Midnight Man (Midnight Trilogy, #1)

by Lisa Marie Rice

This was painful to read. It's only really romantic suspense if you squint - it's mainly erotica. I'm not even sure where to begin with all the things that bothered me about this book. I like alpha males but this was too aggressive - borderline rapey. It's not like Suzanne seems to like him or want him or is willing to stand up for herself - or even talk. She's basically a non-entity waiting for him to do whatever he wants. It was awkward and wrong.

John says: I'm a gentleman.
What he actually does: But I'm not going to take no for an answer, crowd your space and take over every inch of your life whether you like it or not.
Suzanne's really not that much better. She's supposedly self-assured and confident but she spends all her time freaking out and being overwhelmed by everything he does - and frankly not in a good way. It's not like she's overcome with lust - it's like she's terrified.

I liked the Men of Midnight series. The first two books; Jacko and Metal were alpha males - but they weren't aggressively ignorant of their females thoughts and feelings. John just doesn't seem to care if it's what he wants. There's lots of talk about how he shouldn't and wouldn't hurt her but no actual proof.

The suspense plot was farfetched and very lightly used. And what the hell was with Todd's murder - John just doesn't even tell her? It's her friend for fks sake?! Plus how the hell is she supposed to remember everything or anything of importance if he doesn't tell her something that's relevant to the situation. I mean for godsakes her and Todd are working together on one job - with one client - who is also murdered. It's not fkn rocket science.

“As long as it takes,” he answered bluntly. He debated, briefly, telling her about Todd Armstrong, then decided against it. She had a right to know, and she’d be angry later. But now it was his call and he decided not to overwhelm her. He needed her to think straight and she wasn’t going to do that knowing a friend was dead, because of her. “We’re going to have to figure out what’s going on, honey. As long as we’re in the dark, we’re vulnerable. I need to ask you some questions.”

Rice, Lisa Marie. Midnight Man (Midnight series Book 1) (pp. 163-164). Jasmine Jade. Kindle Edition.

Plus is there any point not telling her when at the start they made her look at the dead freaking body with his sliced throat to ID him? Made no sense. But I could roll with the light suspense if the romance was decent - but it's not. I mean this beauty.

He made sure the women he had realized he had a strong sex drive and that they were going to be used hard. If that’s what they wanted, fine. If not, there were plenty of other women around.

Rice, Lisa Marie. Midnight Man (Midnight series Book 1) (p. 159). Jasmine Jade. Kindle Edition.

Used hard? Charming. Apart from that winner, in all of the sex scenes - he knows he's hurting her but can't control himself enough to stop himself? Seriously? All that talk about control and SEALS and he can't stop? It's so much worse than him hurting her by accident. He is actually aware that he's hurting her but does it anyway. And it's not like she's there saying hey it's okay I like it or I want it - she does not - he just can't help himself. This just perpetuates the idea that rapists are not guilty of their own actions and that's a load of crap.

All men and women are responsible for their actions. Sexual assault is not okay. Rape is not okay. Hurting someone because you can't control yourself - is not okay.

1 star.