have been caught by a good editor.
Out of all the reader complaints I've heard about Dangerous Lover so far, the most common one seems to be that many hated the ending. While I'll admit that it was pretty abrupt, I didn't find it to be absolutely terrible. This may have been due to my expectations being lower because of the complaints, so I can definitely see how those who didn't have prior knowledge of a potentially unsatisfying ending might be very disappointed or even upset by the way things wrapped up. It was happy, but certainly left a lot to the reader's imagination. For those who aren't aware, there is something of an epilogue to the story exclusively available online at Just Erotic Romance Reviews, but it doesn't really add anything to the plot of the main novel. The epilogue also isn't written in a story format, but instead, has more of the feel of a timeline documenting all the major events in Jack and Caroline's lives from the end of Dangerous Lover until they both take their final breath on this mortal plane.
Dangerous Lover was marketed as an erotic romance, but the sexual content of the book did not include anything unusual or kinky. In my opinion, the love scenes were pretty vanilla and comparable to hot, steamy mainstream romances, but sensitive readers show know that they are more frequent and do contain explicit language. In a different vein, Dangerous Lover was not marketed as a Christmas romance, but the entire story takes place in four days over the Christmas holiday which might make it an appealing read for that time of the year. In spite of that, I would not necessarily call it a Christmas-themed romance, since none of the traditional trappings or celebrations of the holiday are present in the narrative. Dangerous Lover is the first book in the Dangerous series, followed by Dangerous Secrets and Dangerous Passion which is due to be released this summer. Lisa Marie Rice does not have a website and information on her books elsewhere is spotty, so I am not certain at this time what the character or plot connections between books might be. Even though there were a number of things about Dangerous Lover that I thought could have been better, I still found it to be a worthwhile read that also had a number of appealing elements too. I liked it well enough and have heard enough good things about Lisa Marie Rice that I will undoubtedly read the next book in the series and also try some of her other books, since I already have a few on my TBR pile.
"3.5 stars" For the second time in a row, I have finished a book and been left waffling over how to rate it, which is very unusual for me. There were things that I liked about Dangerous Lover, but quite frankly, there were also things that I thought could have been greatly improved too. Lisa Marie Rice has a very languid writing style characterized by extended passages of descriptive or introspective prose punctuated by brief snippets of dialog. In my opinion, this gave the story a rather slow and uneven pace, but I wouldn't really characterize it as dull or boring or say that I entirely disliked it. Since this is my first read by Ms. Rice, I can't say if this is her usual writing style or a peculiarity of this book, but my personal preference would have been that there be more dialog especially between the hero and heroine. In spite of being inside their heads almost constantly, I still felt like I was lacking a full and complete understanding of their feelings and motivations. Often I felt like the author was telling me things instead of showing me, and I think that at times it was a bit too wordy and simply didn't get to the point quickly enough for me to grasp it.
To say that Jack was the strong, silent type would probably be an understatement. Although I've already mentioned the general lack of dialog throughout the story, it seemed to me that Jack had the least of anyone. I suppose in some ways this added to the aura of mystery and danger surrounding him, but I still like my heroes to be a tad more talkative. Jack was a tortured hero and a hardened ex-military guy who was an ultra-protective alpha male. What I really liked about him though was that when it came to Caroline, he definitely discovered his softer side and always treated her very gently. However, what impressed me the most was his gentlemanly behavior towards her such as opening doors, pulling out chairs, etc. I may be in the minority, but I love it when a man does these sorts of things for a lady. Jack may have engaged in combat in some of the world's worst hellholes but around Caroline he was never uncouth, right down to watching his language, which I found to be a really neat dichotomy. I also found his frequent kissing of her hand to be a swoon-worthy gesture.
Caroline was an interesting heroine who is extremely kindhearted and trusting of others, but perhaps too much so. She was certainly a tortured heroine and an emotionally strong one to have lived through the deaths of her entire family, but I thought that having all her friends and neighbors basically ignore her because they were uncomfortable with the tragedy was a little overkill. I guess it added to her sense of isolation and vulnerability, but one would think that there would be a few people who would offer up some kind words or support during that difficult time. While I like a heroine who isn't afraid to let the hero take care of her, I also think that ideally she should have a little spunk as well. I thought that her previous on-again, off-again relationship with Sanders, especially when she didn't enjoy the sex and didn't really even seem to like him all that much, made her seem weak and indecisive. I also would have liked to see her defend herself a little better against his unwanted advances. Overall, Caroline was a nice, sweet heroine, but I would have preferred that she exhibit a bit more backbone.
While Dangerous Lover had quite a few romantic moments between Jack and Caroline that I enjoyed, there were also some things about the story that bothered me. I am not usually a fan of the instant “meeting and mating,” but I was able to overlook it to some degree in this book since I understood Caroline's loneliness, and she and Jack had a previous connection, even though she wasn't initially aware of it. Nevertheless, I do tend to be a proponent of safe sex especially in contemporary romance, and the lack of it in this book did bug me. Even though Jack was certainly a prepared, plan-ahead kind of guy, I maybe could have lived with neither of them having any condoms available in the middle of a snowstorm, and I probably could have accepted the flimsy reasons for Caroline fortuitously being on birth control. However, when she said, “You look healthy” I couldn't help but roll my eyes and have a WTH moment, since careless assumptions like that in real life would likely end in an STD. Sometimes I can live with the condoms being left behind if there seems to be a decent reason for it, but in this case, I didn't really see any compelling rationale for the author to write it that way. The safe sex argument aside, I also found some of the violence a little off-putting. I'm generally not overly squeamish, but I found the descriptions of the atrocities being committed against the women and children in Sierra Leone to be somewhat disturbing. I think this was probably due to the realism of it and the fact that these things are actually happening on a daily basis rather than just being committed by some fictional, warped, psycho villain. Lastly, there were also quite a number of continuity errors as well as incorrect or incomplete word choices. While these errors weren't totally egregious, they were sometimes distracting and should have been caught by a good editor.
Out of all the reader complaints I've heard about Dangerous Lover so far, the most common one seems to be that many hated the ending. While I'll admit that it was pretty abrupt, I didn't find it to be absolutely terrible. This may have been due to my expectations being lower because of the complaints, so I can definitely see how those who didn't have prior knowledge of a potentially unsatisfying ending might be very disappointed or even upset by the way things wrapped up. It was happy, but certainly left a lot to the reader's imagination. For those who aren't aware, there is something of an epilogue to the story exclusively available online at Just Erotic Romance Reviews, but it doesn't really add anything to the plot of the main novel. The epilogue also isn't written in a story format, but instead, has more of the feel of a timeline documenting all the major events in Jack and Caroline's lives from the end of Dangerous Lover until they both take their final breath on this mortal plane.
