This was the seventh in the First Responders series (yikes, seven, I feel like I was just reading the first one I read, number 4).

In this one there a Hurricane baring down on Florida. The story starts about ten days before landfall. We get to know Sawyer, a Colonel in the Florida National Guard. She gets called away from her time off to take command of the response to the hurricane. She chooses Dara's hospital in Miami for the main medical point, and that brings her into conflict with Dara. Since she's in charge of the hospital's crisis response. They do find a sort of balance where they're both sorta in charge, and then the hurricane hits.

They go back and forth between getting closer to one another while trying to get some downtime to themselves, and then also trying to save the world, or at least Florida.

There was also the fact that Sawyer had a past with another hurricane, and they had a very flirty (and very intense) female reporter following Sawyer around as well.

It was a fun read. The characters were interesting, as was the stuff about the hurricane, although sometimes that hurt the flow of the story just a bit.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

A little too technical. A well rounded story with good characters but the whole storm bit took over the book and even the main characters felt lacking and secondary. It didn't give me much of a chance to become invested i them and care about what happened.

As in each of Radclyffe books, specially First Responders series, this one has the formula that mix romance, action, tension, although not very much angst this time, till obtain a solid story.

It deals with a natural disaster in form of a hurricane, forming in the Atlantic sea and shifting toward Florida state, with all that is involved, as is the evacuation of a big and very populated area and disaster preparedness. This situation makes both protagonists meet, beeing Dara the ER chief of the main hospital on call and Sawyer the Coronel in charge of all the militar operation.

Powerful women as usual in Radclyffe worlds. There is instant chemistry and the able amount of romance given the circumstances, that is fewer than I had liked.

Puting aside my little issues with military jargon, acronyms and medical language, I consider this book as a good one to recomend.

<i>ARC received from NetGalley for an honest review.</i>

I admit freely that I am a storm chaser and health-care adrenalin junkie.

Watching Dara and Sawyer do their job, make snap decisions, wrestle with difficult and impossible odds to save lives, well it made my heart beat a little faster and got all my senses fully engaged.

Dangerous Waters has everything I love in this First Responders series. Dedicated women and men, challenging scenarios, personal and work related drama and yes, even the sense of budding attraction between two women who have spent their lives worrying about others, sparing little time to acknowledge their feelings or their loneliness. The hurricane may dominate the story at the expense of extensive sex scenes but this slow-burn (smoldering) romance is still plenty hot. I loved it.

eARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.

My main problem with this book was that Sawyer was a very unlikable character. She was too full of herself and kind of annoying.

I liked Dara - she seemed real and likable.

All in all I just did not like this story - it felt more like a news report than a love story at times.

*2.5 stars*

I'm dying to love a F/F story, but after 8 of them, I still haven't hit my stride. I was hoping that my first Radclyffe book would change that, but Dangerous Waters didn't quite do it for me.

I'm a real-life medical professional, and so I really loved the hospital and medical scenes in this story, which are plentiful. In fact, I found the medical details and the hurricane itself to be almost like primary characters in the story (more on that later). Though I'm not an MD, it sounded like Radclyffe really did her homework. The medical jargon really made the story feel real, which was awesome.

The pace is also really exciting. It's like a suspense book, with a countdown until the BIG DISASTER, so you are at the edge of your seat trying to see how it will all play out. Suspense fans might love that part of the plotting.

Where I struggled most of all was in the romance. Things really didn't pick up until the last 30% of the story, which meant I was scratching my head in the beginning of the book. The hurricane and the intense situation seemed to take precedence over the romance, and I was looking for a more romance-focused story.

I also really struggled with the constant head hopping and multiple POVs. I *HATE* head-hopping, and we moved back and forth between Dara and Sawyer's heads, sometimes multiple times in one page, and many, many times in one chapter.

While this isn't the 5-star F/F book I've been looking for, perhaps Radclyffe fans will still be pleased. I just wanted a little more.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

My reaction is mixed after finishing the read. I believe because of the timeline, it felt more like a news report than a love story, although it was insightful as well as informative in regard to what goes on behind the scene and in the offices of weather analysts. Their frustration with sharing accurate information as quickly as possible while being concerned about their own family as well as others was heartfelt. I should have known because the author shares at the start that this story was inspired by news events. Other than letting the public know, there is no other job they can do other than worry about their family and the well being of others. Basically, Sawyer, Dara, and other characters were back drops to the hurricane. I now know more about preparation and mobilization prior to a hurricane and in my opinion, that is a good thing.

I have rated this book 3.5 stars.

I have recently been up and down with Radclyffe's books of late however this one I did really enjoy and feel she did a good job of balancing the action of Leo and the romance. I loved the chemistry between the two characters Dara and Sawyer and found them to be sweet with each other when the romance had blossomed.

It was an enjoyable read and great addition of the First Responders series.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think I’ve only read one of the other first responder stories, but they seem to be self contained so I didn’t feel like I’d stepped in the middle of a series. This isn’t your typical Radclyffe story, in that the hurricane features prominently and is almost the third main character. The style of writing, with all of the scenes set as part of the storm timeline was also different.

I liked both main characters, they were interesting separately and together. Their immediate attraction to each other was fairly typical of Rad (as was the characterisation) but I enjoyed their interactions. The secondary characters didn’t get too much fleshing out but Catherine added a bit of interest.

Overall, it’s an enjoyable read, and the behind the scenes of the hurricane response was interesting. 3.5 stars.

First off: surprisingly little sex for Radclyffe in general and the First Responder series specifically. I‘ve often complained that character development was cut short in favor of sex scenes in this series.

So I‘m not complaining about that at all. This is a very action packed novel and any angst and uncertainty comes from the circumstances and not any lack of communication or whatever else usually happens. Another plus in my book. Also, really not much in the way of the usual brooding butch that usually appears in this series. Another plus.

