This review was first posted on http://www.rubysreads.com 
 Technically, I'd give this book two and three-quarter stars. 
 Lori Foster is know the world of Romance over for her uber-macho heroes, and Dare Macintosh is certainly no exception. He sweeps into heroine Molly Alexander's life and rescues her from the kidnappers who have been holding her hostage and subjecting her to long days of torture. That he hadn't been in Mexico to rescue Molly, but his friend, Trace's sister Alani, makes no difference to Dare. He's a Lori Foster heroine, and protectiveness comes with the territory. That Molly turns out to be brave, smart, and--once she gets cleaned up--downright attractive, is all just a bonus. When it becomes clear that Molly's kidnapping wasn't as simple as a woman being sold into white slavery (I know, right?), Dare agrees to act as Molly's bodyguard, and to figure out who is behind the whole thing. 
 I'm generally wary of post-kidnapping romances, and When You Dare brings up two of the reasons why this is so. I tend to think that the heroine needs more time to recover from the traumas of abduction, starvation and torture, before she can become intimate with the hero. Also, Foster went out of her way to make Molly's kidnapping as terrible as it could be without adding rape to the equation. She has to do this, or the romance would never work. But--it's not easy to make it believable that the kidnappers would avoid this particular degradation when they are so willing to perform other ones (i.e., forcing women into the sex trade). Don't get me wrong--I have no special interest in heroines who have been sexually assaulted--but it's just plain bad writing to have her escape it on flimsy grounds in order to make the romance work. 
 Another issue I had with this novel is that I'm not that fond of mercenaries. The idea of men who have made their fortunes through the misfortunes of others doesn't sit well with me. I'm not sure where the honor is in that. When the novel starts, Dare has become quite wealthy from his past as a mercenary, and he can help others for free if he chooses to. However, that that could not always have been the case. Dare rescued people in exchange for payment. While there's nothing wrong with that, there isn't anything particularly honorable in it, either. Just sayin'. 
 A third problem I had with this book was Molly's detestable ex. When an ex-boyfriend is as bad as Molly's was, it reflects more on her than on him, in a way. I'll buy that he was a materialistic jerk, and a lousy boyfriend, but when he shows up at Molly's apartment with the intention of having a one-night stand in her bed, that takes slimy past the level of believability. Why was Molly with this creep in the first place. If a guy I'd dated was truly that much of a jerk, it would be worth taking a good, long look at myself, and question how I failed to notice in the first place. 
 Finally, I was confused about the villain's motives. I didn't really see how the villain's plan was supposed to achieve its goal, and I could have thought of a zillion more effective ways of doing so. I can't say too much about this without being spoilerish, so I better shut up while I'm ahead. Truthfully, I found the suspense a little weak and manufactured, and the conclusion a tad eye-rolling. 
 The flip side of all these criticisms is that I don't think I was halfway through When You Dare before I was searching the net for the descriptions of books two and three. I want to read them. Trace's book is next--it's already on order from NetGalley--and I feverishly read through the last half of When You Dare, crossing my fingers in the hope of meeting the hero of book three. I already know that Trace's sister, Alani, will be Jackson Savor's heroine, but I want to see them a bit, before their time comes. My very eagerness to read this series tells me that Foster has the ability to satisfy romantic side--if not my intellectual one. And I do have one, thank you very much.