Dangerous Lover

I can always count on a great read from Lisa Marie Rice. Jack and Caroline have a rich history, and their story is well written with a deep emotional connecton between them. Very sensual and sexy! What happened to the end?? I was not happy with it at all. After all the drama and suspense, it just ended. It was so abrupt, that I felt like I was left hanging.

Seeing his Caroline, the love of his life, kissing another man through a frosty window so long ago made Jack Prescott what he is today; a highly trained, secret ops soldier who can kill with his fingers. Tired of the grueling and dangerous aspects of his occupation, Jack plans to begin a new chapter in his life; a new life in which he hopes to make Caroline a part. Now, Jack has returned to the town where Caroline used to live with the hope of discovering information on her whereabouts. Jack is taken aback to find that she still resides there. Expecting Caroline to be married, Jack is again surprised to learn she has remained single. Now all he has to do is get close enough to her. And he will. He has a plan. A plan that he has spent the last twelve years thinking about since that fateful night in the freezing snow when his world was shattered like breaking glass. Caroline Lake 's life has changed dramatically in the last twelve years. With the death of her parents, she became solely in charge of her younger brother who was horribly hurt in the same accident which claimed her parent's lives. While Caroline grew up privileged, the money only lasted for so long, and with her brother's medical bills piling up, Caroline found herself slipping into genteel poverty. Now, since the death of her brother and her declining finances, Caroline doesn't know what she is going to do. At her bookstore late Christmas Eve, Caroline is almost ready to throw in the towel; that is, until a large, dangerous-looking man comes in looking for a place to stay. While Caroline knows she should be cautious of Jack Prescott, she can't help but trust him. He is everything she has ever envisioned in a man, and for once she is going to follow her intuition. Unable and unwilling to be alone on Christmas Eve, Caroline voices what is in her heart. When Jack takes her up on her enticing offer, Caroline has a feeling that this DANGEROUS LOVER is exactly what she needs. With danger now behind him, Jack is ready to claim the woman he has loved for so long. Or so he thought. Danger, it seems, has found him once again. I have been a fan of Lisa Marie Rice's work since her Ellora's Cave publications. Having read everything she has written I knew I was in for a great book. What I got was an outstanding read with sinfully delicious and realistic characters, an intriguing plot, and sensuality that was hot enough to singe my fingers as I turned the pages. Jack Prescott had watched and loved Caroline for so very long and he was the epitome of a protector and a man in love. Because of what was in his possession, Jack knew that he would need to protect Caroline at the first sign of trouble. I quickly became enthralled at the way the characters interacted and how perfect they were for each other. Danger came in the form of a previous nemesis, and while I knew he would have to somehow find Jack and Caroline, it made the suspense no less valid for me. Immers

Dangerous Lover is my first foray into the romantica/erotic romance genre, so I don't have much to compare this book to. I'll just speak from how I experienced it. I really loved this book. It's a pretty simple and straight forward romance in which the classic soft feminine woman gives herself over to the strong, but sensitive, manly man. She needs to be taken care of deep down and he needs to take care of her. It's primal. Oh, and there's lots of sex. But, it's loving sex. Jack, the hero, has had a hard childhood and is saved by a military man who takes him under his wing. Jack is an intense, controlled, honorable and extremely loyal--he sticks with his adopted father to the detriment of his own wishes until the father dies. He has obsessed his whole adult life about Caroline, a girl from a wealthy family who befriended him when he was homeless, and seeks her out after the father's death. Caroline is a sweet, cultured, trusting "lady" who has fallen on hard times after the death of her parents and the fatal injury to her brother, whom she took care of at home until his death. Caroline has a book store and just barely scrapes by financially, and her suitor's all disappear when they have to deal with the sick brother's presence in her life. Enter Jack. She rent's a room to him not knowing who he is, but somehow feels he's ok and of course feels a bit attracted, and the lurving sparks fly. The secondary thriller plot of the gruesomeness of the diamond mining world in Africa to me was a good juxtaposition to the feel good romance. To some reading it, it might be a bit too harsh, but I like real, so it was ok for me. It is easy, however, to skip over those parts if one wishes. However, you'd miss some of the tension from this part of the story that culminates in the end and which threatens to thwart the relationship from going on. There is also the former boyfriend of Caroline who decides that he wants her at all costs now that the brother has died, even if he has to force her into it. He's not a nice guy and it sets up the whole Jack as Caroline's hero who saves her in more ways than one. I couldn't put this book down; I finished it in a couple of hours. Things that were good: Jack is written as the perfect man's man until he gets with Caroline, and then his world turns to mush. He's never had sex with someone whom he cares about and so he's a bit lost and awkward about what she might be experiencing with him. And he fumbles and frets about it, while at the same time being so consumed with desire for her that he goes for it regardless. Nice bit of first time angst reality there. Caroline is the ultimate feminine female- she's caring, receptive, altruistic, likes fine music, art, clothes, and yet, there is an inner strength that has helped her to get through the rough times, which she does without complaint. And she's so honestly and openly vulnerable. Although she's horrified for Jack to see that straight away, she can't stop it from show

