Review: Dare To Lie by Jen McLaughlin

Review: Dare To Lie by Jen McLaughlin

4 stars Adult Contemporary eARC Jen McLaughlin Review Romance

Dare to Lie by Jen McLaughlin

Book Three of the Sons of Steel Row series

Publisher: Berkley Romance

Publication Date: February 7, 2017

Rating: 4 stars

Source: eARC from NetGalley

***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***

Summary (from Goodreads):

As an undercover DEA agent in the most powerful gang in Boston, Scott Donahue accepts the risks of living a double life. But when Tate Donovan, leader of the Sons of Steel Row, assigns Scotty to take his place in a bachelor’s auction sponsored by his sister’s sorority, he’s exposed to a whole new level of danger. Even though Tate makes it very clear—Skylar is off limits—the second Scotty sees her, he’s a goner. But how does he tell Sky she’s falling for a man who doesn’t exist?

Sky can’t resist Scotty’s cool confidence or the raw, edgy power oozing from his perfect body. She’s always been the good girl, but he brings out the bad in her. And even though she knows so little about who he really is, Sky’s willing to take the biggest risk of all. But putting her heart on the line is no guarantee that Scotty won’t slip through her fingers...

What I Liked:

Dare to Lie is the third book in the Sons of Steel Row series, and at the moment, it looks like it will be the last. This novel follows Scotty Donahue and Skylar Daniels, and it's easily the riskiest and the trickiest of the three novels (in terms of how high the stakes are, for Scotty, and Skylar). Dare to Run (book one) remains my favorite, but this one is probably my second favorite, ahead of Dare to Stay. I really hope there is at least one more book in the series though!

Scotty Donahue is a DEA agent, working undercover as a Son of Steel Row. He is a lieutenant of the Steel Row gang and very good at his job - both of them. When Tate Daniels, leader of the Sons of Steel Row, asks him to go in his place to a charity auction that his little sister is hosting, Scotty knows better than to refuse. He doesn't expect to be captivated by the stunning - and innocent - med student. Both the DEA and Tate ask Scotty to watch over Skylar, because of rising tensions between the Sons and Bitter Hill. But what happens when Skylar finds out about Scotty? Or worse - if Tate and everyone else finds out who Scotty really is?

In Dare to Lie, we're lead to believe that Scotty is a bad guy, trying to harm his brother. But Scotty is an undercover agent and he was trying to protect Lucas. He gets Lucas and Heidi out of the state and covers up their disappearance with a fire and fake deaths. Scotty is young - twenty-five - but he knows Steel Row better than most. He is a hardened man playing two roles, and he is determined to see Steel Row become a better place. Scotty is young (as the Sons like to remind him), but he is definitely a rugged alpha and he proves it several times over, in this book. I personally loved how protective he was over Skylar, and how much he cared about his family and Chris and Molly. 

Skylar, on the other hand, is completely innocent. She isn't involved in the crime life at all, and she doesn't want to be. She has no idea that Scotty is a Son of Steel, or that he is a DEA agent. She's a twenty-three-year-old med student who studies a lot and lives a lonely life due to her overprotective older brother, Tate. Skylar is a sweet girl who likes the consistency of her life, but also wants more. When she sees Scotty Donahue at her charity auction, she has this feeling that he is the one to shake up her life. 

The romance took off pretty quickly. Skylar and Scotty have intense chemistry, and they recognize the attraction between them pretty quickly. They throw down the very first night after they meet, and they continue to see each other. At first, their connection is completely physical, and they can't get enough of each other. But they start to open up to each other (well, for Scotty, as much as he can, which is very little), and they realize that they like each other, besides being in lust with each other.

So, the romance was pretty steamy, and that happened quickly. There were plenty of steamy scenes throughout the book. This pair is really passionate and there is an energy and a fervor to them that is different from the other pairs in the previous books. Skylar is an actual "good girl" with no taint, and Scotty is the "baddest" of bad (especially being a double agent). The sparks (read: inferno) really fly between them, and I love how they connected.

