On Danger's Edge

Spoiler Disclaimer

Synopsis

Photojournalist Rorie Lyndsay goes out for a night on the town to celebrate the finalization of her divorce from her abusive ex-husband. While her friends encourage her to have a one-night stand, that's not really her style, but when the hot guy she'd been staring at all evening comes to her rescue in the parking lot, she can't resist giving in to temptation. They share an unforgettable night of passion, but in the morning Rorie heads off to her next assignment in the Panama jungle. When an old friend approaches her about helping him out after his photographer took ill, she's a little concerned about the area where they're going, but the chance to work on a prestigious assignment is irresistible. Little does she know, though, that during their jungle trek, they've crossed into Columbia, until they're attacked and kidnapped by guerrillas. Rorie isn't sure if she'll get out of this one alive, but to her surprise, an American Special Forces team shows up to rescue them, led by none other than the one-night stand she hasn't been able to forget.

Tom MacCallum was out at the bar trying to forget how he failed a friend who was killed on a mission, much the same way that his dad's death also haunts him. The hot brunette across the bar keeps eyeing him, so after saving her from a mugger in the parking lot, he invites her to his place where they share a passionate night that leaves him longing for more. Unable to locate Rorie after she snuck out the next morning, he thinks he'll never see her again, but he's shocked to discover that she's one of the people his Special Forces unit is sent in to save. However, the efforts go awry when she runs back into danger to secure top secret photos that her friend had taken. In no time, Tom and Rorie find themselves racing through the jungle, trying to stay one step ahead of the terrorists. As they fight for their survival, they start to fall in love, but even if they can stay alive, the real test may be whether they can overcome their respective past traumas to genuinely let love into their hearts.

Review

On Danger's Edge is a stand-alone romantic suspense. Aurora (aka Rorie) is a photojournalist who recently got out of an abusive marriage. Her divorce has finally gone through, so she goes out to a bar to celebrate with friends. Tom is a Chief Warrant Officer with a Special Forces unit who is also at the bar with his comrades, having fun before their next deployment. The brunette across the bar keeps staring at him as though she wants him, but when he approaches her, she shies away, seemingly not interested in a hookup. But after he saves her from an assailant in the parking lot, she agrees to come home with him. They enjoy a passionate night together, not really sharing names, and she's gone by the time he wakes up. On her next assignment in Panama, Rorie is asked by her old journalist friend, Chris, to fill in for his photographer who's taken ill. She agrees even though they're going to be traveling into potentially dangerous territory. Just after reaching a native village where everyone appears to have been massacred, they're accosted by Colombian guerrillas who take them hostage and torture Chris. The next morning, a group of American soldiers show up to rescue them, and Rorie is shocked to find her one-night stand among them. She's also surprised to discover that Chris is far more than a mere journalist when he insists that someone has to go back for his camera equipment because it contains classified information. With everyone else busy, Rorie races back to the encampment to retrieve the camera case, but when the situation turns hot, she and Tom are left behind. The two must go on a trek through the jungle filled with all sorts of dangers and fear-inducing challenges, but along the way, they start to fall in love. However, even if they can get back home alive, Tom's guilt over not being there when the people he cared about died, and Rorie's need for independence after being married to an autocratic husband may still keep them apart.

