DANGEROUS EMBRACE by Dana Mason contains both serious danger and lots of embraces, but could use a better title. The current title does not really reflect the domestic and random violence portrayed in the novel, and readers should be aware that if they are at all sensitive to violence against women, this is not the book for them. I give DANGEROUS EMBRACE four stars for the honest and real illustration of this grim topic.
DANGEROUS EMBRACE explodes out of the gate with the attempted rape of Sarah Jennings, an elementary school teacher in Santa Rosa, California. Sarah has some fight in her and is able to injure her attacker and escape, only to run into – literally – handsome ex-cop turned security specialist, Mark Summors. Sarah's attacker has both her house keys and address, and so Mark sticks by Sarah's side in order to protect her.
Sarah's past – abusive relationship with an ex-fiancé and a neglectful con artist mother – haunts her daily, and she does her best to keep Mark at arms' length. Between her nightmares, lack of familial support, and subsequent violent attacks, Mark must persevere to keep Sarah safe, but their proximity lends itself to an intimacy that neither one of them may be ready to accept.
Because of the subject matter, it somehow seems wrong to say that I enjoyed DANGEROUS EMBRACE, even though it is a well-written novel. It is certainly not light or happy reading. The heat rating is a serious 3 due to the graphic nature of attacks as well as the love scenes between Sarah and Mark. I appreciate the way in which the violence is handled, respectfully and honestly. The dialogue and narration are not cheesy in the least. The novel illustrates many aspects of rape survivors' psychological trauma as well as the obvious physical injuries. The plot is gritty, intense and complex; just when you imagine one issue is dealt with, another situation resurrects it.
On the technical side, I felt that the pace was a bit slow after the first attack, but perhaps this was a purposeful tool to illustrate a rape survivor's life immediately after the incident – almost painfully impressing upon the reader the "one day at a time" philosophy. The editing was fairly well done – no distracting grammatical issues or typos.
DANGEROUS EMBRACE is a well-written and serious portrayal of one woman's struggle to free herself from hurtful people, the injuries they inflict, and the inner demons of her own making. I recommend it, but reader beware: this is not a novel for the faint of heart or for the fun, summer reading list.
*Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=7889
