Review: Getting Rowdy (Love Undercover #3) – Lori Foster

Getting Rowdy by Lori Foster
Series: Love Undercover #3
Published by Harlequin on 24 September 2013
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense
Pages: 448
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Buy on Amazon | |

An alpha hero's attraction to the one woman he can't have could draw him into a killer's snare in the sizzling new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster

Charismatic bar owner Rowdy Yates isn't the kind of man women say no to. So when he approaches waitress Avery Mullins, he fully expects to get her number. However, the elusive beauty has her reasons for keeping her distance—including a past that might come back to haunt them both.

Avery spends her nights working for tips…and trying to forget the secret Rowdy is determined to unearth. But when history threatens to repeat itself, Avery grows to rely on Rowdy's protective presence. As the sparks between them ignite, she will be forced to choose between the security she's finally found…and the passion she's always wanted.

*I received a free ARC of Getting Rowdy from Harlequin via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.*

Getting Rowdy is a sinfully delicious romantic mystery/suspense that I devoured in one day! Avery is a really good female character and Rowdy is smoking hot, kind of a womanizer but so protective of the people he cares about it’s impossible not to love him. At the beginning, I really didn’t think there was going to be much of a future for Avery and Rowdy, because they are so different. For Rowdy, a good night means trying to bed Avery, and when she refuses, he finds a replacement – for one night only. For Avery, a good night means having enough work, and trying not to ogle Rowdy too much while he is flirting with the female patrons of his bar.

Very soon, it is clear to the readers, and to Rowdy as well, that there just may be more to Avery than what meets the eye. When she gets a strange phone call at Getting Rowdy, she acts scared, and even if things are a little bit iffy between them, Rowdy manages to convince her to let him drive her home, and he is stunned to see that she lives in a pretty bad part of town, and that she usually takes the bus to get there. This is also when we all see Rowdy fight for the first time, even if it’s over very fast, and he meets a young guy who is acting as neighbourhood watch.

The cast of characters in Getting Rowdy is really great, and the characters are all more than just card-board, even the characters who only say a few lines seem very real, and it truly is a pleasure to read about them all. I fell in love with both Rowdy and Avery, they are strong for different reasons, and both have pretty thick walls around themselves to avoid ever getting hurt. Only, neither realize that those walls might also keep love at bay, not only hurt. As the story progresses, the sexual tension grows so much it’s possible to touch it – yes, really! – and the way Avery and Rowdy tease each other is so well done. I was smirking and fanning myself at the same time in several places while reading.

Both the relationships and the suspense were expertly done, I could feel how Avery became more afraid, and how she didn’t really want Rowdy to worry about her. At the same time, she was always worrying about him, and didn’t want him to get hurt because of her. Rowdy’s big heart got to me in such a way he’s among my all-time favorite alpha male characters now. The way he was able to deal with a terrified little boy, how he treated his sister, and his relationship with Avery all portrayed a man who would do anything to make sure the people around him were doing well.

If you want to read a romance that is not all about the fluff – but that definitely has some scorching fluff anyway – you need to get your hands on Getting Rowdy! I know the rest of the Love Undercover series has moved way up on my TBR shelf thanks to the writing, the showing, the suspense, the characters and the romance.

She couldn’t play with him without getting burned. She couldn’t indulge him without risking a broken heart.

He studied her, his attention far too intuitive. “You know I have a younger sister.” And that explained his need to fight? On day, Avery would love to meet Pepper.

He stepped out, and there she stood beside the turned-down bed, her hair freshly brushed, her clothes gone in place of his soft cotton T-shirt. He’d known it would swim on her, but he hadn’t counted on the enticing way it draped over her every curve, or how the wide neck exposed one shoulder. Or how possessive he felt seeing her in it.

“Okay.” She pressed back. “I need to wash up anyway.” “Make yourself at home.” The words left his mouth, and he froze. Jesus, he couldn’t believe he’d just said that, or that he really wanted her to be at ease. Her mouth twitched. “You look like that hurt more than the knife wound.”

Instead of using that as an excuse to become a creep himself, he’d gone the opposite direction and was a true hero, a remarkable, caring man.

 

 

Subscribe to Blog via Email