After surviving being married to an abusive husband, Rorie is just beginning to get back out there when she goes to the bar with her friends. All of them are the type to indulge in one-night stands, but Rorie really isn't. Although she finds the handsome guy in the corner tempting, she's content just to stare at him, so when he finally comes over to ask her out, she declines. A little while later, though, she's nearly accosted in the parking lot, and he comes to her rescue. At that point, she can't resist him anymore. He turns out to be an amazing lover who pleasures her in ways she's never experienced before, but since she's still finding herself after the divorce and she has to leave the next day for her upcoming assignment, she doesn't have designs on anything more than the one night. Later, in Panama, she agrees to help her journalist friend, Chris, in spite of the dangers, because she believes it's her duty to document what's happening and also because it could mean a step up to work with National Geographic. She quickly regrets that decision, though, when they're kidnapped by guerrillas, and taken over the border into Columbia. When Rorie hears Chris being tortured, she realizes that he's more than just a journalist. The next morning, she's shocked when the man she hasn't been able to forget shows up to rescue her. Then Chris tells her of the hidden intel and she knows she has to go back for it. The situation turn hot, though, and Rorie and Tom are left behind to fight their way out of the jungle. Even though Rorie starts to really fall for Tom, she has difficulty with him giving her orders and fears that if they get back to civilization, she might lose herself in another troubled relationship. Overall, I liked and admired Rorie. I understood her difficulties with being ordered around after all that she'd been though with her ex, but given the situation, I thought she should have listened to Tom, the experienced person, more readily.

When Tom goes to the bar, he's just been through the funeral of a friend who died on a mission. He hates that he wasn't there to save him, just like he feels he should have been there when his dad died. His buddies are on a last hurrah before going on deployment again, but Tom is in a funk. He just wants to forget his grief for a while and the attractive brunette across the way is tempting him with her come hither stare. However, when he goes to talk to her, she turns him down cold. A short while later, in the parking lot, he rescues her, after which, she finally agrees to go home with him. It's a night like no other for him, and when he wakes to find her gone, he can't stop thinking about her. Tom's team is sent in to extract a CIA agent and a couple of civilians who are with him. He's shocked to find that one of the men is actually a woman, the one with whom he had the unforgettable night. He gets Aurora to the helicopter safely, only to find her running back into danger. Determined not to let someone else he cares about die, Tom goes after her, but it results in them being left behind when the guerrillas start firing on the chopper. They must work as a team to survive the perils of the jungle and the guerrillas who are on their tail, and along the way, Tom starts falling for Aurora even harder. But even if they make it back to civilization alive, she needs space to find herself after her abusive marriage and feels like she can't do that with Tom. I thought Tom was a great guy. He's a dream lover on their first night together, and he's very protective of Aurora on their jungle adventures. He also pushes her to face some of her fears along the way.

On Danger's Edge got off to a great start. Tom and Rorie's one-night stand was full of passion and tenderness. Tom is sweet and gentle with Rorie and also shows her all the pleasure she'd been missing, making her feel special, which is exactly what she needed after all she went through with her abusive ex. As the pair work together to survive the jungle, they make a good team. This takes up the bulk of the story and it's full of adventure, peril, and suspense as they navigate their way back home, facing dangers along the way. It's all pretty fast-paced and well-written. At the same time, the author doesn't skimp on the romance. Tom and Rorie share several tender moments throughout their journey, as Tom becomes more and more certain that he wants a life with Rorie. For her part, Rorie falls in love with Tom, but she struggles with also wanting to find herself and be independent, which causes friction when she balks at Tom's orders. To me, Tom wasn't being all that autocratic. (I'm a major stickler for overly pushy alphas, and Tom wasn't one of them.) He wasn't trying to control her, just keep her alive, and there were times where her going against his orders worked out, but others where things weren't so great and could have gone really badly. So while a part of me understood her feelings, IMHO, I felt she just needed to defer to the expert until they got out of their predicament. I also felt like this part of her characterization was a bit belabored, with it being the primary thing that's keeping them apart. I didn't quite understand how the adventurous thing she does at the end helped her to overcome her worries about a life with Tom either, but I'll admit that maybe it's because I'm not the least bit daring at all. In some respects, Rorie was a good heroine, but in others, I had a few misgivings. I loved Tom as the hero, and I think they generally worked well together. The suspenseful parts really held my attention nicely, too, so overall On Danger's Edge was a very good read. It was my first by Lise Fuller, but I'm definitely open to reading more from her.

Visit

Lise Fuller @ GoodReads

Themes

Artists
Men in Uniform - Military
Tortured Heroes
Tortured Heroines