Love on the Line

The charismatic central couple cannot make up for a farfetched villain in Holiday’s uneven second Love Beyond Danger book (after Love Uncovered). All of fifth-grade teacher Anne Cooper’s time is filled with friends, family, and students, leaving little room for romance. But when she meets former Ravens football player Wyatt Pearson, now a high school teacher, she finds herself drawn to the brawny tight end, even though he’s the opposite of the partner she envisioned for herself. Wyatt is charmed by Anne’s sweetness and total ignorance about football. But as Anne becomes the target of sadistic stranger Devon Blackwood’s twisted attempts to woo her, Anne and Wyatt’s developing relationship is thrown into jeopardy. What begins as a cruel bet between Devon and his obscenely wealthy friends soon becomes a terrifying, life-threatening game of cat and mouse. The chemistry between Holiday’s protagonists is intense and believable, but Devon’s villainy is exaggerated to the point of absurdity and feels deeply out of place in the love story. Fans of book one will be disappointed. (Dec.)