Customer Reviews

Dangerous Passion

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

STORY BRIEF:
Drake heads up a billion-dollar empire selling weapons to various countries. He lives in a fortress of a home with bodyguards. One day he sees paintings in an art gallery window that he can't resist. He goes inside to look and meets the artist Grace who takes his breath away. She brings her work to the gallery every other Tuesday. For the next year, Drake secretly stands in the alley on those days so he can watch her through the gallery window. He loves her from afar but knows he can't bring her into his world. One of his enemies learns of his Tuesday visits and hires four men to ambush Drake. One of them grabs Grace and holds a gun to her head. He and Grace are able to get away, and Drake takes her to his home fortress. He later shows her she can never be free again, because his enemies will always be after her as a way to get to Drake.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Totally enjoyable. Emotionally fulfilling. This is similar to her other books. The same alpha-type warrior who is so in love with a woman and so turned on by her that "he needs to be hosed down." The same type of heroine: gentle, caring, beautiful, brave, and needing protection. It's easy to read. Every once in a while I'm in the mood for this kind of writing. Makes me feel good. Some of it is a little over the top - with exaggerations similar to "I've done this thousands of times ..." and "I'll kill him if he so much as leaves a scratch on her." I like her style and enjoyed this even though there were a few weaknesses described below.

CAUTION MILD SPOILERS:
The weaknesses were: 1. I wanted to see how Drake would uncover and deal with the traitor in his organization, but it never happened. 2. Grace's psychic ability painting his scar felt thrown in and didn't go anywhere. If the author was trying to show a psychic connection between the two she needed to do more with it than she did. I think the story would have been fine without the psychic part. 3. The hero was a bad guy, an arms dealer. For some readers that may be a problem. I was ok with it. Not every story needs to be about perfect do-good heroes.

This is not a weakness, but I would have liked seeing more story about what went on between Andrew and Shota - how Andrew enticed information from Shota. Shota was so loyal. I wanted to see how someone could pierce through it.

DATA:
Story length: 310 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 10. Total number of sex scene pages: 34. Setting: New York, S. Carolina, Italy, Sivatu (island in the Pacific). Copyright: 2009. Genre: erotic romantic suspense.

OTHER BOOKS:
For a list of my reviews of other Lisa Marie Rice books, see my 4.5 star review of "Midnight Man" posted 3/17/09.

Viktor "Drake" Drakovich is wealthy, mysterious, and deadly. There is nothing he can't have; except Grace Larson, so he buys her paintings instead. Drake hides in the shadows, watching Grace, longing for her, until his enemies discover his weakness and come for them both. Drake has to protect Grace from his enemies and himself. To have Grace, is to risk her life, and that is something Drake will not do.

Dangerous Passion stirs the senses with dramatic exchanges and deeply erotic scenes. With languid, sensual moments and electrifying car chases, Dangerous Passion kept me on edge from the first page to the last. Drake's enemies may be aggressive and relentless, but Drake is stronger and smarter. He is accustomed to waging war. Emotions and feelings are foreign to him. His need for Grace is tangible. Grace is independent and strong, but her almost solitary existence makes her vulnerable. Drake appears to be super-human; he's the wealthiest, most powerful, and most capable of men. Grace didn't stand a chance against his overwhelming desire for her. What transpires between Grace and Drake in Dangerous Passion has a dream-like quality to it; complete with a villain, a tortured hero, and a fairytale ending. Dangerous Passion is a perfect addition to Ms. Rice's Dangerous novels.


Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I enjoyed Dangerous Passion, but I like Lisa Marie Rice's style. She doesn't deviate from her winning formula. But be forewarned: it is formula. If you've read Rice before, you know this couple. Drake is dangerous, filthy rich, and alone. Grace is loving, cultured, and gentle. They need each other desperately. I like their story, but there are a few flaws.

1) This might be a biggie for some folks. This novel is an extended version of a short story Rice wrote for a Secrets anthology. I think the title of the short story is Secluded, but I'm uncertain. However, I am 100% sure that this plot follows the short story pretty faithfully, even to the getaway and exotic island epilogue.

2) Drake is soooo gentle and careful and mannerly with Grace. On the one hand, this is a mark of his love and respect for her. How can I hate on such dreamy perfection? On the other hand, given that Drake's a former "street rat" from Odessa, romantic perfection seems a little out of character. He's a bit too courtly, too polished. I would have liked to see a little more of the inner gangster that allowed him to amass such wealth and power.

