Lisa Marie Rice

Ex-SEAL, John Huntington is looking for new office space when he meets property owner and interior designer Suzanne Barron. John is immediately overcome with fierce desire for the elegant woman and determined he will make her his.

This was painful to read. It's only really romantic suspense if you squint - it's mainly erotica. I'm not even sure where to begin with all the things that bothered me about this book. I like alpha males but this was too aggressive - borderline rapey. It's not like show more Suzanne seems to like him or want him or is willing to stand up for herself - or even talk. She's basically a non-entity waiting for him to do whatever he wants. It was awkward and wrong.

John says: I'm a gentleman.
What he actually does: But I'm not going to take no for an answer, crowd your space and take over every inch of your life whether you like it or not.
Suzanne's really not that much better. She's supposedly self-assured and confident but she spends all her time freaking out and being overwhelmed by everything he does - and frankly not in a good way. It's not like she's overcome with lust - it's like she's terrified.

I liked the Men of Midnight series. The first two books; Jacko and Metal were alpha males - but they weren't aggressively ignorant of their females thoughts and feelings. John just doesn't seem to care if it's what he wants. There's lots of talk about how he shouldn't and wouldn't hurt her but no actual proof.

The suspense plot was farfetched and very lightly used. And what the hell was with Todd's murder - John just doesn't even tell her? It's her friend for fks sake?! Plus how the hell is she supposed to remember everything or anything of importance if he doesn't tell her something that's relevant to the situation. I mean for godsakes her and Todd are working together on one job - with one client - who is also murdered. It's not fkn rocket science.

“As long as it takes,” he answered bluntly. He debated, briefly, telling her about Todd Armstrong, then decided against it. She had a right to know, and she’d be angry later. But now it was his call and he decided not to overwhelm her. He needed her to think straight and she wasn’t going to do that knowing a friend was dead, because of her. “We’re going to have to figure out what’s going on, honey. As long as we’re in the dark, we’re vulnerable. I need to ask you some questions.”

Rice, Lisa Marie. Midnight Man (Midnight series Book 1) (pp. 163-164). Jasmine Jade. Kindle Edition.

Plus is there any point not telling her when at the start they made her look at the dead freaking body with his sliced throat to ID him? Made no sense. But I could roll with the light suspense if the romance was decent - but it's not. I mean this beauty.

He made sure the women he had realized he had a strong sex drive and that they were going to be used hard. If that’s what they wanted, fine. If not, there were plenty of other women around.

Rice, Lisa Marie. Midnight Man (Midnight series Book 1) (p. 159). Jasmine Jade. Kindle Edition.

Used hard? Charming. Apart from that winner, in all of the sex scenes - he knows he's hurting her but can't control himself enough to stop himself? Seriously? All that talk about control and SEALS and he can't stop? It's so much worse than him hurting her by accident. He is actually aware that he's hurting her but does it anyway. And it's not like she's there saying hey it's okay I like it or I want it - she does not - he just can't help himself. This just perpetuates the idea that rapists are not guilty of their own actions and that's a load of crap.

All men and women are responsible for their actions. Sexual assault is not okay. Rape is not okay. Hurting someone because you can't control yourself - is not okay.

1 star. show less

This book was recommended to me by a colleague and it didn't disappoint. It is my first Lisa Marie Rice novel and it is filled with suspense and tons of sexual tension.

Former navy SEAL John Huntington, The Midnight Man, is a dangerous man. He is now a civilian, a lifelong serviceman who is now head of security for a large corporation. A civilian with a warrior's mind. Good at action, but bad at words. His next mission is to get his new landlady in bed, but his lack of charm is going to be a show more problem.

Suzanne Barron is an up-and-coming designer who has a new client for her office space. She thought he would be a safe bet for the part of town they were in, but the last thing she felt was safe. He's like a crouching tiger ready to pounce and in his own words, she was his prey. He's not her type, but the attraction is strong and his protective instincts are lethal as he saves her life from an extremely dangerous man.

The sexual tension is powerful between John and Suzanne right from the start. John is an uncompromising alpha male who knows what he wants and he wants Suzanne from the minute he meets her. Unfortunately, John is a man of little words and plenty of action. In fact, his tactics are caveman-like at best while he immediately invades Suzanne's personal space and tells her he plans to sleep with her. It's so hot how intense and focused he is and their first sexual encounter is animalistic and scorching. As she pushes him away, he only pursues her even harder until her life is in danger and he is all she has to keep her safe. Protective John is even hotter and seeing these two opposites slowly fall for each other is a pleasure to watch.

Suzanne is at a loss when John walks into her life. She's used to dating charming gentlemen with a slow build-up to dinner and sex. What she gets is a relentless pursuer, a quick dinner, and steamy sex in her entryway. Her immediate attraction is frightening and exciting at the same time. Apparently, opposites do attract and her softer nurturing side brings out some sweet moments with John.

This story has some suspense as well as romance when Suzanne is targeted by an assassin. It's John's training as a SEAL that keeps her safe as he uses his skills to save her life. It's that private time together on the run that brings them closer only to be ripped apart by Suzanne's decision to do the right thing. No worries. There is a HEA, though abrupt, and left me wanting more.

I recommend you read this fast-paced, romantic suspense with intriguing characters and a gripping storyline. show less

Reading Updates: 20%
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I'm glad this is tagged as erotic (and erotica but I think it's more the first) because that is what I was here for. The story is a dime a dozen in rom-suspense. Uptight book editor city gal Julia witnesses a murder committed by a mafia guy and has to go into witness protection. She gets sent to in the boonies small town Idaho and is given the cover as a school teacher(????). There she meets former Navy SEAL now turned rancher(LOVE it, lol) Cooper. He's the looming show more strong silent type who also comes from a cursed family, for generations women have either died or ran away from the ranch leaving their menfolk and one child they were only able to bear. There's also sinister povs of an assassin who is hunting Julia to kill her and collect on the $1 million (later bumped up to $2mil!) bounty on her head to stop her from testifying against mafia guy and povs from the US Marshall in charge of Julia's case.

It's all a little suspenseful and a little predictable (this was published in 1999 and I think more modern readers are going to guess and spoil the supposed to be shock reveal of the assassin) but enjoyable typical rom-suspense. You even get an O.K. Corral like shooting ending. Fun! I'm getting impatient because I want to talk about what had me reading this book in one setting but there's some Julia finding her place and helping/becoming friends with townspeople for setting and her and Cooper do talk and bond, and when the Marshall's have a flub on their end, he gets to be take charge alpha man and protective of Julia. Per one of my updates, I also learned about the (maybe) fun fact about champagne glasses and Maria Antoinette's boobs and what a fern bar was (I was born in the 80s and must have missed this 70s phenomenon). All cool and will hopefully clench a bar trivia win for me someday.

But honestly, just whatever to all that because, my friends, thank goodness this was tagged as erotic/a because that became what I was solely here for lol.

He’s magnificent, was all Julia could think as Cooper approached her slowly, broad shoulders blocking out the rest of the room. Moisture—condensation? rain?—clung to his inky hair and Julia’s hands itched to run her fingers through the thick dark pelt. His expression was stern as always. She wanted to touch his face, see if she could make the frown lines go away, trace that hard, beautiful mouth with her finger. Cooper came up so close to her that she had to tilt her head. He looked down at her and his face had never seemed more harsh, more angular.
“Come with me,” he said. “Now.”
“Yes, Cooper,” Julia whispered, and put her curried drumstick down on the tablecloth, missing her plate by a good ten inches. Cooper grabbed her hand and dragged her through the door and towards a black pickup. “Where are we going?” Julia cried.
Cooper practically threw her into the cab, got in and pulled away with a squeal of tires. “To your house,” he said tightly. “This time we’re going to get it right. We’re going to fuck all night.”

The curried drumstick not only got put the f down, it didn't even make the plate!!!! Now, I know posting quotes like this out of context can sometimes seem cheesy but as a someone who more often than not loathes insta-lust, again, I was HERE for it. These two had chemistry and as I said in my first update, examples of why they were lusting, it didn't feel empty at all, that heat was there, present, and shown. When he dropped that last line, it was gawd damn! from me. This sweater set woman was clutching her pearls but that hand was SWEATY. I loved it how lusty she was for him and how it was written to deliver emotions and make me the reader believe in their lusty heat.

So, yeah, I finally have an insta-lust story to recommend :)

Also, ol' Coop wasn't just raging hormones:
The only other time in his life in which his hand trembled had been the first time with her. Sally Anderson was slowly undoing him. Then putting him back together. A better man.
Sally is Julia's witness protection alias show less

Ellen is known to millions as Eve, the mysterious singer who is simply an amazing, faceless voice. In real life Ellen is a desperately afraid woman, running for her life from a man whose secret she has found. After running for over a year, it’s clear that her tormentor is not only unwilling to give up the chase, but is gaining ground. She turns to former Delta force agent Harry Bolt and his “blood brothers” Sam and Mike, to help protect her. Sparks Of attraction fly between Harry and show more Ellen, but is Ellen willing to risk her life to settle with this man?

I read this book in one sitting. I have never read anything by Miss Rice, but she now has her own shelf on my kindle. Harry Bolt is the typical tortured, alpha military man (I swear these books are skewing my perception on reality...I now can’t look at a hot police officer without imagining some sort of trauma he needs me to personally heal for him :D) Harry has the most horrific childhood I’ve read in this genre of books. Raised by a meth addict in a broken home, Harry was left to raise his younger sister as his mother got consistently high and paraded loser boyfriends through the house. One loser boyfriend loses his temper, kills Harry’s mum and younger sister, before horrifically attacking Harry himself. After recovering, Harry is put into a foster home where he bands up with Mike and Sam. They grow up as brothers, even going so far as to join the military together. After Harry is horrifically injured in Afghanistan, the brother’s band together to put him back together again, whilst forming their own protection agency.

It is at this agency that Harry meets Ellen. When Ellen comes into the office he is attracted to her, but when he finds out she is the mysterious Eve he thinks all his dreams have come true! Her voice is the only thing that has chased away the nightmares in the last two years, he was already in love with her voice and now the package fits the sound. He becomes completely Alpha from the beginning. She is the only thing that he has cared about since his younger sister died, and the idea of her leaving is a non-starter for him. He had me hooked when he wouldn’t leave her side after she is shot within a couple of chapters of the story. I was smitten! Harry doesn’t love easy, but what he does love he loves fiercely and protects them with a complete disregard of the others around them. It is very cute! When he is completely disgusted with himself for trying to protect her with a perpetual hard-on, I actually laughed. It’s not often that you get a man in a romance that isn’t completely in awe of his own sexual prowess, but he has to actively try to calm himself down.

Ellen is the character that made the book believable to me. Once she finds out that her boss is a very bad man, who has stolen a lot of money from the Government, she goes on the run. She has good reason too; the man is a loon! She has been protecting herself for so long by the point she meets Harry, she can’t even bring herself to trust the very men she is asking for protection. Fleeing from Harry is what gets her shot by the bad men at the begining. I found it very believable that she could fall in love Harry so quickly; the only time she felt safe in 12 months was with him by her side. Of course, she doesn’t realise that she is in love with him at first; she merely gives into the attraction that is brewing between them, hoping for comfort because the life she has come to know may end tomorrow. The only issue I really have with her (and really the plot!) is her choice of jobs. I don’t care how many safeguards you put in place to protect your identity, no individual on the run is going to become a public figure. That silliness aside, I did feel that it gave them a good starting point with this relationship; they both saved each other in some way, and so attraction could grow. The chemistry sizzles and made me feel a little fluttery! Harry does come equipt with the amazing split second recovery time that macho men in romance novels have, but it is made somewhat less of an eye-rolling talent when he suffers from a bout of very premature ejaculation and asks if she heard the theme tune to “Rocket Man”.

We meet the characters from the first novel again and, although I haven’t read it, I thought it was nice that this story is built around a family, so we can still check in with previous HEA. In this book, Nicole and Sam are very much pregnant with a little girl, making for some very overbearing future daddies/uncles!

The bad people are very bad, and the violence in parts of this book was a bit grizzly. Please don’t get me wrong, nothing is described in any detail, but to be honest my mind filled in the blanks, and I was a little queasy. The story of one man’s desperation to make sure that no one finds out his dirty little secret was well crafted and written; the fact that said man was also a sociopath made it that little darker!

If you like your Romantic suspense to be a little darker, this is one for you. I loved reading about this lovely man, and his quest to convince the woman who put him back together, to stay with him forever. With all the back-story for these two characters, I found myself routing for them all the way through. In addition, if the twist at the end doesn’t hook you into the series nothing will! show less