Dangerous Lover was marketed as an erotic romance, but the sexual content of the book did not include anything unusual or kinky. In my opinion, the love scenes were pretty vanilla and comparable to hot, steamy mainstream romances, but sensitive readers show know that they are more frequent and do contain explicit language. In a different vein, Dangerous Lover was not marketed as a Christmas romance, but the entire story takes place in four days over the Christmas holiday which might make it an appealing read for that time of the year. In spite of that, I would not necessarily call it a Christmas-themed romance, since none of the traditional trappings or celebrations of the holiday are present in the narrative. Dangerous Lover is the first book in the Dangerous series, followed by Dangerous Secrets and Dangerous Passion which is due to be released this summer. Lisa Marie Rice does not have a website and information on her books elsewhere is spotty, so I am not certain at this time what the character or plot connections between books might be. Even though there were a number of things about Dangerous Lover that I thought could have been better, I still found it to be a worthwhile read that also had a number of appealing elements too. I liked it well enough and have heard enough good things about Lisa Marie Rice that I will undoubtedly read the next book in the series and also try some of her other books, since I already have a few on my TBR pile.
November 22, 2024
Loved this book! Loved the instant chemistry, loved Jack's character, and loved the little moments between them. I've never been a man in a uniform girlie, but Jack breaks the mold for big strong soldiers.
Fantastic use of wording change in the pov change from Jack to Caroline, you can really see their characters coming out even though the book isn't written in first person. I was very impressed by that.
Only issue I had was that the ending cut off pretty quickly, I wished there had been one or two more chapters of what happened in the future with their relationship.
The setting is Christmas, so it would make a great holiday read.
Fantastic use of wording change in the pov change from Jack to Caroline, you can really see their characters coming out even though the book isn't written in first person. I was very impressed by that.
Only issue I had was that the ending cut off pretty quickly, I wished there had been one or two more chapters of what happened in the future with their relationship.
The setting is Christmas, so it would make a great holiday read.
May 11, 2013
Jack Prescott
Caroline Lake
This was a good, quick, hot read.
Jack met Caroline years ago when he was living in a homeless shelter with his father. She lived with her loving, rich family. After his father dies, he leaves and is taken in by a kind, army colonol and his life changes. But he never forgets Caroline and he returns to Summerville 12 years later…. He has left a dangerous situation in Africa with a sack of diamonds and secrets���. Won’t go into much more detail but the bad guy turns up, Caroline questions who Jack really is…. Yes, the ending was fairly abrupt but there is a follow up novella – granted that was fairly abrupt to but it does sort of wrap it up. Like Ms Rice’s writing style and hot alpha males.
Greenbriars
Caroline Lake
This was a good, quick, hot read.
Jack met Caroline years ago when he was living in a homeless shelter with his father. She lived with her loving, rich family. After his father dies, he leaves and is taken in by a kind, army colonol and his life changes. But he never forgets Caroline and he returns to Summerville 12 years later…. He has left a dangerous situation in Africa with a sack of diamonds and secrets���. Won’t go into much more detail but the bad guy turns up, Caroline questions who Jack really is…. Yes, the ending was fairly abrupt but there is a follow up novella – granted that was fairly abrupt to but it does sort of wrap it up. Like Ms Rice’s writing style and hot alpha males.
Greenbriars
April 27, 2010
The story starts off with a tantalizing hook- the hero, Jack Prescott, at age 18, orphaned and homeless, stands outside Caroline Lake's house in the sleet and snow, peering in the window, longing for the warmth of a family who loves him. Years later, Jack has matured into a stoic, healthy, wealthy man and he's coming back for the woman whom he never forgot.
Caroline has hit some hard times- years before, her parents died in a car accident leaving the family less then well off, and then she had to bury her beloved brother after a long illness. All she has left is the family mansion, falling down around her ears, and her bookstore.
Enter Jack, he's too good to be true, but tender-hearted Caroline is desperate for the cash his renting of a room will provide and ...she's tired of being lonely.
Meanwhile, a deadly man is following the man who ruined his plans and made off with a cache of blood diamonds while in Africa- one ex-military, security consultant named Jack Prescott. He'll stop at nothing to get them back, including using the one weakness Jack ever presented ... his love for Caroline Lake.
DL was not a bad read, it had some exciting elements. Strong military hero, an intriguing thriller plot, and some steamy sex, but for some reason- it failed to hold my interest. The heroine was a little too vulnerable for my tastes- I prefer a mix of vulnerability and brass- and I couldn't help feeling Caroline was more of a child's wish than a man's fantasy. The author attempted to make Jack came off as alpha male, but she never really showed us how dangerous he was- just told us. Often.
She also became repetitive in the hero's wanting of the heroine- we got it after the first couple times he said how aroused her was by her, after 5 times it got tiresome. I skimmed through much of this book, sorry to say.
Add all that to the fact the ending was rushed and waaaay too easy and you get a 2 out of 5 from me. Perhaps if you enjoy contemporary erotic romance this might be for you- the sex was graphic and plentiful!- but as for me? Pass.
Caroline has hit some hard times- years before, her parents died in a car accident leaving the family less then well off, and then she had to bury her beloved brother after a long illness. All she has left is the family mansion, falling down around her ears, and her bookstore.
Enter Jack, he's too good to be true, but tender-hearted Caroline is desperate for the cash his renting of a room will provide and ...she's tired of being lonely.
Meanwhile, a deadly man is following the man who ruined his plans and made off with a cache of blood diamonds while in Africa- one ex-military, security consultant named Jack Prescott. He'll stop at nothing to get them back, including using the one weakness Jack ever presented ... his love for Caroline Lake.
DL was not a bad read, it had some exciting elements. Strong military hero, an intriguing thriller plot, and some steamy sex, but for some reason- it failed to hold my interest. The heroine was a little too vulnerable for my tastes- I prefer a mix of vulnerability and brass- and I couldn't help feeling Caroline was more of a child's wish than a man's fantasy. The author attempted to make Jack came off as alpha male, but she never really showed us how dangerous he was- just told us. Often.
