Book Review: "Trauma Alert" by Radclyffe

Trauma Alert is the first in Radclyffe’s new series, First Responders. Dr. Ali Torveau is a trauma doctor in a Philadelphia hospital while Beau Cross is a firefighter and a first responder with the Fire Department. When the two meet for the first time, sparks fly. Ali, however, senses a danger and vows to stay away from the overtly sexy firefighter. Beau’s partner bets her that she won’t be able to even get a date with the beautiful doctor. Beau accepts the bet rather than let Bobby know how much the doctor has gotten under skin. Beau cockily tells Ali that they won’t have sex until after the sixth date, which is fine with Ali since she has no intention of dating the firefighter even once.

Such is the attraction between the two women that Ali could “sense [Beau’s] presence like a heat signature flaring against a backdrop of shadows.” Try as she might, Ali can’t ignore Beau and her own growing attraction and need for the other woman. The dance between them continues until Ali is wounded by a gunman hunting for his wife in the ER. Beau stays with the doctor that night and Ali lets down her guard. Eventually, Ali realizes she’s falling in love with Beau and backs away. Beau is devastated, but understands that she can’t force Ali to love her back. When Beau’s life is at risk in a hostage situation, Ali realizes how stupid she’s been to deny the love she feels for the first responder. She only hopes it’s not too late.

Readers are going to love this series if the rest of it is like Trauma Alert. This book is hard to put down and it will sizzle in the reader’s hand as she reads it. The characters are hot, the sex scenes explicit and explosive, and the book is moved along by an interesting plot with well drawn secondary characters. The real star of this show is the attraction between the two characters both of whom resist and then fall head over heels into it.

Book Review: Desire by Starlight - Radclyffe

Jenna Hardy, who is best-selling romance writer Cassandra Hart, has managed to overcome a childhood full of abuse and poverty. She has life under control, with no intention of letting go of the reins. In the middle of a signing tour, however, her life begins to spin out of control. After a fainting episode, she is told by an ER doctor that she must reduce her stress, begin to eat more than junk food and caffein, and slow down.

Gardner Davis, coroner and veterinarian in rural Vermont, calls Jenna to tell her that a distant relative has died and Jenna is the dead woman’s only heir. Reluctantly, Jenna agrees to go to Little Falls to deal with her relative’s estate. Jenna feels the tug of attraction for the handsome vet who is hiding a past that nearly destroyed her. While she is in the small town, Jenna reluctantly begins to see her life for what it is and what it isn’t. Gard, like Jenna, thinks she has her life under control.

Both women have told themselves so often that they don’t need anyone in their lives that they’ve come to believe it - right up to the point in time when they meet.

Little does Jenna know that a trip to a small town will change her life, and Gard’s, in unimaginable ways.

Radclyffe spins a tale of discovery and, of course, romance. Fans of Radclyffe won’t be disappointed by this outing - there is romance and lots of sex. However, the storyline of two strong women discovering what life has to offer, that change isn’t always awful, and that letting someone in isn’t always a disaster is diminished by the emphasis on the love scenes, which are plentiful, explicit, and seem to overwhelm the story. Radclyffe is a strong writer and her characters are, as always, interesting.