Book description:
What is the price of freedom?
Liliana Vela hates the term victim. She's not a victim, she's a fighter. Stubborn and strong with a quiet elegance, she's determined to take back her life after escaping the clutches of human traffickers. But she can't stay safely in America--unless the man who aided in her rescue is serious about his unconventional proposal to marry her.
Meric Toledan was just stopping at a service station for a bottle of water. Instead, he becomes the key to Liliana's rescue. If he can keep his secrets hidden, his wealth and position afford him many resources to help her. But the mysterious buyer who funded her capture will not sit idly by while his prize is stolen from him.
My review:
Confession: I will admit that after the book came, the cover and description didn't grab me, and I had set it aside and almost forgot about it. I got an email this week that it had to be reviewed by today, and put it off til today......and man was I surprised. This is the second solo endeavor by this author, and man did she hit it out of the park. Once I started it, I did not want to put it down. (And other than bathroom breaks and a supper break, I did not).
This is a novel about sexual trafficking, and a very good one. The author created two terrific main characters in Liliana and Meric. Liliana made a great victim....the kind who did not let it define her or make her live in fear. She did not feel in debt to Meric for rescuing her in the way he did, yet she was thankful and determined to help him. Meric....he was a multi-faceted complicated character. Determined to keep his hands and emotions to himself when it came to his new wife, he lived in fear he would turn into his father all the while secretly fighting the very people his father was like. He lived behind a cold and uncaring façade that only Liliana could see through. At times I wanted to smack him, but realized the way he acted was because of the way he was raised and played into making sure his wife felt safe. From even him. (I will admit to muttering a couple times "just kiss her and admit you love her, you idiot). :)
Another author described this novel as a "fresh twist on a marriage of convenience", and that is a very great description. The romance part of the book was on a back burner. A back burner turned down very low, while other parts of the book took precedence.
This was not what I would call a fast paced suspenseful novel, as things moved fairly slow, but it was still suspenseful and things did happen.
The author did a great job of shining a spot light on the horrors of sex trafficking, and did it in a way to showcase the awesomeness of people being set free from that life.
Slight spoiler: the romance was finally pulled from the back slow burning burner to the front full flame one. :)
This was a great read, and I am glad I took the time to read and review it. I definitely recommend it.
I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.
About the author:
Melissa Koslin is a fourth-degree black belt in and certified instructor of Songahm
Taekwondo. In her day job as a commercial property manager, she secretly notes personal quirks and funny situations, ready to tweak them into colorful additions for her books. The author of Never Miss, Melissa lives in Jacksonville, Florida, with her husband, Corey. Find more information on her books at www.MelissaKoslin.com.
Dangerous Beauty is available from Revell Publishing, part of the Baker Publishing Group.
Thanks to Revell for the review copy.
Check out Melissa's previous novel from Revell: Never Miss
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