She also became repetitive in the hero's wanting of the heroine- we got it after the first couple times he said how aroused her was by her, after 5 times it got tiresome. I skimmed through much of this book, sorry to say.
Add all that to the fact the ending was rushed and waaaay too easy and you get a 2 out of 5 from me. Perhaps if you enjoy contemporary erotic romance this might be for you- the sex was graphic and plentiful!- but as for me? Pass.
October 6, 2021
Too much of obsessive stalkerfic feel.
Focus seems more on sex than love for such a long obsession.
Focus seems more on sex than love for such a long obsession.
May 23, 2015
4.5 Hot Stars for yet another romantic story about an alpha man and a woman who needs to be loved - great eternal love - a pleasure to read.
There are some circumstances you will always be served in Ms Rice's romances (this is my fifth): It's winter, snow and the days around Christmas time. The story takes place over a few days. The male alpha hero is a former warrior, professional soldier or the like. The female heroine is a bit lonely and in need of security and of being "saved and loved". There is an external enemy who is prepared to kill. The male hero comes to the heroine's bed already the first night and then never leave it. The hero is constant "hard"....
All these enjoyable and nice parts, I also had this time in Dangeours Lovers - a fairy tale about Jack and Caroline.
Jack Prescott saw her already (in the distance) as a child and while he for many years was in the center of fierce wars and battles, he has always had her in the dream of love in his damaged heart. Now he is free and comes back to see her again. Is she still in town, is she married, has he any chance?
Caroline Lake, now without her family, are struggling financially and needs a new tenant in her big old house. A note is posted outside her little Book Shop and Jack catches the opportunity right away.
Snow, blizzard, a bad boiler, desire, heat and longing. A nasty enemy, a protective and strong hero, a grateful heroine and you gets some wonderful hours of reading. I loved them, good use of the time for me.
The ending is a bit abrupt, even if you know you got a good old Happily Ever After. Luckily, there is a short story (50 pages) Hot Secrets where you get a nice epilogue to this story. Don't miss that one - you kind of need it - I did.
Possibly is this novel a bit repetitive, if you read the author's other books, but I know what I get, and I like that. If this novel were not the fifth book I read by Ms Rice, I would perhaps given the novel that last half little star. Completely satisfied again!
I LIKE - as always
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
# The Novella with a nice epilogue: Hot Secrets and my review
# This novel is the first in a series of three stand alone parts (new lovebirds in each). You don't need to read them all.
And big Thanks to my nice friend Kathleen (her review)
who recommended this book.
There are some circumstances you will always be served in Ms Rice's romances (this is my fifth): It's winter, snow and the days around Christmas time. The story takes place over a few days. The male alpha hero is a former warrior, professional soldier or the like. The female heroine is a bit lonely and in need of security and of being "saved and loved". There is an external enemy who is prepared to kill. The male hero comes to the heroine's bed already the first night and then never leave it. The hero is constant "hard"....
All these enjoyable and nice parts, I also had this time in Dangeours Lovers - a fairy tale about Jack and Caroline.
"Oh, but you are." His voice was husky, pure sex. "You're a beatutiful little cream puff, and I could eat you right up. All over."
Jack Prescott saw her already (in the distance) as a child and while he for many years was in the center of fierce wars and battles, he has always had her in the dream of love in his damaged heart. Now he is free and comes back to see her again. Is she still in town, is she married, has he any chance?
Caroline Lake, now without her family, are struggling financially and needs a new tenant in her big old house. A note is posted outside her little Book Shop and Jack catches the opportunity right away.
Snow, blizzard, a bad boiler, desire, heat and longing. A nasty enemy, a protective and strong hero, a grateful heroine and you gets some wonderful hours of reading. I loved them, good use of the time for me.
...love in the snowy winter!
The ending is a bit abrupt, even if you know you got a good old Happily Ever After. Luckily, there is a short story (50 pages) Hot Secrets where you get a nice epilogue to this story. Don't miss that one - you kind of need it - I did.
Possibly is this novel a bit repetitive, if you read the author's other books, but I know what I get, and I like that. If this novel were not the fifth book I read by Ms Rice, I would perhaps given the novel that last half little star. Completely satisfied again!
I LIKE - as always
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
# The Novella with a nice epilogue: Hot Secrets and my review
# This novel is the first in a series of three stand alone parts (new lovebirds in each). You don't need to read them all.
And big Thanks to my nice friend Kathleen (her review)
who recommended this book.
October 12, 2013
Travelling along so nicely and then wham! It was all over bar the shouting....literally. :(
February 25, 2018
uff... según iba leyendo cada día me costaba mas... es un libro k de una escena duraba demasiadas paginas.... las escenas de sexo me han gustado, pero el instanlove de ella no me gusto nada. No se , ella no me gusto.
September 27, 2020
4.5 stars. It's average writing with an average plot and predictable characters, yet I loved this erotic suspense. Loved Jack and sympathized with Caroline. Lots of home repair, good food, and hot sex, balanced by a sociopathic killer with his eyes on the money.
Happy for Jack and Caroline, but the ending was too abrupt. Apparently, fans griped, so Rice wrote a short story in lieu of an epilogue. Here is my review of Hot Secrets.
I enjoyed the series, especially this book and Dangerous Passion. (A loose-knit with little overlap.) Dangerous Passion also has a short story to accompany it, like an epilogue. See Reckless Night. The two extended epilogues (Hot Secrets and Reckless Night) are also sold together in one book, Reckless Night, Hot Secrets.
Happy for Jack and Caroline, but the ending was too abrupt. Apparently, fans griped, so Rice wrote a short story in lieu of an epilogue. Here is my review of Hot Secrets.
I enjoyed the series, especially this book and Dangerous Passion. (A loose-knit with little overlap.) Dangerous Passion also has a short story to accompany it, like an epilogue. See Reckless Night. The two extended epilogues (Hot Secrets and Reckless Night) are also sold together in one book, Reckless Night, Hot Secrets.
April 28, 2008
This was my first book by this author, and it was outstanding. I would have given it all 5 stars, but the HEA was one paragraph long! That's just not fair!!!
A great action/adventure plus a semi-erotic romance, in which "The Secret" is revealed very near the end, and then everything is resolved in just a few sentences. Say it isn't so! I wish...
There's some strong sexual language and a good bit of bedroom activity, but I found it well written as the hero really cherished and respected the heroine, and she was aware of that. I found them both endearing.
