Fatal Heat by Lisa Marie Rice
Romantic Suspense
October 4, 2011
E-Book
Avon Impulse
Reviewed by Mandi
Former SEAL Max Wright is still recovering from a devastating RPG attack. Spending a long time in a rehab facility to regain the use of his leg, he can now walk, but it is painful and slow. His commander has given him use of a beach house to relax, and further recuperate. Physically he is exhausted, but mentally he is still reeling from the fact he is no longer a SEAL and what that means for his future. Let’s just say Max is not in a very good mood.
His next door neighbor happens to be the god daughter of his commander. Paige is a plant geneticist. She normally dates fellow scientists, but when she bakes cookies for her new neighbor and gets a glimpse at the big, surly, strong Max, she can barely control her lust. He intimidates her, until she realizes how gentle and caring he is towards her dog (also named Max).
Paige is working on an Argentina research project involving splicing a human growth hormone gene into corn, making corn crops grow at a very fast rate. But something is fishy. Her work partner Sylvia and project leader, who is in Argentina overseeing the project has not returned Pagie’s phone calls for days. And soon Paige will find out why.
I love Lisa Marie Rice books and those written under her pen name, Elizabeth Jennings. She writes suspense books filled with over the top, crazy hijinks, and smoldering sexual tension. They are just really fun to read. And the first 30% of this book lives up to that. The sexual tension between Max and Paige is really well done.
There was no air in his lungs, just a burning sensation. Heat suffused him, inside and out.
They stared at each other. She had the most amazing eyes, a light blue with green streaks, shimmering as if the ocean were at her feet and reflected in her eyes.
He breathed in a gasp. Said words that were wrenched straight from his chest without any prior thought at all. “I want you.”
Oh fuck. The words were out there, stark and simple, and he couldn’t call them back. He barely recognized his own voice – low and guttural, as if the words came from somewhere deep inside him. And they had. They came from his very core.
Oh Lisa Marie Rice! I hear dramatic music playing, don’t you too? How can you resist a hero that speaks from his very core?
So everything is great, and I’m soaking up the sexual goodness and bracing myself for the crazy suspense that I know is coming. And it does come, but with a big WTF. The WTF comes in the form of a dog – Pagie’s dog also named Max. I’m just going to call him dog here so we don’t get the two Max’s confused. Paige loves dog. He is an 8-month old border collie mix breed. The dog is hyper and crazy and the love of Pagie’s life. Heading into spoiler territory so click if you want to see what bothers me about dog. But again – it is spoilery to the plot.
[spoiler]Bad guys come in to kidnap Paige, and they shoot dog in the head. Dog is laying there unconscious in a pool of blood. Paige gets dragged away. Max comes home and dog wakes up and after weaving for a minute or two starts barking and runs out towards the beach! After Max has his friend hack into NSA satellites (which I believe much more than dog) they realize there is a secret island out there . So Max and dog start swimming
The dog wanted Paige back as much as he did. He was wounded – he’d been shot in the head – and yet he was unwavering. He’d jumped into the inflatable without hesitation and had remained utterly still while, underwater, Max towed him. Dogs don’t have good eyesight; the way they make sense of their world is through their noses.
For the dog, Max had suddenly disappeared, and the inflatable dinghy with the uncertain footing simply began moving. It must have been terrifying, but Max saw no sighs of fear in the dog, only determination.
Really? The dog antics go on for more than just this. It just made the story too silly to enjoy for me.
[/spoiler]
The superhero dog kind of killed this story for me. I also want to mention that at least in the arc I received on my kindle, the story is done at 69%. The remaining 30% are just excerpts from other books. I wasn’t ready for the story to be done so early!
Rating: C
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Hi Mandi
I’m a huge LMR fan. I will take a chance on a novella that’s $2.00.
Thanks for reviewing it.
I hope you enjoy! For that price, it is def hard to pass up!
Simple reason with the dog. It’s a superhero dog just like most of LMR’s hero.
But the dog threw me…I believe if the hero is the superhero ;) Just not the dog
You know, I’ve read a few of her books and they were good, but there was always something about them that didn’t sit right with me. But I don’t remember dogs…:) LOL!
Okay, very strange indeed. Dog should be rushed to a vet first, while Max works on finding his woman again. Not sure if I will be reading this. Still haven’t read anything by this author yet, though I have some of her books.
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