I DREAM OF DANGER by Lisa Marie Rice

Ghost Ops #2
William Morrow Paperbacks, July 2013
Paperback from publisher
ISBN:  0062121839 (ISBN13: 9780062121837)
Romantic Suspense
*** 1/2





The second book in Lisa Marie Rice’s successful Ghost Ops series, I DREAM OF DANGER, is a romantic military suspense with a paranormal slant.

Elle Thomason fell in love with Nick Ross the moment her father, the judge, brought him home to live with them when she was but a child.  Then one day he simply disappeared from her life leaving her heartbroken.  Now, ten years later, she is a respected scientist doing groundbreaking work in psychic phenomena while Nick has is now working with a covert group of super-elite soldiers.  When Elle gets a desperate phone call from a co-worker telling her to run for her life, she is able to send out a telepathic SOS to Nick before being taken prisoner.

This reader thoroughly enjoyed Lisa Marie Rice’s I DREAM OF DANGER.  It had so many of the things this reader enjoys most in a romantic suspense:  hot alpha military men, a bit of psychic mojo, good chase scenes, bad guys aplenty and lots of steam.  The first third of the book was more or less back story, so for some readers it may not have grabbed them as quickly as they would have liked.  But as soon as Nick shows up on the scene, this book takes off.  Elle holds a lot of anger and resentment toward Nick for his abrupt departure and Nick is a bit possessive in the extreme toward her, but their chemistry is explosive from their very first encounter.  The minor characters are also well defined and most likely will have their own stories in future books.  They consist mostly of other members of Nick’s team, living off the grid inside a mountain hideaway.  The storyline is filled with twists and turns and is indeed very suspenseful.  The villain of the story, Dr. Charles Lee, wasn’t as well thought out as he could have been, though it was obvious he was horrific and I suppose that really was enough motivation to keep the book moving.  While the main characters’ romance certainly steamed up the pages, the parallel storyline of the evil Dr. Lee felt somewhat lacking for this reader.

Lisa Marie Rice really knows how to write a hot military suspense with a paranormal flair and I DREAM OF DANGER shows she also knows how to keep her fans coming back with her Ghost Ops series of books.


Review by Tammy (TammyLRM@gmail.com)
*This is an objective review and not an endorsement*

HEART OF DANGER by Lisa Marie Rice

Ghost Ops #1
Avon Red Books, October 2012
Paperback from publisher
ISBN:  0062121790 (ISBN13: 9780062121790)
Romantic Suspense
***


The first book in Lisa Marie Rice’s new Ghost Ops series, HEART OF DANGER, is a futuristic romantic military suspense with a paranormal slant.

Mac is one of the three surviving members of a super-elite ghost ops soldier squadron who after being betrayed by their commanding officer while on an antiterrorist mission, was framed before escaping court martial.  Now they live in a secret mountain hideaway where they do what they can to help those in need of their special talents. 

Dr. Catherine Young has a psychic gift of being able to see into the heart of others.  During the course of her work for a pharmaceutical lab, one of her test subjects psychically “tells” her she has to find Mac.  With nothing but her belief in her gift to guide her, she sets off to find the mysterious Mac.  When she shows up at the secret compound, Mac and his friends are understandably skeptical and suspect her of being part of a trap.  Time is running out for Catherine’s test subject and she must deal with first proving her innocence, asking for Mac’s help and then fighting the odd attraction she has to the mysterious Mac.

Lisa Marie Rice’s HEART OF DANGER sets the stage for future books in her new Ghost Ops series.  The world building is original, yet stretches the imagination a bit (how on earth does this secret off-government radar group fund the secret hideout, gadgets and missions anyway?).  The instant attraction between the leads was believable to this reader, but their romance may have been a bit rushed.  Undying love in two days time might be a bit over the top for some readers.  Still, for this reader, the romance worked.  Without it, this woman’s tale about their commander, a man they thought betrayed them and died, being held prisoner in a lab somewhere probably would not have been believed.  Once that is out of the way, the rest of the story is all about the rescue and why their commander is there in the first place.  The pace at this point is frantic and the action aplenty.

For the first book in a new series, Lisa Marie Rice’s HEART OF DANGER was an intriguing and romantic military suspense with a touch of the paranormal to spice up the mix.  This reader looks forward to the next books in this series.


Review by Tammy (TammyLRM@gmail.com)
*This is an objective review and not an endorsement*

 

DANGEROUS SECRETS by Lisa Marie Rice

Publisher Avon Red Date published July 2008 ISBN 978-0061208607 Contemporary Erotica Trade Paperback Reviewed by Susan Charity Prewitt, a librarian finds herself falling in love with Nick Ames. To her, Nick is a wealthy, retired stockbroker but in reality, he is just an undercover agent trying to get close to Vassily Worontzoff, a Russian terrorist. Charity doesn’t know who Vassily is and why he is so enamored with her. She has an amazing resemblance to the love of his life who died thus Vassily believes his Katya has come back to him. Nick and Charity are blazing hot together. The chemistry between them is apparent from their first meeting and it only builds as the story progresses. Nick finds himself falling for her and it is very disconcerting to him. It conflicts with his assignment as his personal wants clashes with what needs to be done. Charity is a lovely heroine. She is pretty naïve and innocent. It takes awhile before she comprehends what is going on but it is understandable as she is reeling from the emotions and heat of their relationship. Although the focus of the book is on Nick and Charity, Vassily plays a crucial part in the story. This reader can’t help but feel for him and with what he has undergone. The physical pain of being in a prison camp is nothing compared to what he suffered listening to Katya’s screams. It is not hard to understand how his mind became warped or how his psyche was damaged by what he underwent. Yes, he was the villain but you still empathized with him. I have always enjoyed Ms. Rice’s books and this one is no different. She features very alpha males who coddle and love their women to the max. Her heroines can be a little slow on the uptake but they are very strong women. DANGEROUS SECRETS is another winner and makes for a great summer read!