Love or Justice (Protect and Serve Book 1) by Rachel Mannino (2015)

Laurie Shelton is the only person alive who can identify Hawaii’s most notorious mob boss…

After stumbling into a deadly kidnapping, Laurie’s life is in grave danger, and it falls to US Marshal Dante Stark to keep her safe until she testifies against Kaimi Quamboa—assuming he can be captured. 

Dante knows he’ll lose his job if he becomes romantically involved with a witness…

But when he has to comfort her through constant nightmares, he finds it nearly impossible to fight his attraction to the beautiful, strong young woman he is sworn to protect. Laurie feels it too, but aware she’s in a high-stress situation and that when the danger is past she’ll never see Dante again, she tries to ignore his easygoing smile and the security he offers.

Laurie and Dante are forced to flee again…

When Kaimi’s men descend on their hideaway, they escape to a second safe house, only to be tracked down there as well. Dante now knows there’s a mole inside the US Marshal Service, and the only thing left to do is disappear.
Kaimi will never stop looking for Laurie, and if he’s caught, showing up to testify could be the last thing she ever does. 

With each choice as dangerous as the next, Dante and Laurie must confront the boundaries of what they’re willing to sacrifice, and which is more important…

Love or Justice.


Review

A suspense filled debut novel from Rachel Mannino.
There is plenty of action and twists and turns in this romantic thriller to keep you reading into the wee hours. The romance between Laurie and Dante was sweet and didn't take away too much from the main plot. 

I liked the supporting characters especially Dante's parents. I enjoyed Laurie's character as she isn't a total damsel in distress. She is a strong, independent person and proved herself to be an asset during dangerous situations.

I didn't quite believe the events surrounding her witnessing a kidnapping. I found it strange that such a high profile and dangerous criminal would just let her walk away and then spend months hunting her down to kill her. I also lost interest in the story about half way through as nothing was happening except Laurie and Dante hiding out with his parents. The pace and suspense picked up again towards the end of the novel.

Overall, I enjoyed Love or Justice and I will be looking out for the rest of the series as it gets published.


I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.