Book Review: Rain Is A Love Song by Vonnie Davis

BLURB:

What should be a wonderful trip to Paris turns menacing when Gwen Morningstar's daughter is kidnapped by The Red Hand terrorist group. Fortunately, Jean-Luc LeFevre of France's Counterterrorism Unit is there to rescue her little girl. Gwen is grateful, but her need to apprehend the abductors must override any desire she feels for the handsome agent with his own brand of justice...and danger.

Jean-Luc is not pleased when Gwen, a crime scene photographer with just enough training to get them killed, is assigned to work with him. Not only does she take too many risks, she drives him to distraction.

As Gwen and Jean-Luc track the terrorists, their feelings for each other grow as fast as the danger. Jean-Luc is determined to protect Gwen and her daughter, but the sinister grasp of The Red Hand is strong and far-reaching. It will take more than love to keep them all safe.

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REVIEW:

When their eyes made contact, he could have sworn a current of lightning crackled in the tiny bathroom, landing straight in his groin. Along the way, the current zapped every pore of his tired body, obliterating the fatigue. The hairs on his arms and legs stood on end. Air whooshed from his lungs.

A squeak of surprise escaped Gwen’s lips. She had a towel wrapped around her hair and held another to her bosom; her very ample bosom, from what he could see. Hell, his hands itched to snatch that towel from her white-knuckled grasp. The scent of her get-your-sex-here lotion filled the room. Thoughts of lifting her unto his marble vanity and taking her caused his erection to swell even more, which surprised him since he was already as hard as one of the marble columns at the Pantheon—and just as straight.

Her surprised blue eyes traveled down his body, and she gasped. His erection nodded in greeting. She dropped to her knees in front of him. He rolled his eyes heavenward. Thank you, God.

Soft warm fingers trailed a path down his thigh, and his muscles quivered in response. “You’ve got a scar here. On your beautiful thigh.”

Are you freakin’ kidding me? I’ve got the mother of all hard-ons and all she can see is my scar? Granted, it was one helluva scar. Long, thick and rugged, but so was his hard-on. This wasn’t doing his ego any good. Plus, that damn tick was back in his eye. She was the cause of it. Her and her continual efforts to keep him off balance.

“It’s so long.”

Yeah, well check out my pecker if you want to see long.

“It runs from your groin the whole length of your fabulous thigh to your knobby knee.”

Knobby knee? What the hell?

Vonnie Davis made me inhale Diet Coke.

I'm tempted to say Vonnie Davis tried to kill me--attempted manslaughter by soda drowning, but it's a bit o' melodrama, so I'll refrain. Instead, I'll simply tell you that this one scene had me in tears. (Fluids in your sinus cavity are quite painful.)

"Love is a Rain Song" (RisLS) is the sequel to "Mona Lisa's Room" and part of The Red Hand Conspiracy series. The story is fast-paced and exciting and sucks the reader in and takes her on a wild ride. The adventure spans continents and nations as it follows the hero and heroine through not only space—Paris to Budapest—but also time as it tracks a traumatic childhood event that had formative influence over the hero.

While Gwen Morningstar is vacationing in Paris, the Red Hand terrorist organization attempts to kidnap her six-year-old daughter, Rhiannon. Fortunately, French government agent Jean-Luc LeFevre is there to save the day and foil the abduction. The swift escalation of events ratchets up not only the danger element but also the sexual tension as Gwen is drawn into Jean-Luc's world. First, she lends her professional assistance and later acts as his undercover partner as they attempt to bring down the bad guys.

Gwen is a ton of fun. She's a whole lot of S-words. Smart. Sexy. Sassy. Snarky. All wrapped up in a highly competent professional crime scene photographer. She has her flaws. Gwen is impulsive, improper and rather contrary, but her shortcomings all add to the entertainment. As the widow of a serviceman killed in action and mother to her only child, she also demonstrates the admirable qualities of protectiveness, loyalty and compassion.

I loved the fact that Gwen's first impulse upon seeing the hero naked for the first time was—ahem—to give him a hard time.

Or should that be, harder time? ;-)

Jean-Luc plays the role of straight man, becoming the target of her wicked sense of humor. For the most part, he handles the ribbing graciously, although, he does engage in a fair amount of good-natured complaining. Fear not, for this man is armed and knows how to get even.

Jean-Luc is a solidly sexy hero. He is cocky and confident. He demonstrates touching vulnerability due to his sister having been kidnapped as a child, and is also a confirmed bachelor. His experiences with personal loss and misplaced feelings of responsibility have left him commitment phobic.

As the story progressed, Jean-Luc comes to realize that he needs both Gwen and her daughter in his life. For a man so committed to being alone, it is a startling revelation and yet he achieves it almost too easily. My only critical observation on characterization is that the hero should have struggled more to achieve the transition from French playboy to a one-woman-man.

Gwen and Jean-Luc share great chemistry and their courtship makes for an engrossing read. Both characters must overcome fears of loss and insecurity in order to open up enough to love one another. Their mutual struggle to reach out to each other makes RisLS a wonderful tale about the redemptive powers of love.

Vonnie Davis writes a griping story of romance and intrigue. The action sequences are riveting, interspersed by absolutely hysterical comedic moments. The sex scenes sizzle on the page. The author builds the sexual tension so high that it startled me to realize that descriptive imagery refrains from going into the realm of explicitness.

Definitely a 5 star read.