review || TEMPT THE NIGHT { blog tour }

Tempt the Night by Dixie Lee Browns

Publisher: Avon Impulse (2/24/2015)
Series: Trust No One, book 5

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source: Tasty Book Tours / Edelweiss
Purchase links || amazon | bn | itunes | kobo || add to goodreads

Rating: ★★★★1/2

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Dixie Lee Brown concludes her thrilling Trust No One series with the fast-paced tale of a damaged hero and the sexy fugitive he can't help falling for.

Samantha "Mac" McCallister barely believes her own tale of dirty cops and murder that landed her in the hands of the sexy Jim Brady. One minute she was enjoying a ride-along in her best friend's cruiser, the next he's dead and she's wanted for his murder. Mac never expected to be hiding out from the law, but with Jim by her side, maybe she can survive long enough to clear her name. The question is, can she survive the way Jim makes her feel?

Former Navy Seal Jim Brady works best under pressure. At least he used to. Now, fighting flashbacks from his time in Iraq, he has given up everything he knows in order to protect the innocent … from himself. So working with a woman on the run from the law? Not in his plans for this lifetime. Still, something about the blue-eyed beauty tells him she's not the source of the danger—she's running from it. Deep down he knows he'll protect her no matter what. But his heart? That's another story.

connect with Dixie Lee Brown || DIXIE LEE BROWN lives and writes in Central Oregon, inspired by what she believes is the most gorgeous scenery anywhere. She resides with two dogs and a cat, who make sure she never takes herself too seriously. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, movies, and trips to the beach.

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{ excerpt } .

Suddenly, he gripped her hand, and his quiet, calm voice broke through her panic. “Remember what I told you. Lock the door when I leave. Under no circumstances should you attempt to leave the car or follow me. Got it?”

She nodded. Questions tumbled over themselves, fighting to be asked. Why couldn’t he wait for the backup? What did he plan to do? He was coming back safely, right? She clamped her lips closed. This was his job, and he was good at it, so she shut up and let him do it.

He laid her hand on her leg and gave it a pat as he smiled. Then he opened his door and stepped out. She followed his movements to the rear of the car where he opened the trunk and closed it a few seconds later. When he appeared at her side window to point at the door lock, he carried his pump-action shotgun.

Mac locked the doors and returned his wave just before he walked away. As he ducked into the alley leading to the rear of the plant, a chill shook her from head to toe and drew her eyes to the crescent moon that now hung brazenly in the night sky.

She fought down the dread that rose like bile in her throat and turned partway in the seat so she could more easily see the front of the plant. The sidewalk was empty. No one was in sight now. She alternated between watching the door and looking up and down the street. Where was the backup Lucas had called? Hurry up. Let me see those pretty blue lights. The waiting was excruciating and, after several minutes, she had to physically stop herself from climbing out of the vehicle.

Her fingers twitched to grab the radio and ask Lucas what was taking so long, but that was too public. She scooped up her purse from the floor, rifled through it for her cell phone, and dialed the non-emergency number.

“Dispatch.” It was six rings before Lucas answered. Must be a busy night in the district.

“Lucas, where’s that backup? What’s taking so long?” Mac strove to attain the same level of detachment she exhibited on the job, but failed miserably.

“Mac? We’ve got a regular free-for-all out there tonight. A riot broke out over on Waterfront Street near the new strip club…thirteen hurt so far. Every uniformed man we’ve got is trying to get a handle on that. I’ll get someone there as soon as I can.” Lucas was in his early forties and had worked the radio most of his life. Nothing ever seemed to chip away at his calm.

That’s right. She’d heard that call go out earlier. Paddy had been on the outskirts of town checking out a domestic disturbance at the time or he’d have responded to that location too. “I know you’re doing the best you can, Lucas. It’s just…it’s way different from this perspective. This ride-along was a really dumb—”

A blast of automatic weapons fire ripped through the quiet street. Mac fumbled the phone and it disappeared between the seat and the console. She shoved her hand through the gap and felt for the device, but went still as movement caught her eye. Her gaze shot toward the front of the packing plant in time to see Simpson and Gallagher exit the building and jog toward their cruiser.

{ review } .

It's always a little sad to me when I pick up a book and find out it's the last one in a series. I mean... it's not like I have to read a series in order, but I feel like I've missed out on a ton when I pick up a book that I love and realize I can't be one of the book fans who sits impatiently with the next books to be released highlighted in her calendar...

...because yeah, I'm that book freak.

On the flip side, though, I was able to read this book and know that some of the men I was meeting already had their happily ever afters, and that with a little bit of money finagling, I could read their stories whenever my little heart desired, because hello -- they've already been published.

Gotta look at the bright side, yeah?

So then, TEMPT THE NIGHT... if you didn't get it from the not-really-stating-it up there, I really did like this book. So why not a five? The timeline was just too quick for me... but other than that, every aspect of the book hit the nail on the head for me.

I love a good romantic suspense. I like the rush and the adrenaline... but when you pair that with a quick timeline, I start to think that the love is just lust under pressure. But that's me.

Right off the bat, you're given a great insight to the mind of Mac. She's headstrong and brave, and is a great friend. Listening to her banter with her childhood best friend, Paddy, is refreshing. At first I was curious if they'd maybe you know... bumped parts back in the day... but you learn really quick that what they have is very much a friendship -- a brother/sister type of relationship.

I've got to say...

The whole Paddy/Mac scene...? Made me super sad.

That friendship, just taken so quickly and thoughtlessly... But again, you get a great insight to Mac -- she's great at deflecting to keep a person's mind off of the inevitable. Not only does she do it with Paddy in those final moments, keeping her own emotions in check, she does it again later with Brady when he's hurting.

He peeked from one eye as humor curled his lips. "...Weren't you listening, or did you decide to ignore me?"

"Did you say something?"

"Yeah...that's what I thought." A contented smile remained for a few minutes before his perspiration-covered face relaxed in sleep.

Brady... who's very much a Brady and not a Jim, has some pretty dark demons in his past. After his tour overseas, he has episodes that make him need to stay away from his family... and waking up, choking the lady you went to bed with? Yeah, that puts a damper on any thoughts of happily ever after. 

But the more time he spends with the sassy, quirky, spunky Mac, the more he wants to try. Don't get me wrong, he's the master at pulling her in and pushing her back, but eventually he gets it right.

I very much enjoyed this story. I also enjoyed the budding friendship between Mac and Maria and hope that that is a friendship that stays true -- between the two of them, they can keep the memory of Paddy alive and I think they could use the other to lean on at times.

So end note? Whenever my money situation goes up and my to-read situation goes down, books 1-4 of this series are a must read.

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