If you haven't read any of the books from Melissa Schroeder's Harmless series, you're missing out on a great erotic romance/romantic suspense series with BDSM elements.

A Little Harmless Ride was a little different from the the rest of the series in that it didn't take place around the group of people we've come to love from the series or the club, Rough 'n Ready. However, fans will be pleased to hear that some of the gang do make an appearance. This was a great addition to the series with an exciting plot and great characters. The author hardly ever writes weak heroines (not that I can recall), so that's just one of the reasons I love her books.

Falling in love with Elias St. John was easy. As a former member of the Special Forces, he was disciplined, controlled and new how to handle himself in any situation. Add to that his Dominant persona, and you had a man not to be trifled with. That was the romantic side of his story. The less romantic side made him a perfect tortured hero. Literally. He grew up in foster care and never got to experience family life. Through his connection with Rough 'n Ready, it seems the gang had sort of adopted him into their fold. Seeing him feel a little uncomfortable yet grateful that they cared just tugged at the heart strings. As for women, he never had girlfriends or serious relationships, only submissives who knew the score - don't get attached.

Crysta Miller was sweet, compassionate, confident and feisty. In short, I adored her. Her last experience with a Dom has left her jaded to the point that she didn't think that lifestyle was for her anymore. But she soon came to learn that maybe she just hadn't found the right Dom. Her natural submissiveness never made her seem weak. She saved that for the bedroom, but outside of it, she was a tough cookie who didn't shy away from speaking her mind. I loved the evenly matched dialogue between Chrysta and Eli. They teased each other a lot and it was obvious that she wasn't a pushover. That effect on Eli was so much fun to watch. The Dom was quickly losing his controlled composure around her.

Eli wouldn't think of how she would look on all fours as he slapped her ass with a riding crop.

Fuck.

"Elias St. John, I'm not done with you."

"Bloody hell, woman. Will you give me a break?"

She stopped marching toward him and just stared.

"I've kept my hands off you for two weeks now, but you keep yammering on at me, then I'm going to lose it. Seriously lose it."


I thought they had great chemistry with sexual tension so thick, you could cut it with a knife. When they finally gave up fighting their attraction, the love scenes were sizzling hot.

The plot was engaging and kept me turning the pages. The author did a great job of keeping us guessing not only who the villain was but also who the intended target was. Although the budding sexual relationship was front and center, the suspense portion didn't really suffer from it. It was well paced and the climax of the story was well worth the wait. In my opinion, this book could be read as a stand alone. I've only read books #1-#6.5 so far, so I need to catch up.

Get ready for one sexy cowboy Dom and a feisty submissive who isn't afraid to speak her mind, and a scorching hot attraction under the Hawaiian sun. Throw in some greedy, rotten relatives and murderous intent, and you'll be in for quite a ride.

Rating: 4-4.5

Disclaimer: I received a review copy from the author for the purpose of an honest review. ( )

An AReCafe reading list selection for IR/MC romance from Susan. ( )

Read in July, 2013

Read for Fun (Kindle)
Overall Rating: 4.50
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 5.00

First Thought when Finished: Eli was possibly the best Dom I have ever read because he was so different!

Story Thoughts: A Little Harmless Ride at the core (to me) was about finding your way in life after tragedy. Emotionally, the ride that Eli and Crysta needed to take both individually and together was heart-string pulling. The action and adventure played well with the family drama and the story was engaging from beginning to end.

Character Thoughts: My favorite "Dom" leading men have always been the ones that are a little different. The ones that draw you in because their demeanor is not one outright power but one of the absolute gentleman that you could trust inside and outside the "play" to do what is right by the leading ladies. I feel that Eli is the epitome of those strengths. His immediate reaction to Crysta hit all the right emotional and physical levels for me. I do believe he knocked Micah off as my favorite male in the series so far! Needless to say, I adored Crysta and Eli's love story! It really was a winner all around. Plus, the smexy times were super smexy because I wanted them to have it all. Doesn't that always make a huge difference in the end?

Final Thoughts: Great addition to the Harmless series and gave me a new favorite male character! ( )