Dangerous Promise is one of those books for me – did I really enjoy it or not?
I am being honest upfront because I recommended this as a book to read in January but now that I have read it, I am not sure it is a book for everyone. Perhaps it is because it is not normally a genre I would read, or perhaps it is because it overlaps into more than one genre – not simply a romance, not simply a fantasy either. For me, I would add a further genre – erotica – and I think this is the element I am struggling with. I am not a prune; I simply do not normally pick up a novel with sometimes graphic sexual descriptions.
What is Dangerous Promise About?
Nina Bronson is a human, albeit an enhanced human. She was serving her country when unfortunately her life was taken from her. Having, however, signed her rights away, they decided to experiment on her and while gaining her life back, she became one of just 15 super-enhanced soldiers.
Ewan Donahue, a billionaire playboy, is completely against these enhancements; does not agree that others have been able to play god. Why? Who knows, but he has become an active protester to these improvements, so much to that a law has now been passed so that no further humans can be experimented on and no further tech enhancements can be made on the individuals already scientifically augmented.
However, there is a slight problem.
Ewan’s life is in danger and therefore he hires the best security money can buy – Nina Bronson. Is this not a contradiction of all that he believes in and stands for?
On arrival, it is clear that Nina and Ewan are not going to get along. In her mind, Nina sees Ewan as ‘…a closed-minded bigot who stood in the way of her mental – and physical – survival’. Yet, her job is to protect him, putting herself in harm’s way if necessary in order to save his life.
Ewan doesn’t like being told what to do. He dislikes the around-the-clock surveillance; the fact that she has placed a second bed in his room, the fact that he cannot eat or work alone and the fact that he cannot use the bathroom in peace are things that he is struggling with. Surely, someone does not need to be present whilst someone else is on the toilet – however, Nina is unmoveable.
There is real tension in the house, they clearly do not like one another and yet there is something there. Something that neither of them will admit to, not even to themselves and it is not until Ewan’s life is put on the line and they have to go into hiding that their true feelings rise to the surface.
It is only then that we uncover the truth, why Ewan despises the technology. It is also at this point that we begin to see a different side to this arrogant, wealthy man, and perhaps it is not just Nina’s heart that begins to thaw.
Dangerous Promise is extremely well thought out. It is a novel about a future world where supplies are short (imagine living without coffee and real meat), where plagues, cold wars and hackers have helped to destroy the world and people are now living in a very different way. To come up with such a concept is admirable, but to be able to write as if you are living it and making it believable to the audience is a skill that Megan Hart has. Sadly, who knows what the future may hold and I may have just read something that in some way does predict what may take place in years to come.
In the beginning, I did feel that the characters were quite shallow however you do need to keep reading to find out more about what makes them tick, what they believe in and how they have reached this point. It is one of those books that took me until the very end to buy into the lead characters only to have them taken away from me again.
I said at the beginning of this review that I was unsure whether I enjoyed reading it. For me, I wanted an action-packed book that would lead to a bit of romance, what I wasn’t expecting were the sex scenes that begun to appear quite frequently towards the end. I did think that in a way it detracted from the action element I wanted but it did help the characters to evolve. It helped me to develop a sense of remorse when things later went horribly wrong. It also led to me wanting to read more – I want to know what happens next? Do they survive? Will they work things out? Will they end up regretting their actions and go back to hating one another?
The fantastic thing is that unlike many other series where we have to wait months if not years (Yes, George R.R. Martin I am thinking of you here), the next installment is due out on February 6th so not long to wait to find out what happens next.
Would I recommend this book to others? Personally, I liked it, but it is aimed at a certain reader. I have some friends who would absolutely love this and others who would question my sanity. I suppose this happens with any book but for some reason, this one I feel more fiercely about.
It is one of those books that would suit anyone who likes E.L. James, Sylvia Day and C.C. Gibbs.
Megan Hart
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