UNDER THE SURFACE by Anne Calhoun: Review

Under the Surface by Anne Calhoun
Series: Alpha Ops #4
Published by St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Date: May 31st 2016
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 350
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Goodreads
Buy Online: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ Kobo

Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely mine.

Welcome to Eye Candy, the East Side’s hottest nightclub where the bartenders are hot, the cocktails are fancy, and danger lurks just under the surface…

Eve Webber, the gorgeous and savvy owner of Eye Candy, knows better than anyone that growing up on the wrong side of the tracks comes with certain complications. Determined to run a clean business and fix up the East Side, Eve’s plans get temporarily stalled when a potential new hire walks into her bar. The sexual chemistry crackling between them is a potent distraction…even if she refuses to mix business with the promise of pleasure.

Detective Matt Dorchester lives by strict rules that have kept him alive in impossible situations. When his latest undercover assignment has him playing a bartender, his desire for the passionate owner has him breaking every single one. Eve is in danger and her life depends on his secrecy. But once their attraction reaches a climactic conclusion, Matt must make a desperate choice: Tell her the truth about who he really is―or risk a once-in-a-lifetime love to save her life?

 

Review

I have a conditioned response to romances involving law enforcement and the military. I just have to read them and I’ve had my eye on this series since the first book was released, so I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to read this book.

Under The Surface blends sizzling sexual chemistry with edge of the seat action and will have readers eager for more from Ms. Calhoun. I already have the previous books in my reading queue and if they are anything like this was, then I’m in for a real treat. 

Eve Webber is a savvy business woman/club owner and something of a community activist determined to revitalize her drug and gang infested neighborhood, so when an old friend approaches her with a criminal proposition, it’s no hardship for her to go to the police. The only problem is that now she is caught between a psychopath who would destroy her and everything she holds dear without any remorse and a police department that doesn’t exactly trust her. Enter Detective Matt Dorchester.

Matt is an undercover cop posing as a bartender sent to protect Eve without her knowledge. The chemistry between them is very obvious from their first meeting but Matt is determined to keep her at an arm’s length, which he manages to do successfully until he is forced to break cover when Eve is shot at. How will Eve handle the discovery that her new bartender Chad is actually a police detective? 

I expected some suspense and of course lots of sexy times, but I got a lot more than that. This is a gritty, multi-layered story with great character growth, sometimes frustrating, sometimes uncomfortable but completely engrossing. Eve wasn’t the most likable character initially, but she grows on you and I liked her in-your-face and take charge attitude, her optimism and her unapologetic enjoyment of her sexuality. And she was not afraid to challenge Matt when the need arose.

However my favorite character is Matt, who was a broody hero. Raised in a house bereft of any affection and emotion, Matt had the importance of duty drilled into him from a young age. He is emotionally closed off and prefers to live by his self-imposed rules, but Eve tempts him very much to feel, something he can’t afford. His struggle with himself was so palpable, it sometimes felt physical, but he experienced the biggest growth personally as he learned to loosen up and let others in.

The story has it all – well-written characters, tense suspense and lots of passion. This is my first time reading anything by Ms. Calhoun but it certainly won’t be my last.

 

 

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