Action: ♠♠♠♠♠ / Emotion: ♣♣♣♣.♣ / Romance: ♥♥♥♥ / Sensuous: ♦♦♦♦.♦ / Suspense: ♠♠♠♠.♠
Action: 5 / Emotion: 4.5 / Romance: 4 / Sensuous: 4.25 / Suspense: 4.5 // Humor: 2 / Teary: 2
Archeology Professor, Dr. Drake Flynn, drew strong interest when he was introduced in Book One, Dark Deceptions. He proves that he is a worthy macho alpha hero in Book Two, Dangerous Desires. Drake awakes from dreaming about his big brother, Tucker, who died five years ago during flight training exercises in Nevada. Drake is re-thinking his options of being single after witnessing his friend Nash's success in finding his happily-ever-after (in book one). His dreams come to an abrupt halt when his on-and-off girlfriend for the past year, Mossad operative, Cassandra, left his bed and pulled a gun on him. This just proves to the already jaded Drake that there is no loyalty in womankind. (His mother left home when Drake and Tucker were small boys.)
Enter heroine Madeline Reynard, a prisoner of San Mateo Prison in Colombia. Madeline was incarcerated for killing a prominent politician when he tried to rape her drugged-out sister, Jenny. The initial reaction was to assume that extractions expert, Drake Flynn, would be called upon to recuse the damsel in distress. Wrong assumption! Apparently it was critical to the story that Madeline befriend fellow inmate, Andrés, as they walked in the exercise yard. It also seemed critical that Andrés give Madeline his "queen of hearts" playing card to use as her means of escape, since Andrés felt he would not last much longer in San Mateo.
Three years later, Madeline is still working for Hector Ortiz, the power-behind-the-man, narco-terrorist Jorge di Silva. Ortiz made a deal with Madeline to secure her release from prison (and to keep Jenny alive) by stealing information from her contacts with men like prominent diplomat, Henri Marton. Madeline's hatred of Ortiz has prompted her to start stealing papers from him so that when she pays off Jenny's debts, she can take Jenny from the drug rehabilitation facility, then blow the whistle on Ortiz.
Things change drastically when Madeline discovers papers in Ortiz's office indicating that Jenny has been dead for six months. Madeline goes to the American Embassy and presents her "queen of hearts" playing card to new diplomat Will Richardson. This sets three events into motion. One, Richardson is killed. Two, Madeline is locked up in the di Silva compound. Three, A-Tac is contacted to rescue Madeline.
Davis again entertains the reader with the curiously intriguing journey of select professors at Sunderland College, New York to the American Tactical Intelligence Command ("A-Tac") offices, housed underneath the Aaron Thomas Academic Center (the country's foremost think tank). For some reason, this detailed description of the professors' transformation from academics into warriors is fascinating. Find it a plus that Davis includes Drake's teammates in his story.
A-Tac members who continue to play a role in this book include: {1} Avery Solomon, the boss. {2} Nash Brennon: chaired History Department, Drake's best friend, A-Tac's second-in-command, and covert operations expert. {3} Annie Brennon: Nash's wife and ex-CIA sniper. {4} Hannah Marshall: team intel expert, expert in political theory and ferreting out information. {5} Jason Lawton: IT specialist, computer forensics and electronic wizard. {6} Tyler Hanson: ordnance expert and chair of English Department. {7} Emmett Walsh: communications specialist. {8} Lara Prescott: expert in biochemical warfare and team medical officer.
A-Tac operatives question why it is so important to bring in Jorge di Silva's mistress. Apparently Madeline not only knows details about the di Silva drug trade, but knows the location of a cache of weapons that the team must destroy. Emmett and Lara are shipped off to Russia and the rest of the team head to di Silva's compound in Colombia.
Dangerous Desires is another book full of non-stop, tense, nail-biting suspenseful action. The team encounters bullets and obstacles galore as Drake enters Casa de Orquídea to extract Madeline. After the team manages to secure Madeline and evade Ortiz's men, Madeline leads them to the munitions cache. Suspense escalates because the cache location is the perfect setup for a trap. Madeline knows an alternate escape route, but {1} she is afraid of Ortiz catching her, and {2} feels that her rescuers are more interested in getting her to Langley than concerned for her safety, so does not share that information with the team. Instead, she uses their distraction with blowing up the munitions to escape into the jungle.
