Review: Drawn Together by Lauren Dane

Publish Date: October 1, 2013
Trade Paperback {p.290}
Genre: Erotica
Series: Brown Siblings #6
Source: Personal Library
Raven Smith, Jonah Warner

Beauty is more than skin-deep…

Tattoo artist Raven Smith is blunt and hard, broken and jaded, dark and beautiful. While she doesn’t hide her painful past, she does keep a wall around her heart. She’s free sexually—but no one gets to the real Raven beneath the prickly exterior.

With a voice like smoke, Jonah Warner is a smooth-talking, highly successful attorney, with a body that should never be hidden by a suit. He’s the kind of man who never takes no for an answer and always gets what he wants. And what he wants is Raven. She’s a survivor, and he finds that incredibly alluring.

Jonah gets under her skin in a way Raven has never experienced. He makes her break all her rules—including her no-monogamy rule.

But when a figure from Raven’s past shows up at the tattoo parlor and drops a bomb into her life, their relationship will face the ultimate challenge…

I really enjoyed this book; especially meeting all the Warner brothers. I hope they eventually get their own books, mainly Malachi. Unfortunately according to Ms. Dane's website that won't be happening, at least not anytime soon if at all.

Anyway, moving on... Raven didn't seem as bad as everyone made her out to be in the previous books. Jonah on the other hand, I never really figured out. He was likeable enough, more than likeable, but I didn't see him as the type to get a full back tattoo. I just seen him as the straight-laced lawyer type who was a little kinky in the bedroom. Plus, I didn't remember him as being that old. (Old enough to have a child heading to college.)

What I truly loved about Raven in this book is her interaction with all the Brown children and definitely her interaction with Jonah's daughter Carrie.

Raven and Jonah did seem to fall in love rather quickly and never seemed to have any kind of arguments or disagreements. That took away from the believability of the overall story. Who gets along all the time with no disagreements whatsoever? Jonah was just a bit too perfect, and not at all who I would have seen pick someone like Raven. But the two of them seem to make it work. With all the Brown siblings finished now, and no Warner siblings books on the horizon, I wonder if we'll ever see what becomes of them. I'd like to know if they have kids of their own, because Raven seems to be great with kids so it would be nice if she had some of her own.

The secondary characters were great  and at times more interesting than the lead two. From reading this one, I think I enjoyed the Warner family more than the Browns or the ladies of Delicious series. Even Jonah's grandmother was enjoyable to read. The only bad thing I can think of about this book is that it left me wanting more of these people, but this is the last installment so there is no more.

Review: Never Enough by Lauren Dane

Never Enough
Lauren Dane
Series: Brown Siblings #4
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Publish Date: November 6, 2011
Trade Paperback {p.310}
Source: Personal Library
Genre: Contemporary, Erotica
Gillian Forrester, Adrian Brown
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

ALL THE RIGHT NOTES…

Gillian Forrester spent most of her life running from who and what she came from. Until Miles came along. From the moment she held the tiny newborn her older sister didn't want, Gillian stopped running and began to build a life for herself and her adopted son. Now, thirteen years later, as Gillian's sister lay dying, she reveals the father's identity and makes Gillian promise to find him.

Adrian Brown is the epitome of the successful rock star. He's seen and done it all, with few regrets. It takes a lot to shock him but the bombshell that he has a thirteen-year-old son rocks his world. And Adrian is even more surprised when the buttoned-up, elegant woman who's raising Miles snags his erotic and romantic attention.

The last thing Gillian expected was to find herself getting hot and heavy with a person like Adrian. But as much as she wants to open up and give herself fully to this amazing man, she's afraid the secrets of her past and Adrian's problems with trusting people may keep them apart for good. If love isn't enough can they find the trust they need?

Never Enough takes you on the journey of an adoptive mother reuniting her son with his biological father. Of course the two of them fall in love along the way.

Adrian and Gillian's relationship was great on the surface, but I didn't feel it had any real depth. Sure, in the words of Adrian, they burned it up between the sheets, but that's about the only place. I never felt that they ever really got to know each other out of the bedroom.

The relationship Adrian was building with his son seemed to be going well, although as the reader you only get glimpses of it. Adrian's family is around a lot in this one, which is a great bonus. They were needed to get the full impact of Adrian making his son a part of his family. One thing that tended to bother me was how everyone seemed to overtalk every little thing. I found myself saying, "Really? Guys talk like this to each other?" Especially during some of the conversations Adrian was having with Cope and Todd.