Of the three books in the series, this one had the most intense story, in terms of the Steel Row/Bitter Hill war. Everything escalates to a frightening level, in this book - much deadlier than in Dare to Run and Dare to Stay. The stakes are so high for Scotty, because he could get outted to either side. The stakes are high for Skylar (despite her not being aware), because Bitter Hill is coming after the loved ones of Steel Row members (and she is Tate's sister). The stakes are high for the pair, because Tate will kill Scotty if he finds out about them. The scene when he inevitably finds out... I was pretty surprised at how that went down. Anyway, things get intense on a larger scale, and it's not just about our main couple. It was so cool to see how McLaughlin made the Steel Row/Bitter Hill war such a big part of the story, and how it affected everything Scotty did.

The climax and ending was a whirlwind of decisions, bloodshed, and shock. There was a lot going on in the end, both good and bad. I was a tiny bit sad at first, but reading the epilogue made me feel better. I do like the ending and it's very worthy of the struggle and the pain and the passion of the story before the ending. I'm happy with how Scotty and Skylar's HEA came to be. 

What I Did Not Like:

There was nothing really major that I didn't like about the book, just some minor things. I really thought the author could have went a little easier on Scotty (he's banged up a lot, in this book). Scotty is such a good guy but he always seemed to be getting the short end of the stick.

I also think there could have been a little more variety in the sex scenes? Is that weird for me to say? They seemed to follow the same pattern. I loved the varying intensity (some were definitely more lusty than others, though all of the scenes were pretty fiery), but the physical acts were pretty much the same. I don't know why I feel awkward typing this.  

Would I Recommend It:

I highly recommend this series in general. It's a great romance series but there is so much more than just the romance. The crime and the gangs and all of the high stakes and sneaking around and double-crossing gets really intense, really quickly. All three books are very engrossing, and hot. Dare to Lie does not disappoint!

Rating:

3.5 stars -> rounded up to 4 stars. I liked this book but I liked Dare to Run more, and I wasn't totally crazy about this one overall. I liked it but it's not a new favorite. I'm going to be really disappointed if this is indeed the final book in the series! I had hoped that we would get to read Tate's story, or maybe Marco's... who knows!

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Release Day Blitz and Giveaway: Dare To Stay by Jen McLaughlin

Release Day Blitz and Giveaway: Dare To Stay by Jen McLaughlin

Adult Blitz Contemporary Excerpt Giveaway Jen McLaughlin Release Day Romance

Welcome to the publication day of Dare To Stay by Jen McLaughlin! I've read this book and I really liked it. Find out more about the book below, and enter the giveaway!

Dare To Run review | Dare To Stay review

About the Book:

Dare To Stay by Jen McLaughlin

Book Two of the Sons of Steel Row series

Publisher: Berkley Romance

Publication Date: August 2, 2016

***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***

Official Summary:

Bruised and bloodied on Boston’s mean streets, Chris O’Brien is reeling from the loss of his childhood best friend. But after barely escaping a hit placed on his head, Chris is desperate to live. A safe haven comes to mind—the home of the perfect girl from his childhood, Molly Lachlan. Before he has fully considered what it would mean to involve her in his mess, he finds himself on her doorstep. 

When Molly agrees to let Chris inside her home, she realizes she’s also letting him into her life. Danger and desperation are coming off of him like steam, and yet she can’t bring herself to turn him away. His bad boy charm always had a hold on her, but now there’s a soulfulness and sorrow in him that she’s never seen before. And despite the heart-stopping risk of helping him, she hopes against all reason that he’ll stay...

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About the Author:

Jen McLaughlin is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of sexy books with Penguin Random House. Under her pen name, Diane Alberts, she is also a USA TODAY bestselling author of Contemporary Romance with Entangled Publishing. Her first release as Jen McLaughlin, Out of Line, hit the New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal lists. She was mentioned in Forbes alongside E. L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists. She is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.

Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal-clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, and four cats. Her goal is to write so many well-crafted romance books that even a non-romance reader will know her name.

