I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Riding on Instinct
by
Jaci Burton
erotic romance, romantic suspense in Paperback edition that was published by Berkley HEAT on April 7, 2009 and has 296 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Mountain Moonlight, Unlaced, The Perfect Play, Riding the Night, Fall Fury, Changing the Game, Heart of a Killer, Forbidden Fantasies, Taking a Shot, Playing to Win, Nautier and Wilder, Wild, Wicked, & Wanton, Thrown by a Curve, One Sweet Ride, Straddling the Line, Melting the Ice, All Wound Up, "Hot Holiday Nights", Unexpected Rush, Hot to the Touch
Third in the Wild Riders erotic romantic-suspense series revolving around a secret government agency, the Wild Riders, employing bad boys to do undercover work the government wants to be able to disavow. The couple focus in this story is on Spencer King and Shadoe Grayson.
My Take
Oh, how convenient that Burton/Grange believes it would help their role playing if Spence and Shadoe were a couple! It certainly is fun for us that they are, even as each struggles with their own childhood issues—Shadoe and her need to prove herself equal or better to men and Spence with his fear of relationships and the entanglements that come with ’em. The psychological agonizing of Spence and Shadoe takes up a bit more than the actual sex and, thank god, it’s not the endless, whining analyses with which some stories pack their pages.
I know that one of the major premises for any kind of romance is that the woman always falls in love when sex is involved. Why? Surely not every woman in the world believes that love automatically follows having sex??
I only have two quibbles: why does Shadoe head back to the club when she’s got questions in her mind as to the timing of various people’s arrival at the ship? Is she really that new? Why didn’t she at least contact one of the guys to let them know where she was going? My second quibble is questioning if the DOJ would really allow one of their agents to strip as part of an assignment.
For the most part, it’s a fun, erotic, beach read that will keep you reading.
The Story
Someone is tipping off the drug runners in New Orleans and the government believes there’s an inside man. Making the new Special Agent Shadoe Grayson with her photographic memory ideal to work undercover with one of the Wild Riders.
The DEA has narrowed it down to a strip club in New Orleans, the Wild Rose, and it’s decided that Shadoe will go in as a headlining stripper with Spencer as her bodyguard/lover.
Leaving out the having to take your clothes off in front of a packed roomful of strangers, it should have been a fairly easy assignment, but Shadoe and Spence can’t seem to help the sparks that fly between them.
The Characters
Shadoe Grayson, stage name “Desi”, is an FBI agent determined to prove to her father and every other male she’s encountered that she is quite capable of doing the job. A real challenge in this assignment since she is required to go undercover as a stripper. And such an appropriate costume for an agent associated with the Wild Riders!
Spencer King is one of General Grange Lee’s Wild Riders. Fellow Wild Riders include Mac and Lily, Diaz and Jessie, AJ, and Pax. Maria, stage name “Vixen”, gives Shadoe lessons in stripping as well as references to bolster her back story.
Brandon Black is the owner of the Wild Rose; Lance is a bodyguard/bouncer at the club and married to one of the strippers, Cheri; other strippers include Ariele, Spitfire, Elan, and Star.
The Cover and Title
The cover is okay; I just don’t see the male model as all that hunky. All in deep pinks and grays, it depicts a foggy, cobblestoned street with a motorcycle parked in the background as the very short-haired “Spence” kisses and gropes “Shadoe” in a dark corner.
My guess on the title is that both Shadoe and Spence are Riding on Instinct when they decide to take a chance on each other.