I'll definitely go backfor more of Rice ... I already have another book of hers in my TBR mountain!
A great action/adventure plus a semi-erotic romance, in which "The Secret" is revealed very near the end, and then everything is resolved in just a few sentences. Say it isn't so! I wish...
There's some strong sexual language and a good bit of bedroom activity, but I found it well written as the hero really cherished and respected the heroine, and she was aware of that. I found them both endearing.
I'll definitely go backfor more of Rice ... I already have another book of hers in my TBR mountain!
July 16, 2015
2 stars - Romantic Suspense/Erotica
Dangerous Lover has a likable, sweet, mild alpha male hero who treats the heroine with tenderness and genuine affection. The romance is hot, but the intermittent bad guy pov regarding his pursuit of stolen blood diamonds distracts from the overall romantic progression and pace of the story. The ending is frustratingly abrupt and disappointing. The strong romantic aspect of the story isn't enough to counteract the choppy pace and bad ending.
Dangerous Lover has a likable, sweet, mild alpha male hero who treats the heroine with tenderness and genuine affection. The romance is hot, but the intermittent bad guy pov regarding his pursuit of stolen blood diamonds distracts from the overall romantic progression and pace of the story. The ending is frustratingly abrupt and disappointing. The strong romantic aspect of the story isn't enough to counteract the choppy pace and bad ending.
December 5, 2024
Give me a stalkerish-always-wanted-you hero any and every day!!!
I absolutely loved Jack! Ms. Rice created him in such a way that he felt larger than life to me and was the type of hero that made me fall in love with alpha heroes in my younger years. His determination to help and protect Caroline had me oohing and ahhing pretty much at every turn of the page.
This was a great story. It is filled with danger, drama and enough steam to singe my fingertips when holding my ereader. I loved everything about it!
Dual POV
Safe
Triggers
Steam
I absolutely loved Jack! Ms. Rice created him in such a way that he felt larger than life to me and was the type of hero that made me fall in love with alpha heroes in my younger years. His determination to help and protect Caroline had me oohing and ahhing pretty much at every turn of the page.
This was a great story. It is filled with danger, drama and enough steam to singe my fingertips when holding my ereader. I loved everything about it!
Dual POV
Safe
Triggers
Steam
December 10, 2024
A Lisa Marie Rice book is a guilty pleasure. You know, like sneaking a piece, or two, of dark chocolate and a glass of wine. Not quite something you want to own up to but indulge in on the sly. The mix is 50% Romance (sex) and 50% Suspense and a really, really good suspense at that. Rice knows how to craft a fine suspense plot and when you reach the 90% point in the book you absolutely cannot put it down. This is a rerelease of a 2007 work, but it has been updated and reads like a brand-new book.
Jack Prescott had a really bad childhood and when his father died, he took off at the age of 18. He was a lucky kid, he was found by a good man, a man who took care of him and adopted him. But Jack never forgot the golden princess who came to the shelter and was kind to him. He has carried the memory of a golden Christmas Eve when he spied on her and her family with him the last 12 years as he survived some of the worst war zones in the world as an Army Ranger. His father retired as an Army Colonel and started a very successful security business and when he died his dying request was for Jack to clean up a real mess in Africa and then live his life to the fullest. Jack fulfilled that request.
Caroline Lake let a charmed life until her parents were killed in an accident that left her little brother almost totally incapacitated. Her life changed instantly that terrible Christmas Eve eight years ago. Friends deserted her, bad investments had left no money for her and her brother and mourning was a shroud she wore. When her brother died, she was left with crushing debt and took in boarders to make ends meet.
When Jack Prescott walked into her life, she couldn't believe her luck that a down and out former solider wanted to rent a room from her. What she got was kindness, acceptance and the best sex of her life. But Jack was a man with secrets and those secrets could destroy the love growing between them and maybe even their lives.
My thanks to the Publisher and Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone.
Jack Prescott had a really bad childhood and when his father died, he took off at the age of 18. He was a lucky kid, he was found by a good man, a man who took care of him and adopted him. But Jack never forgot the golden princess who came to the shelter and was kind to him. He has carried the memory of a golden Christmas Eve when he spied on her and her family with him the last 12 years as he survived some of the worst war zones in the world as an Army Ranger. His father retired as an Army Colonel and started a very successful security business and when he died his dying request was for Jack to clean up a real mess in Africa and then live his life to the fullest. Jack fulfilled that request.
Caroline Lake let a charmed life until her parents were killed in an accident that left her little brother almost totally incapacitated. Her life changed instantly that terrible Christmas Eve eight years ago. Friends deserted her, bad investments had left no money for her and her brother and mourning was a shroud she wore. When her brother died, she was left with crushing debt and took in boarders to make ends meet.
When Jack Prescott walked into her life, she couldn't believe her luck that a down and out former solider wanted to rent a room from her. What she got was kindness, acceptance and the best sex of her life. But Jack was a man with secrets and those secrets could destroy the love growing between them and maybe even their lives.
My thanks to the Publisher and Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone.
December 25, 2009
First of all, I thought Jack's obsession with Caroline was a little much but I got past that. What really soured the book for me was the ending was way too abrupt. I expect an epilogue to detail what happens with the couple. Wasn't impressed with this one.
August 16, 2008
This was a very enjoyable romantic suspense novel. I thought that both the hero and heroine were great characters. I enjoyed the way that the hero, Jack Prescott, was so protective of Caroline, the heroine.
Twelve years ago, Jack Prescott was an eighteen year old homeless boy known as Ben. He was fascinated by Caroline Lake, a wealthy girl who treated him kindly when she delivered items to the homeless shelter where he is staying. After his father dies, Ben leaves town and is rescued from his harsh life by Colonel Eugene Prescott. Ben becomes Jack Prescott, joins the army, and becomes a Ranger. Later, he joins the father of his heart in his successful security business. When Colonel Prescott dies, Jack sells the lucrative company and his home, and then returns to Caroline's hometown of Summerville, Washington. Jack has never forgotten Caroline, and he hopes to find her. Arriving in Summerville, Jack learns that Caroline is suffering financial difficulties and takes boarders in her once magnificent home. Jack goes to Caroline's bookstore on Christmas Eve and arranges to rent a room from her. Caroline's life has been one of tragedy and loneliness. Her parents were killed in a car accident that gravely injured her brother. After suffering six years of agony, her brother has just died. Caroline is intensely drawn to Jack, and he gains her trust when he gets her safely home after a harrowing incident during a snow storm. After spending the evening together, Caroline tells Jack that she doesn't want to spend the night alone. The two begin a very intense, passionate relationship. When a man from Jack's past threatens Caroline's safety, Jack must protect this woman he loves while trying to regain her wavering trust.
