Book Review: Robin’s impression of When Lovers Meet by Angel Ray
Hi, readers! The latest I Love Romance Blog review selection is When Lovers Meet by Angel Ray.
Take it away, Robin!
Thanks!
When Lovers Meet by Angel Ray
I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form.
When Lovers Meet, by Angel Ray, is about a couple who, after a chance meeting at a bar, fall headfirst into a whirlwind romance. Vanessa is saved from a “nice guy” by a handsome, muscular stranger — Dalton Ewing- whom she becomes somewhat violently protective of after a passionate night. The whirlwind romance takes a turn for the unexpected when Vanessa learns more about the hidden traumas her lover tries to hide (poorly).
I’m going to be honest, this was too fast-paced, even for me. There’s a difference between actual love, and love based on infatuation, and right now, even after the end of the book, I don’t buy Vanessa or Dalton being an actual couple. I mean, what they experienced would be good for friends. You could laugh it off even, but for Vanessa and Dalton to say that they’re in love with one another is…iffy, to say the least. That being said, they are two consenting adults, and they say they’re in love, so they’re in love. Towards the end of the book, I do wish Vanessa is able to stand up for herself as a lawyer, rather than rely on her father. It seemed she’s okay with defining herself around the men in her life, rather than who she is. But then again, it is my opinion.
So for now, I’m going to give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.
Many thanks, Robin! ♥
Book Info:
“Freelance” bouncer Dalton Ewing is a mysterious man with mysterious secrets. And former lawyer Vanessa Calla is determined to find out just what those “secrets” are. Vanessa and Dalton begin a passionate affair after he rescues her one night from a drunken thug at a bar where he’s currently working as a bouncer called Lucky’s. As their romance blossoms, Dalton shares with Vanessa not only his bed but also the memories and secrets of his painful past, a past which causes him not to get too close to anyone or stay in one place for too long. Vanessa likewise lets down her guard and allows herself to be loved again after her own painful past involving her ex-husband Brett who left her for another woman and her estranged father Joseph, himself a powerful attorney, who left her beloved mother Deborah for a younger woman. Vanessa is determined to show Dalton that he can allow someone into his heart (and not just his bed) without being emotionally devastated in the process.
Universal Reader link: https://books2read.com/u/bx6oKk
Here’s a teaser from the book…
Vanessa was really starting to lose her patience with this guy. “Look,” she said, raising her voice. “I told you that I’m not really interested in — ”
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, raising his own voice. “Don’t raise your voice to me! I’m just trying to be friendly with you and you’re giving me all this attitude.” Vanessa began to feel frightened as she saw the scary look in his eyes, as though he could really hurt her.
“Please, leave me alone.” She was at the point of begging him. “Please, I just want to be left alone. Please!”
“Oh, I’ll leave you alone, all right. After I teach you a lesson!” He reached over to her with his left hand and acted like he was going to wrap his long, bony fingers around her throat. But then a hand came seemingly out of nowhere, grabbed his arm and yanked his hand away before he was able to lay a single finger on her. Infuriated, the guy swung around and glared at the man who dared come up against him. “Hey, man!” he said, his voice nearly a shout. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but — ”
“I’m Dalton Ewing,” the other man said calmly, yet sternly. “I’m the head bouncer here.”
Vanessa’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor when she saw the hero who had stopped this drunken ruffian from accosting her. Dalton Ewing stood at about six feet, maybe a little taller, and was way more muscular than the drunk man. He had short brown wavy hair and chiseled features that a handsome Hollywood actor might possess. Even in her frightened state, Vanessa felt an immediate attraction to the tall, dark and very handsome stranger who came to her rescue.
“You’re the head bouncer, huh?” the drunk said in a mocking tone. Dalton didn’t move or say anything, Vanessa noticed. He just stood there facing down the buffoon like he was Clint Eastwood. Or maybe John Wayne. “Well, keep messin’ with me, Jack, and you’ll be the dead bouncer.”
“Dead bouncer. That’s cute,” Dalton said in his own mocking tone. “Did ya think of that one all by yourself there, Skippy?”
“Look, man,” the drunk guy said, losing his cool. “This is between me and the lady here. This ain’t got nothin’ to do with you. So why don’t you just back off before someone gets hurt, aw’right?”
Dalton shook his head. “No can do, Skippy. From where I was standing, it looked like you were harassing the little lady here and I can’t have that.” He stepped closer to him as he doubled up his fists. “I won’t have that.”
Vanessa looked directly at the other guy’s face for the first time since he’d approached her. He was a weasel of a man, possibly mid-thirties, with a hairline that was already starting to recede. It was covered with an extremely bad comb- over. He had a crooked nose. He was probably about as tall as Dalton, and possessed a build that was painfully lanky. Bouncer Dalton easily outweighed him by at least fifty pounds and was far more muscular. And the steely-eyed glare he was giving this imbecile made you know that he meant business. And Vanessa wasn’t the only one watching. A crowd of bar patrons were circling around to see what, if anything, was about to go down. Even the bartenders, who no doubt saw this kind of thing on an almost nightly basis, were watching tentatively as the two men faced each other down. It was like a modern-day Mexican standoff.
“Well?” Dalton said, clenching his fists. “Are you gonna walk away or is this gonna get ugly?”
