This was the first Ranae Rose book I had picked up to read purely on the basis that it is a hero in a uniform series and the story line had me intrigued but after giving this first one a go I have fallen in love with the way Ranae has such a knack for setting a scene and giving you such hot and loveable characters The couple that feature in this starting book of the Lock and Key series are Liam and Alicia. New neighbours who are secretly watching each other through their side windows and you can’t wait for them to strike up a connection and to get together.Prison Officer Liam Alexander works at the local prison so when the unthinkable happens and two convicts escape Alicia is lucky to have one very able and protective neighbour willing to throw himself in harms way for her. Even luckier for her is the fact that he has plenty of spare hand cuffs to keep her safe and sound at night! Alicia Dalton is the new wedding planner at the gorgeous and spooky Wisteria Plantation House and she is a character easy to fall in love with and the kind of woman that we would all love to have as a best friend. She is always loving, loyal and honest,When danger enters into their lives Liam moves Alicia in and proceeds to do anything and everything in his power to keep her safe and of course being together so much means sparks start flying pretty quickly. Seeing just how far they’re willing to fight for each other at the end of the book is a total heart melter.The villains of the book come in the form of two brothers who escape their captivity and go on to exact a terrifying revenge against those who they perceive to have wronged them. This book is told mainly in Liam and Alicia’s points of view but we also get to hear excerpts from the brothers point of view and I felt that that really added a different angle to the book, one which made it that more enjoyable. These are definitely two guys you wouldn’t want to come across down a dark alley one night.This is an amazing start to the Lock and Key series and I definitely plan on working my way through them all as they feature characters you are introduced to in this opener and I already love them. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves dollops of romance and humour but with an amazing chunk of suspense and a hint of paranormal. Officer Next Door by Ranae Rose is a very cute romance, interesting, a little suspense, some action, and great sex. The new girl in town has discovered her neighbor’s bathroom window has no curtain, so she gets to watch him wander around naked as he gets in and out of the shower! It is listed as book one, after reading it, I am pretty sure what books two and three are about. I really liked most of the characters, but the chef at the resort is by far the best of the bunch. Its light reading, fun and entertaining from beginning to end. The people are all very easy to connect with, empathize and identify with as well. The story moves along well, it never lags, kept me reading all the way till the end. Even the bad guys were realistically portrayed. You wanted them caught, and fast.There were explicit sex scenes, so not for the younger group, but any romance lover should like this one. Reminded me of the Harlequin Suspense series in a lot of ways, but the sex was definitely better than anything I ever read in Harlequin! Friendships, new relationships, suspense and thrills, its got everything for a great beach book! Definitely a four fang book!!
What do You think about Officer Next Door (2000)?
A quick and fun read, with some interesting spice thrown in through the use of paranormal activity.
—sac
I had higher hopes for this one. The characters felt a little flat.
—Ashley
Dunno what it was, but I just couldn't get into the story ...
—Murphree
