May Contain Spoilers
Review:
I don’t usually read romantic suspense because the heroine is usually put into a dire, life-threatening situation, and sometimes that just stresses me out. I ventured outside of my comfort zone because Irresistible Force features a K-9 dog. I wasn’t sure how big a part the dog would play in the story, but anything with the word “dog” pretty much gets my attention. I’m so glad I picked this up! While there are several uncomfortable scenes for our heroine, Shay, she thinks well under pressure and refuses to allow herself to be a victim. It helped that James, her police officer love interest, is brave, kind, and understanding, and oh, yeah, Bogart the dog puts all of his training to the test to save Shay from danger. Thank goodness!
Shay is need of a serious break. Her whole life has been one traumatic misunderstanding after another. After an abusive experience when she was a young girl, she has lived with whispers, taunts, and outright bullying at one school after another. Now an IT professional, she’s changed her name and buried her past behind her. Or so she thinks. When her ex, a powerful, wealthy banker, just can’t take “no” for an answer, all of her fears from her childhood catch up with her. Fearful of Eric, who is stalking her, she rescues a shepherd from the animal shelter where she works as a volunteer. A woman brought the dog in to be destroyed, claiming that he was aggressive and had attacked a child. When he turned out to be anything but, Shay renamed the animal Prince and took her home, thankful to have such a trustworthy guardian at her side.
Police officer James Cannon is desperately searching for his canine partner, Bogart. He gets a tip that the dog is at a cabin in the woods, and he confronts Shay, accusing her of dognapping his partner. By the time they work out the misunderstanding, Shay can’t help but act on her attraction to the gorgeous cop. She wants to be in charge for a change, and after another frightening encounter with Eric earlier in the day, she throws her inhibitions out the window. Her no-strings encounter backfires because James is a great guy and wants more than what she’s originally willing to offer, but Shay’s demons won’t let her trust him.
Shay is a tragic character, and I couldn’t help liking her. I wanted her to finally have a happy ending, because up until the start of this book, life has done nothing but crap on her. Eric is a first-class bastard, and once Shay finds the courage to call it quits with him, he refuses to let her go. His ego won’t let her call the shots, and his need to be in control puts her in an unenviable situation. With the power that comes with his position at the bank, he arranges for Shay’s placement company to have her temped to bank. Then he does everything he can to make her regret ever having met him.
Normally I would think the heroine was an idiot for not just going to the authorities when someone is harassing them, but Shay’s previous run-ins with the law makes it perfectly logical that she would avoid trying to get help from anyone. She has always had one person to rely on, and that has always been herself. The whole world seemed like it was out to get her when she was younger, so her reluctance to trust was believable. James is still kind of an unknown, too. She’s just met him, they got off on the wrong foot, and she can’t bring herself to confide in him, especially when he isn’t exactly upfront with her. I loved the push and pull between them, and wondered how they would ever come to an understanding that allowed them to be open and trusting with each other.
If you like romantic suspense, you will love Irresistible Force. The hero is everything that Shay needs, Bogart has a starring role, and Shay learns to open her heart and finally learn to trust. If you are like me and on the fence about romantic suspense, you have to give this book a try. I couldn’t put it down, and even though I was squirming near the end during Shay’s life and death ordeal, I knew that James and Bogart would eventually race to her rescue – but only after Shay found the strength to save herself from the danger confronting her. I can hardly wait to meet the protagonists from Force of Attraction, the next book in the series.
Grade: B+
Review copy provided by publisher
From Amazon:
“Incredible! You’ll be on the edge of your seat to see if the heroine can make it out alive.”—Catherine Coulter, New York Times bestselling author
When adrenaline runs high, so does the force of desire…
For Shay Appleton, it’s love at first sight when a gorgeous stray dog is brought into the animal shelter where she works. She just knows he’ll make a terrific watch dog—and with an abusive ex who won’t let go, she needs all the protection she can get. But Shay never suspected that her new pet is actually a trained police K-9 named Bogart—until Bogart’s even more gorgeous, human partner shows up on her doorstep.
IRRESISTIBLE FORCE by D.D. Ayres
Officer James Cannon is one tall, strong alpha male who’s convinced that Shay stole his dog. But once he gets closer to the suspect, he realizes that this stubborn, independent woman not only needs a guard dog, she needs James as well. It seems that someone from her past is stalking her, and threatening her life. When danger meets desire, will James risk his career and his best friend…to protect the woman who’s stolen his heart?
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