Other than the very sudden ending, I really enjoyed reading this. And even that makes sense here as the book was tightly framed by the hurricane.

Dangerous Waters (A First Responders Novel) – Radclyffe

Hold on to your hats and grab a lamp post ladies, this one is going to blow you away !

Two strong women, Army National Guard Colonel Sawyer Kincaid and Dr. Dara Sims have to find a way to work together without clashing heads as Tropical Storm Leo heads in land leaving a path of destruction in its tracks.

The book is so well written you can literally feel the rumble of the wind, the lashing of the rain and the hysterical cries of the residents as everything they own is destroyed.

An action packed, emotional rollercoaster, Dangerous Waters is five star Radclyffe at her very best.

Dangerous Waters was a fascinating look behind the scenes of emergency evacuations. The main characters, Sawyer and Dara, had dynamic and strong personalities which fit their roles perfectly. The interactions and dialogue with the secondary characters were also enthralling.

I thoroughly enjoyed the realistic nature of the situations and details of the advancing hurricane. This added so much more depth to the story. All too often people do ignore the advice to evaluate only later to realize they are at risk and so are the emergency rescue workers summoned to save them. The author effectively placed the characters, along with the reader, in these dire situations hoping for the best, but unfortunately, not always getting a happy outcome.

This extremely well written and detailed novel makes for an engaging read.

Dangerous Waters is a member of the First Responders series but is a stand alone novel. This book is a bit of a departure from most Radclyffe novels in that while we do have a burgeoning romance between two strong characters, the star of the book really is Hurricane Leo. Several characters not related to the romance, but connected to the story, chime in and contribute to the development of the anxiety and anticipation. Together, they tell their stories as Leo closes in on South Florida. The romance of Sawyer and Dara is deftly woven into the suspense of the approaching storm and its catastrophic aftermath. The story ultimately manages to shatter the predicable formula of lesfic romance and was truly a unique reading experience.

I think it's a given that any book written by Radclyffe is going to be a hit. I really enjoyed this book because of the drama due to the hurricane factor in Florida. Considering the latest hurricane season we had, it really hits home so it was nice reading about a sweet romance rising out of the wake of natural disaster. As always, the writing is good the description and scenes are amazing. The characters are likable and keep the pages turning. I would read this again. Highly recommend.

Review of 'Dangerous waters' by Radclyffe.

This is book number 7 of Radclyffe's 'First responders' series which can be read as a stand alone novel. According to the author, she got inspiration from the tropical storms that caused havoc and devastation in 2017 in South Florida and Texas. Fusing real events with fiction, several stories run parallel and provide different perspectives of the same event. Among those stories is the romance between National Guard Colonel Sawyer Kincaid and Chief of Emergency service at Miami Memorial Dr Dara Sims who have to relinquish their initial antagonism and work together in order to help evacuation and provide medical services during the storm. As danger approaches and pressure goes high, so does their emotional involvement. Will there be a happily ever after?

This is not a typical Radclyffe romance. It's true that some of her characteristic elements are present, such as the dark, handsome and stoic butch and the gorgeous but strong femme. However, the main character in this novel is Leo. The storm sets the pace, presents the tension and delivers all the punches in this book. I think it'd be unfair to review this novel as a typical romance because love is in the background letting the storm take precedence. Even the ubiquitous steamy sex scenes so typical of this author are watered down or relegated to a secondary role. Despite that, this is a very good effort by Radclyffe. 'Dangerous waters' presents a compelling, emotional, nail biting page-turner about the power of nature and the extraordinary efforts of the first responders who put their lives on the line in order to help others.

Overall, an action packed page-turner by Radclyffe. Highly recommended even though romance is a bit in the background. 4.5 stars.

ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Any Radclyffe book is a great book. Awesome characters in an amazing story. After this years hurricane season you get a small idea what it must have been like for some of those that survived.
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A well written, nicely paced romance conveyed with an assured hand. The drama of the unfolding weather conditions is nicely done and adds a sense of urgency to the story. The constant updates and worries about the hurricane as well as the addition of the news reporter were a clever back drop to the unfolding relationship between the two main characters. Perhaps lacking an element of drama, but it is a romance not a thriller.

I always love a good Radclyffe novel. This is another book in the First Responders series. While this is part of a series, it is a stand alone book. This book takes place before, during, and after a category 5 hurricane. Our two mains Sawyer and Dara are extremely likable. This was a pretty straightforward and predictable book minus a lot of the angst that so many lesfic books have. The romance is nice, but it’s missing the sizzle that many of Rad’s previous books have. Overall a well written easy read.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Radclyffe is really high on my list of most-read authors, in fact, she is only second to Terry Pratchett and if I include LL Raand she surpasses him. I really like the stories she tells and the way she tells them. I’ve enjoyed all of them but some more than others. Dangerous Waters is one that I enjoyed but it didn’t blow me away.

The story centres around an impending hurricane and counts down the days and hours to landfall. Colonel Sawyer Kinkaid will be coordinating the National Guard during the crisis in conjunction with Dr Dara Sims of Miami Memorial hospital (which has been designated as one of the emergency centres). Both women are strong, independent, intelligent and unwavering in their sense of duty.

The lead-up to the crisis is exciting and the pace unrelenting. Radclyffe has an incredible ability to keep an adrenalin rush going so that her characters seem like they’re constantly running on empty. The anticipation of the hurricane is heightened by the countdown and the different viewpoints used to narrate the story.

While I liked both Sawyer and Dara, their relationship only started developing quite late in the book and then seemed quite rushed in the end. Their back-stories lacked impact in their current situation. The hurricane however, was really interesting and the pace pretty intense.