CRIMES OF PASSION
When she was on the verge of adulthood, Riva Henneman committed
a crime and got caught red-handed. Luckily, she was busted by a HOT young
cop...who also had a big heart. A one-time SEAL candidate, Officer Ian Hawthorn
knew how it felt to have your dreams derailed. So he gave Riva a choice: face
prison time or work for him as a confidential informant. But even a
get-out-of-jail-free card comes with a cost. . .
Years later, Ian still remembers beautiful, innocent Riva--and
the smoldering attraction they shared but both tried to ignore. Will they have
a second chance, now that they're back in each other's lives? Riva's work with
inner-city children has led to a surprise run-in with Ian, who has his own
agenda--one that could put them both in grave danger. Is their desire worth the
risk this time?
The high octane suspense and super sizzling romance continues
with Turn Me Loose, the third novel in the Alpha Ops series by Anne
Calhoun.
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Alpha Ops #3 full-length book, #6 in series
St. Martin's Press
Romantic Suspense
Review copy provided by publisher
Liza's Review:
Turn Me Loose is somehow the first book I've read from Anne
Calhoun. While Turn Me Loose is the third full length book in the Alpha Ops, I
had no trouble reading it as a stand-alone story.
Overall, I liked Turn Me Loose. I loved that after Riva has been
busted in college for dealing drugs, she had totally turned her life around. I
love she was also helping others turn their lives around after they had made
mistakes. When Ian Hawthorn walks into her farm-to-table restaurant seven years
later, everything from the past comes crashing back into her life. I loved that
neither Riva nor Ian had really forgotten about each other over the
years.
Riva offers to help Ian take down the leader behind the drugs
coming into Lancaster. The fact that Riva knows who was behind the drugs seven
years ago as well as now was a bit of an issue with Ian. I understood once she
revealed who is behind the drugs why she had stayed quiet. I loved her
motivation was taking care of the inner-city kids working in
her restaurant and taking care of her mom.
I liked the connection between Riva and Ian. They had
really great chemistry and I loved they finally acted on it once they got
to Chicago. I really liked Riva and Ian as a couple overall, but wished they
had both been more honest with one another sooner about everything in their
past. I loved the overall takedown of the bad guy in this book and know Ian and
Riva had to work together to make it happen.
Turn Me Loose was an enjoyable read and a good story for fans of
romantic suspense. Again I read the series out of order and had no trouble
keeping up with everything going on with the various characters. Even with
other characters from prior books being mentioned in Turn Me Loose, it really
was more centered on Riva and Ian, so I found it easy to follow the story line.
Rating: 3 stars (B-)
Nikki’s Review:
Reading this book really got my OCD tendencies going. It's book
6 in the series, and I haven't read the previous ones! I never do that! I'm
happy to say that after a few chapters my mind was put at ease. I didn't feel
like I was missing any pieces of the puzzle. This book does well as a stand-alone
novel.
Riva has turned her life around. I like a good redemption story.
It puts a real human feel to the characters. I thought the storyline of Riva
building a business that helps disadvantaged and at risk youth was brilliant.
She was giving back to the community and trying to keep some kids from making
the same poor decisions she did as a teen.
I struggled a bit with Ian's character. He wasn't totally
likeable at the beginning. I got a slight sense that he was attracted to Riva
at the beginning of the book, but it fizzled. There wasn't a whole lot of chemistry;
at least I didn't feel it. I did end up liking Ian after a while, but it took
time. Both of the characters were enjoyable, I just didn't care for them
together. I didn't feel the connection.
Part of redeeming oneself is making tough decisions and doing
the right thing. And Riva's decision to help bring down her own father, who's a
criminal, couldn't have been easy. There's no love loss between father and
daughter, but still, it had to have hurt her in some way.
This book was enjoyable. Ian and Riva make a good team when it
comes to fighting crime. I think if you're a fan of romantic suspense, then
give this book a shot!
Rating: 3 Stars (B)
