Dangerous Beauty

Melissa Koslin

Revell Pub

Sept 6^th, 2022

Dangerous Beauty by Melissa Koslin deals with the dark subject of human trafficking.  The hero and heroine take a very heartfelt journey together. 

“I wrote the story because human trafficking upsets me a lot, so I wanted that to be part of the suspense plot line.  Regarding the romance I wanted to write a marriage of convenience. Human trafficking doesn’t get the publicity it should. This upsets me.  I always will have part of the plot line something I feel very strongly about. I reached out to a couple of organizations but did not get any response back.  Probably because they are hesitant to speak with anybody.  I did a whole bunch of research, especially on the laws. I made it happen because Meric is wealthy and powerful.”

Melissa Koslin presents this terrible crisis through the eyes of Liliana Vela. She was taken from her home in Mexico and sold to a buyer in Texas because of her striking beauty.  The story opens with Liliana running from her captors and hiding in a gas station. There, she meets Meric Toledan, who is part of a team trying to find the predators.  He ultimately rescues her and marries her to keep her in the country and away from the Cartels.

Liliana does not see herself as a victim, but more of a fighter.  She is stubborn and strong, intelligent, and determined.  Meric is honorable and never takes advantage of her being his “wife.”  He is very intense and fiercely protective. 

“Liliana is typical of my female characters.  They are strong physically since they can handle a gun and know how to fight. She is in trouble, but I did not want her to be a damsel in distress.  She was abused and felt despair.  But she is a survivor, loyal, and has a soft spot.”

“Meric is repressed.  He is strong and vulnerable.  He keeps himself shielded from everybody. He is very protective, determined, kind, composed, with some rage. Meric can also be calculating, controlling, and harsh.  He wants to control his own environment. What shaped him was his backstory.  After losing his mother, he found out that his father is not a good person and became terrified that he would turn into someone like his father.” 

“I wanted to have the relationship between them slow in developing.  There is a lot of passion, but it is hidden.  Meric was not very warm and fuzzy because he was cautious. This is the marriage of convenience where they tiptoed around their feelings.  Although both were supportive of each other, trusted each other, and had a calming effect on each other. Meric wanted her to feel safe, trying to make up for what happened to his mother. In the end they bonded because they went through similar events.” 

This story will pull readers in from the very first page with a lot of fast paced action.  The plot is explosive and riveting with characters that people will root for. 

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