Two incidents occur that increase the suspenseful flavor of the book even more. First, when Tyler opens her bag of explosives at the cache site, everything in the bag has been tampered with. This continues the theme of a traitor in the midst of A-Tac that was introduced in book one. Second, when Ortiz finds out that Madeline has escaped, he is so furious he has to work to hold on to his Spanish. This is not the first time that Davis has thrown in a little hint that Ortiz is hiding something that could be devastating should he be found out.
Naturally, Drake is sent into the jungle after Madeline as the remaining members of the team blow up the munitions cache and barely manage to escape in the helicopter Hannah sends. So begins the development of a relationship between the jaded, cynical hero and the quick-witted heroine as they tramp through the jungles of Colombia to reach Puerto Remo. Drake cannot help but be impressed with spunky Madeline's lack of complaints (and occasional support) as they encounter one obstacle after another. Not only are they being pursued by di Silva's men, but a "behind the scenes" major player in the arms industry, Michael Brecht, has hired mercenaries to join the chase.
After Drake and Madeline reach the A-Tac safe house in Puerto Remo, they act upon the mutual attraction that has been blossoming between them during their jungle journey. Davis does a terrific job of writing love scenes that are full of spice, heat and emotion. It takes a truly gifted author who can draw the reader into the scene with the hero and heroine and feel the passion as it flows between the characters.
There are a lot more action scenes to follow. Plus a lot of loose ends have to be tied together before Davis can end the book with Drake and Madeline's happily-ever-after. Davis does a phenomenal job of keeping the reader guessing as she enthralls us with hints and action sequences as the characters try to find the path to solving the answers posed. {1} Why was Madeline such an important person of interest? {2} Why was Langley willing to hang Drake out to dry? {3} What was Ortiz hiding? {4} Why was the "queen of hearts" card from Andrés so important? {5} Who was the traitor in A-Tac?
One vast improvement in Dangerous Desires that was missing in Dark Deceptions was the physical descriptions of the hero and heroine. (Except, don't know what color hair Drake has.) Not to be a constant complainer, but wished that she had also included physical descriptions of the other team members (besides Tyler and Hannah). Didn't realize this aspect of character development was so important until it was not there. [Note: found physical, psychological and background profiles for characters at HachetteBookGroup.com.]
Although Davis spends most of the book writing an abundance of action-packed adventures, she does manage to squeeze in enough details about the hero and heroine to show why they have difficulty trusting and falling in love. Being an avid fan of action movies, it is no wonder that it was impossible to put this book down after reading the first paragraph. This book is a definite addition to the "to be re-read" list.
--Vonda M. Reid (Saturday; October 9, 2010 : 12:56 a.m.)
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Books In The Series: "The A-TAC Series"
| # | Date | Book Title | Hero | Heroine |
| 01. | 04-2010 | Dark Deceptions | Nash Brennon | Annie Gallagher |
| 02. | 07-2010 | Dangerous Desire | Drake Flynn | Madeline Reynard |
| 03. | 08-2010 | Desperate Deeds | Owen Wakefield (Cantor) | Tyler Hanson |
| 04. | 09-2011 | Deep Disclosure | Tucker Flynn | Alexis Markham |
| 05. | xx-2012 | [Deadly Dance] | . | . |
| 06. | xx-2012 | [Double Danger] | . | . |
Books Similar to "Dangerous Desires"
| Site | Author | Title | Series |
| 01.ff | Webb, Debra | Anywhere She Runs | |
| 02.ff | Banks, Maya | The Darkest Hour | 01. The Kelly Group International {2... |
| 03.ff | Fetzer, Amy J. | Damage Control | |
| 04.ff | Griffin, Laura | Unspeakable | 02. The Tracers Series {3} |
| 05.db | Brown, Carolyn | I Love This Bar | 01. The Honky Tonk Beer Joint Series {4} |
| 06.db | Davis, Dee | Dark Deceptions | 01. The A-Tac Series {6... |
| 07.db | Harlow, Karin | Enemy Lover | 01. The L.O.S.T. Series {... |
| 08.db | Davis, Jo | Line of Fire | 04. The Firefighters of Station Five {5} |
| 09.db | Eden, Cynthia | Deadly Fear | 01. The Deadly Series {3... |
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Dangerous Desires Quotations:
213 . . He understood the will to survive. But with Madeline there was something more. As if somehow she'd been able to keep a part of herself separate from all the ugliness.
