Mini Reviews: Keeping Her + I Dream of Danger

KEEPING HER
Losing It #1.5
Cora Carmack
Contemporary New Adult
Novella
William Morrow/HarperCollins
Available August 13th
Source: eARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Garrick Taylor and Bliss Edwards managed to find their happily-ever-after despite a rather . . . ahem . . . complicated start. By comparison, meeting the parents should be an absolute breeze, right?

But from the moment the pair lands in London, new snags just keep cropping up: a disapproving mother-in-law-to-be, more than one (mostly) minor mishap, and the realization that perhaps they aren't quite as ready for their future as they thought.

As it turns out, the only thing harder than finding love is keeping it.

MY THOUGHTS
Keeping Her is an absolute treat for fans of Cora Carmack in general and original couple Garrick and Bliss in particular, giving us a look behind the curtain of happily ever after as the two of them find themselves taking the first tentative steps outside their shiny new romance bubble and into the complicated reality of navigating a partnership rather than a sole proprietorship. Because this novella is furthering the story of an already established couple, no lead in or build up is necessary, instead we get the pleasure of diving right into the thick of things, tension between Bliss and Garrick sparking and flaring as their individual insecurities are thrust into the limelight and put on display for the most critical of audiences: Garrick’s parents.

What’s so beautiful about Garrick and Bliss’s relationship though is their ability to communicate; neither of them the type of people to keep things bottled up inside until they poison what they have via emotional suppression, rather they both always step forward when something is bothering them and opt to share the burden between them. They aren't without flaws of course and their love isn’t magically perfect after the events of Losing It, but there’s never a moment where we question the rightness of the two of them together, their trust that the other person won’t let them fall wrapping their relationship in steel bands we know will never break no matter how much ammunition is fired in their direction. Cora Carmack has yet to disappoint me, and Keeping Her comes with my highest recommendation for Garrick and Bliss lovers everywhere.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Cora:

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Amazon

I  DREAM OF DANGER

Ghost Ops #2

Lisa Marie Rice

Adult Romantic Suspense

304 pages

Available now

William Morrow/HarperCollins

Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

In the second book of Lisa Marie Rice's thrilling Ghost Ops series, the Haven team is faced with a new addition to their secret society-and a threat capable of destroying everything they hold dear.

When Nick Ross disappears from Elle Thomason's life, she is certain she'll never see the man she loves again—except in her dreams.

Ten years later, as a respected researcher breaking new ground in psychic phenomena, she sends a desperate call for Nick's help. One by one, her colleagues have started disappearing . . . and Elle knows she's next. An elite soldier, Nick never meant to hurt Elle, duty kept him away—and then she vanished. Now troubled by unusually vivid, disturbing dreams of Elle in danger, Nick will rescue the only woman he's ever wanted and bring her back with him to Haven. Though powerful men are after Elle and her special abilities, Nick will die before leaving her side again.

MY THOUGHTS

I Dream of Danger is the type of romance that must be entered into with a sense of preparedness, fully expecting to embrace some familiar romance novel cliches like a hyper-sexualized covert ops soldier and a frighteningly naïve virgin whose body simply won't respond to anyone other than him. The physical aspect of their relationship happens quickly in this second installment of the Ghost Ops series, and while the speed with which they end up in bed isn't all that bothersome given Elle has loved Nick her entire life, their first sexual encounter reads a bit clinical, leaving us slightly uncomfortable as Nick introduces Elle to all the pleasures her body is capable of experiencing. Luckily, their later intimacies are more sensual, though they of course remain over the top and earth-shattering with absolutely no room in the moment of passion for safety or pregnancy concerns.

In addition to the extensive sexual exaggeration, the main mystery element involving Elle's missing coworkers is wrapped up rather quickly at the end, some interesting aspects regarding Elle's ability to astrally project not explored as thoroughly as we might have hoped going in, and we're left with one major plot point unresolved as we're presumably setup for the romantic pairing of book three. Despite its flaws however, there is still an addictive quality to I Dream of Danger, and the quicker we accept the romantic embellishments the more fun we have reading this story. By the end, we can't help but want to continue on and see what becomes of the next member of the Ghost Ops team and the woman who's clearly caught his attention, willing to dive back into this world just as soon as we're in the mood for the stretching of romantic believability and physical prowess once again.

Rating: 3/5
 

Find Lisa:

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon 

These books were sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

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CRAVE TWITTER CHAT

Romance is obviously the theme of the day on the blog, so in keeping with it I wanted to mention that I will be co-hosting a Twitter chat with new adult and adult romance author Monica Murphy today from 3pm-4pm EST. I'm hugely excited for the first book of her new Billionaire Bachelors Club series, Crave, which released this week from Avon, and I hope some of you will join me this afternoon to ask Monica all about it (look for #crave, @sprntrlsnark, @avonbooks and @MsMonicaMurphy). We'll also be choosing one person at random to receive a printed copy of the book, so please drop in to say hi!