The guy barely nodded as he started to turn around like he was going to walk away. But then, when it seemed as if he would walk away, he quickly swung around with his fist in the air and took a swing at Dalton. Vanessa gasped as she thought Dalton was going to get hit, but he was able to duck his punch just in the nick of time. The guy then put his other hand on Dalton’s shoulder like he was trying to push him down or was somehow trying to force him off-balance, but, whatever he was hoping to do obviously didn’t work as Dalton grabbed him by his thumb and twisted his arm behind his back and swung him around. Dalton wrapped his free hand around the back of his chicken neck and pushed him down, smashing his forehead on the bar. Vanessa nearly jumped off her bar stool when his head struck the bar. He appeared dazed and somewhat disoriented as Dalton lifted him back up. By then, two more bouncers appeared to offer their assistance to Dalton.
“I believe this guy has had enough,” Dalton said to them and threw his limp body at them. The two bouncers grabbed him and held on to him like they were holding a sack of meat. “Take him outta here.”
“Come on,” one of the bouncers growled at him. As they started to drag him away, the man started yelling and threatening Dalton.
“I’ll get you for this, you son of a bitch!” he yelled, pumping his fist defiantly in the air. “I swear to God, I’ll get you!”
“Yeah, yeah!” Dalton yelled back. “Pick a number!” After he was dragged away from the bar, Dalton looked at the gawking crowd and said, “Okay, folks. The show’s over.”
As the crowd began to disperse, Dalton turned around and looked at Vanessa, who was looking back at him wide-eyed and a little distraught at having just been accosted by that creep. She was definitely grateful to Dalton that he had stopped him from doing whatever bad thing he was going to do to her, and, if she were to be completely honest with herself, maybe even a little turned on by his heroics.
“Thank you,” she told him with a smile.
“I’m Dalton,” he introduced himself, holding out his hand.
“I know,” she said before shaking his hand. “I’m Vanessa Calla.”
“Hello, Vanessa Calla.”
They stared into each other’s eyes, and Vanessa felt an immediate spark. She hoped like hell Dalton felt that spark. too. After they finished shaking hands, Vanessa’s drink finally arrived, and not a moment too soon, as far as she was concerned. She gulped it down, which caused Dalton’s eyes to widen.
“Be careful drinking that too fast,” he warned her somewhat sarcastically. “That stuff ain’t Kool-Aid, y’know?”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she told him with a little sarcasm herself. She finished her drink and motioned for the bartender. “Give me another martini,” she said. “And make this one as dry as you can possibly get it.”
“And put it on my tab, will ya, Alex?” Dalton interjected, looking at the bartender.
“You got it, Dalton,” the bartender said with a wave.
After the bartender left to get her another martini, Vanessa gazed at Dalton and said, “You didn’t have to do that, you know. I can pay for my own drinks.”
Dalton grinned and said, “Well, seeing as how I did just come to your rescue, I figured it’s the least I can do.”
Vanessa could tell by the tone of his voice that he was being facetious with her. “Oh,” she said, trying to be equally facetious. “So you’re a nice guy, huh?”
He shrugged. “I try,” he replied with a noticeable sneer. Dalton looked around the club as if he was trying to spot more trouble.
Then, as if on cue, one of the other bouncers walked up behind him and called out, “Dalton!”
“Yo!” Dalton called back, looking over his shoulder.
“We need your help,” he informed him. “Looks like we got another drunk who won’t take no for an answer.”
“Be right there.” Dalton looked back at Vanessa. “Well, Miss Calla, duty calls.” He turned around and started to walk off, but then he stopped and said as though it was an afterthought, “Listen, Vanessa, I’m gonna be off work in about an hour. If you don’t mind waiting, how about you come back to my place for a nightcap?”
Again, Vanessa was taken aback by his directness. “Uh.. well.. how do you know I’m not waiting on someone?”
He gave her his biggest smile yet. “Well, for one, if you were waiting on someone, chances are he would’ve shown up by now, and two, if he was here and he was any kind of man, he would’ve defended you from that drunk asshole instead of me.”
Boy, Vanessa thought, direct and perceptive.
“Okay,” she said, smiling. “You got me. I’ll go back to your place after you get off work.” She quickly raised her finger in front of her face. “For a drink. That’s it.”
He smiled again and said in his facetious manner, “And what makes you think I want anything more than that?” He shook his head and chuckled teasingly. “God, woman, get over yourself!”
He kept smiling at her as he started to walk away to go help out the other bouncers. Vanessa’s jaw dropped again as she watched him walk away from her. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to slap him or kiss him. Maybe she wanted to do both. While she was trying to make up her mind about him, Alex the bartender came back with a second martini.
“Here you go,” he said to her as he laid the drink down on the bar in front of her. “A dry martini. Just like you ordered.”
“Thanks,” she said, giving him a grin. She drank this martini considerably slower than she did the last one. She looked around for Traci so she could let her know she’d be leaving with Dalton. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be accosted by another drunk scumbag and need to be rescued again by Dalton.
Not that she wouldn’t have minded being rescued again by hunky Dalton, of course.
AUTHOR: Angel Ray
TITLE: When Lovers Meet
GENRE: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
RELEASE DATE: June 28, 2017
PUBLISHER: Books to Go Now
ISBN/ASIN: B073HJ5B2K
OUR RATING: ♥♥♥ 3 stars
REVIEWED BY: Robin G.
Guest Blogger/Reviewer Bio:
My pen name is Robin Goodfellow. I fell in love with reading after I picked up Fallen by Lauren Kate. I am currently a licensed substance abuse counselor and LPC-A (although I hope to be an LPC soon). I was also a former math and special education teacher. Although I tried going to medical school, it didn’t work out. On the bright side, I’ve got more time for reading and writing! Mental health is a personal passion of mine, as is crochet, and annoying my husband.
This book looks interesting! ♥ We’ll check it out…
Thanks for reading our latest book review on ILRB! ♥ Have a great rest of your week, everyone!
Originally published at http://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com on January 24, 2024.
