Rating: 4.5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


For Bill, working for Christopher Manos has given him a second chance in every way that matters. After being offered up as the sacrificial lamb by his prior boss, Bill should be dead. Instead, he works for a man he admires, and the irrepressible Snow, Manos’ husband, has become Bill’s best friend. But when an old enemy starts to make threats against Christopher and Snow, Bill is given the dangerous job of removing the enemy. Permanently. His partner in the planned assassination is Mace, a pro in the massacring department.

Bill and Mace loathe one another and working together in close quarters isn’t something either of them are looking forward to. But as wariness gives way to desire, Bill and Mace find themselves torn between caring for one another and finishing the task at hand. Bill knows that no matter what, he must protect Christopher and Snow, but doing so might cost him everything, including Mace.

A Dangerous Dance is the third in the Haven Hart universe, behind Snow Falling and Hug It Out. Despite thoroughly enjoying Snow Falling, I was less impressed with Hug It Out. So I wasn’t sure what to expect with A Dangerous Dance and what I got is a great romance and some really conflicting acts of violence. We’ve met Bill and Mace before and throughout this book we learn the truth of their troubled pasts and gain a greater insight into what drives them forward. They’re a good couple, not exactly cuddly and soft, but I wouldn’t expect two stone cold killers to be filled with the warm fuzzies. They’re rough and violent men who have a strange but powerful sense of loyalty to one another and their employers. They fit one another and if their romance is far from traditional, then that suits them as well.

I don’t mind violence and I enjoy a morally dubious MC. But Bill and especially Mace go a step beyond morally dubious to become flat out hardcore criminals. When we meet Mace, he’s killing an innocent man simply he because can. He claims he has to, but it’s all very suspect. He and Bill both end up killing innocent people and Mace has zero empathy regarding their actions, which makes it a little hard to root for them as a couple. I want my books to be realistic, but I also want to like the main characters and Mace makes that really hard at times. Bill is less cold hearted and while that doesn’t stay his hand when killing is required, at least it made it easier for me to see past some of his harsher aspects. This was my biggest difficulty with the book and especially during the early chapters, I wrestled back and forth with my feelings about both men and their actions.

A Dangerous Dance is better than Hug it Out and it feels like a closer return to Snow Falling. The writing is crisp, clean, and evocative. Bill and Mace are an engaging couple, but it can be hard to truly connect with either man given the nature of their work and their icy coolness. Still, this in line with the rest of the series and I give the author credit for making Bill and Mace tough as nails. It would have been easier to soften them and the author stuck to their guns. Consider this one recommended!

sue sig