When You Dare
When You Dare
By Lori Foster
For Romantic Suspense, I don’t think you can beat Lori Foster. I’ve loved her Ultimate Fighting Champion books with all those hunky fighters, but the sweatiness and testosterone flying around sometimes gets a bit much. However, stories about retired Warriors, now that’s my cup of tea. And When You Dare, is a winner.
Molly Alexander is a Romantic Suspense writer poised on the cusp of a movie deal when she’s abducted and transported to Mexico. Dare Macintosh has been asked by his best friend to go to Mexico to rescue Alani, his sister, a pampered, sweet and very young beauty. Alani has been stolen by a sex-slaver ring and by chance Molly is being kept in the same awful place although the kidnappers aren’t trying very hard to keep her in good condition for a future sale—they aren’t going to sell her, they’re going to kill her.
Of course Dare rescues both Alani and Molly, the only two Americans in the group of women. The other women, Mexican girls, get away into the night. Dare doesn’t leave anyone alive in the compound and doesn’t really know who the other girl is, only that she’s an American and he can’t leave her behind. He finds out later that she’s a spunky, intelligent, independent, take-charge kind of girl, who isn’t going to let him protect her without a fight! But Dare won’t give up until he finds out who wants her dead even though she frustrates him to such an extent that he occasionally wants to kill her himself—or maybe just take her to bed!
But one of my favorite aspects of the book is the relationship between Dare and his assistant, Chris. Other than Suzanne Brockmann’s characters, Jules and Max, I don’t think any other author has dealt so sympathetically with a relationship between a gay and a straight man. I just wish Lori had explored the bond between these two characters more. Maybe they’ll show up in another book! That’s my hope, anyway.
There’s plenty of sexual tension and some pretty steamy bedroom scenes as usual which is satisfying. And the story twists are very interesting. I felt like Ms Foster could have made the evil character(s) more evil though and maybe fleshed out the relationship between Molly and her father. But the lovely dogs, Sargie and Tai, just stole the show. My big goofy Shepherd, Zach, is just like Dare’s Labs—uncontrollable, loving, slobbering and always faithful. I love pets incorporated in a storyline. Good work, Lori! I can’t wait for Trace’s story.
