REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY: DASH OF PERIL by LORI FOSTER

Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the Dash of Peril Blog Tour, hosted by Media Muscle. My post includes a review and giveaway.

Series: Love Undercover #4
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Publication Date: 3/25/14
Format: ARC
Pages: 475
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3 stars

A no-nonsense female cop reluctantly teams up with the one man who makes her lose control in a deliciously sensual new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster...

To bring down a sleazy abduction ring, Lieutenant Margaret "Margo" Peterson has set herself up as bait. But recruiting Dashiel Riske as her unofficial partner is a whole other kind of danger. Dash is 6'4" of laid-back masculine charm, a man who loves life—and women—to the limit. Until Margo is threatened, and he reveals a dark side that may just match her own.

Beneath Margo's tough facade is a slow-burning sexiness that drives Dash crazy. The only way to finish this case is to work together side by side…skin to skin. And as their mission takes a lethal turn, he'll have to prove he's all the man she needs—in all the ways that matter.

Last year I was introduced to the Love Undercover series with Getting Rowdy. With it's broody, swoony hero, the romance and suspense, I found it to be a fun read. The end of that book began leading us toward Dash of Peril, so I obviously wanted to get to know the yummy Dash.

Dash of Peril picks up four months after the end of Getting Rowdy, with that minor arc picking up again and leading this story. With a Lieutenant heroine and a civilian hero, Dash of Peril has an interesting dynamic, a true reversal of typical gender roles, particularly in romantic suspense. Here we have Margo trying to protect Dash and becoming frustrated when he doesn't listen. And Dash is frustrated bc he wants to help Margo, but she's worried about his safety. He finds it a bit annoying and offensive, but knowing that she is the boss (in this case) he goes along, has Margo's back, and lets her take the lead.

Margo is truly a strong heroine, knows who she is, and how to get her job done. She is prickly in the beginning, and sometimes her defensiveness irked me. But there is a reason for her harshness, she comes from a law enforcement family, with a nice enough brother but complete jerks for parents. They've made it plain that wish they'd had another son instead, belittle her when she's injured, and are simply awful. It's no wonder Margo is so rigid and afraid of being less than perfect. Tough and in control Margo also has a secret: she likes it when a man takes control in bed, and typically engages in anonymous sex so it doesn't affect her "real life".  It is very hard for her to reconcile her two sides, especially with a man whom she knows, and that leads to her reluctance with Dash.

Dash Riske was a great hero. By most accounts, he's pretty alpha, but I was happily surprised to see that he didn't jump into Margo's life and work and force her to do things his way. Knowing that respect in her job depends on her strong demeanor, he was careful to not undermine her. That was so great! But, one place Dash was the boss was in the bedroom. Margo's desire for submission, to let that control go, feeds into Dash's need to be super bossy in the bedroom.

As far as the suspense part, with Dash of Peril picking up a few months after Getting Rowdy, we immediately learn  Margo is back undercover trying to busy a kidnapping/porn ring. I like that Margo is proactive and tenacious. What I don't like is continually having the tough, smart heroine making reckless decisions. For example, continuing to go undercover against her boss' orders, and doing it alone. What part of going to bars very late at night, pretending to be drunk, having a few drinks, is supposed to be smart? Reckless is the better word here. I will say that as the story progresses, Margo does begin to make better choices. I would just like to have seen her be a bit more rational in the beginning. And the bad guys? They were idiots. They did everything the hard, stupid way. At one point, one of the good guys even mentioned how stupid they were. Give me a smart bad guy to fear and I will be on board.

Dash of Peril is a long book, four hundred, seventy-five pages. Sometimes, more is necessary, but in this case, the book could've easily been seventy-five pages shorter. We had a lot of repetition between Dash and Margo, and much set-up for the next book in the series.

Despite my irritation, I did find this to be a good story. If you're a fan of the Love Undercover series, I think you will enjoy Dash of Peril.


Favorite Quote

  When she didn't pull away, Dash leaned in again, nudging her lips apart with his own. She relaxed at the damp touch of his tongue, first tracing her lips and then dipping inside.
  God, he tasted good, like a man should. Her heart pumped faster. More so than the average guy, Dash was muscular from work in his construction company. Tall, handsome, friendly...and sexy.

Love Undercover Series

 

   

(covers lead to GoodReads page)

 

 

My review of Getting Rowdy

 

 

 

Purchase Links

 Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  iBooks

GIVEAWAY

One winner will receive a copy of Dash of Peril.
Must be 18+ years of age; open to US only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

About the author

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a Waldenbooks, Borders, USA TODAY, Publishers Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. She also received the Romantic Times “Career Achievement Award” for Series Romantic Fantasy and Contemporary Romance.

Lori believes it is important to give back to the community as much as possible, so she routinely arranges events among authors and readers to gather donations for various organizations.

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