HIGH RISK by Vivian Arend

Publisher:  Berkley
Published:   March 5, 2013
ISBN:  978-0425263334
Genre:   Erotica

Format:  Paperback
Obtained via:  Publisher
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

Two Hearts

There was a time Rebecca (Becki) James was known in the search and rescue community as the go-to person if you wanted the best in rescuing in most dangerous situations.  She was also known for a free and easy attitude—that no matter what was going to go down, she’d be just fine.  But then her partner, a partner both in love and business died and she has no idea how.  Oh, she knows that one moment they were on a mountain, climbing in a fog covered precipice, but she has no memory of how he suddenly plunged down the mountain. And it has kept her from the mountains and life she once upon a time, loved.

Marcus Landers, like Becki was the guy you went to for the most dangerous climbs. But then a mission went wrong and while he survived, he lost a limb.  He hasn’t completely given up on life, but he hides behind a desk.  That is, until, his brother brings Becki to LIFELINE, an elite search and rescue team.  The plan is for Becki to teach, but she is quickly drawn into the search and rescue culture and finds maybe sitting on the side-lines is no longer going to do it for her. 

And it doesn’t take long for her to realize those dreams she keeps having may hold the key to her forgotten past. 

HIGH RISK was my first Vivian Arend read.  It will be my last.  Not that she is a bad story teller.  In fact the parts of the book that are about the story of what happened to Dane, Becki’s deceased boyfriend and the climbing/search and rescue scenes are gripping.  Those parts I really enjoyed.  I picked up the book for review because it was billed as a romantic suspense and the back cover blurb gave the impression of a breath holding, white knuckle, search and rescue story.  As I struggled through the story I wondered over and over again why the publisher had put the book under romantic suspense and not released it under the Berkley Sensation line as erotica because that is what the book is.  If you take out the sex scenes you are left with what would have been the action packed story I thought I was picking up except it would have been a 40-50 page novella instead of full length book.  While some of the sex scenes were written pretty well they overshadowed the story…but then that is what erotica is….a lot of sex with some story to get you to the next sex scene.  I wonder how many erotica fans missed this one because of how the book was billed.

If you enjoy erotica this would be one book you will enjoy.  If you are looking for a solid romantic suspense, give it a pass.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.