Off the Edge a gritty, sexy romantic suspense spy novel!

I brought this Carolyn Crane out from the depths of my unread Kindle collection, a book I purchased who knows how long ago on the recommendation from someone. Sorry, it is all a bit fuzzy. I don't typically like romance covers with guns on them but I am also a sucker for a thigh holster so don't @ me. I am always so-so with Romantic Suspense because it is hard to find ones that meet the perfect balance of action and romance for me. Off the Edge skewed a bit over the line into too much action for my personal reading tastes, but I enjoyed reading it. CWs: violence, so much violence (guns, physical, rape mentioned and threatened, domestic abuse), medical gore, gas lighting, on-page torture. I loved the concept of a buttoned up linguistics professor who turned into a spy/secret agent/assassin after his family and wife were brutally murdered. He uses his education to pin point where bad actors could be from, narrowing down who they could be based on their speech patterns, dialect, and use of words. VERY intriguing concept and well done here. Laney, on the run from her awful abusive ex, is hiding in Thailand and moonlighting as a lounge singer where she encounters Macmillan. She thinks he's been hired to bring her back, but he's actually on the hunt for an unknown bad person who is trying to sell a top secret super lethal drone. Of course their paths converge and they finally instantly into lust and then are on the run together, danger bang! I won't spoil the rest of the plot, but it is definitely OTT. The parts with Laney and Macmillan bantering and explaining their pasts sparkle, I just wish there was more danger banging and less torture/fighting/violence. A bit insta-lusty/lovey for me too, and Laney is really trustworthy of too many people considering her past. Also there's a magic penis! Laney has never orgasmed with a partner before, I mean, abusive horrible husband so yes I get that, but of course she is able to come more than once with Macmillan their very first time. I wish this was handled more sensitively or not a plot point at all.

This was a good book, but not as good as I expected after reading so many great reviews about the story. The male lead is a spy who does most of his work as a linguistic expert, analyzing language to determine who the person is that his organization is looking for and finding guilty parties. The book was obviously well researched, but the amount of time that is spent explaining the linguistic aspects of the story become a distraction and slow the story down in places. Also, the main female character frequently resists doing things that she knows are right because she is too cautious. Her choices make her a hard character to like.