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The Excerpt:

One of the roustabouts tossed me a narrow-eyed look, trying to get a read on me, no doubt, and I stared right back at the little shit. I might be keeping my guard up, but that didn’t mean I was sitting here wallowing away in fear of my impending death. 

People lived. Then they died.

That was life.

And as the overseer of this godforsaken shipment, it was my duty to keep things running smoothly. We had imports and exports to manage, inventory to distribute, and cash to launder. Shit needed to get done, and it needed to get done right now. 

A crate hit the ground, causing a huge boom loud enough to awaken a deaf man. I growled and stepped forward, my fists tight at my sides. Striding forward, I moved right up to the two men who’d made the racket. One was a new recruit who’d joined when I’d been locked up, and the other was a potential member. “Can you maybe manage to unload our merchandise without, oh, I don’t know, waking the entire police precinct? I rescheduled this for a reason.” 

The potential, who’d dropped it, flushed and lowered his head. “Sorry, Mr. Donahue.” 

“Hey, it’s not my fault he’s an idiot,” the worker bee said. 

I didn’t know him, but I knew for a fact he’d been born and raised in the same shit hole we’d all come from in Boston—a neighborhood near Southie that had been coined Steel Row. Probably in his twenties, he was the same redhead who’d been eyeballing me earlier. His glare filled with an unspoken challenge, he wore a baggy shirt, a pair of ripped jeans, and a bad attitude. He had muscles that rivaled a line- backer’s, but that didn’t matter. I welcomed the confrontation. 

The challenge. 

That’s what I used to like about this job. It kept me on my toes. But everything was too damn easy now. It bored the hell out of me. I cocked my head and crossed my arms. “Is that so?” 

“Maybe you guys should get rid of weak links every once in a while and this kinda shit doesn’t happen. What was Scotty thinking, sending you here to run things you know nothing about? Exactly how long were you in for, anyway?” 

I closed the gap between us and stared the man down. He wanted to challenge the bear? Then he’d get the bear. “Loyalty is rewarded, you little shit. I did my time, and I kept my mouth shut. If the ATF came swooping in here right now, could you do the same?” 

The man didn’t speak. 

“Answer me.” Without another word, I unholstered my Sig P229 and pressed it dead center to his forehead. My voice was calm and deep and I made sure to speak slowly. “Because the way I see it, there’s only one other option in this world.” Staring him down like the rat he was, I tightened my grip on the trigger enough to make him sweat. “So. You tell me. What’s it gonna be?” 

The man swallowed hard but didn’t back down. I almost admired that, but he was too much of a dipshit to appreciate the value of his courage. Instead of answering my question properly so his brains didn’t end up on the dirty docks, he asked, “You gonna pull the trigger?” 

My finger twitched even more. For a second, I wanted to do it just to shut the idiot up. A little peace and quiet would do a hell of a lot for the headache building behind my eyes. But even though I was in charge here tonight, this was my brother’s crew. It wasn’t my job to decide if I needed to rid us of yet another fuckwit. That choice would be up to Scotty. 

But still . . . 

The point had to be made that nobody should mess with me and that I wouldn’t tolerate insubordination from an underling. All around us, the men watched, waiting to see what I would do after that blatant display of disrespect. I’d been challenged, and it was time to show the rest of them why they shouldn’t do the same. 

Forcing an easy grin, I shrugged and slid the gun back into my holster. “No, I’m not going to shoot you. That would bring the boys in blue on our heads, and I don’t want to be behind bars again. Not yet, anyway.” 

“Yeah.” The man looked at his buddies, grinned, then tugged on his shirt like he was some thug that had flirted with the devil and lived to tell of it, before turning back to me. “That’s what I thought, man.” 

“Sir,” I said from between clenched teeth, still grinning. 

“What?” The man laughed. “What did you call me?” 

“I said”—I rolled my sleeves up, slow but sure—“you should be calling me sir. I am in charge of this run, and as such, I own your pathetic little soul tonight.” 

