Dangerous Lover: An Ice Novella

Anne Stuart Short Reads

Emma O’Bannion has a crush on the mysterious Frenchman who lives above her, and for Valentine’s Day she decides to be his secret admirer. There’s one problem—Luc is a retired agent, and sees danger everywhere, particularly in a bouquet of roses and a box of poisoned chocolates.

It’s easy enough for him to discover who’s stalking him, easy for him to kidnap her and find out exactly who she’s working for. Except that apparently her only motive is a misplaced crush.

Too bad that he’s starting to feel the same way.

©2023 Anne Stuart (P)2024 Scribd, Inc.

Guilty, trashy, eye-rolling, pleasure

The author’s thing for dark. dangerous, gaslighting MMC’s and TSTL FMC’s more often than not wears out its welcome. But, when she packages it in “but it’s regency romance” (her House of Rohan series) or offers up novellas like this one, I can embrace the 70’s and 80’s Bond genre of cheesy machismo and enjoy the show. The plot was silly and the profession of love after the first night of abduction/seduction was OMG ridiculous… and I admit I ate it up like the romance junk food it was.

It may just be my personal taste, but stories featuring dark, dangerous men, especially when he’s the one with an accent, are better with a male narrator or duet narration. A woman voicing his French dirty talk felt more creepy than sexy.