Book Description
Publication Date: February 17, 2013
** 2011 Readers Favorite Awards Silver Medal Winner**
The last thing he wanted was what he needed most…
Six agonizing months after a slug collapsed his lung, Sergeant Justin Harrison manages to return to the one place where he shines—the San Diego homicide division. Nothing will stand in the way of proving he is fit for active duty. Especially not the long-legged brunette who just stumbled into his crime scene.
Photographer Paige Conroy spent years hiding from her past. Then a late night telephone call brings it crashing back. An old friend is in town and needs her help. When she arrives at his hotel room four hours later, he’s dead. Suddenly, she’s the target of a madman, and Paige must turn to Sergeant Harrison for protection.
But who is the bigger threat to her… the faceless assailant she fears will steal her life or the dark-eyed detective she knows could steal her heart?
Review:
Good lord! What a rush! I have finally caught my breath. Let me explain. The first 1/3 of the book was a little slow for me. The back and forth between Paige and Justin is palpable but sometimes, I grew a little tired of their inner dialogue of will they or won’t they.
The 2/3 of the book is the action starts picking up. When they both decide that yes, they want each other (for different reasons but relatable reasons), the sexual tension starts to really build and build it does. 🙂 The touches, kisses, looks and passiveness that Justin has for Paige is perfect. It’s not heavy-handed but sweet and then hawt! This is also when the suspense kicks in, too. Good lord the villain was creepy. I mean that in a good way. I’m still grieving over the Caddy. *sniff*
The villain is one of those that I truly didn’t have a clue until it was revealed. OMG! I never saw that one coming at all. Perfect set up for the villain, too. By the last 1/3 of the book, its fast, furious, sexy and again…O.M.G. slapped me upside my head. I love it when the author doesn’t reveal the villain until the last part of the book. Plus, I can normally figure it out before the reveal but Ms. Grimm did an excellent job of NOT letting on to who it was and the motivation of the villain. Trust me, you will love it, too.
I loved Paige and Justin, too. I felt connected with each of them but in different ways. With Justin, I just wanted to take care of him and with Paige, demand that she sleep. Once the smexy times started, I sighed with joy and also in the knowledge that it would all work out in the end.
The secondary characters were wonderful and not intrusive. Justin’s partner was a great friend and grounded Justin in the harsh realities of getting involved. Paige’s friend that called her was also good. Too bad it was in back story. I would have liked to have known him better. 🙂
Overall, if you are looking for a creepy villain, suspense that is kicked up a notch and a smexy story about two damaged people who find that true love is the only way they will heal…pick up Not Without Risk. Trust me, its worth the risk. 🙂
Thanks for the great review! I really appreciate it and am thrilled you enjoyed Justin and Paige’s story.
This sounds great! Thanks for the review
Hi Marika,
Thanks for stopping by Fiction Books yesterday. I love ‘meeting’ new people and your visits and comments will always be welcome.
A great review of ‘Not Without Risk’, which really told me all I need to know about the book, without giving too much away.
This type of pretty erotic sounding romance, is not the kind of thing that I read all the time, but I have really quite eclectic tatstes in my books, so occasionally it is always good for a brief ‘easy read’ interlude. I do enjoy it more if there is something of a storyline to run alongside the romance and this book seems to tick all the boxes.
I am glad that you obviously enjoyed it so much and this is definitely an author worth adding to my list, so thanks for sharing.
Yvonne