Jake's Pride by B.J. Strong

The last thing Sara remembered was her divorce. The resulting pain and confusion convinced her she would never allow another man to get close to her again. Jake wanted nothing to do with women after being so badly scarred from his run-in with the woman he had first chosen as his unlikely and inappropriate mate, especially because he had lost his only son in the battle.
　
When these two stubborn people are thrown together by dangerous circumstances, it is not only the sparks that fly, but also the bullets. Charged with protecting Sara from a madman, Jake finds himself attracted to the vulnerable yet powerful woman just as she finds herself drawn to this gentle giant. Will they be able to heal each other, or will their independent natures and willful personalities keep apart these two who are destined to be together?
　
Written by B.J. Strong, Jake's Pride is a romance sprinkled with action and drama that honestly had me tethered to the pages, anxious to find out what the author would add in to the story, next. Because I was so engrossed, I found myself finishing the reading of this book in a few hours. As I continued to read, I kept thinking to myself that the male protagonist, the love interest in the story, is more of a villain than the actual villain that the author had written into the storyline.
　
Sara, the female protagonist, has survived an attack that killed her ex-husband and left her in a coma. Since she survived, she was put into protective custody. Enter Jake McKenna, a rough and rowdy man who hates women and believes them all to be liars and "guilty" of something. He's the one who is to watch over and protect Sara.
　
Sara was one of the weakest female characters I have read, loving a man who is in every respect a terrible person, and not even finding the strength within herself to fight for her child, or her other children. Jake, he is supposed to be a wounded man, one that is commonly found in romance novels, and is one that the female interest has to "heal". But, I believe Strong went way overboard with this character because he is incredibly cruel, downright raping Sara at one point and making her wet herself from fear in another. But, all the while, he is supposed to harbor some type of intense love for her, but a love that he doesn't want to admit? Seriously? By the time it came to the point where he tried to force her to bend to his will by giving her no other choice, I hated the man. I saw in him every manipulative, abusive, and otherwise evil P.O.S. that I've ever had the misfortune to come across, and I couldn't believe what I was reading was meant to be a "romance".
　
As harsh as that sounded, I did also find several things to enjoy in this book. I do like the way the story flowed, and it kept me tied to the pages, wanting to read more, especially about the villains. The villains in this book are incredibly evil, which makes for a good read, but I wish they were in the story more than the few passages they were talked about. There are also several steamy sex scenes, for those who enjoy that, though some may be a little disturbing for some readers. In all, it was a decent read, just one where I didn't care for either of the two main characters, and a book where I was silently begging the female to run far away from the male and never look back.
　
3 Stars
　
You can buy Jake's Pride here at the Dorrance e-store.
　
I received a complimentary copy of (Jake's Pride) as a member of the
Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com
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