Pamela Clare - Extreme Exposure

It's been years since her child's father dumped her, and since then Kara McMillan has kept men at bay - although every day she aches more for a lover's touch. But to get that, the hard-boiled journalist must become vulnerable - a feeling she vowed never to have again.
With his dangerous good looks, charm, and power, Senator Reece Sheridan could have just about any woman he sets his piercing eyes on. But he's intrigued by only one. This Kara, this gutsy investigative reporter, has a sensuality that arouses him to no end. If she's a firebrand in print, he guesses, she must be just as fiery in bed...
But this is no fling. A sudden political scandal - and attempts on Kara's life - could very well drive them apart. Or maybe, just maybe, adversity could draw them into a bond even more intense than their steamy sexual embraces.

Comment: I have had this book in the pile for years, and I was quite decided to give it a try after seeing the positive opinions of some friends, but it has been staying behind... until now, when I finally added it to my monthly list.

In this book we meet heroine Kara McMillan, a journalist who writes mostly exposure pieces. She is a single mother and her life has been pretty good, even though the father of her child isn't in the picture. Then, at the same time she received an anonymous tip about a shady business she feels like could turn out to be a good piece, she meets senator Reece Sheridan outside of a professional situation and they seem to hit it off. Now Kara has two new situations going on in her life and both can be a step to make her life even better... or not, for someone isn't happy about her investigation and they might even use the senator to force her to reconsider. Will Kara be able to do her job before something bad happens?

This book was published in 2005 and it does remind me a little of other books published around the late 90s and early 2000s which I've read too. I mean, stories that don't seem to have the polish of today and follow a certain style... I admit I cannot truly pinpoint what makes me think this, but if one were to compare this book to one written in the 2010s there are already details that seem different. Perhaps the third person narrative helps, when so many romances nowadays have first person... but it isn't only that.

The story is simple but with a lot going on, which makes it feel busier. Kara is investigating a possible corrupt situation and she thinking about dating again, now her boy is four years old and has a little more autonomy. Her work is very important and demanding and we do get to see her struggle here and there to be both a dedicated journalist, always doing her best to do what it takes - we even get to see her defending herself and her work to her boss when she feels he might be accusing her of not being ambitious enough at work - and also a mother who is there for her son.

In this regard, it becomes obvious Kara loves her son and tries to put him first, but I felt the focus wasn't as much on this because of the romance. I think that if this was woman's fiction for instance, perhaps this situation would have be pushed even further, but it is easy to see how much of a conflict it was for Kara (and any mother who also works). Since a lot is set on the romance too, this situation isn't as complex as it might have been.

The plot is pretty basic, Kara investigates  a shady situation, the ones in power involved don't want her exposing the subject, they threaten her and at some point bad situations happen. The author wasn't very graphic about this but for a romance novel some of the details did seem dire. As one can imagine, Kara is successful in her work and she is able to expose the guilty parties for what have done. In the midst of all this, the senator who she is seeing is also involved, and at some point he is also taking charge of certain issues, which means he is caught in the plan the bad guys have to dispose of those causing him trouble. This felt very cinematographic but it was done well enough, I'd say. 

The romance wasn't as boldly done as I imagined (even considering the cover) and there does seem to exist a certain calm in how everything is done... not that I mind how the author managed this, but I confess I did expect something more romantic or so encompassing between them that nothing else but a love story between them would be acceptable. I liked them individually and I liked as a couple but I can't say their romance will be as memorable as my favorites in other romance books I've read.

The epilogue was sweet and cute as one would expect. I'm not yet certain I'll want to read the other books but perhaps I can think about it for next year...

Grade: 7/10