This book was fast-paced and quick to read. I enjoyed the relationship between the hero and heroine, and I really liked both of their characters. I thought it was touching that Jack remembered and thought about Caroline while he was away, but I did find it a bit creepy that a young, homeless Jack used to go in and wonder through Caroline's house when no one was at home. The only other disatisfaction I felt with the book was due to the extremely rushed ending.
Twelve years ago, Jack Prescott was an eighteen year old homeless boy known as Ben. He was fascinated by Caroline Lake, a wealthy girl who treated him kindly when she delivered items to the homeless shelter where he is staying. After his father dies, Ben leaves town and is rescued from his harsh life by Colonel Eugene Prescott. Ben becomes Jack Prescott, joins the army, and becomes a Ranger. Later, he joins the father of his heart in his successful security business. When Colonel Prescott dies, Jack sells the lucrative company and his home, and then returns to Caroline's hometown of Summerville, Washington. Jack has never forgotten Caroline, and he hopes to find her. Arriving in Summerville, Jack learns that Caroline is suffering financial difficulties and takes boarders in her once magnificent home. Jack goes to Caroline's bookstore on Christmas Eve and arranges to rent a room from her. Caroline's life has been one of tragedy and loneliness. Her parents were killed in a car accident that gravely injured her brother. After suffering six years of agony, her brother has just died. Caroline is intensely drawn to Jack, and he gains her trust when he gets her safely home after a harrowing incident during a snow storm. After spending the evening together, Caroline tells Jack that she doesn't want to spend the night alone. The two begin a very intense, passionate relationship. When a man from Jack's past threatens Caroline's safety, Jack must protect this woman he loves while trying to regain her wavering trust.
This book was fast-paced and quick to read. I enjoyed the relationship between the hero and heroine, and I really liked both of their characters. I thought it was touching that Jack remembered and thought about Caroline while he was away, but I did find it a bit creepy that a young, homeless Jack used to go in and wonder through Caroline's house when no one was at home. The only other disatisfaction I felt with the book was due to the extremely rushed ending.
June 24, 2011
If you like steamy, alpha males who fall hard for the women in their life, Lisa Marie Rice is the author to read. She has come forth from her days as an Elloras Cave erotica e-book author and Dangerous Lover is her first in print book.
It is so good, one of the best romances of the summer alone! HOT HOT HOT!
The hero Jack has adored Caroline for over a decade. She is his reason for breathing and living. When he first head over heels for her, he was a scared eighteen years old with nothing to look forward to, except for Caroline. But he goes on to become a hard and emotionless individual and after 12 years he has given up his old life to be with Caroline.
Caroline had a privileged life but after the deaths of her parents and her brother who lived through the car accident but was paralyzed. With her little brother now dead, she has no money and no one else to turn to, until this strange and tired looking man comes to her on Christmas Eve. She gives him a room in her home and soon they become so much more than just tenants.
They embark on an incredible love affair and Jack helps Caroline heal and she shows him what love is. But an enemy of Jack is on his way to destroy him and everything he holds dear- Caroline.
It has been such a long time I have read a character of Jack. His love for Caroline is all consuming, erotic, sensual, etc... He is one man who would die for this woman and if she rejected him I seriously would believe he would crawl up into a ball and die.
The story happens over a few days but the reader gets sucked into the story and these two people who are so damaged emotionally
.
And if you like a scorching read heavy with bedroom love, Rice is a masterpiece of this, including the stark emotions this unfeeling man has for this woman.
I was truly blown away and I applaud Rice for writing this wonderful heartwrenching story. Again, if you have a thing for damaged heroes and the woman who can help him heal, you must read run out and pick up this book.
It is so good, one of the best romances of the summer alone! HOT HOT HOT!
The hero Jack has adored Caroline for over a decade. She is his reason for breathing and living. When he first head over heels for her, he was a scared eighteen years old with nothing to look forward to, except for Caroline. But he goes on to become a hard and emotionless individual and after 12 years he has given up his old life to be with Caroline.
Caroline had a privileged life but after the deaths of her parents and her brother who lived through the car accident but was paralyzed. With her little brother now dead, she has no money and no one else to turn to, until this strange and tired looking man comes to her on Christmas Eve. She gives him a room in her home and soon they become so much more than just tenants.
They embark on an incredible love affair and Jack helps Caroline heal and she shows him what love is. But an enemy of Jack is on his way to destroy him and everything he holds dear- Caroline.
It has been such a long time I have read a character of Jack. His love for Caroline is all consuming, erotic, sensual, etc... He is one man who would die for this woman and if she rejected him I seriously would believe he would crawl up into a ball and die.
The story happens over a few days but the reader gets sucked into the story and these two people who are so damaged emotionally
.
And if you like a scorching read heavy with bedroom love, Rice is a masterpiece of this, including the stark emotions this unfeeling man has for this woman.
I was truly blown away and I applaud Rice for writing this wonderful heartwrenching story. Again, if you have a thing for damaged heroes and the woman who can help him heal, you must read run out and pick up this book.
November 6, 2008
Jack is a retired army ranger that just wants to start over in his life. To him that means only one thing. He has to go back to Seattle and see Caroline. He’d been enamored with her for years. He’d even carried her pictures around with him on missions.
Caroline is a lonely woman living in her childhood home. Her parents had died, and so had her brother after along illness. She takes in boarders to make ends meet. Jack comes to town posing as a boarder in order to get close to her again.
This one had a rough start to me. I didn’t like the hero at first, because it seemed he was stalking the heroine—a woman he’d known earlier when they were teens. This is my first Rice book, and it seems—at least in this one—that she writes a lot from the man’s perspective.
There are some villains in the story that make it interesting. However the flow from Jack and Caroline to what the villain is thinking is abrupt and irritating, and happens through out the story. I was interested in it enough to want to keep reading to see how it turns out, but guess what? The scene ends, everyone is safe. The end. There wasn’t an epilogue. I was disappointed in that, but I will pick up another of her books and give it try.
Caroline is a lonely woman living in her childhood home. Her parents had died, and so had her brother after along illness. She takes in boarders to make ends meet. Jack comes to town posing as a boarder in order to get close to her again.
