Review: Dangerous Tide by C.J. Matthew

Posted April 30, 2016 by Lola in Fantasy, My To-Be Read List, Review, Romance, Suspense / 28 Comments

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My To-Be Read List is a meme hosted by Because Reading is Better Than Real Life where at the beginning of the month visitors can choose which book I’ll be reading this month. On the first saturday of a month the poll will be up, then on the second saturday of the month I’ll announce the book that won and on the last saturday of the month I’ll post my review of the book.

Dangerous TideDangerous Tide (Dolphin Shore Shifters #3)
by C.J. Matthew

Blurb:
The Santa Barbara Channel holds a closely guarded secret…

She needed his help…
Corporate physician, Dr. Libra Lewis thinks she knows what is making the males of the Shore Shifters turn violent, but she needs funding for the research, lots of money that hinges on the approval of field ops leader, Rye Walker. When one of Rye’s operatives goes missing, Libra offers to barter her help for the money. But can a woman who’s spent her life in the shadow of her sexy sister really work with a man like Rye ?

He needed a second chance…
Rye Walker’s last mission as the leader of field ops was cut short by scandal and when no one stepped forward to support him, he resolved that in the future, he’d always go it alone. Now Rye has been reinstated, another chance to prove himself –without help from anyone. But Libra has something he needs… and if Rye is honest, he’s finding Libra harder and harder to resist.

My Review:
From the first book I’ve been curious about the two doctors and their research and the plot line of increase violence in certain male shifters and in this book we get a bigger glimpse into that plot line and I really enjoyed it. In my opinion this is the best book in the series so far and while they can be read out of order I enjoyed the extra hints to previous main characters we get in this book and we even encountered Sy and Noah from the first book. I really liked that.

Every part of this book was well written and worked well together. It kept me wanting to read more and more and I easily got sucked into the pages. I thought the suspense element was very well written. A SWB member disappeared in the middle of the phone call and Rye goes to investigate, due to a deal he made with doctor Libra she gets to accomplish him. There are some really suspenseful scenes and a great plot wist at the end of the book. I liked seeing Rye and Libra figure things out and the story nicely progressed with the right pace. We also get to see a few chapters from one of the villains point of view and I kinda liked these chapters. They shed some light on a few things and it was interesting to see how things on his point of view developed.

I really liked Libra, she’s a doctor and very logical. She makes list and she likes the be prepared. She’s also very dedicated to her research and the pod and I really liked her. She’s willing to stick her fin into a dangerous situation and handled it well. She’s pretty, but never saw herself that way as she’s the quiet logical sister and her twin is the flirty one. Then there is Rye, which I also liked well enough. He has had a bit trouble in his past and a bit of a temper at times. He’s also very caring and once he falls for Libra, he falls hard. It took me some time to warm up to him, but at the end of the book I really liked him. I have to admit the scene towards the end and what he does for Libra to show his feelings did help a bit. And how he grew and worked through his problem.

Libra and Rue were great together. I loved seeing them work together and while they also fought at times, they weren’t the nasty types of fights. They talked things through and came to a compromise. I also liked there was very little conflict in their relationships, there are a few issues that they have to work through, but I felt like it was all handled realistically. It didn’t escalate into a big drama, but instead they remained clear-headed most of the time and worked through it. I really liked them and felt the chemistry and feelings between them. I really liked these two together and liked how things got wrapped up at the end.

I also liked the side characters and how we got to see Sy and Noah from the first book. I loved that we saw characters from previous books again. This is the first time that happened in this series and I felt like this book hinted back well to the previous books and showed the connection between the event. I liked the sense of continuity it gave. There’s also a friend from Libra from medical school we meet and I liked seeing their interactions, although I did wish Libra had confined in her. I know she couldn’t and maybe I admired her friend even more who was willing to help Libra without knowing the whole story.

The world building has always been one of the points were I had issues with in this series, but that mostly disappeared in this book. This series isn’t like most paranormal romances where they shift into another form. It’s mostly about their human forms, but their dolphin lives are a part of the story. They have certain dolphin behaviours like how they hug or show affection. And some of the swear words are sea related, which was a fun touch. They also have a love for the ocean that shows in almost everything they do. But it isn’t done in a preachy way, it’s very well handled. I also liked how in this book we got some extra focus on the tradition and if their rules did make sense and Libra questions a few thing about how they handled the shifts and whether some things are possible as they never tried that before because of the rules in place. Then Sy poses an interesting questions later as well and it got me intrigued how this will all work out.

To summarize: I am really liking this series, it really leaves an impression and I was glad to return to this series. This book was well written and I had a hard time putting it down. I liked how the suspense element was handled. It was interesting, developed nicely and there were some really suspenseful scenes. There also was a nice plot twist at the end. I really liked Libra, she was a logical and thought things through. It took me a bit longer to warm up to Rye, but I really liked him at the end as well. I really felt the chemistry and romance between these two and there is a great heartfelt scene at the end. The dolphin shifter aspect is handled very well and originally. It’s more subtle and they don’t shift like in most shifter books, but there are hint to their dolphin form. And I liked how this book did a bit more with this with Libra her research and questions. All in all I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next book in this series!

