Tiana Lambrose, a 21-year-old LDS woman from Malibu, is studying entomology at UC Riverside.  When she captures a bee that has been engineered to kill, she brings in the first real clue to what is happening with the insects.  No one knows who has the money, technology, and motive to create such a thing.  But Tiana vows to figure it out.  With the help of FBI agent Stu Whiteleather by her side, she continues the professors' research.  The closer she gets to the truth, though, the closer she's coming to sharing her professors' fate.  Can Stu keep her safe?  Or is she, too, destined to die from the silent and deadly sting of a killer insect?

Remember what I said about LDS romantic thrillers?  Namely, that they're not my favorite?  Well, Silent Sting by Clair M. Poulson is an excellent example of why.  I've been hesitating to write this post because contrary to popular belief, I don't actually enjoy writing negative reviews.  Especially about books written by nice old men.  But, I have to be honest—Silent Sting is a mess.  Not only is the plot confusing, but the prose is dull and the characters are cardboard stereotypes.  Poor editing makes thing even more befuddling (is Tiana's surname Lambrose or Lambert?  Is her dad Lloyd or Connor?).  Although I appreciate the fact that Silent Sting is a clean "thriller," I just found it boring, confusing, and difficult to slog through.  I had to force myself to finish it.  Considering LDS romantic thrillers aren't high on my list of favorite genres, I really

Jack is no 007.  She cashiers at Forever 21, for heaven's sake!  Still, when Agent Damon Wade asks her to help with the case of a local woman who went missing after meeting several men from Eter-knit-ty, Jack can't say no.  Scoping out potential killers is way more exciting than writing essays for English lit—even if she doesn't get to drive a sleek Bondmobile.  Jack's survived countless bad dates.  What's a few more?  Especially if her sacrifice helps the FBI find out what happened to Natalie Paul.  At the very least she'll get some free food out of the deal.  

As Jack meets with the men who also asked Natalie out, she realizes just how desperate the singles scene in Utah Valley really is.  She's been bored to death, groped by a human octopus, suffered the side effects of a major sugar coma, and still, she's no closer to finding out what happened to Natalie.  Sure, Damon's annoying, buttoned-up personality is growing on her, but that's a relationship that's clearly going nowhere.  

Jack's convinced the mission's a total bust until she, herself, is threatened.  With the FBI now determined to pull her off the case, Jack has to up her spy game and find Natalie before she, too, vanishes off the face of the earth.  If she wasn't convinced before, now she's certain—dating can be murder.  

You've probably noticed by now that LDS romantic suspense does not top my list of favorite genres.  Despite the number of such novels that are published every year, I've yet to come across one that feels even a little bit realistic.  Too often, they're not just ridiculously far-fetched but terribly written as well.  Biased as I am, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from A Date With Danger, a debut novel by Kari Iroz.  The generic Sandra Bullock-y cover didn't bode well for what was inside.  And yet, I was pleasantly surprised by the story.  Not because the tale is super realistic (it isn't) but because it's light, funny, and more entertaining than I expected it to be.  The novel doesn't take itself too seriously—it's more rom-com than mystery/thriller.  Unapologetic about it, too.  I liked that as well as the lighthearted fun-poking at LDS dating culture (which, thankfully, I never had to suffer much through).  These things make the novel entertaining, even when Jack and her adventures get a little too absurd.  Sure, I saw the big reveal coming from several miles away, but still, A Date With Danger remained a fun, satisfying read throughout.  To my great surprise, I quite enjoyed it.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence and mild sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of A Date With Danger from the generous folks at Covenant Communications.  Thank you!

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Want more opinions about A Date With Danger?  Check out the other stops on the book's blog tour:

June 27th: http://katiescleanbookcollection.blogspot.com/, http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com/

June 28th: http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com/, http://www.rockinbookreviews.com/, http://bonnieharris.blogspot.com/

June 29th: http://www.singinglibrarianbooks.com/index.html, http://heidi-reads.blogspot.com/, http://www.wishfulendings.com/

June 30th: http://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com/, http://literarytimeout.blogspot.com/, http://melsshelves.blogspot.com/, http://empowermoms.net/

July 1st: http://mybookaday.blogspot.com/, http://littlelightdesigncollective.com/, http://www.blogginboutbooks.com/, http://booksaresanity.blogspot.com/

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