This one had a rough start to me. I didn’t like the hero at first, because it seemed he was stalking the heroine—a woman he’d known earlier when they were teens. This is my first Rice book, and it seems—at least in this one—that she writes a lot from the man’s perspective.
There are some villains in the story that make it interesting. However the flow from Jack and Caroline to what the villain is thinking is abrupt and irritating, and happens through out the story. I was interested in it enough to want to keep reading to see how it turns out, but guess what? The scene ends, everyone is safe. The end. There wasn’t an epilogue. I was disappointed in that, but I will pick up another of her books and give it try.
March 26, 2016
Dangerous Lover es el primer libro de la trilogia llamada Dangerous de la autora Lisa Marie Rice y tiene como protagonistas a Caroline y Jack.
Como ya dije en mi anterior reseña me estoy dando un maraton leyendo todo lo que encuentro de la autora, esta trilogia en concreto me llamo la atencion hace meses pero por alguna razon fui aplazando el comenzarla hasta ahora.
Esta lectura me sorprendio, no fue lo que esperaba, con eso no digo que no me gustara, ya que si lo hizo, solo que esperaba que la historia se desarrollara de una forma distinta. Fue muy entretenida, con un buen desarrollo que avanzaba de una manera muy natural, muy al estilo de Lisa, aun asi el final me aprecio muy brusco y abierto, eche de menos un epilogo o al menos un capitulo mas para cerrar mejor la historia.
Tambien me senti un poco desilucionada sobre la forma en la que se soluciono " el gran problema ", demasiado facil para mi gusto, aun asi si eres fan de la autora, no puedes dejar de leer este libro.
2.75 Estrellas!
May 11, 2015
mmmmm, a lot of sex scenes (I understand it's peculiar for this author) and some action here and there.
The story is not bad but the heroine is a little TSTL for my tastes and he's a sort of super alpha hero. But the characters were really light, I'd liked more depth. Not bad. But not so good.
The story is not bad but the heroine is a little TSTL for my tastes and he's a sort of super alpha hero. But the characters were really light, I'd liked more depth. Not bad. But not so good.
December 2, 2024
Give me a stalkerish-always-wanted-you hero any and every day!!!
I absolutely loved Jack! Ms. Rice created him in such a way that he felt larger than life to me and was the type of hero that made me fall in love with alpha heroes in my younger years. His determination to help and protect Caroline had me oohing and ahhing pretty much at every turn of the page.
This was a great story. It is filled with danger, drama and enough steam to singe my fingertips when holding my ereader. I loved everything about it!
Dual POV
Safe
Triggers
Steam
I absolutely loved Jack! Ms. Rice created him in such a way that he felt larger than life to me and was the type of hero that made me fall in love with alpha heroes in my younger years. His determination to help and protect Caroline had me oohing and ahhing pretty much at every turn of the page.
This was a great story. It is filled with danger, drama and enough steam to singe my fingertips when holding my ereader. I loved everything about it!
Dual POV
Safe
Triggers
Steam
January 26, 2014
It was ok. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3
Tbh, in the first couple of chapters, I was thinking, there is a fine line between a long lasting unrequited love, and quite frankly stalkerish behaviour!
I am not sure Jack did not tip over into slightly scary stalker behaviour here.
Caroline Lake, the woman Jack had loved since he was 18, and had not seen in 12 years, so basically, his entire adult life.
Her life has changed over 12 years, she had lost her family and the life she had with her family, and is barely struggling by.
Luckily, Jack is ready to swoop in and save the day. Lucky for him.
Tbh, I just struggled with the idea that what Jack felt was a healthy adult love. He spent very little time with her as a teen, and seems he used to walk to her house and wander around it when know one was there.
Now, do not get me wrong, I am all for a possessive caveman alpha, but there were certain points I thought it was going to turn into an episode of Criminal Minds when he tried to make a dress out of her skin or something.
However, I liked the differing POV , even from the villain of the piece, it built the tension up nicely.
As usual with Lisa Marie Rice books, it was all wrapped up in the last 5% and ended very abruptly.
I have read there is a novella about Jack and Caroline, which is pretty much what should have been the epilogue to this book. One can only assume, due to what appears to be many reviews stating the need for a better ending, she wrote that as a response, but I have to admit to having an issue in paying £1.00 for 50 pages that quite frankly should have been included in this book.
The thing is, I do actually like Lisa Marie Rice books, I just have to space them out, as it is all a bit formulaic and some phrases and sentences are repeated in each book.
Tbh, in the first couple of chapters, I was thinking, there is a fine line between a long lasting unrequited love, and quite frankly stalkerish behaviour!
I am not sure Jack did not tip over into slightly scary stalker behaviour here.
Caroline Lake, the woman Jack had loved since he was 18, and had not seen in 12 years, so basically, his entire adult life.
Her life has changed over 12 years, she had lost her family and the life she had with her family, and is barely struggling by.
Luckily, Jack is ready to swoop in and save the day. Lucky for him.
Tbh, I just struggled with the idea that what Jack felt was a healthy adult love. He spent very little time with her as a teen, and seems he used to walk to her house and wander around it when know one was there.
Now, do not get me wrong, I am all for a possessive caveman alpha, but there were certain points I thought it was going to turn into an episode of Criminal Minds when he tried to make a dress out of her skin or something.
However, I liked the differing POV , even from the villain of the piece, it built the tension up nicely.
As usual with Lisa Marie Rice books, it was all wrapped up in the last 5% and ended very abruptly.
I have read there is a novella about Jack and Caroline, which is pretty much what should have been the epilogue to this book. One can only assume, due to what appears to be many reviews stating the need for a better ending, she wrote that as a response, but I have to admit to having an issue in paying £1.00 for 50 pages that quite frankly should have been included in this book.
The thing is, I do actually like Lisa Marie Rice books, I just have to space them out, as it is all a bit formulaic and some phrases and sentences are repeated in each book.
August 8, 2009
Another yes-and-no book for me. Yes, for the male lead and his cute stalker-ish ways and love for the heroine, the villain, the plot, and the nice creepy feeling of a small town in the middle of the blizzard (I love such minimalistic, "silent", compact settings).
No, for the bland heroine - I got the feeling she didn't have much of a personality, her woeful little back story that got old too fast, and the rather abrupt (though I was prepared for it) ending. I feel this book could've used a chapter more, to expand on the final action sequence in the blizzard, and the final resolution between the leads, because what we got just didn't cut it.
