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A review by poisonivy70
One Kiss More by Mandy Baxter
2.0
Emma and Landon have been dancing around their attraction for years, ever since Landon arrested her father, a federal judge, for conspiracy. Then her father breaks out of prison and Landon’s trying to catch him, Emma has to do what a girl’s gotta do to distract him. Then, romance happens.
The Good, The Bad and Everything In Between
-Men with big guns, yum: Law enforcement. Big protective alpha heroes riding to the rescue. Slightly nerdy but very hot woman. You had me at hello.
-Interesting premise: The mystery of what happened to Emma’s father, and who is involved was intriguing. The thought of two people who met each other while on opposite sides of a criminal case brought to mind shades of Out of Sight, and I was ready to ride along with them on this adventure. How would they overcome his job to arrest her father, and her need to protect her father? The possibilities for a good action/romance was strong.
-They’re hot: Add to this, Landon and Emma seem to be very attractive people. Landon’s blond/blue eyed, Emma’s dark hair/brown eyed, physically fit folks. It was all about their hotness and their burning hot desire to get into each other’s pants. Ms. Baxter really does a good job of bringing a reader into that intense sexual attraction and I’ll admit, I enjoyed their attraction alot in the beginning. Their first kiss was smoking, and the buildup was going along nicely. Between that and the impossibility of their situation, I wanted to see how it would all work out. And then...
-But not so bright: Considering the danger that one or both are in for the majority of this story, their inability to function without wanting to jump each other’s bones started to become less sexy and more eye-roll-y. I'm a fan of sexual tension and anticipation, but not when it is developed to the exclusion of all else, including logic or an emotional connection between the leads. To think that two allegedly smart people can't focus when they're being physically threatened because of their overwhelming physical attraction didn't make sense to me. I really started to lose interest when I realized the extent of Emma’s, shall we say, less than brilliant move to get herself into this mess in the first place. The lack of logic employed in that move, especially by someone who is supposed to be a hacker, great at uncovering things but unable to, oh I don’t know, do full research on the big bad she’s going after, really left me shaking my head instead of turning the page.
-Struggled with the lack of strong story: This had the potential to be a tight thriller, to see how the leads would outsmart everyone and resolve the case while struggling with their growing attraction. Unfortunately, when all the tension in the story is built upon the sexual, what could have been a good action thriller with strong romance, ended up being a bit cartoonish. There was a point in the story when I thought it could have turned into a love on the run type of scenario, but it really became just another excuse for more sexual tension. Landon’s reactions and willingness to dive into this mess seemed to be ruled more by his big gun than his (allegedly) big brain made me think he was a perfect match for Emma, but two dumb bunnies does not a good romance make.
The Bottom Line
The sexual chemistry between Emma and Landon is strong, at the expense of the actual story. But if you’re into all sexual tension and less on the action/thriller parts, it may work for you.
**ARC provided by publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
The Good, The Bad and Everything In Between
-Men with big guns, yum: Law enforcement. Big protective alpha heroes riding to the rescue. Slightly nerdy but very hot woman. You had me at hello.
-Interesting premise: The mystery of what happened to Emma’s father, and who is involved was intriguing. The thought of two people who met each other while on opposite sides of a criminal case brought to mind shades of Out of Sight, and I was ready to ride along with them on this adventure. How would they overcome his job to arrest her father, and her need to protect her father? The possibilities for a good action/romance was strong.
-They’re hot: Add to this, Landon and Emma seem to be very attractive people. Landon’s blond/blue eyed, Emma’s dark hair/brown eyed, physically fit folks. It was all about their hotness and their burning hot desire to get into each other’s pants. Ms. Baxter really does a good job of bringing a reader into that intense sexual attraction and I’ll admit, I enjoyed their attraction alot in the beginning. Their first kiss was smoking, and the buildup was going along nicely. Between that and the impossibility of their situation, I wanted to see how it would all work out. And then...
-But not so bright: Considering the danger that one or both are in for the majority of this story, their inability to function without wanting to jump each other’s bones started to become less sexy and more eye-roll-y. I'm a fan of sexual tension and anticipation, but not when it is developed to the exclusion of all else, including logic or an emotional connection between the leads. To think that two allegedly smart people can't focus when they're being physically threatened because of their overwhelming physical attraction didn't make sense to me. I really started to lose interest when I realized the extent of Emma’s, shall we say, less than brilliant move to get herself into this mess in the first place. The lack of logic employed in that move, especially by someone who is supposed to be a hacker, great at uncovering things but unable to, oh I don’t know, do full research on the big bad she’s going after, really left me shaking my head instead of turning the page.
-Struggled with the lack of strong story: This had the potential to be a tight thriller, to see how the leads would outsmart everyone and resolve the case while struggling with their growing attraction. Unfortunately, when all the tension in the story is built upon the sexual, what could have been a good action thriller with strong romance, ended up being a bit cartoonish. There was a point in the story when I thought it could have turned into a love on the run type of scenario, but it really became just another excuse for more sexual tension. Landon’s reactions and willingness to dive into this mess seemed to be ruled more by his big gun than his (allegedly) big brain made me think he was a perfect match for Emma, but two dumb bunnies does not a good romance make.
The Bottom Line
The sexual chemistry between Emma and Landon is strong, at the expense of the actual story. But if you’re into all sexual tension and less on the action/thriller parts, it may work for you.
**ARC provided by publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review**