3) Finally, Grace falls a little too quickly. A sensitive, intelligent woman would have a few more reservations about a crime lord like Drake, even if she chose to ignore them.

But overall, this story is an enjoyable FANTASY, so I can ignore these flaws. I recommend this book if you're looking to escape.

I Was going to give this two stars if I was able to finish but, so help me God, I gave it my best shot and could only manage to get to the two-thirds mark.

The plot had so much potential. A bad ass arms dealer falls inlove with a girl next door artist and his enemies are after them. But aside from a little action in the beginning, nothing happens. The couple spends the majority of the book in his apartment over analizing their feelings for one another. THERE IS SO MUCH INNER DIALOGUE AND BACKSTORY. The author, while she came up with a good plot, clearly doesn't know how to write an engaging scene.

I disagree with some of the other naysayers here in that I didn't mind that the heroine was passive. I am actually quite bored with the overly feisty strumpets that are played time and time again in almost every other romance novel out there. Grace's character was refreshing in that sense, but we never really got to know her. While we are given a tremendous amount of backstory on our boy Drake, we don't really know anything about Grace.

That leads me to my next point, Drake. I get that we like our heroes to be out of this world and a bit over the top, but for Pete's sake, he needs to have some faults for him to be believable. Drake is a black belt in several different types of martial arts, is the best sniper in the world, has a rock hard body, a huge penis, makes ten million dollars a week, knows every single firearm ever made (seriously), is fluent in several languages, while he hasn't had sex in a really long time and has never been in a relationship and rarely sleeps with the same girl twice he still knows how to please a woman in bed and is an awesome lover, even though he grew up parentless on the streets and was part of a gang at an early age and has never had any close friends he's still an excellent communicator and very empathetic to Grace's every need, oh and he has manners - not because he learned them, but because he NATURALLY (yes the author really does make pains that we as the reader should know this) is a gentlemen. OF COURSE HE IS. And one other thing, he doesn't even care if he comes or not during sex as long as she has lots of multiples.

Sounds like a great guy, right? Well actually I never understood why he has to be so tender and caring. I thought the whole purpose about creating a bad boy fantasy was so that we could have a fantasy about falling for a bad boy. Why bother making him a deadly killer if you're just going to make him an emotional pansy?

Another major gripe that I have, the heroine sees her best friend get his head blown off and a few hours later she's having a romantic dinner with the hero discussing her best friend's body in the morgue and talking about bullet trajectories and CSI. SERIOUSLY? If I saw my best friend get their head blown off, or hell, anybody getting their head blown off, I'd probably be a withering mass of sobbing blubber for months, possibly years, to come. Actually, I don't think that the heroine EVER cries for her best friend.

Overall, this story is a serious case of telling not showing. There is so much inner dialogue and the story never really moves. There is one scene where the hero is masterbating while thinking of the heroine and I did think that scene was hot because there are rarely masturbation scenes in romance novels, but other than that, there was little redeaming qualities about this book.

I finished "Dangerous Passion" which I liked a lot, except. . . its basic plot is found in "Secluded," in the "Secrets" anthology, which unfortunately, I just reread. If you haven't read that AND if you haven't read everything by Rice (as I have), you'd LOVE this book, IF you like very erotic books and can accept a hero who is an arms dealer.

Like a lot of people, I consider international arms dealers pretty much the scum of the earth, but LMR's hero, Drake, works, largely because we never see the results of his trade and more importantly, he's aware that to keep Grace, he will have to give it up, and he does. His occupation is NOT really discussed or debated, so the book is not an ethical debate or propaganda against arms. Aside from that, Drake is hardly a bad boy, although he has all the baggage of such: dangerous enemies, a VERY high-security life, lots and lots of money, meaningless past women, a horrific past--you know the drill.

When he happens to see an exhibit of paintings, he instantly and amazingly (to him) is determined to have them. When he sees their creator, he is even more smitten and comes twice a month to watch her, unseen, in the gallery. However, his obsession is noted by a deadly enemy who tries to assassinate both of them.

