REVIEW: Danger, Sweetheart by MaryJanice Davidson

In Danger, Sweetheart by MaryJanice Davidson, Blake thought he was helping out his mother’s hometown by paying mortgages of failing farms and ranches off, but it turns out he was doing more harm than good. As a result, his mother summons him to Sweetheart, North Dakota, in order to work on the last struggling ranch so he could make amends to the townspeople.

Natalie can’t believe that Blake’s motives are pure when he strides into town. As a result, she poses as the ranch forewoman and shows him the ropes at Heartbreak. The more time she spends with him, the more she realizes he really is trying to help and that he’s not a threat to the struggling town.

There’s a note at the beginning of the story in which the author states that she wanted to write a romance novel “that pays respect to romance novels.” As a result, she mashed a bunch of tropes together in this one. In fact, she actually provides a list at the end of the book that includes all 46 tropes she used. While I understood what she was trying to do, it felt, at times, like there was too much squeezed into this book.

I had a hard time with the writing style in this one. One second we’re reading about the character, then suddenly a thought the character is having is interjected, and then it switches back again. Here is an example:

He hobbled into the small bathroom just off the stairs, hands pressed to the small of his back
(so this is why the elderly often walk this way! It’s the only way to curtail the agony, that and an IV full of morphine),
and groaned at his reflection.
(kill it! kill it with fire! and make it brush its hair) and found even the muscles in his fingers had been affected.==
Or this one, when Blake was dealing with an irritable pony:

A snort. Margaret of Anjou tossed her head, trotted toward him, and when he stretched out a hand
(it’ll be fine if she chomps, it’s not my dominant hand)
she promptly turned and scooted the other way.

Other people might be ok with this style but, for me, it made the book hard to read at times.

I also didn’t understand why Blake thought his twin, Rake, was so bad. He keeps calling him terrible, making sure everyone knew his thoughts, but there’s no real reason given as to why Blake felt that way.

“Because Rake is terrible?” she guessed.
“Yes! See, you know me, too.”
“No, you just say that a lot. Half the town knows Rake is terrible.”
“The entire town should know.” She couldn’t tell if Blake was serious or not. “They need to be warned that Venice Douche is at loose in the world.”
“Trust me, it’s common knowledge all over Sweetheart that Rake is terrible.”

There were some humorous moments, but at other times it felt like the humor was forced and didn’t really work. The way Blake spoke was much more formal than all the other characters in the book which felt out of place, considering neither his mother or brother spoke that way. I also didn’t really feel the chemistry between Blake and Natalie. Were they attracted to each other? Yes, but I didn’t really feel like it was more than that.

If you’re interested in reading a book that has a mashup of a lot of romance tropes, Danger, Sweetheart would be for you. Unfortunately, as a whole, the book just didn’t work for me.

Book Info:

 May 10, 2016 | St. Martin’s Griffin |

Blake Tarbell has a town to save. Rich, carefree, and used to the Vegas party lifestyle, Blake is thrown for a curve when his former cocktail-waitress mother pleads he go back to her roots to save the town she grew up in. Blake’s used to using money to solve his problems, but when he arrives in Sweetheart, North Dakota, this city boy has to trade in his high-priced shoes for a pair of cowboy boots…and he’s about to get a little help from the loveliest lady in town…

Natalie Lane’s got no time for newbies. The prettiest gal to ever put on a pair of work gloves, there’s nothing she can’t do to keep a farm up and running. But when a handsome city-slicker rolls into town with nothing but bad farmer’s instincts and good intentions, Natalie’s heartstrings are pulled. She’s about to teach him a thing or two about how to survive in Sweetheart. And he’s about to teach her a thing or two about love…