Warren (Falling for the Beast) combines hot love scenes and suspense of questionable plausibility in this erotic romantic thriller, the first of a planned trilogy. Violin prodigy Samantha Brooks was placed into the custody of former soldier Liam North at the age of 12, after her ambassador-turned-spy father’s sudden death, which orphaned her. Liam is 16 years Samantha’s senior and the owner of a successful security business in Texas’s Hill Country. By the time Samantha is about to turn 18, Liam is also desperately fighting his attraction to her, seeing her as forbidden fruit. Samantha reciprocates his feelings, but is afraid to show it—until he walks in on her pleasuring herself. Warren ratchets up the heat and sexual tension as she weaves in hints of danger for Samantha, including a nefarious driver who tries to force her off the road and ends up dead. Both the suspense plot and the several subplots (including a pervy high school coach threatening a minor character, the slow revelation of how Samantha became placed in Liam’s home, and the details of Liam’s abusive childhood) are uneven in places. However, Warren’s tortured, honorable hero will break even the hardest of hearts. The story ends on a cliffhanger of dubious believability, but Warren’s sympathetic characters and sizzling love scenes will likely inspire dedicated erotic romance fans to tune in for the next installment. (BookLife)