Beneath the Surface by Melynda Price Pages: 347
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Source: ARC, NetGalley
Goodreads
He was the last man she wanted to turn to for help. But when freelance journalist Quinn Summers uncovers a shocking secret with the potential to rock Washington, DC, she reluctantly finds herself on his doorstep. Someone intends to silence her forever, and Asher Tate may be all that’s standing between her and a vicious killer.
Overbearing, arrogant, and insanely hot, the ex-marine Special Forces officer turned mercenary for hire is no bodyguard—especially when it comes to the stubborn woman who sets his blood on fire as quickly as his temper. Quinn Summers is a powder keg of trouble just waiting for a match, and he isn’t surprised that the feisty beauty has made some dangerous enemies.
To survive, she’s going to have to play by his rules—and that means stepping into Asher’s world, where he controls the playing field. But in his fight to save Quinn’s life, he just might end up losing his heart.…
Beneath the Surface is the romantic suspense story of Quinn, who witnesses a human trafficking ring while in Haiti writing an article on a humanitarian group there. She leaves with her evidence and goes back to the states, only to find her roommate murdered. She calls her sister, whose husband is ex-military, and they send her to Asher Tate, an ex-military guy who now operates his own security business.
So, Asher and Quinn met when Quinn’s sister married Asher’s best friend. They did NOT hit it off. Asher is a manwhore and Quinn is an ice queen. I expected the story to be more suspenseful right off the bat, but it was more focused on the strife between the 2 main characters. I found it really frustrating. I get it-Asher is slutty. Yep, Quinn has been done wrong by a man in the past and is cold and callous. The first 1/3 of the story seemed overly focused on this and while I am all for character development, I felt that the focus on the characters judgement of the other was overdone and slowed the book for me.
Once both of them got over hating each other, the story turned more to focus on the suspense and mystery of who was trying to kill Quinn. Was it the government? Was it someone from Haiti who had seen her? She feels like the only people she can trust are Asher and her sister and she struggles with their involvement because it puts them in danger. Overall, once I got past my initial frustrations, I thought this was a well crafted romantic suspense.
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: no
- Trope: enemies to lovers
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: stand alone
- Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
- HEA: View Spoiler »
Books by Susan Stoker, Christina Dodd, Piper J Drake…then you will probably like Beneath the Surface!
Beneath the Surface
Hmm, this is new a to me author and book. Thanks for the review, but I probably wouldn’t read this one because I would probably get annoyed real fast with all of the strife in that beginning 1/3. Still, I appreciate the review!
Have a great week, Samantha!
AND HERE AM I. And there is NO SNOW in this post. AND the guy has a shirt! Life is beautiful. 🙂 UGh and now it’s time to go get the kids. I’ll be back!
hahaha! Loving snow AND a guy with his shirt on? What is happening with me?!
oh this one sounds just fantastic!! I love a solid romantic suspense and I like that it had a good mystery too.
oh too bad it was frustrating with such a good premise. Human Trafficking has so much potential !