Review: Renegade by Jeanne McDonald

by Sarah Reads - 7:00 PM

A chance meeting between a rookie cop and a common criminal.

An unforeseen circumstance. An instant attraction. A magnetic connection.

Tattooed, pierced, and foul-mouthed, she can’t help but be drawn to him.

Two people entirely wrong for one another, yet so perfectly right.

When their worlds collide, Lucy Diamond will learn the true meaning of love and sacrifice as she embarks on the road of no return with bad boy, Jude Wallace.

Like a thief in the night, love will take them both by surprise.

Deep brown eyes gazed back at Lucy. He stared at her, almost as if he somehow knew her. But that was impossible. She’d never seen this man before in her life, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity.

She took a step closer to him. His short brown hair was ruffled from the fight. He had the most perfect pair of lips she’d ever seen on a man. Her eyes drifted down from his face. His hoodie, now partially unzipped, revealed a ripped black T-shirt underneath. Intense color played peek-a-boo from beneath the ripped fabric. Her eyes followed the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed, swirling around the tattoo that circled his neck. She wondered how far his ink spread over his body. A half-smile formed on her lips as she imagined investigating every inch of him to find hidden treasures. The thought surprised her. This man was not her usual type. Just by the looks of him, she could tell he was trouble.

She trembled from head to toe as the adrenaline pumped through her veins, but managed to hold the gun steady. “Now,” she demanded in a harsh, ragged tone, “tell me what happened here.”

A cocky smirk twisted his mouth. “Let me see your badge first?”

“Excuse me?”

“You say you’re a cop, but how do I know you’re really not some a psycho with a gun?”

Lucy shoved her hand down her back pocket, pulled out her badge, and flashed it at him without lowering her gun. “Satisfied?”

Jude shook his head. “Nope. I didn’t catch your name, Officer…?”

“Diamond,” Lucy responded.

“Do you have a first name?”

Lucy rolled her eyes at him, shoving her badge back into her pocket. She had to fight the urge to laugh. For the first time since the shooting, she felt something more than emptiness. This strange man had reawakened her soul with his fearless attitude. Just the sound of his deep voice made her tingle all over. She blinked several times, forcing herself to meet his eyes rather than stare at what she imagined were the world’s most kissable lips.

He slowly dropped his hand and wiped away the blood trickling over his swollen eye.

“You can put the gun down, Officer Diamond. I give you my word that I’m not going anywhere.”

Lucy snorted through her nose. “You expect me to believe you after you just tried to take on a man twice your size?”

He shrugged his shoulders. His cocky expression oozed of pride that he’d taken on the beast and lived to tell the tale. “You gotta give me props for being scrappy, yeah?”

Lucy dropped her head back and laughed. It was a strong, solid laugh, and it felt wonderful. Slipping her gun into the holster behind her back, she knelt down in front of him, balancing herself on the balls of her feet. She pulled a tissue from her pocket, lifting it toward the gash over his eyebrow. He nodded once, giving her permission to assist him.

“My name’s Lucy. Now, what’s your name, and can you tell me what happened here?”

“I’m Jude, and what happened here tonight is that I saved your life,” he stated with confidence.

Coming: August 28,2014 as part of Branded: A Bad Boy Anthology

I give this story five out of five glorious hearts!

This story was HOT, sexy, and full of suspense! Author Jeanne McDonald never ceases to amaze me! Her ability to paint a picture so vivid you feel as if you are walking alongside her characters is one of the many reasons I love her stories. There were parts I felt I was right there with Lucy Diamond and Jude Wallace. From the opening scene I was perched at the end of my chair.

So, what happens when the law collides with a high end car thief? You get a fast paced short story packed full of surprises!

Rookie cop Lucy Diamond has law enforcement in her blood. She is the poster child for an over achieving daughter trying to please her father. Her father Detective Max Diamond had high expectations for his little girl. Lucy is all law enforcement from the moment she graduates from the academy. That is until her world crashes unexpectedly one night with bad boy himself Jude Wallace.

Jude Wallace is the SEXY as sin tatted playboy. He know exactly what a woman wants and just how to have them begging for more. He was the typical one night or stand kind of guy. Never really wanting a repeat performance, ever! He had more important things to do. He was a high end car thief who had become employed by the dangerous Mr. Long.

The moment these two meet it is high intensity roller coaster ride. And I loved every second of it. From the drama, suspense, and hot steamy scenes Author Jeanne McDonald brought it all to the table.

This story would not be complete without Jude’s best friend Ryker. He is funny as hell and an airhead taboot. His one liners and sheer blondness made me chuckle.

Jeanne McDonald began telling stories at the ripe young age of five, when her mother considered the truth to be a lie due to her extensive embellishment to the retelling of an event. She wrote her first short story when she was twelve years old, and at the age of sixteen she tried her hand at poetry. She reconnected with her love for writing in 2010 thanks to the encouragement of a dear friend.

Her passions include a "mild" Starbucks addiction, music, reading, quotes, movies, and romance. When she's not spending time with her family, she can be found reading, writing, chatting with her friends or diligently working toward her bachelor's degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology. A proud Texan, Jeanne currently resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with her family.