This is a very enjoyable romantic thriller/police procedural by first time author Dakota Hudson. It can stand alongside the average Gerri Hill thriller.

The protagonists are an LAPD sergeant and an ADA. The author's detailed descriptions of the inner workings of the police department and the legal system belied my initial suspicion that this was a recycled fanfic of the most popular cop/ADA combo in lesfic history.

People who like their procedurals accurate will like the author's attention to detail, although there are times when it verged on too much detail (such as the reading of lengthy court verdicts, maybe Penny can dig those but I just kinda zoned out). The premise is not terribly original, athough that is more a reflection of my reading experience. When you've churned through enough Gerri Hill and RE Bradshaw, you'll get the 'now where have i read this before?' feeling. Whatever. The important thing with romantic thrillers is that they have to be both romantic and thrilling. And this book does them almost equally well.

The thrills are there. Although, after a while, i'd noticed that the author has a "tell". Its a timing thing, where you just know she's gonna spring something big on the reader by the way things are set up. Its not too distracting though. But the romance is. Very distracting. You can almost forget you're reading a thriller. The leads are engaging, have lots of chemistry together and their earlier scenes drip with sexual tension. The pacing of the book is such that for a long stretch (too long for a thriller), the thrill disappeared. Fortunately the romance picked up the slack. But, if you prefer your action fast and furious, you may be disappointed.

There is a lot of violence in the book directed against women. A "Cari Hunter" level of violence. Its a little jarring, even for this jaded reader. But I liked how the author ended the big dust-up at the end. It was bone-crunchingly satisfactory after what he put the girls through . What I don't understand though is how our ladies got well so easily? its almost like a tv episode where the leads, after being almost killed, are good as new again for the next ep. Physically maybe, but emotionally? The cop, I can understand, since it is her job and she is no stranger to violence. But the ADA, PTSD is almost a guarantee after what she went through. Maybe even career ending PTSD. just my 2 cents

4.4 stars ( )