Dare to Run
The Sons of Steel Row #1
By:
Jen McLaughlin
Release Date:
Feb. 2, 2016
Publisher:
Signet
Add to
Goodreads
Source:
eARC from publisher in exchange for a honest review
GR's Summary:
The New York Times bestselling author of the Out of Line Novels takes readers to Boston, where one gang of criminals knows how being bad can be so good... The Sons of Steel Row #1
By:
Jen McLaughlin
Release Date:
Feb. 2, 2016
Publisher:
Signet
Add to
Goodreads
Source:
eARC from publisher in exchange for a honest review
GR's Summary:
She knows what he’s like on Boston’s mean streets. Now she’s going to find out if he’s got some heart.
Lucas Donahue is not ashamed of his criminal past, but after a brief stint in prison, he’s ready to go legit and live a normal life. The problem is, no one leaves the gang without permission—even if he is one of the boss’s top men. Plus someone’s placed a hit on him. And then there’s that feisty little bartender who’s going to cause him even more trouble.
Heidi Greene knows to keep her distance from a ladies’ man like Lucas—even if she can’t keep her eyes off him. When he rescues her from an attack in the alley outside her bar, she’s forced to stay by his side for safety. But the longer she spends time with him, the greater her chances are for getting hurt in more ways than one.
My Thoughts:
Dare to Run is the first book in the all new, The Sons of Steel Row Series. I was attracted to the cover, book blurb, and the fact that Jen McLaughlin was the author. I have read a few of her books, and really enjoyed them. Dare to Run was a story filled to the brim with suspense, danger, conspiracy, betrayal, and passion. It was a great read, and I am looking forward to continuing this series.
Lucus Donahue has grown up in the gang lifestyle. He has been a part of the Sons of Steel Row, since he was a teenager, and needed to raise money to support a terminally ill single mother, and younger brother. Lucus deals illegal arms in the slums of Boston. Freshly out of incarceration, he finds himself back in the midst of the dangerous lifestyle of a gang member.
Unfortunately, Lucus' life has gotten complicated when he learns that his younger brother, Scotty, is conspiring to kill him, in order to get Lucus' powerful promotion in the gang. To top it off, he stops beautiful bartender, Heidi Greene, from getting raped by a rival gang, resulting in another enemy gunning for him. Now, Lucus has taken Heidi under is protection. Will these two survive such violent and dangerous enemies?
Dare to Run had two main characters that I enjoyed getting to know. Heidi was a feisty, brave, independent, and strong-willed woman. She didn't let her fear show, and I loved her gutsy personality. Lucus was very closed off, stoic, and non-trusting. However, he was loyal, and even though he considered himself to be a bad man, we get to see little by little, that he is a good man that has just made some very bad choices. Together, these two had intense chemistry that turned into so much more. Heidi was able to get Lucus to pull down his walls, and bring out a side of himself that he had never experienced before.
The story plot was unpredictable, and delivered a shocking and hugely surprising ending! When you read a lot, it's easy to predict the sequence of events in a story. So, I was excited to get a story that caught me completely unaware.
My Rating:
About Jen McLaughlin:
Jen McLaughlin is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of sexy books with Penguin Random House. Under her pen name, Diane Alberts, she is also a USA TODAY bestselling author of Contemporary Romance with Entangled Publishing. Her first release as Jen McLaughlin, Out of Line, hit the New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal lists. She was mentioned in Forbes alongside E. L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists. She is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency. 
That big twist at the end was a shocker. I enjoyed this one, too. Looking forward to book two after the end of this one.
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