But, thanks to the good (though sometimes templateish) writing, great characterization for the two leading men, and the minimalistic setting, this was still a great little suspense novel.
P.S. Lucky for me the next one is longer...And the third stars the intriguing Victor "Drake" Drakovich that immediately caught my eye in his short, yet memorable appearance. Looking forward to it.
No, for the bland heroine - I got the feeling she didn't have much of a personality, her woeful little back story that got old too fast, and the rather abrupt (though I was prepared for it) ending. I feel this book could've used a chapter more, to expand on the final action sequence in the blizzard, and the final resolution between the leads, because what we got just didn't cut it.
But, thanks to the good (though sometimes templateish) writing, great characterization for the two leading men, and the minimalistic setting, this was still a great little suspense novel.
P.S. Lucky for me the next one is longer...And the third stars the intriguing Victor "Drake" Drakovich that immediately caught my eye in his short, yet memorable appearance. Looking forward to it.
January 11, 2012
Jack Prescott has closed the last chapter of his life, he has one last thing to do though in order to start the next chapter, see Caroline Lake. He has been dreaming of Caroline for twelve years, the one woman he has not been able to shake from his thoughts in all that time.
Time has not been kind to Caroline, with each obstacle in her way she has kept her head up and done her best to remain positive but everytime she turns around something else happens to jolt her. When Jack arrives needing a room to rent, she is mesmerized by the quiet but rough man, she is drawn to him in everyway, the interesting twist is he seems to be attracted to her too.
I really enjoyed this book, like the perfect chocolate dessert you keep wanting more. The only negative and the reason I am giving it 4.75 is it has a pretty abrupt ending and I wanted more. Sultry, seductive, and sinfully delicious read.
Time has not been kind to Caroline, with each obstacle in her way she has kept her head up and done her best to remain positive but everytime she turns around something else happens to jolt her. When Jack arrives needing a room to rent, she is mesmerized by the quiet but rough man, she is drawn to him in everyway, the interesting twist is he seems to be attracted to her too.
I really enjoyed this book, like the perfect chocolate dessert you keep wanting more. The only negative and the reason I am giving it 4.75 is it has a pretty abrupt ending and I wanted more. Sultry, seductive, and sinfully delicious read.
December 5, 2011
This is hands down the worst book by Lisa Marie Rice I've read so far.
Not because of the poorly developed plot, not because of the lack of real interaction between the MCs (apart from the sex, of course), not because the villain had almost as much page time as the MCs ending up being too distracting, not because of the author's well-worn cliches (hero ex-military security freak with lots of money, not very good-looking but very sexy and well-endowed down there; heroine 28-year-old elegant redhead with no personal life because of her financial/family problems but she's on the pill nonetheless; and yes, the term "bareback" makes its appearance in this novel as well) but mainly because of the lame ending.
What kind or romance novel ends without the MCs having exchanged the necessary I-love-yous, without them having a HEA or at least a HFN? Well, this one does!
Not because of the poorly developed plot, not because of the lack of real interaction between the MCs (apart from the sex, of course), not because the villain had almost as much page time as the MCs ending up being too distracting, not because of the author's well-worn cliches (hero ex-military security freak with lots of money, not very good-looking but very sexy and well-endowed down there; heroine 28-year-old elegant redhead with no personal life because of her financial/family problems but she's on the pill nonetheless; and yes, the term "bareback" makes its appearance in this novel as well) but mainly because of the lame ending.
What kind or romance novel ends without the MCs having exchanged the necessary I-love-yous, without them having a HEA or at least a HFN? Well, this one does!
Read
May 25, 2012I absolutely have no memory of how I came across this book. Goodreads list, possibly? I don’t know. But it sounded like my type of thing. With a woman struggling to keep her life together, and a man with a dangerous past who just wants to live a normal life now.
Okay, I read the ebook and it seemed pretty short, but Goodreads tells me it’s 337 pages which is a pretty fair length. Maybe it’s just an easy, and therefore quick, read? I don’t know. But I do know there is a good backstory that helps with the insta-love/lust that the main characters have. As much as I complain (on YA review blog) about insta-love in young adult books, I feel adult romance books are even worse for this.
Sometimes they are more of an insta-lust, which is fair, but sometimes…the characters are just in love and even if it’s been five chapters it’s still the first day they met! But I digress. This book has the relationship progress rather quickly but it has a solid reason for it which also ties into the plot and the character development and I thought was rather well done.
I really liked the dynamic between the two characters. Sure, Jack was a little obsessed with a dream and not a real woman but he didn’t let that get in the way getting to know the real Caroline, and finding that he liked her just as much as the fantasy he ahd created.
Also, there was all this angst! I don’t know why I love the angst so much but I do. I love when the book makes me cry ugly tears, you know? I don’t think I cried ugly in this one but I’m pretty sure I cried.
Not that you should ever hold my crying as some sort of a standard. I have been known to cry while watching commercials. Seriously.
But, yeah, their loneliness and need for a family really hit me. I could feel the starkness in both of their lives. I needed them to find each other to make myself feel better.
I did think they jumped into bed together a little quickly. But once they were they I stopped caring. The sex was hot and desperate and just what I thought it would be with these two characters and their intense relationship.
The ending…was way too abrupt. Like, yes, I like the imagery of how it ended but I could’ve done with an epilogue that focused on the characters and not on the fate of the diamonds. I so didn’t care about the diamonds. I just wanted a glimpse of their happy life together.
Reviewed at Big Girl Books on April 20th, 2012.
Okay, I read the ebook and it seemed pretty short, but Goodreads tells me it’s 337 pages which is a pretty fair length. Maybe it’s just an easy, and therefore quick, read? I don’t know. But I do know there is a good backstory that helps with the insta-love/lust that the main characters have. As much as I complain (on YA review blog) about insta-love in young adult books, I feel adult romance books are even worse for this.
Sometimes they are more of an insta-lust, which is fair, but sometimes…the characters are just in love and even if it’s been five chapters it’s still the first day they met! But I digress. This book has the relationship progress rather quickly but it has a solid reason for it which also ties into the plot and the character development and I thought was rather well done.
I really liked the dynamic between the two characters. Sure, Jack was a little obsessed with a dream and not a real woman but he didn’t let that get in the way getting to know the real Caroline, and finding that he liked her just as much as the fantasy he ahd created.