Caroline Lake has gone from riches to rags in 6 yrs. Her parents died in a car wreck and her younger brother was damaged so badly he had to live in a wheelchair, his face and body so torn nobody wanted to visit or help Caroline. But she has spent every penny and all her time caring for Toby and now that he is gone she is totally alone. Jack Prescott is alone too, his adopted father has died and now Jack is free to seek out the woman he has loved for 12 yrs. Twelve yrs ago Jack was known as Ben and he and his abusive drunken father were living in a shelter. Caroline and her family brought books and warmth to the people in the shelter and love to a lonely boy. The night his real father died he went to the Lake's house to tell them and saw Caroline playing the piano with a golden boy by her side. Even knowing she is probably married he has returned to see her one more time. To his surprise she is unmarried and runs a bookshop to support herself and lets rooms in the mansion which is all that is left of her inheritance. Everything else has been sold. Now Jack is wealthy but all he wants is a chance to be with this woman. Unknown to him his past as a RAnger and Security expert is about to catch up to him and the woman he has worshipped for all these yrs. I absolutely adored this book. A warm wonderful sexy read that I give 5 stars and a smile too. Do not miss it and if you haven't read any other books by this author be sure to get WOMAN ON THE RUN another great read.

It's terrible to wish time and your life away, but ever since I've found out that Lisa Marie Rice was releasing a new book in August, I've been doing just that. Hoping that it might arrive a few days before its official date, I hounded book stores around me daily, and FINALLY, today, it was in! I started reading about 10 PM and just finished about 2. I don't care that I will pay all day tomorrow; it was worth it! "Dangerous Lover" starts out with so many similarities to "Midnight Man,"I feared it would be a clone. Big, bad military man comes directly from "the field" (this time in Africa) where he's been forced to shoot the bad guys. Disheveled and unshaven, full of adrenaline, Jack, wanting to rent a room from Caroline, must control himself to calm her, knowing how he looks, sounds and smells. Sound familiar? Fortunately, although the plot does have some similarities with Rice's other Midnight books, it doesn't matter; you don't want to put it down. Jack has loved Caroline since he met her when she handed out clothes and books to him in a homeless shelter when he was a kid. Twelve years later and free of the military, he is elated to find out that she is still as desirable and as unattached as before, although her wealthy, insulated world has collapsed. She has been devoted, but helpless, caring for her brother as he, paralyzed from the accident that killed their parents, declined and eventually died. Faced with huge medical bills, Caroline is barely holding on financially, and most of her friends have deserted her, not knowing how to cope with her grief. Because Caroline is the only woman he has ever loved and because her life is so barren of any pleasure or security, Jack and Caroline's almost immediate sexual intimacy is believable. Lisa Marie Rice said in an interview, that her heroes know sexuality, but are bewildered by their emotional attachment, in contrast to her heroines who are aware of their emotions but discover their sexuality. We, as readers, know the depth of Jack's love for Caroline, even though he thinks it is just sexual attraction, and his amazed and uncomfortable recognition of his love for this woman is a big part of the pull of "Dangerous Lover." As usual, Lisa Marie Rice has created just about the perfect man: one who is dangerous to others who threaten his beloved, but is gentle and protective toward her, one who is "hard all over," a tireless and extremely talented lover who always puts the woman's needs above his own AND one who willingly shovels the walk from a blizzard of snow, repairs the ancient furnace, and fixes the broken stairs. And, I need not mention: wealthy and honorable too. (But you knew that, didn't you?). There were just a couple of niggling irritants (to me). We see Jack, destitute, hungry, and homeless, who has spent his life in homeless shelters as he trudges, in the snow, to stand outside Caroline's house at Christmas time, watching her and her family. His fixation o