Gillian and Adrian have their conflict in the end with her inability to open up and need to keep secrets. With Adrian's place in the entertainment business I can understand why he's wary of people who aren't truthful and upfront with him. Although they make up in the end, I still felt nothing was resolved. It just felt incomplete to me.

Review: Once and Again by Lauren Dane

Once and Again
Lauren Dane
Series: Petal, Georgia #1
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Publish Date: August 30, 2011
Kindle {p.184}
Source: Kindle Loan
Genre: Erotica
Lily Travis, Nathan Murphy
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

Seven years ago, Lily Travis was only too glad to see her hometown of Petal, Georgia in her rearview mirror. Thanks to her father running off with a twenty-year-old, though, here she is, trying to pick up the pieces. First order of business: meet with her brother’s teacher in a quest to pull his grades out of a downward spiral.

Nathan Murphy is pretty much resigned to his bachelor status—until he looks up from his desk to see an all-grown-up Lily walking into his classroom. Of all the women who turned out to be totally wrong for him, she’s the only one who felt right. At least until his foolish, immature mistake drove her away.

Lily has to admit that time has been more than kind to gorgeous, sexy Nathan. Except there’s no room on her full plate for another complication. Especially with a man who broke her heart once before.

With a little help from his friends, Nathan has a plan to rekindle the flame. It isn’t long before they’re burning up the sheets. Winning her heart? That’s another matter.

I was truly excited to be revisiting Petal, GA since the completion of the Chase Brothers. I have to say, catching up with the entire Chase family was the only highlight of this book.

Lily and Nathan used to be an item in college until she caught him kissing her cousin. Fast forward to present day, she’s back in Petal to take care of her little brother and alcoholic mother. Upon seeing Lily after all that time, Nathan realizes he wants her back. That didn’t ring all that valid to me.

Nothing about Nathan stood out to me as leading man material. He didn’t really do much throughout the book other than get frustrated with Lily’s need for space.

I wasn’t invested in the outcome of their relationship one way or the other because it didn’t seem to be about anything but sex.

Review: Inside Out by Lauren Dane

Inside Out
Lauren Dane {Facebook | Twitter}
Series: Brown Siblings #3
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Publication Date: November 2, 2010
Trade Paperback {p.306}
Genre: Erotica
Characters: Ella Tipton, Andrew Copeland
Challenge: 100+

Ella Tipton is a survivor. In the wake of an attack that nearly left her dead, she has spent each day putting her life back together. Once vibrant and outgoing, she's needed to reclaim the best parts of who she was while retaining the hard-won lessons. There hasn't been room for any romantic entanglements, even if she were ready. Still, it doesn't mean she has to stop sneaking looks at Mister Tall, Dark and Tattooed himself.

Security professional Andrew Copeland isn't quite sure when his jones for the lovely and decidely skittish Ella developed. He's known her for years, has watched her triumph over the pain she's been dealt. Cope is no stranger to women, but he knows the nervous flush he gets every time he talks to Ella is different from any attraction he's had in the past. Determined to get Ella to let him in, Cope does the one thing he can think of to get close: he offers her hands-on training in self-defense.

While Ella's sure Cope is just being nice, the prospect of being able to touch him and and gain the tools to push away the last vestiges of her fear is more than she can resist. Soon enough, Cope shows Ella his feelings are far more than friendly, and he reignites something deep inside her. It isn't long before desire and love turn them both inside out.

Andrew and Ella’s story was a bit disappointing. I guess I expected more excitement from Andrew since I’ve always enjoyed him in the previous novels. But when it came time to tell his story, he fell flat and came across as boring.

The two didn’t have any real conflict, which was okay, but they didn’t have any passion either. As a reader, I was more interested in the side-story of Erin and her three men than Cope and Ella.

Cope wasn’t the same fun-loving guy from the previous encounters with him. I understand he’s with Ella now, but he didn’t have to become totally tame. I was surprised to find that Cope is 36, for some reason I pictured him younger due to his behavior.

Ella has never been one of my favorite characters from the Brown series, so I wasn’t expecting much from her. She’s not who I would have imagined Cope with.

