Review: the Dare by Denise A. Agnew
The Dare is one of those books I've been struggling with for months. Today, in an attempt to catch up on the backlog of books I've started and not finished, I decided to finish it...which, believe me, took effort.
Summary: Tired of self-denial and being cloistered by her father's over-protectiveness, wealthy
painter Isabella takes a vacation alone.
Tough and way too cocky...
Police officer Luca Angello is self-confident, powerfully sexual, and on the trail
of a serial killer.
Isabella thinks Luca is shallow and only out for a good time. Luca thinks Isabella
needs some loosening up.
Fear brings them together…
When danger throws her into his arms, she discovers that he can reach her depths
in ways she never could have imagined.
The Good: (This is going to sound so shallow, but it has to be said.) I loved Luca. (In fact, I think Luca is the coolest name ever.) Despite being a cop, he was a very sweet guy who only exhibited a few minor alpha male romance novel cliched characteristics. I also really liked Isabella's character in the beginning. She's a bit neurotic, but I could understand her neuroses. The other positive thing about this story for me is that the sex scenes are toe-curlingly hot.
The bad: Sadly, I didn't really enjoy this book, and I have the feeling that romantic suspense is not a genre for which I am capable of developing an appreciation. In this case, the suspense plot was, well, completely not suspenseful. In fact, big macho cop Luca spent more time trying to get inside Bella's panties than trying to find any serial killers. And Bella? Not exactly the brightest crayon in the box. She does a lot of impulsive things for no apparent reason when the author decides it's time for us to experience more of the "plot", and, consequently, I wanted to smack her. A lot. Also, there are a few scenes where Luca's fellow cops give him love advice... in a macho way, of course, which, uh, yeah, I totally didn't buy.
All in all: Seriously meh. The author has moments where it seems she can tell a decent story, but those moments were few and far between. However, the fact is that I didn't actively hate this book, so it receives a C grade for me. Maybe next time I'll find a romantic suspense story that works better for me... But I don't think this is it.
Summary: Tired of self-denial and being cloistered by her father's over-protectiveness, wealthy
painter Isabella takes a vacation alone.
Tough and way too cocky...
Police officer Luca Angello is self-confident, powerfully sexual, and on the trail
of a serial killer.
Isabella thinks Luca is shallow and only out for a good time. Luca thinks Isabella
needs some loosening up.
Fear brings them together…
When danger throws her into his arms, she discovers that he can reach her depths
in ways she never could have imagined.
The Good: (This is going to sound so shallow, but it has to be said.) I loved Luca. (In fact, I think Luca is the coolest name ever.) Despite being a cop, he was a very sweet guy who only exhibited a few minor alpha male romance novel cliched characteristics. I also really liked Isabella's character in the beginning. She's a bit neurotic, but I could understand her neuroses. The other positive thing about this story for me is that the sex scenes are toe-curlingly hot.
The bad: Sadly, I didn't really enjoy this book, and I have the feeling that romantic suspense is not a genre for which I am capable of developing an appreciation. In this case, the suspense plot was, well, completely not suspenseful. In fact, big macho cop Luca spent more time trying to get inside Bella's panties than trying to find any serial killers. And Bella? Not exactly the brightest crayon in the box. She does a lot of impulsive things for no apparent reason when the author decides it's time for us to experience more of the "plot", and, consequently, I wanted to smack her. A lot. Also, there are a few scenes where Luca's fellow cops give him love advice... in a macho way, of course, which, uh, yeah, I totally didn't buy.
All in all: Seriously meh. The author has moments where it seems she can tell a decent story, but those moments were few and far between. However, the fact is that I didn't actively hate this book, so it receives a C grade for me. Maybe next time I'll find a romantic suspense story that works better for me... But I don't think this is it.