When You Dare by Lori Foster

Dare and Molly's book


When You Dare 

by Lori Foster

Book Blurb:
The tougher they are, the harder they fall… 

Professional mercenary Dare Macintosh lives by one hard and fast rule: business should never be personal. If a cause appeals to him and the price is right, he'll take the mission he's offered. But then the lovely Molly Alexander asks him to help her track down the men who'd had her kidnapped—and for the first time, Dare's tempted to combine work with pleasure. 

Fiercely independent, Molly vows to trust no one until she's uncovered the truth. Could the enemy be her powerful, estranged father? The ex-fiancé who still holds a grudge? Or the not-so-shy fan of her bestselling novels? As the danger heats up around them, the only anchor Molly has is Dare himself. But what she feels for him just might be the most frightening thing of all…


I had been looking forward to reading this "Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor" series since last June/11. In June I went out and bought the first three books but with such a huge TBR pile, I only just got to it now. As proof of how badly I wanted to read this series, here is me with a couple of the men. 

I think I also held back a bit because Romance Suspense isn't a favourite genre of mine. I can't handle suspense and angst. I know this fact about me so I have to be a mood to have my heart pumping and my hands all sweaty. I can only take that in doses. 

After reading When You Dare, I have to admit my true disappointment with the lack of suspense. Last night as I was reading it, I was at the half way mark of my book and I said to myself, 'when is anything going to happen!?!' When You Dare was a yawner when it came to suspense because there is none. Nada, nothing, zip. So if you are looking for a romance suspense, pass on When You Dare. 

As for the character development, it was very easy to like Dare and Molly. Dare has a killer body, rich, smart and very good at his job. Now to be clear, I'm not quite 100% what his job was. He rescues people in peril...I think. He is for hire but I am not sure what job title that would say on his business card. 

As for Molly the one thing that really struck me odd was her name. I like the name, Molly well enough but it just didn't suit this character. Nothing against the Molly's of the world but the name just needed to have a stronger representation of the protagonist. The character, Molly was such a tower of strength and bravery that her character's name just conflicted with the personality. Molly would have been better suited as a Dana, Anne, Jean or Lisa. 

Out the gate When You Dare was powerful. The book  starts just at the conclusion of a daring rescue (you do not read about the rescue itself) where young women were kidnapped for sex slavery. You read about the abhorrent conditions the women were kept in and a shiver goes up your spine. Dare is the sole man that goes into a Tijuana lair, kills the bad guys and single handily rescues about eight women. His best friend's sister was the reason he took on the mission and he saves Molly as she was one of the chained up females. I felt the save was a bit of a reach and not realistic. I understand it is fiction but it was hard to even imagine that one man could have done all of the rescue alone plus then set the women free.

What I found frustrating over and over again was the lame reasoning for not bringing the police or FBI in on the case. I would have thought Molly and the other women would want to protect any more females from suffering the brutal kidnapping and have the slavery ring shut down. 

As Molly and Dare get to know and trust each other, the reader is then treated to chapters and chapters of Molly wanting Dare to sleep with her and Dare (being the gentleman that he is) holding off on his sexual urges because he wants Molly to heal from her cuts and bruises. Literally chapters. Molly wants to feel again, Molly wants to move on, Molly wants her hair to look nice so that maybe Dare will want her, Molly wishes she had her makeup and clothes so she will be desirable for Dare...oh boy enough already. 

I would have made When You Dare a one star except that I will admit that the actual writing was good. It was just the story line and plot holes that I serious problems with. I could list all my dissensions but it would be full of spoilers and it would just turn into a rant. Even though I have the next two books sitting on my shelf, I am not sure if I'll bother reading them. 

Teasers: great hair untangling scene, awesome doggie personalities, dysfunctional family, clean freak