Book Beginnings & Friday 56: Inside Out

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Check out the rules and join in the fun.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog. Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence, or two, of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.

Book Beginnings:

She arched on a gasp as the heat of his mouth met her neck. His hands, clever, wicked hands, quickly divested her of her shirt, leaving her free to rub against him like a cat. She groaned as he moved away, reaching to grab him back. He grinned.

Friday 56:

"Pfft. I look fine. Brody's gonna love this dress because my boobs are on display. You know how he feels about boobs."
Ella snorted. "I'm pretty sure it's a basic male preference. Most of the time anyway."

Review: Coming Undone by Lauren Dane

Coming Undone

Lauren Dane {Facebook | Twitter}
Series: Brown Siblings #2
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Publication Date: January 5, 2010
Trade Paperback {p.291}
Source: Personal Library/Paperback Swap
Genre: Erotica
Characters: Elise Sorenson, Brody Brown
Challenge: 100+, Erotic Romance

After his parents' death, Brody gave up a promising career to care for his family. Now, with his siblings grown, Brody owns his own business, and for the first time in years he's alone. Elise has come to Seattle with her daughter to find peace. After years as a world-famous ballerina-and trapped in a marriage gone bad-she's looking for neither love nor attention. But she finds both in the handsome, honest man who befriends her with no strings attached.

Brody and Elise discover in each other the wild, physical passion they need. But it'll take a shadow from Elise's past to make them look beyond what they need-to what they truly desire.

Elise has moved from New York to Seattle to get away from her crazy ex-in-laws. Now she lives in a quiet little subdivision across the street from tattoo parlor owner, Brody Brown.

She is immediately attracted to him but her being a privileged ballerina, always figured she would end up with a Mr. Rogers type of guy.

One afternoon after witnessing Brody as the victim of a hit and run, they spark up a friendship that quickly turns into one with benefits.

Elise has a young daughter, Rennie, so they have to be discreet about their relationship. While these two quickly began to fall in love, everyone else was aware of it but them. Brody’s ex, Raven, especially noticed and was not happy.

I did appreciate the relationship Brody and his siblings formed with Elise’s daughter Rennie. It was nice that she was integrated into the story and wasn’t just an afterthought character.

However I did find fault with Elise and the fact that she seemed to share information about her life with everyone but Brody. Or the fact that Brody was so clueless when it came to Raven and her behavior.

Book Beginnings & Friday 56: Coming Undone

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Check out the rules and join in the fun.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog. Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence, or two, of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.

Book Beginnings:

Even at the close of day, the sun was enough to make the ride home from work totally perfect. He took the scenic route, settled onto the seat of the Harley he'd splurged on the summer before at Ben's urging.

Friday 56:

Her mouth was sweet, just as he'd remembered, but the need there was a stronger flavor. It met his own, challenged his own, tested the limits of his control.

Teaser Tuesday: Coming Undone by Lauren Dane

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading. To participate, all you have to do is the following:

• Grab your current/upcoming read
• Open to a random page
• Share 2-3 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers! (You do not want to ruin the book for others.)

Share the title & author so that others who enjoy your "teaser" may add the book to their TBL pile.

He smiled, crooked through the neatly trimmed goatee and mustache. "Angel."

She laughed. "Not so much. You're going to be all right, Mr. ... Um, yeah, I don't know your name."

"Brown. Brody Brown." No slurring, so that was good. "You're not real."

She laughed. "My electric bill says otherwise."

page 17; Coming Undone by Lauren Dane

Review: Laid Bare by Lauren Dane

Laid Bare
Lauren Dane
Series: Brown Siblings, #1
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Published: June 30, 2009
Format: Trade Paperback {322 pages}
Source: Public Library
Genre: BDSM, Erotica, Menage
Characters: Erin Brown, Todd Keenan, Ben Copeland
My Rating:

Heat Level: 5/5
Synopsis:

It's been ten years since clean-cut, sexy-as-hell police officer Todd Keenan had a white-hot fling with Erin Brown, the provocative, wild rocker chick next door. Their power exchange in the bedroom got under his skin. But love wasn't in the cards just yet...

Now, life has thrown the pair back together. But picking up where they left off is tough, in light of a painful event from Erin's past. As Todd struggles to earn her trust, their relationship takes an unexpected and exciting turn when Todd's best friend, Ben, ends up in their bed--and all three are quite satisfied in this relationship without a name. As the passion they share transforms Erin, will it be enough to help her face the evil she thought she had left behind?