Also, there was all this angst! I don’t know why I love the angst so much but I do. I love when the book makes me cry ugly tears, you know? I don’t think I cried ugly in this one but I’m pretty sure I cried.
Not that you should ever hold my crying as some sort of a standard. I have been known to cry while watching commercials. Seriously.
But, yeah, their loneliness and need for a family really hit me. I could feel the starkness in both of their lives. I needed them to find each other to make myself feel better.
I did think they jumped into bed together a little quickly. But once they were they I stopped caring. The sex was hot and desperate and just what I thought it would be with these two characters and their intense relationship.
The ending…was way too abrupt. Like, yes, I like the imagery of how it ended but I could’ve done with an epilogue that focused on the characters and not on the fate of the diamonds. I so didn’t care about the diamonds. I just wanted a glimpse of their happy life together.
Reviewed at Big Girl Books on April 20th, 2012.
August 27, 2016
Good lord could this book have more romance story cliches or what? There's the over the top ex-special forces hero who has pined after the heroine for twelve years, there's the very weak and easily scared heroine who is all alone in the world and in need of rescuing, the extremely evil villain who will go to any length to hurt both the hero and heroine, the cheesy statements that no one in real life would say. Let's not forget the nonstop sex..The sex scenes were terrible. I honestly didn't see what the heroine got out of it. He really wasn't all that skilled. He's called the dangerous lover in the title of the book, but it's more accurate to call him the bad lover.
The ending of this book is one of the worst I've read. It's not that I don't care for the ending. It's the way the ending happens. It just ends. You have no idea if they even get an HEA. It's that abrupt. The story is moving along and boom..the end. It's very bizarre. It's so bizarre the author issued an epilogue on her website to appease those who read the book.
The sad thing is the story had a lot of potential. The opening chapter was great. The premise was good. I couldn't wait to see what happened, but as soon as the hero returned, the story went downhill fast.
The author becomes so repetitive in how much the hero wants the heroine. Yes, I get it. He wants her really bad. You don't need to write three chapters just about his longing. The heroine's character is very flat, passive and boring. I really couldn't get a sense of her at all. The hero seems to have incredible powers. He's huge. I'll leave it at that, but he's huge everywhere. He can smell as well as a trained canine dog. I'm not making this up. It says so in the book. He also has night vision beyond that of a normal human. He's incredibly strong and fast. He doesn't need much sleep. He can go days without eating. After a while, I started wondering..nay hoping..perhaps he was a vampire because I like paranormal stories. Alas he was a mere mortal.
Much of the story is internal monologue. The entire story happens over three to four days so that gives you an idea of just how much internal monologue and recollection of past events there is in the book. There isn't a lot of conversation or character building. This is the author's first book so hopefully she has improved since this one.
Don't be fooled by the pretty cover. This is not a good book. I'm sorry I read this story.
The ending of this book is one of the worst I've read. It's not that I don't care for the ending. It's the way the ending happens. It just ends. You have no idea if they even get an HEA. It's that abrupt. The story is moving along and boom..the end. It's very bizarre. It's so bizarre the author issued an epilogue on her website to appease those who read the book.
The sad thing is the story had a lot of potential. The opening chapter was great. The premise was good. I couldn't wait to see what happened, but as soon as the hero returned, the story went downhill fast.
The author becomes so repetitive in how much the hero wants the heroine. Yes, I get it. He wants her really bad. You don't need to write three chapters just about his longing. The heroine's character is very flat, passive and boring. I really couldn't get a sense of her at all. The hero seems to have incredible powers. He's huge. I'll leave it at that, but he's huge everywhere. He can smell as well as a trained canine dog. I'm not making this up. It says so in the book. He also has night vision beyond that of a normal human. He's incredibly strong and fast. He doesn't need much sleep. He can go days without eating. After a while, I started wondering..nay hoping..perhaps he was a vampire because I like paranormal stories. Alas he was a mere mortal.
Much of the story is internal monologue. The entire story happens over three to four days so that gives you an idea of just how much internal monologue and recollection of past events there is in the book. There isn't a lot of conversation or character building. This is the author's first book so hopefully she has improved since this one.
Don't be fooled by the pretty cover. This is not a good book. I'm sorry I read this story.
December 30, 2024
In brief, a classic from 20 years ago, alpha male and damsel in distress, but the weight of years is clear.
Ma insomma, un classicone di 20 anni fa, maschio alfa e damigella in pericolo, ma il peso degli anni si fa sentire.
Ma insomma, un classicone di 20 anni fa, maschio alfa e damigella in pericolo, ma il peso degli anni si fa sentire.
February 13, 2012
This was my first Lisa Marie Rice’s novel, and I have to say that it was a terrific read, albeit with a very anticlimactic ending. I was not totally satisfied with the conclusion of the story. I thought that after the great revelation of the hero’s true identity and with the evil antagonist out of the picture, there would be an epilogue of sorts where the H/H would have the “love-talk” and a happily-ever-after! Oh, well, I guess that’s just me, a sucker for a happy ending. I guess it was a happy ending of sorts, and anyway I have a great imagination and I just used that to conclude the fate of the characters. *LOL*
But all was not lost because the story was really good. What captured me instantly with the story was its plot. I absolutely liked the idea that the major characters, Jack Prescott and Caroline Lake, knew each other twelve years ago, way back when they were both still in their teens and circumstances of their lives were reversely different than now.
And another plus of “Dangerous Lover” was the smokin’ hot sex scenes. They were seriously scorching! I’d love a man with stamina for sex. I was actually envious of Caroline while I was reading this book. Oh, boy! *grins*
Anyways, I gave this story 4 star since I’ve really enjoyed reading it. If it wasn’t for the abruptly-ended finale, I would have given it a 5. ^_~
But all was not lost because the story was really good. What captured me instantly with the story was its plot. I absolutely liked the idea that the major characters, Jack Prescott and Caroline Lake, knew each other twelve years ago, way back when they were both still in their teens and circumstances of their lives were reversely different than now.
And another plus of “Dangerous Lover” was the smokin’ hot sex scenes. They were seriously scorching! I’d love a man with stamina for sex. I was actually envious of Caroline while I was reading this book. Oh, boy! *grins*
Anyways, I gave this story 4 star since I’ve really enjoyed reading it. If it wasn’t for the abruptly-ended finale, I would have given it a 5. ^_~
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