The man paled, watching my movements with wide eyes. When I took a menacing step toward him, he stumbled back one step before he forced his feet to stand still. “Y-You’re not my boss. I work for your brother.” 

“My brother runs this little crew, yes. While I—?” I grabbed the front of the little fucker’s shirt and hauled him close, nose to nose with the twat. “I’m higher up the food chain, because I’ve worked my way there by following the rules. That puts me in charge of everyone on this dock. Did no one teach you about hierarchy? About showing respect to those who can get your death written off as an acceptable loss?” 

The man gripped my forearms, shaking his head. “I get it, man. I get it.” 

“I told you to call me sir.” I shook the man. “What’s your name, dipshit?” 

The man let out a scared little whimper. So much for that budding respect for the man’s balls. They’d shriveled up into the size of raisins at the slightest sign of danger. “D-Doug. Doug Pearson. Look, I’m—” 

“Shut the hell up.” I shoved Doug backward, sick of hearing his voice already. “When you speak, it hurts my head.” 

Doug stepped back. “I’m—” 

“Jesus Christ, you don’t get it, do you? Let me show you how to listen to your superior’s orders in this crew.” Hauling back my fist, I punched him in the nose, grinning as the sound of his septum cracking into pieces filled the silent night. Still, that wasn’t enough. Man, I’d missed the feeling of things cracking under my fists. 

When Doug hit the ground, his hand pressed to his bloody nose, I grabbed his shirt, forced him to his feet, and punched him in the gut. As Doug doubled over, wheezing for breath, I leaned on the injured man’s back as if he was a piece of furniture. To me, he was. He was here to do a job, and that was it. When he stopped being useful, I’d toss him in the garbage with the rest of the shit that was no longer of any use to me. “You stand the hell up when I’m teaching you a lesson, and you shut up, too. And next time, you damn well better call me sir.” 

The Giveaway:

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Review: Dare To Stay by Jen McLaughlin

Review: Dare To Stay by Jen McLaughlin

4 stars Adult Companion Contemporary eARC Jen McLaughlin Review Romance Sequel

Dare To Stay by Jen McLaughlin

Book Two of the Sons of Steel Row series

Publisher: Berkley Romance

Publication Date: August 2, 2016

Rating: 4 stars

Source: eARC from NetGalley

***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***

Summary (from Goodreads):

Bruised and bloodied on Boston’s mean streets, Chris O’Brien is reeling from the loss of his childhood best friend. But after barely escaping a hit placed on his head, Chris is desperate to live. A safe haven comes to mind—the home of the perfect girl from his childhood, Molly Lachlan. Before he has fully considered what it would mean to involve her in his mess, he finds himself on her doorstep. 

When Molly agrees to let Chris inside her home, she realizes she’s also letting him into her life. Danger and desperation are coming off of him like steam, and yet she can’t bring herself to turn him away. His bad boy charm always had a hold on her, but now there’s a soulfulness and sorrow in him that she’s never seen before. And despite the heart-stopping risk of helping him, she hopes against all reason that he’ll stay...

What I Liked:

Earlier this year in January, I read and absolutely LOVED Dare To Run by Jen McLaughlin, book one of this series. That book followed Lucas Donahue and Heidi Greene, and it was quite a sizzling, heart-stopping story. This sequel picks up exactly where Dare To Run left off, but in Chris's POV. While I think I loved Dare To Run a little more, I really liked this book!

Chris O'Brien knows that he messed up big time. Trying to kill his best friend in order to take his place in the Sons of Steel Row's hierarchy? Chris should never have put that plan to action. Not only does Lucas not die, but he forgives Chris and lets him go. Now that Lucas and Heidi are "dead" to the world, Chris is free to take Lucas's spot, especially since he has Lucas's written consent. But Chris doesn't want it anymore. Shot and bleeding, he runs into the last person he thought he'd see - Molly Lachlan. Growing up, Molly was his next-door neighbor, a sweet innocent girl who is now a kindergarten teacher. She insists on taking him to her home to clean him up. Chris knows better to bring a woman into his complicated, dangerous life, but he's never been able to say to Molly...