225 . . . But now, the time had come to take care of herself. It was a cold, cruel world. And she knew better than to believe in happy endings . . . .
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Dee Davis
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Dangerous Desires Reviews:
| Rated | Posted | Site | Notes, Comments, Etc. |
| 4.0 | -- | A Moment With Mystee | also posted on Good Reads, Shelfari |
| 5.0 | 07-10-2010 | About Happy Books | also posted on Amazon, Good Reads |
| 5.0 | -- | Affaire de Coeur | could not find again on website |
| 4.77 average | {13 reviews} | Amazon | as of: March 24, 2011 |
| 4.5 | -- | Bella Online | |
| 4.0 | 08-24-2010 | Book Addict Patti | also posted on Good Reads |
| 5.0 | 05-28-2010 | Book Pleasures | also posted on Amazon, Good Reads |
| 4.0 average | {2 reviews} | Borders True Romance | |
| 7 out of 10 | 12-18-2010 | CA Reviews | |
| 3.85 average | {30 reviews} | Good Reads | as of: March 24, 2011 |
| 4.0 | 07-28-2010 | Huntress Reviews | also posted on Amazon |
| 3 out of 5 | 09-30-2010 | I'm Booking It | also posted on Good Reads |
| 3.5 / C | 06-23-2010 | Jandy's Reading Room | |
| 4.0 | 05-27-2010 | Loves Romances and More | Gina |
| 4.0 | 12-01-2010 | Loves Romances and More | Tammy |
| -- | 06-25-2010 | Mason Canyon : Guest Blog | Dee Davis Guest Blog |
| 4.25 | 07-05-2010 | Michelle & Leslie's Book Picks | also posted on Amazon, Good Reads |
| 4.0 | 06-29-2010 | Michelle's Book Blog | |
| 5.0 | 06-25-2010 | My Book Addiction And More | |
| 5.0 / top pick | 07-08-2010 | Night Owl Romance | also posted on Good Reads |
| 5 out of 5 | 07-10-2010 | Paranormal & Romantic Suspense Reviews | Rating Only : No Review |
| -- | -- | Reader To Reader | didn't rate / positive inflection |
| 5.0 | 07-30-2010 | Reader's Favorite | also posted on Amazon |
| 4.5 | 07-12-2010 | Romance Junkies | |
| -- | 07-01-2010 | Romance Reviews Today | didn't rate / positive inflection |
| 4.0 / hot | 05-23-2010 | RT Book Reviews | |
| 4.0 | 06-26-2010 | Rundpinne | also posted on Good Reads |
| 4.33 average | {6 reviews} | Shelfari | as of: March 24, 2011 |
| -- | 07-11-2010 | Simply Stacie | didn't rate / positive inflection |
| 4.0 | 06-23-2010 | Smexy Books | also posted on Good Reads |
| About Dee | 06-29-2010 | The Romance Dish | Visiting Blog |
| 4.0 | -- | The Romance Readers Connection | |
| 4.50 / mild | 06-08-2010 | The Romance Studio | |
| -- | 08-09-2010 | Wendi's Book Corner | didn't rate / positive inflection |
| 4.90 | 03-24-2011 | Wolf Bear Does Books | shorter post on Amazon, Good Reads, Shelfari |
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♥ Disclaimer: I purchased this book.
♥ Very Subjective Rating: rated before created Blog
♥ Willing to share Cheat Sheet
♦ in whole or in part
♦ WordPerfect or PDF
♣ Will add your Dangerous Desires review link to table, just ask
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