Bare It All by Lori Foster (Love Undercover #2)
Romantic Suspense
April 30, 2013
Harlequin

Reviewed by Helyce

Favorite quote: “I’ll fill you up, Alice. And I swear you’ll enjoy it.”

I loved this book! I wasn’t supposed to have read it because it took me out of the order I was reading in, in an effort to stay on top of my review books; but once I started it, I could not put it down. It’s usually like that when I read a Lori Foster book and I just had to continue because I would never have been able to concentrate on anything else!

We met Detective Reese Bareden and his neighbor Alice Appleton in book one, Run The Risk. Reese rescues a stray dog, brings it home and then realizes that it’s still young and really shouldn’t be left home alone during the day. He’d seen Alice in his building, thought she worked from home, so he approaches her to see if she’d be willing to dog sit during Reese’s long days at the office. Alice agrees. She doesn’t say much to Reese, keeps the conversation “dog” related. Reese, however, is really intrigued by Alice. He thinks she is beautiful but knows she doesn’t think so. He can tell by how she dresses and carries herself. Alice, however, shows no interest in Reese, only Cash, Reese’s dog.

When the case Reese and his partner Logan are working on comes to a head at Reese’s apartment and Alice’s quick thinking helps them nab the bad guys, Reese finds himself needing a place to stay while his apartment is still a crime scene. When Alice offers Reese her couch, he takes her up on it thinking that it to be step one in his plan to get to know Alice a little better.

Bare It All picks up right where Run the Risk leaves off. Reese is getting a little too comfortable in Alice’s apartment and is not at all in a hurry to move back into his place. While things are being investigated, both Logan and Reese are on mandatory leave. As they spend more time together, Reese realizes that there is much more to Alice than meets the eye. When he learns the truth about her past, it certainly helps him to understand her more, but it doesn’t change how he feels about her at all. He’s beginning to think his feelings are not all one sided either if those looks she gives him when he’s shirtless are any indication.

When Alice is out one day and sees a young woman in trouble she doesn’t think about consequences, she just acts. In doing so she unknowingly starts a chain of events that put not only her, but those around her in danger. It’ll take some tricks and schemes to get them all out of this one unscathed.

This story grabbed me and didn’t let me go. It’s everything I look for in a romance and while not labeled “suspense” there is some of that in here as it pertains to the case Reese and Logan are working on. But the character who stole the show for me in here was Alice. It’s impossible to describe her totally without giving too much away, but suffice it to say that she’s scarred from her past and has trouble trusting people. If that weren’t enough, she carries a lot of guilt for what happened, even though it really and truly was not her fault. She did what she had to do to survive; but she lives with that every day of her life. It’s caused her to be a bit of an introvert and she’s even cut ties with her family. Alice is super intelligent and though she’s extremely careful with people she immediately senses that Reese is someone she can trust. And he’s gorgeous and sexy and she loves to just look at him.

Alice, personality-wise, is not your usual heroine. She’s a bit odd, quirky, and perhaps because of what she’s been through, she tends toward being too honest-usually just speaking off the top of her head without embarrassment of any kind. I found her a fresh and endearing change to the usual heroine. Strong, intelligent and extremely capable while at the same time, just a bit vulnerable; Alice’s utter lack of artifice made her a stand out character to me.

The introduction of the case that Alice inadvertently lends herself to brings just a little bit of mystery and suspense to this story. It allows the author to continue the human trafficking storyline while adding the twist of drug trafficking to it. At the same time, she provides a nice set up for the next story by highlighting Rowdy Yates, our next hero.

Ultimately, what I really loved about this story was the focus on Reese and Alice and their budding relationship. They get a lot of page time, talking and getting to know each other and we see a lot of character growth in Alice. We see her break out of her self-imposed solitary lifestyle and develop friendships, gaining additional confidence in herself as a woman. Reese is patient and single minded in the fact that Alice is the one for him and that comes through strongly as well. I loved how these two are always honest and upfront, voicing their thoughts and bringing everything out into the open.

From start to finish, just the right amount of everything I look for in a book!

Rating: A

Recent Reviews:
Fiction Vixen – B
Book Binge – 4.25/5
All About Romance – C
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