This book did not disappoint, just as I've come to realize that Jen McLaughlin/Diane Alberts does not disappoint. I was apprehensive, after reading book one, because I didn't think I'd like Chris, after what he did to Lucas. But Chris spent the whole book feeling extremely guilty about what he tried to do, and he punishes himself for it. This made me feel better (which sounds sick, I know), because I sooo did not want to read a book about a guy who could try to kill his best friend and walk around like it was fine!

I thought Chris was fine, okay, in book one, but I definitely liked him a lot more in this book. He is hardened and cold on the outside, but he's wracked with guilt and pain on the inside. He had a terrible childhood and he's spent all of his adult life trying to impress his horrible father, who is also a Son of Steel Row. Beneath all of the cold, hard shields, Chris is a lonely guy. He's an amazing artist but doesn't want anyone to know about that - until Molly finds out.

Molly enters the picture when she runs into Chris in the pharmacy. She had just cut her hand by accident; he had just been shot by Lucas and was trying to bandage himself up. Molly sees him, recognizes him, but she isn't afraid. She wants to help him, despite common sense telling her to run. Molly is sweet and innocent, but she's also very intelligent and not blind at all. She knows what Chris is, who he is, and what he does. She's under no illusions about his life.

The two of them are so different and that is what makes them a dynamite couple. Chris is the big bad wolf, and Molly is the sweet lamb. Of course, Chris is also a noble and closeted romantic, and Molly can be stern and stubborn at times (comes with the teacher territory). But they are like fire and ice, and I love watching them burn together (figuratively, of course).

Seriously, the chemistry between these two is pretty hot. You'd think it would have bothered me that these don't even kiss until about halfway through the book. Nope, I wasn't bothered in the least because the tension between them was smoldering throughout the whole book. I like that there was time for them to get reacquainted (they knew each other growing up), and that things didn't just jump straight into the physical.

This isn't quite a second chance romance, since Molly and Chris were never together at any point in the past. They were neighbors, and Chris would always mow the lawn or do odd jobs around Molly's house when her father died five years ago. But then Chris joined the Sons, and Molly didn't see him again. Until that night, when she found him bleeding all over the pharmacy store. Still, I liked that the pair already knew each other. There is a connection there, and it is sweet. 

Did I mention that Chris is a closet romantic? He does something sweet for Molly over time and it is so, so sweet. 

This book isn't just about Chris and Molly. Chris has to deal with the aftermath of Lucas's "death". Everyone is out to get revenge on whoever killed him (little do they know, it was Chris that tried to kill Lucas, and Lucas is actually still alive). All the while, Bitter Hill men are trying to take down Chris once and for all, and Scotty (Lucas's brother) is trying to get Chris to do something that Chris isn't sure he should do. There is constant action and nonstop danger, and I was not always confident in Chris's ability to stay alive. He gets lucky several times.

The ending was a very satisfying one! It ends well, not cliche but or formulaic but not bittersweet. I'm glad the author made it work for Molly and Chris, in a way that fits them. And she sets up the ending of this book perfectly for book three, Dare To Lie!

What I Did Not Like:

This isn't weighing against the rating but I wish there could have been a Lucas/Heidi cameo! The two of them are in hiding, so it makes sense that they wouldn't show their faces in Boston, but still. A girl can dream! Anyway, this wasn't quite a negative, just a thought!

I don't think there was anything specific that I outright did not like. It was a good read! Not a new favorite but definitely satisfying.

Would I Recommend It:

I highly recommend this book, and Dare To Run. I read Dare To Run on a whim in January, and I'm really glad I did that. This series is unique to me, and definitely a favorite for the year (if not, of all time for me). Steamy romance, likable characters, nonstop action -- count me in!

Rating:

4 stars. I still liked Lucas/Heidi more, but Chris/Molly was great! I really like this bad boy/good girl trope, and I think McLaughlin does a great job writing it. I can't wait to read Dare To Lie, featuring Scotty and... Tate's sister, Skylar! 

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