4-star

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Do you like seeing the point of view of a villain in books?

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28 responses to “Review: Dangerous Tide by C.J. Matthew

  1. Thank you Lola for your terrific review of Dangerous Tide!
    I’m delighted you liked my characters including the villains POV because I really enjoy writing those chapters. I look forward to hearing reader’s opinions!

    • You’re welcome! I hope I can read Lethal Tide and Deadly Reboot soon too!

      Usually I am not a fan of the villains perspective, but in this series I like them so far. It adds to the suspense and gives the reader an extra piece of information.

  2. Ani

    I might have to check this one out, just because the premise sounds interesting. Great review Lola! It sounds like it has a good balance of romance and suspense.

    I was also hoping you were able to read Jaxson, because wolf shifters. But dolphin shifters sound just as interesting.
    Ani recently posted…Thoughts: Size 14 Is Not Fat EitherMy Profile

    • Hi Ani, thank you for leaving a comment.
      I am a devoted reader/fan of all shifters. Wolves, bears, any form of big cats, etc. which is the main reason I chose to write the Dolphin Shifter series.
      I hope you’ll download a copy and let Lola and I know what you think.
      Fins up!
      CJ

    • Hi Michelle,
      It was an awesome review from Lola, wasn’t it? I’m thrilled!
      The next book in the series is Lethal Tide, book 4.
      I’m supposed to be writing Toxic Tide, book 5 right now- oops. I’d better get back to work!
      Thanks for commenting!
      CJ Matthew

    • I hope I can read the next book soon to, so I am up to date with the series before the next book comes out. It’s a great series :).

    • I think this is the only dolphin shifter series I encountered so far. It’s very original and the mixture of suspense, romance and shifter elements is fun.

    • It’s very intriguing and interesting series. I like the dolphin shifters, i think this is the only series with them that I’ve read so far 🙂

    • That might be the reason, I know at first i was a bit disappointed we didn’t get much scenes of them in their animal form as I’ve come to expect that in shifter books, but I think the not showing them in their animal form works here. It has enough hints and information to make them feel like dolphins.
      I hope you give this series a try, i am curious to hear what you think of these!
      Lola recently posted…Lola’s Advice: How to get reviewers to cross-post their reviewsMy Profile

  3. Thanks to everyone who commented!
    As I posted earlier, I’m on deadline with Toxic Tide, Dolphin Shore Shifters book 5 so I’ve only returned here to Lola’s blog sporadically.
    It’s been fun to read how many of you are as fascinated with dolphin shifters as I am. Hope you enjoy my books. I sure love writing them!
    Thanks again, Lola!!
    CJ Matthew

    • Thanks for stopping by :). I can’t wait to read Toxic Tide, although I have to read Lethal Tide first, and am looking forward to see the cover.
      The dolphin shifter aspect is really original in my opinion as I haven’t seen any other series with dolphin shifters so far.

  4. Lola,
    I appreciate your kind words and support! You’ll see the Toxic Tide cover just as soon as I have one!! And the manuscript as soon as Dori Harrell, my editor at Breakout Editing is finished whipping it into shape. (Late July?)

    Lots of fun for me to read how readers love the various characters and books. Noah from Blood Tide is an all-time favorite. Dori says Lethal Tide is her favorite book so far.

    I’m always in love with the hero I’m currently writing. In Toxic Tide it’s Grus (the field ops agent abducted in Galveston in Dangerous Tide, and briefly Betty’s partner at the beginning of Lethal Tide.) Since I’ve been sooo mean to him previously, he demanded his own book! So far he’s doing a terrific job as a hero, holding his own with a strong, sassy human (!!) heroine.
    Fins up!
    CJ Matthew

    • I am looking forward to it! And you really write these books fast, it’s impressive! And it’s nice to not have to wait too long for the next book.

      I like all the covers for this series so far, it’s hard to pick a favourite. I think the one for Dangerous Tide might e my favourite so far, but they are all great.

      So excited we get Gus his story in Toxic Tide! I was wondering if we would see more of him later, so I am glad to hear he gets his own book! Can’t wait to read it!

  5. Oooh, a few chapters from the villain’s POV? That’s fantastic! I like it when author’s do this. It’s just that little extra that typically pulls me into the story even more. 🙂 I’m thrilled this book was such a great read – even better than the first two, Lola. It sounds like maybe the action was ramped up a little in this one. And Libra and Rye do sound like they are a great pair. I’m also happy you got to see characters from previous installments. That’s always a nice touch. I think I’m going to have to grab this series at some point. Excellent review!
    Bookworm Brandee recently posted…Contemporary Romance Review ~ Slow Ride ~ Cathryn FoxMy Profile

    • I also like it when authors do that, although sometimes the villain pov can be a bit disturbing, but I thought this one was really well done and interesting. The first two were good, but it felt like with this book I really got into the series. This couple was great and I liked seeing the characters from previous installments. I also think I’ve finally adjusted my expectations as with the first book I expected a typical paranormal romance, but this one is different with the focus on the suspense and almost no time in animal form. I hope you’ll give this series a try at some point, it’s really good and it’s very memorable.

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