What I loved about the book:
1. Grace, the heroine, behaves intelligently. Her realistic assessment of their terrible danger allows their escape. Later, when she is taken into his fortress, she hesitates, realizing that she knows nothing of this man who clearly is comfortable with killing. At a crucial time, she behaves quickly and intelligently, getting them both out of a deadly situation. She's NEVER TSTL, and I found her acceptance of isolation believable because of her obsession with her art.
2. The hero. I believed that this man, whose life is barren and meaningless in his endless quest for money, would fall instantly and irretrievably in love. Like LMR's other heroes, he is amazed at the heroine's talent and at no time dismisses or belittles her, as so many alpha heroes do.
3. The change experienced by Drake. Unlike one reviewer on Amazon, I believed the possibility of his and Grace's HEA and their new life.
4. This is VERY sexy book. I, personally, detest books where the h&h fall immediately into bed together, but here, it's believable, and LMR is able to keep their intensity going. She has been criticized for her "vanilla sex," but says that in the beginning of a relationship, her h&h don't need toys and other diversions. I think she does a fabulous job capturing the sexual excitement and intensity of a beginning relationship.

What I Didn't Like:
1. This book is too much like LMR's others, down to the basic plot and characters.

This is a well-plotted, steamy, stand-alone book about an artist and an arms dealer. Another must-read for Rice fans.

Plot summary:
Rich arms dealer Drake admires painter Grace from afar. He's collected all her works and is enchanted by her beauty. During one of his secret twice-monthly visits to the alley he frequents to admire Grace through the art gallery window, his enemies attempt an assassination. This forces Drake to whisk Grace away to his armored Manhattan penthouse where he must protect her, convince her to stay with him, and find the breach in his security.

Pros:
I love the way Lisa Marie Rice writes: the turn-of-phrase, the flow, the descriptions, the voices in the POVs, the pacing. She really makes me turn the page. It's a well balanced book. There are five POVs with the hero, heroine and main villain getting an equal number of POV scenes. I liked the main characters. As well as being artistic, Grace is smart and practical and there are no TSTL moments or wimpy actions. Former "street rat" Drake is exploring his sensitive side and newly awakened appreciation for beauty and love. It's an effective H/h pairing, very well executed and I think it's the strength of this book.

Cons:
The conflict is all external. Grace and Drake feel fated to be together so there really isn't much tension in their coming together. Grace is basically with a mob arms dealer, but she only asks if his money comes from drugs, as though everything else is ok with her. She doesn't ask many questions about Drake's business or his past and falls for him very quickly.

There's some unfinished business with the mole in Drake's operation. Drake plans to find the breach, but we never read about it. We get one Andrei POV scene (p. 170) but no follow up scenes other than texts to Rutskoi. I would have liked another 50-100 pages focusing on the villains Andrei, Rutskoi and Cordero. What was written was great, but not enough, imho. I wanted a little more complexity.

Nit-picky cons:
Drake is injured so badly he can't walk, but drives the next day? Unless this is paranormal fiction, -- and it's borderline with the scar face dreams and all -- people just don't heal that fast. In the epilogue in Jim's POV he accidentally refers to Rabat as Drake (p. 308) when he's not supposed to know his alias. That's really nit-picky, though, and easily ignored.

This was a very good book in keeping with the other "Dangerous" books in the series. I also recommend Rice's "Midnight" series, my personal favorite. "Midnight" is interconnected so should be read in order. "Dangerous" can be read out of order. 4.5 stars.

I have never read anything by this author, but I can say I'm a fan now. I loved the entire book, god Drake was sexy and so skilled in and out of the bedroom. Once I begin to read the book I had to finish it. Darn sleep and work, but I didn't want to put it down. I'm going to check out some of her other work.

All I need to see is this author's name. I would read anything and everything she writes. I have not been disappointed. This book in particular is a favorite of mine that I read and re-read and re-read.

This book was my introduction to Lisa Marie Rice and WOW! It was great! Just the kind of book I love. It has a great adventurous storyline, not your typical story and the sexual tension leads to steamy sex scenes that do not disappoint. I will be reading this author again.

Are some people, because of the hand they are dealt and the choices they made, unworthy of love? Should anyone be denied that grace? Grace is the perfect name for the female lead in this excellent, complex book. You live your life unaware that the quiet adoration of a dangerous man has made you a target. What do you do then? Very complex and realistic in choices and LACK of choices. SOmetimes not everything is in our control. Best book of the triology--but it helps to read the other two to get used to the tempo of the authors' writing. Definately a keeper.