Dangerous Embrace (Embrace, #1) (The Embrace Series - Book 1)

by Dana Mason

[Cocktails and Books]

"I couldn't put this book down. It took me a day to read it, but I was skipping lunch at work and going directly to my chaise to read. It was very interesting and full of action, twists, and turns. Sarah Jennings fights off an attacker and while fleeing runs into Mark Summors. He takes her to the hospital and remains by her side through her recovery. Sarah has been the victim of domestic violence and is very guarded. They enter into a relationship with him as her protector and later as a very patient boyfriend earning her trust and helping her to be able to engage in sexual relations without going into a panic. They work through her issues, the attacks from the stalker, and an attempt by her abusive ex-boyfriend to kidnap her.

I enjoyed reading this book. There were a few times that I became frustrated with Sarah because she was so irrational. After the initial attack Mark installs a security system in her home while she is out of it for two days and when she awakens she attacks him because he didn't ask her. There were not a lot of sex scenes because Sarah would halt Mark's progress because she felt threatened (the result of a former rape). However the behavior was not out of context with the trauma she suffered so I chalk that up to my personality. I kept wondering when will Mark have enough. He has the patience of Job in this book which gives it a slightly unrealistic element. However anyone in Sarah's situation would wish for a sensitive, sympathetic, patient, virtuous man like Mark.

Reviewed by Michelle for Cocktails and Books.