REVIEW: Dare to Run (The Sons of Steel Row #1)

Dare to Run (The Sons of Steel Row #1), by Jen McLaughlin
Publish Date: February 2, 2016
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Format: ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: adult suspense romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 4 STARS

(Synopsis) Lucas Donahue is not ashamed of his criminal past, but after a brief stint in prison, he’s ready to go legit and live a normal life. The problem is, no one leaves the gang without permission—even if he is one of the boss’s top men. Plus someone’s placed a hit on him. And then there’s that feisty little bartender who’s going to cause him even more trouble.

Heidi Greene knows to keep her distance from a ladies’ man like Lucas—even if she can’t keep her eyes off him. When he rescues her from an attack in the alley outside her bar, she’s forced to stay by his side for safety. But the longer she spends time with him, the greater her chances are for getting hurt in more ways than one.

Dare to Run is the first in a new, gritty series by Jen McLaughlin about the mean streets of Boston and the gangs who run them. 

Lucas Donahue is a bad boy. No really - he's a bad. Boy. After working his way up the ranks of Boston's Sons of Steel Row gang, he ended up in jail for two years. Now he's back to his old ways - running guns and meting out violence when the need calls for it. 

Like when he has to save the pretty lady who runs his favorite bar's bacon. 

Independent and fierce Heidi Greene is my favorite kind of heroine. She's bold and brave and doesn't need anyone. She's learned to fight for what she wants and to stand up for what she believes in. I love strong women. I love women who could live by themselves and be happy that way, but when the right man comes along, they're woman enough to admit that they're better when they're with him. Heidi is like that. 

Lucas isn't the guy she would've picked for herself. He's in a gang, and he's domineering and controlling. But, he is also keeping her alive after saving her from rival gang members, and she can admit that she needs him. And hey - if they give into the carnal pleasures they both are feeling while waiting for the heat to die down, all the better, right? Lucas might be overbearing, but he's still super hot. 

I really loved Dare to Run. It was dark and dangerous and sexy. I didn't see any way for Lucas and Heidi to end up together, which really kept me guessing. There was the question of how they could possibly work out all the roadblocks so that they could have their HEA, and then there was also the question of who was trying to kill Lucas and why. And what role Heidi played in it. It kept me guessing for the entire book. At the end, it was one crazy revelation after another, and there was no way I was putting it down for anything. 

I can't wait for the next book in this series. I think Dare to Run was an incredible start, and if the rest of the books planned are anything like this one, I'm all in.