Midnight Man [Paperback]

When my pulse begins pounding only a few pages into a book I know I may have just started reading a winner. This gut instinct of mine doesn't kick in very frequently, and it's rarely wrong. I was so relieved to find that instict was one hundred percent on the mark this time. The entire book, from the first word till the very last, was steamy, excruciatingly arousing and wonderfully romantic. Ladies, if your man is at home when you read this one, give him an advanced warning.

Suzanne Barron is an interior designer who leases part of her building's office space to the enigmatic and somewhat scary John Huntingdon, former Navy SEAL and black opps extrodinaire. Nerves of steel eminate from the large overpowering man, both enticing the cautious Suzanne as well as frightening her like a deer caught in headlights. After dinner with him that same evening, a dinner she meant to be all business but was instead a blatant seduction, she has the most erotic sexual encounter of her life with John. It was wild, a little rough and definitely dirtier than the good girl is used to. Shocked and panicked at her passionate responses, she wants to avoid any such further confrontations with the bold and sexy man. Frustrated at his lack of finesse, John is nevertheless determined to have the little blonde beauty again...and again and again. He'll stop at nothing to posess her body. When Suzzane is attacked in her own home by lethal assassins, John has the perfect opportunity to stake his claim on her. Someone wants her dead, but who would want to murder a sweet, innocent person like Suzanne?

John huntington is without a doubt one of the sexiest, if not the most sexy, heros I've ever encountered in romance or erotica books. His instant animal attraction to Suzanne has a direct affect on readers and one instantly recognizes and sympathizes with Suzanne's gut insticts for self preservation. Nothing can stop John from claiming her though and personally I thought Suzanne was one of the luckiest heroines I'd ever read about. Larger than life, brawny and so primordially male, John is the quintessential embodiment of the male erotica hero. He takes no prisoners in his pursuit of Suzanne and he takes no chances with her life, ensuring her survival against the deadliest odds. Oh my gosh, he's literally the stuff of fantasies. Suzanne was a great counterpart for him, an innocent, girl-next-door type that was more than able to hold up her end of their relationship. There is a real emotional connection between the two, a genuine caring for one another beneath their sexual attraction. Very nice and refreshing.

My one complaint about the book - it's not nearly long enough. Despite that it's very much worth the price. Plot! It has a plot! An amazing thing actually. I've read plenty of erotica that didn't have one. I could have kicked myself for not ordering all of Rice's other books along with this one, but since I'm no fool I'll definitely be doing so as soon as possible. Rice's writing had me in its grip from start to finish and I do believe I have found a new favorite author to add to my keeper shelf. The next book in the series, "Midnight Run"is about Suzanne's best friend Claire and it looks to be just as spine tinglingly erotic as this one. A phenominal boook. Read and be astounded.

Midnight Man features everything you expect to see in a Lisa Marie Rice book. A military man who is hard and rough with a bizarre love for black turtle neck jumpers. A damsel in distress who is delicate and would never normally be interested in a guy as unsophisticated as the military man. A threat to her life that turns him into some kind of hybrid Rambo and lots of steamy sex scenes. This is what Lisa Marie Rice is all about, and normally I quite like it, but this one fell short of the mark for me.

Don't get me wrong, I love an alpha man but John was too much for me. He is extremely sure of himself yet seems to have little ability to control his actions especially where Suzanne is concerned. He talks about her as though she is a sex toy and getting into her pants is a `mission' and he always completes his `missions'. There were times where he showed little to no respect for her at all and was to rough. He knew that he was hurting her but just could not stop himself.
Here is an example:

"At some level he knew he shouldn't have used her as much as he did. He couldn't regret it, if someone had put an AK-47 to his head he would have been completely incapable of stopping."

I am sorry but I do not find that attractive. I expect a guy to at least care if he is hurting a woman during sex but John doesn't. I would not let this guy anywhere near me he says he loves her, yet he hurts her to get his end away just how he likes it. He was more animal than man, he was to domineering and if he (or any man for that matter) had grabbed my boob in the middle of a restaurant and forced my hand onto his lap I would have smacked him on the nose with my dessert spoon and stormed out, and if he came near me again I would do a lot worse.

Despite all of this he does have his sweet moments and is literally willing to die for her, but it is not enough for me. I didn't not like it, there were some parts that were really good but I didn't like John which kind of ruined the book for me.

I have just read the three stories in this series and I have nothing more to add to the current reviews. they were all 5 star reads for me and i have discoveered a great writer.

Hope LM Rice keeps up the good work.