Music, raw and hard like sex, pulsed through the speaker stack, caught the people in front of the stage, as much as it had her, in its grip.

Erin and Todd had a pretty intense short-lived relationship that scared Todd because it was a BDSM relationship. He thought it to be unnatural and ungentlemanly to want to dominate a woman. He felt like he was some kind of deviant. So Todd breaks it off with Erin so he could persue a "normal" relationship with a more wholesome female.

Ten years later he's back and wants to start things up again with Erin like they'd never been apart. They fall in love with each other all over again. It was great watching these two grow closer and become more comfortable with the D/s lifestyle. It was like they finally achieved what their relationship could have been ten years ago if Ben had not run from it.

Then they introduced Ben into the relationship. I was a bit apprehensive about this because Erin and Todd's relationship was already great without that added aspect. My fear was that it would detract from Todd and Erin overall relationship. That it would be something extra thrown in for sex purposes and not add to Todd and Erin. But it didn't.

Lauren handled adding a third very well. Ben in fact added a whole new dynamic to their relationship. I guess what really made it work for me was the that they all loved each other. Not just two men in love with the same woman, but the men loving each other as well.

It's a great start to this series and I look forward to visiting them in the other books of the series. If the other books in this series are as hot as Laid Bare, they will not disappoint.

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Teaser Tuesday: Laid Bare by Lauren Dane

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading. To participate, all you have to do is the following:

• Grab your current/upcoming read

• Open to a random page
• Share 2-3 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers! (You do not want to ruin the book for others.)
• Share the title & author so that others who enjoy your "teaser" may add the book to their TBL pile.

"I was just a few blocks away at a client's place and I thought I'd stop by for a kiss."

"Who am I to refuse such a request?" She tiptoed up and kissed him. "I'm glad to see you."

He smiled, hugging her. "Good. I like that. Here." He dropped a little gift bag in her palm.

"Wheee! Presents. I love presents."

He laughed. "I noticed."

page 235; Laid Bare by Lauren Dane

Review: Wolf Unbound by Lauren Dane

Title: Wolf Unbound
Author: Lauren Dane
Published: January 1, 2009
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Format: E-book
Source: Personal Library
Characters: Tegan Warden, Ben Stoner
My Rating:

Synopsis:

Overshadowed by the rising threat of the werewolf mafia, Ben and Tegan struggle to stand united. Werewolf Enforcer Tegan Warden has been alone since the death of her mate four years ago. Until she meets Ben Stoner at a local club and she feels something she thought died inside her. Things move very quickly and she finds herself mated to a human man who's not altogether sure he wants a forever kind of love with a woman hes just met. Ben realizes in short order Tegan is not only worth forever love, but a woman who'll stand at his side without tolerating anything other than a full partnership. In the bedroom its another story, as Ben has finally found a sexual submissive with a spark, and Tegan a man worthy of her submission. Together they work toward building a permanent relationship even as the specter of danger from the Pellini Group grows in the world of wolves. All around them, the rising violence threatens the Packs and the only thing they know for certain is one another.

Tegan ran.

Tegan has just been going through the motions of life since the death of her mate in Afghanistan four years ago. Ben is a cop who has given up on ever trusting or getting close to a woman again since finding his fiancee cheating on him with his partner. Tegan is a wolf; Ben is a human.

Their relationship is that of a D/s, and upon their first time having sex, they become a mated pair. Of course Ben is confused and needs time to process this, leaving Tegan heartbroken. She wants Ben to want to be with her for hr, not just because the bond makes them crave sex with one another. All of their sexual encounters included some sort of sex toys. The shower scene is the only time I can recall the having sex without all the extra. I've read other books with spanking and nipple clamps, but the rope play and ropespace was something altogether new to me.

While they are dealing with their new bond and Ben's mother being against their relationship, war brakes out between the packs and Pellini. Which if you have read the previous books in the series, the war between them is not a surprise. This book only touches on the beginnings of war so the next books in the series will have more.

Overall, I didn't really feel that there was a true connection between Ben and Tegan. I really loved the connection and chemistry between Nina and Lex in Enforcer, but Tegan and Ben just didn't have that.

Lauren Dane | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter