From national bestselling author Lauren Dane comes a white-hot new series of a dangerous family legacy, and sensual paranormal passions played to the death on the knife-edge of darkness…

Meriel Owen, next in line to control the largest organization of witches in the country, is asked to investigate the owner of a notorious club reportedly siphoning magic from the font of the Clan. It’s a direct violation of the Clan Code of Conduct, but one look at Dominic Bright and Meriel’s willing to make a deal. One taste of the sexually feral outlaw witch, and she’s eager to go further: he’s her bond mate, a legal conduit into the world of Clan witches and their magic.

Playing by the rules isn’t Dominic’s style, but bonding with Meriel—night after explosive night—is. However, Meriel has unwittingly invited someone else into her world: Dominic’s mother, a dangerous and poisonously influential magic addict whose lust for death and power corrupts all she touches. Now her shadow is closing in on Meriel, her Clan, and the man Meriel loves, and it’s casting them all into the inescapable heart of darkness.

Title: HEART OF DARKNESS
Author: Lauren Dane
Series: Bound by Magick, book 1
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year of release: 2011, November 1
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Won an ARC at author’s Blog

First line: Meriel sat, taking notes as her mother spoke from the head of the table.

Memorable Scenes:
- Dominic apologizing to Meriel after he shut her out when he found out his true heritage > very moving and first time I saw the vulnerability that was lurking beneath Meriel's tough exterior.


Meriel Owen is the witch next in line to lead the Owen Clan, the crown princess so to speak. She is shrewd, compassionate, stubborn and up-front. But she’s also powerful and perceptive. She says what she thinks and though she may have a soft and compassionate side, when necessary she can be tough as nails.

Dominic Bright is an outclan witch who likes to play on the edge. He’s bold, rebellious, cocky and self-sufficient. He can also be a bit bossy and has enough self-assurance to pull of arrogant without going over the top.

The chemistry between Meriel and Dominic is scorching and tantalizing. From the moment they met on the page the sparks flew between them. I really liked the dry, subtle humor of both Meriel and Dominic, which made their dialogues interesting and entertaining to say the least.

Some interesting secondary characters are introduced in this first installment of the series. Some of these characters I’m sure will definitely have their own books further along in the series, others are already at the place where they form a secondary supporting cast for the main couple in HEART OF DARKNESS but also those in future books.

HEART OF DARKNESS wasn’t all about the romance. It also had some good world-building, it was not too complex but still very intriguing. To me, a reader who is not into too heavy world-building and likes her paranormal romances focused on the romance with the paranormal lightly weaved into it, HEART OF DARKNESS was a great read.

However I can imagine that readers who like their PNR and UF dark, will find this one too light for their taste. What I also loved about the plot part of HEART OF DARKNESS is that the overall main plot will presumably span several books in this series but this first book definitely had its own rounded plot-arc that will have its place in the overall plot. I really liked how the plot was set up and executed in this first installment.

I like that no matter what genre Lauren Dane books I read, they always have this distinctive recognizable style I like. With HEART OF DARKNESS it was no different. Her straightforward, direct and unapologetic writing appeals to me in both her contemporary and paranormal settings. I loved the vibe of this book. It had something laid-back and easy about it, but was still exciting, intriguing and compelling.

What I liked most in HEART OF DARKNESS was the chemistry between Dominic and Meriel, which led to awesome dialogues and some steamy love scenes . Combined with good, clear and not too descriptive world-building and the great characterization of both Meriel and Dominic I just loved reading this book and I look forward to whatever else Lauren Dane has to offer in this series.

Favorite Quotes:
Dominic Bright in the flesh was a punch to the gut. A sensory wallop of total and unbelievable hotness.

She continued her approach, steadying legs that may have buckled had she been a lesser woman, stopping finally when her thighs touched the table. The scent of his magick hung about him like a heavy cloak. And fed her like she’d been starving.
“Mr. Bright, you’ve been a very naughty boy.”
“So I’ve been told a time or two. I take it you’re Clan Owen here to spank me.”

She was everything all at once but he never felt as if he’d lost part of himself. Just more of something else added to that. She hadn’t made him whole, she’d simply snapped all the missing pieces together and in doing so he was whole.

This was part of what they were together. Meriel made his blood sing, made his magick rise, made him hard and short of breath.
This was everything.

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?

Title: NEVER ENOUGH
Author: Lauren Dane
Series: Brown Siblings, book 4
Genre: Erotic Romance, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Year of release: 2011, September 6
Format: Trade Size Paperback
Source: Received an e-ARC from author for review

First line:
It felt so fucking good up there.

Memorable Scenes:
- Rennie and Adrian's talk in the 2nd chapter > here we go...sniffling already and I was only at the beginning.
- Adrian and Gillian's first meeting > fireworks fly and not only sexual ones...
- the sex scenes > OMG, the sex scenes... *thud*
- Gillian's talk with Jules when she confides in her about sleeping with Adrian > Jules cracked me up with the lady parts synonyms
- the couples date at the tavern > that whole scene/chapter was awesome! It was the culminating and most crucial scene of the book


Adrian Brown is and isn’t your typical rock star. He’s a little jaded, charismatic, laid-back and he really likes to take care of the people he loves. He’s also grown a wary and tired of people with their ulterior motives and wanting things from him that have nothing to do with his musical talent, he's had it with them.

Before I go on with the rest of this review I have a confession to make:
Honestly? Since starting this series Adrian has never been a character I was drawn to or who'd caught my fancy. It was one if those "not clicking with the secondary character who'll have his own story further down the road" things. I've had it before in other series too. So I went into NEVER ENOUGH without the highly set expectations, the only thing I knew was that Lauren Dane would give me another good and enjoyable addition to this series.

But then I started reading and from the first moment Adrian's character grabbed me! His passion for music and his longing to have what his siblings have found: a family of his own, love, a soulmate...his character touched me in a way I really didn’t expect and I’m still amazed by how much I liked him! When Browns love, they love hard, fully and strong and Adrian is no exception. He completely drew me in from the start and this was even before he met Gillian and Miles and their story really kicked off.

Then there was Gillian. She’s going straight to my favorite heroines list.
Gillian Forrester is a piano teacher and graphic designer. She moved from England to the US when she was a child and her British roots were very subtly imbedded into her characterization. She’s bold, direct, candid and unapologetic. She doesn't want to rely on anyone and needs to know she can support herself and those dependent on her.

Gillian is in control of who she is and what she wants in life. She’s determined and headstrong yet despite her take-charge personality, she also has her moments of insecurity and doubts. I really loved Gillian and though Erin was my favorite Brown Sibling series heroine to-date and I still adore her larger than life personality, it's Gillian who has taken over that spot with her fierceness in how she loves unconditionally and fights hard for her independence.

Music is important to both Adrian and Gillian, it plays a big role in their lives and in soothing their anxieties/worries. Through this aspect of their characters Dane's love for music shines through on every page of this book.

Sparks fly between Gillian and Adrian from the very start. Verbally and sexually and they match each other every step of the way. They have this constant battle of wills going on because they're both stubborn, Adrian is used to getting his way without being questioned and Gillian is not about to let anyone else run her life or interfere with it. However, they talk it out, things aren't left unresolved between them because they aren't afraid to go head to head and battle it out or find a compromise. I also absolutely loved how both of them are vocal and love dishing out the dirty in the bedroom. In most romances I read it’s the men who do the dirty talking in the bedroom so I found it utterly refreshing and awesome that Gillian is a dirty talker too! Thank you, Lauren Dane!

Next to Adrian and Gillian who were the absolute stars of this book, we have a cast of wonderful secondary characters who were the filling and foundation to the romance and the plot of NEVER ENOUGH. Not only did we have a nice look into the extended Brown family, we also got Gillian’s group of friends added to the mix. This group of friends is as fascinating and entertaining as the Browns are. I look forward to reading their stories. I heard from Lauren Dane that her new series with Berkley Heat revolves around these friends. I could not be happier!

I think I have mentioned this in earlier reviews of the Brown Sibling books, but I love how Lauren Dane writes family dynamics and kids into this series. The kids were awesome. Starting with Rennie, that girl won my heart from the moment she set foot in COMING UNDONE via Alexander, Erin’s cute baby boy to Miles, quiet, quirky Miles who also immediately took his place on my awesome kids in romance list.

Almost halfway through I was enjoying NEVER ENOUGH to the fullest but also had that "when's the other shoe gonna drop"-feeling. From the moment Adrian visited Miles for the first time it was all smooth and perfect for Gillian, Adrian and Miles. And though there were some discussions and battles of will I wondered if there would be some kind of (external) conflict somewhere down the line. Well my wish was granted big time towards the end and I liked how it didn't take over everything but it did give that perfect additional tension to the whole story arc.

With NEVER ENOUGH Lauren Dane has written a very emotional addition to the Brown Sibling series! At first I wasn't sure yet if it would be as heart wrenching as LAID BARE was but it definitely was, only Dane left that for the last few chapters. I read the last 20 pages through teary eyes, reveling in the emotions brought to the surface. There was one little thing I missed, that would have made this the perfect read and that was an epilogue.

Adrian and Gillian left an indelible impression on me with their story. A story that I clicked with in so many levels it was scary. I'm lost for words to adequately describe why I loved this book so much. All I can say is it had everything I love in a sexy contemporary romance and then some!

NEVER ENOUGH is love, romance, passion and sex in its purest, rawest form and poured into Lauren Dane's wonderfully unapologetic writing style it stirred my emotions and senses in every way possible. When I finished I was emotionally drained yet utterly satisfied, my eyes were red-rimmed and I was left with a mad crush on these two amazing characters and the author who created them and their story.

Wednesday I did a Quotes-Post (as part of Lauren Dane’s NEVER ENOUGH Blog-Tour). In this post Lauren shares her favorite quotes from the book and so do I. You can find it HERE. The ones I didn’t use in that post I’m sharing them with you in this review. I marked a lot of quotes and I’m happy to have this other chance to add a few more for your enjoyment.

Favorite Quotes:

She opened up and her loveliness hit him square in the gut. Soft and feminine with all that hair and those big brown eyes peeking out from the fringe of French roast–toned bangs.
She smelled good too. Sweet and spicy.
He sent her a charming smile. “Hi. I—”
She slammed the door in his face before he could finish his sentence.
He stood there, struck stupid in love with Gillian Forrester. Though he wouldn’t know it for a while yet. (p.60)

“Just being here with you has made me totally fuzzy headed.” And hard everywhere else. “And”—he set his glass down before scooting closer—“perhaps I prefer you less than clearheaded. Because . . .” He hesitated, his lips so very close to hers. “I think I’d love it if we could take this inside and I could divest you of your clothing and perhaps set out to make you unravel a few times.” (p.81)

“And here I thought I’d have to use my showerhead after you left tonight. This is much better,” she murmured, staring at him like the visual buffet table he was.
“Never use a showerhead instead of me. Unless I’m there to watch.” He sighed, happily eating her up with his gaze. (p.87)

He was so delightfully filthy she wanted to throw her head back and laugh with the joy of it. (p.88)

He was already close. His emotions raw, his feelings so very near the surface. Having been teased by her scent and her manner all evening long, and driven nearly senseless by her mouth on his c#ck, her taste on his mouth, he was holding on by his metaphorical fingertips. (p.91)

She liked it hard and rough and with a side of dirty talk. (p.97)

He turned her to goo when he used that rough and dirty voice. (p. 109)

She did that thing that made him crazy about her. One brow slid up as if it could not believe his audacity. Which only made him more audacious just to poke at her and bring out her English.
“You know how hot that makes me,” he said, stepping close and catching her face in his hands to hold her still enough for a kiss.
“Everything makes you hot, Adrian. You’re a menace with a penis.” (p.153)

“I missed your taste,” he said into her mouth. Little nips and licks, sweet, quick kisses and slow, dragging kisses until she was light-headed with it.
And then he pulled her hair, arching her neck to his mouth, and proceeded to devastate her that way. (p. 159)

He’d liked a lot of women. Maybe even could have loved a few. And none of them had been what this one was.
He leaned closer, brushing his lips over hers with aching tenderness. The soft sigh she gave him in response undid him to his foundations. (p. 173)

“You’re not alone. I wake up when you’re not with me. I can’t sleep as well alone now. There’s a Gillian-shaped spot in my bed. And in my life. I want you in it. I want you with me. I want our family. [...]" (p. 254)

They call him the Shadow. Andrei Solace delivers death on silent feet as an assassin for the Phantom Corps. The perfect weapon in the fight against the Imperium, he’s sent to the same ’Verse he left behind as a youth.

Piper Roundtree is a mercenary prepared for anything—except for being rescued from Imperial lackeys by the man she hasn’t laid eyes on in eleven years. While she remembers every mesmerizing sensation he gave her, she thought they were through. And against the backdrop of an impending war, their passion is reignited.

The girl Andrei once loved is now a fierce woman who can pilot a ship through canyons at high speeds, and drive him wild with equalabandon. As much as Andrei tries to protect her from the darkness inside him, Piper admires his skills and the code he lives by. Now the lovers must join forces—in more ways than one—to save the Known Universe before the enemy hurls it into irreversible chaos…

Title: MESMERIZED
Author: Lauren Dane
Series: Federation Chronicles, book 4/Phantom Corps, book 2
Genre: Futuristic Romance
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Year of release: 2011, April 5
Format:> Tradesize Paperback
Source:Received digital ARC from author for review

First line:
"Sir, you can't go in there!"
Memorable Scenes:
- Piper and Carey discussing Andrei > loved Andrei's reaction to it, also deepened Andrei's characterization
- table smexing scene > HOT!

Andrei Solace is a Phantom Corps operative. He’s a man of few words with an explosive temper. He’s unflappable, private, defiant and honorable. Andrei intrigued me from the moment I met him in Insatiable and I am happy to see him get his HEA with a heroine that was perfect for him.

Piper Roundtree to me was a breath of fresh air, storming through the book. She’s part of a mercenary group on one of the Edge ‘Verses and stands her ground in the middle of a male dominant environment. She’s independent, fearless, tough, passionate and strong-willed.

Piper and Andrei were childhood sweethearts and after years apart, Andrei's work for the Phantom Corps brings him back to the one woman he never was able to completely get out of his mind. And Piper is reunited with the only man she ever truly loved/opened her heart to. I really loved how Lauren Dane built up the romance and sexual tension between them. Preferred that to them jumping each other the first moment they were reunited as this fit the story/characters perfectly.

The love scenes were beautiful and very sensual. They were explicit without being crude or coarse. They were just like I've grown used to from Lauren Dane. I'd go all tingly when Andrei would get all commanding and go all gooey when he would only have eyes for Piper and say sweet things to her. I adore when an author can make me fall in love with the heroines through the heroes’ eyes. Lauren Dane did exactly that with Andrei and Piper.

The secondary cast once again was excellently woven into the story. They were supporting to the romance and crucial to the plot. Speaking of the plot, every installment offers more intriguing developments and in every installment of this series plot and romance complement each other perfectly. The war brewing in the first book, UNDERCOVER, has meanwhile evolved into a full-blown war and MESMERIZED had me holding my breath waiting for casualties to fall on the side of the good guys and they do and it had me in tears.

I love the world Lauren Dane has created with this series, the 'Verses and the war/battle between the Federation and the Imperialists. New intriguing characters are introduced of which you just know you’re going to see them again in future books, and I’ve also come to care about all the former main characters in this series and I loved getting tidbits of how they are faring.

It’s no secret or surprise that I really love Lauren Dane’s writing. I haven’t read a book by her yet that has disappointed me in that aspect. Even if science fiction/futuristic romance is not your thing I'm convinced this series and MESMERIZED will be a great read. The way Lauren Dane builds the world and plot is very agreeable and she doesn't let you get lost in the world and the characters. The romance stays the main focus and the balance is excellently done.

I thoroughly enjoyed this installment and am chomping at the bit to get to read the next. Not only for the continuation of the ongoing plot but also for the fascinating romance that has its tiny beginning at the end of MESMERIZED. After finishing MESMERIZED I'm dying to read Julian and Vincenz's story even though I know it will probably knock me straight out of my comfort zone but I know it will be as enjoyable as the rest of this series.

Dane mixes the futuristic plot and the explicit sex scenes with well-drawn characters, strong emotions and subtle humor and she does this with an ease that leaves me wanting more. There is subtle humor in the smallest of remarks, this humor shone through in MESMERIZED but never took the upper hand. With every book in this series Lauren Dane entices me to continue and once again she didn't disappoint.

Favorite Quotes:
"I won't bite you, Andrei." She patted the bed beside where she sat.
That was too bad. He liked biting.

"Gods forbid you have any flaws, Andrei Solace. If you get hurt again and try to hide it from me, I will kick your ass, no matter how spectacular it is." She kissed him hard and stood.

Little ground tremors of climax shuddered through her over and over, leaving her a boneless mass of pleasured female.

When he did that dirty talking muttered snarl thing he did, she'd let him do anything to her, she'd do anything for him.

WORTH THE WAIT
Ella Tipton is a survivor. In the wake of an attack that left her nearly dead, she’s 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 didn’t mean she had 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 decidedly skittish Ella developed. He’s known her for years, has watched her triumph over the pain she’d been dealt. Cope is no stranger to women, but he knows the nervous flush he gets every time he talks to her is different than any attraction he’s had in the past. Determined to get Ella to let him in, Andy does the one thing he can think of to get close: he offers her hands-on training in self-defense.

While Ella’s sure he’s just being nice, the prospect of being able to touch him 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 re-ignites something deep inside her. Before long desire and love turn them both inside out.

Title: Inside Out
Author: Lauren Dane
Series: Brown Siblings, book 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Year of release: 2010, November 2
Format: Tradesize Paperback
Source: Received a digital copy from author for review

First line: She arched on a gasp as the heat of his mouth met her neck.
Memorable Scenes:
- Dancing at the club scene > I love it when characters dance
- Cope's solo scene in the shower > I need some ice
- Speeches at Brody and Elise's engagement party > Yup, I cried
- Cope revealing Ella's scars > Yup, I cried again
- Andrew and Ella's letters > OMG! Talk about wooing *swoon* and emotional *sobs* The letter stuff killed me (in a good way!) and left me a sobbing mess, especially the last two.
- Ben and Cope at the hospital > Yup, another 'let's make Pearl cry' scene

I don't believe I've ever been more anxiously yearning for a book or more giddy to finally read about a character I've lusted for from the moment he set foot in the first book of this series: Mr. Andrew 'Cope' Copeland. My heart was literally thumping when I opened the digital copy and started reading.

Andrew 'Cope' Copeland is a sweet, gentle and caring man wrapped in a flirty bad boy. He’s confident and easygoing, sensitive and intuitive. With every page Cope had me crushing on him more and more and while he wooed Ella he lured me not only right into his web of sensuality but also romanced me with his caring and fun personality.

And I was happy with how Ella invariably kept calling him Andrew instead of Cope. She sees and exposes sides of him he keeps hidden from everyone. They all know Cope, laid-back pretty boy, but only Ella gets to see Andrew, sensitive and vulnerable.

Ella Tipton is a woman with a rough past that turned her from carefree and vivacious to cautious and stronger but still the vivaciousness seeps through now and again. She’s a fighter. Resilient and brave, focused and empathic. Few authors make me really (fall in) love their heroines, Lauren Dane is one of those few. Through Cope she made me fall for Ella as hard as he did.

Cope and Ella are perfectly matched. Others perceive them both others in a certain way but they have this need to have someone look past the outward and obvious stuff and get to their cores. I love it when a main couple goes from friends to fantasizing about each other to being lovers to a relationship. And that's exactly what Lauren Dane gave me in INSIDE OUT.

The secondary cast of characters in INSIDE OUT was comprised solely of (extended) family members, both on Cope and Ella’s side. It was awesome to see the characters from the first two books make an appearance and form a wonderful supporting cast to bring out the family dynamics, support and the feeling of togetherness I adore in this series.

Parents again play an important role in the back-story and character-depth. Ella's don't get her yen for independence and feel rejected when she tries to make a life for herself without completely leaning on them. They don't see that she needs it to feel a semblance of being in control of her life. Yet despite their disagreement on this, there's also warmth and love between the Tiptons and they see and understand more than Ella thinks.
Following the small thread in LAID BARE Cope's parents, especially his dad, are still struggling so much with Ben's choice of lifestyle, that they overlook Cope, who has always stood in Ben's shadow, Ben being the favorite golden boy in his parents eyes. In some parts of the story (when you read the scenes, you'll know which parts I mean) I wanted to punch Cope's dad in the face, hard!

As much as I adored INSIDE OUT for its emotional impact, its strong family and friends dynamics, its wonderful main couple and their lovely, touching journey into a deep and profound love I did miss the dirty hot sexy times and the sexual intensity that blew me away in LAID BARE and COMING UNDONE. I had the feeling that the awesome erotic and sexual zing that was present in LAID BARE has dwindled down a bit in the following books.

On the one hand I thought it was cute how sweet Cope was by reigning in his lust and taking it slow with Ella, considerate of her troubled past and fragile emotions where it came to men and sex, but on the other hand I was thinking: 'Come on Cope! Get down and dirty already!' and getting impatient waiting for the scorching hotness to set the pages on fire, which was muted by Cope's constant need to accommodate Ella and make sure he did nothing to scare her off. There's a time for sweet, gentle and cute and there's a time for sweaty dirty smexing and since I expected a sexy contemporary, not to say erotic romance (based on the two previous books) I must admit to myself that the sweaty dirty was not present enough for me in most of the book.

My problem was that there was a lot of talk (from Cope and other characters) about him being a "dirty" boy but I didn't see it in the sex scenes much. Don't get me wrong: I liked the sex scenes, liked Cope as the hero but a little more dirty would have made him live up more to my high expectations. I also understand that a great part of the minor issues I had with INSIDE OUT were due to my own high, and probably unrealistic, expectations so I want to make sure that anyone reading this review understands that this is a case of : “it’s me, not you Lauren.”

That being said, I absolutely loved the way Lauren Dane shows the power of friendship and love in all its facets in the books of this series and INSIDE OUT is no exception. The intricate bonds and emotions between lovers, friends and family members that run like a thread throughout the book, is one of the strong points that I adore in this series. They are what give the books and the characters a depth that goes beyond any hot sex scene could.

Lauren Dane never fails to bring me new and refreshing stuff when it comes to sex speak. Some new-to-me terms I picked up: eye-f#cked and sex voice. And there was a remarkable obsession with licking (if several body parts, not just the obvious ones) in this book. I'm not complaining about this, just noticed it as it was mentioned from the start on the very first page, it was on both Ella and Cope's mind a lot throughout the book and it was in every sex scene.

In conclusion, INSIDE OUT is a must-read and can’t be missed once you’ve started this series. Though it didn’t meet my (enormously) high expectations in the erotic sense, for me it was a sexy contemporary romance that redefines the meaning of romantic and it was an emotional depiction of the bonds within a group of family and friends, colliding family members and love in its purest form.

Favorite Quotes:
That voice. Holy crap, his voice was like sex in a jar. Or whatever. But it was hot and sexy, and she heard it lots and lots. Usually when her eyes were closed and she was masturbating. Wrong. Bad, bad Ella!

She'd unleashed something deep inside him. Had held up a mirror, and the man she saw-- the Andrew she believed him to be-- was so much more than the Cope he'd allowed himself to coast into.

Snippet from a letter from Cope to Ella:
"You are mine, and I don't think I know all the words to tell you just what that means. Only that when you breathe, I do, when you smile just for me everything inside me stills and knows it's found the key."

Ten years ago, Rori Simon left town shy, unattractive and with zero self-esteem. Now she’s back, older, stronger and finally loving herself—and it shows. Hot men are soon knocking at her door, including Jude Callahan, the bad boy who starred in her teenage daydreams…and her adult fantasies.

Jude can’t believe the sexy, confident woman before him is actually Rori! She’s gotten under his skin like no other woman has…and brings out secret desires he can’t resist. He wants to dominate Rori with every fiber of his being. Wants to own her and pleasure her. To cherish her as he makes her his.

Rori discovers she likes being controlled. She also knows Jude is not a one-woman man. Everything changes when she meets Zach Helm. Edgy, sensual Zach knows just what she needs, and before long, she’s in love. Jude watches them together and wonders if he’s lost his chance forever…

Title: Second Chances
Author: Lauren Dane
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Publisher: Carina Press
Year of release: 2010, October 25 (this is a revised reprint of an earlier title)
Format: eBook
Source: Requested and received digital ARC from publisher through NetGalley

First line:
You can come home again.
Bittersweet memories overwhelmed Rori as she pulled her packed sedan up her sister’s the tree-lined driveway.

Memorable Scenes:
- Restaurant scene with Zach > OMG! Scorching!
- A scene I cannot reveal much about but it was the pivotal scene of this book and made me cry like a baby, sobbing and all.

As far as summaries go, you'll have to do with the blurb because I can't say anything more without spoiling and this is a book best read without spoilers that would ruin a lot of pivotal emotional moments in the story. SECOND CHANCES touches subjects as D/s and bondage but also emotional stuff as family bonds and a tense mother-daughter relationship, loss, grief and a bunch of other stuff I can't mention for fear of spoilers.

This story has three main characters and I'm not talking ménage here. It's a complicated love story filled with heat, emotions and struggles.

After a break-up with her cheating ex-boyfriend, Rori Simon leaves the life she's build in Paris and moves back to her hometown and her roots after ten years. She re-connects with Jude, the town’s bad boy, womanizer and her friend whom she had a crush on when she was a young. She also decides she's not going to chase after Jude him because no matter how much she wants Jude she's also realistic enough to realize exclusiveness is not in his vocabulary. Though she is falling for him, and has fallen for him she demands respect and will not taking his crap.

Throughout the story I couldn't fully connect with Rori. She was too fickle for me at times but I can't say I didn't like her. I liked her as a heroine because she was strong, self-confident and realistic. I just had trouble with some of her decisions and I never quite felt her emotionally except during a pivotal emotional scene where her hurt broke my heart.

Jude Callahan is a commanding charmer and a commitment-phobic, skirt-chasing womanizer. He’s not the one-woman type but rather juggles multiple women at the same time, enjoying them but never committing to one of them. A fact he openly admits to and doesn't pretend he's not. And it's been made easy for him with the women falling at his feet so he doesn't even have to make an effort.

Until Rori's return changes things and he finds himself doing the chasing instead of the other way around and he starts feeling things (jealousy, possessiveness) he's never felt before. Rori calls... no, screams, to his urge to dominate. Deep down he's not the carefree bachelor he seems to be. Opening up and making himself vulnerable because of how he's starting to feel about Rori scares him to death, which is why he inadvertently pushes her away as he doesn't open up to her other than sexually.

This drives Rori to Zach Helm, her best friend’s brother. Zach is the total opposite of Jude. He is ready to commit and so the focus of hero shifted to him, another Dominant but very openly so. He fills the emotional void that Jude left. Though both Zach and Jude are Doms Zach is more sure and comfortable with his mastery, which made him come out on top and made the sex scenes with him and Rori hotter to read.

Jude really started to get on my nerves with his petty jealousy over Rori once she's with Zach. He came across as a petulant child stomping his foot because he didn't get what he wanted but only wanted it after he threw it away and someone else grabbed it. Still, as much as he got on my nerves and as much as I wanted to smack him for being an ass to Rori, Jude was the character I clicked with the most.

Zach to me was kept on the surface as a character, understandably once you get to the heart of the story and I couldn’t completely click with Rori. Jude was the one who made a significant enough character development for me. Then something big, significant and heartbreaking happens and Rori and Jude grow close again and at the start of that development in the story my feelings about it were ambivalent.

I admired how Lauren Dane tackled the situation and the romance in this novel but I wasn’t sure if I was going to love it in the end. It's definitely not your run-of-the-mill romance novel that you just go through the motions with. It made me stop and wonder what I would do in Rori's place faced with the situations Lauren Dane put her in.

There were some things I liked less in the story.
One thing that bothered me a bit was the flashbacks during sex scenes. Rori and Jude and Zach had them and they took me out of the sexy times mood, even when they were flashbacks with a sexual tone. Also Rori attracts dominant men but I didn't find a foundation in her character to suggest she's a sub other than both Zach and Jude saying she was "the perfect sub". The "something clicked into place inside her" didn't completely work for me either, as it was sudden and left too unfounded for me to truly accept it.

However there were so much more things that I did like about this story and they made the above little issues pale in comparison. I loved the quick alternations between Rori and Jude's POVs, which gave the story a very fast-paced, feel and kept it moving forward.

The characters and their emotional development were also pluses for me. This goes for Jude especially because he could have been a character easy to dislike, even hate, but the way Lauren Dane portrayed him you just can't because he's very unapologetically upfront about who and what he is, he learns from his mistakes and his redemption is believable and heartfelt.

The story at a swift pace and a lot of things were happening yet it never felt rushed. SECOND CHANCES is emotional, witty and super hot. The emotions make it honest, genuine and realistic. The romance that is not of the flowery, all sunshine and roses kind touched me deeply. I cried through the last 4 or 5 chapters and had to put it down a few times just to get a grip.

Lauren Dane ripped my heart out with this book but she also put it back, whole and rich with a new emotional reading experience. This shouldn’t surprise me because it's Lauren Dane. Need I say more? I love her writing whether it's contemporary, futuristic, full-out erotic or just sexy. She writes, I love!

Favorite Quotes:

The men pulled up chairs and sat. It was simply not a chore at all to look at them there. Like a box of chocolates of male beauty. A little of every type and she liked them all.

Tonya Big Boobs came back with their drinks and gave Jude another facial massage with her mammary glands. So conscientious, that girl.

The part of him that wanted to gobble her up and binge warred with the part that wanted to draw it out, fully taste every single moment they had, including the build up to what he knew would be explosive and very hot sex.

And just to be clear, there is no me and Rori. I just took her for a drink, a dance and a ride on my bike.”
“And a tonsillectomy on the front porch.”

“You know, I can think of a lot better ways to spend this evening. There are just so many things I’d rather be licking than this spoon.”
“Oh yeah?” His eyes darkened. “Please, feel free to elaborate. In great detail. With your tongue in my ear if you wish.”
“Show me,” he said, a slight tremor in his voice.
“Can’t here, you’re a cop, you’d have to arrest me. Although the idea of you putting me in handcuffs does have its appeal.”

“This is like a symbol that I’m yours? Not as in, you own me, though, right? Because I am not down with that, mister.”
He smiled at her sauciness. “I don’t own you, you’re a human being. So beautiful and perfect. The collar is a symbol that you are mine emotionally and physically. But I’m yours, too. You won’t lose yourself to me, Rori. I don’t want your independence, your spirit. I just want your obedience in bed."

At long last, Kendra Kellogg has found her sister—but she’s no closer to filling the gaps in her past. The magick that brought them together makes them targets for dark mages intent on finishing what started with their mother’s murder.

As if her life wasn’t chaotic enough, in barrels the one thing she doesn’t expect, Max de La Vega. He’s six-and-a-half-feet of cocoa-brown alpha male. He’s strong, intelligent, sexy and intense. Everything she’d wanted in a man. And he scares the hell out of her. Still healing from a disastrous past relationship, she wonders if she’ll ever have that kind of forever.

The next in line to run his jaguar jamboree, Max is unused to hearing “no”. Once he knows what he wants, he assumes he’ll get it. And he wants Kendra. She deserves happiness and it’s his mission to give it to her.

When dark mages attempt to steal her magickal energy, Max’s cat agrees with the man—Kendra is his to protect and he will stop at nothing to keep her safe. She can push him away as hard as she likes, he’s not going anywhere.

Kendra Kellogg is an extremely skillful witch and a teacher. She’s quick-witted and strong-willed, vivacious, straightforward, compassionate and a bit touchy. She’s also a fighter who protects the ones she cares about with fierce determination. Despite her strength and boldness there's an amount of vulnerability to her that softens her and makes her an amazing character. She doesn't quite know what to do with her attraction to Max and his interest in her. In the beginning I was curious about her past, eager to know what had happened with her ex to make her so cautious in her acceptance of Max's courtship. The explanation showed me a Kendra who's a warrior with a yearning to belong, to connect and to be loved, yet free to be whom and what she is.

Max De La Vega is lawyer and a powerful cat shifter. He’s next in line to head up his jaguar jamboree. Maxi is intense, alpha and sleek and smooth like the jaguar he is, oozing confidence without effort. He portrays the broody, dominant alpha male perfectly but he is not overbearing or controlling. He is drawn to Kendra from the very first moment he lays eyes on her.

Quote:
(…) Max de La Vega. He’s six-and-a-half-feet of cocoa-brown alpha male.

This description of Max in the blurb immediately caught my eye! And I wondered if he was going to be another one for my favorite heroes list? Let me tell you that after reading first sex scene the answer to this question is a wholehearted YES!

I really liked the way Lauren Dane build up this story and the relationship between Max and Kendra. Unlike the quick, almost instant romance and sexual play in TRINITY, this one was more gradual, Max had to work to get Kendra where he wanted. And he took his time, wouldn't be rushed, not even by her. And all the while the sexual chemistry between them is off the charts! It’s sizzling from page one and scorching when they both give into it. Also, as with TRINITY the playful banter and teasing between the main characters is one of the things I liked best in this book. It gave it that humorous feel I adore in my reads. Even during sex they kept the teasing banter going. Loved that!

REVELATION has some of the best secondary characters I’ve read in a while. Max’s dad charmed me, Max’s mom had me in awe and Max’s siblings are a mixed bunch of likeable and unlikeable characters but they all contributed to this awesome book and it’s plot. I was thrilled to see Galen, Renee and Jack again and I absolutely and completely loved the sisterly bond between Kendra and Renee. Their bond was strong despite having spent years apart by the separation their father caused.

I went into REVELATION hoping the cliffhanger TRINITY ended on would be tackled in a satisfactory way and it soon was, though not very early in the story. After the wrap-up of the cliffhanger some developments raised new questions and I was curious to see if how these loose ends were going to be tied up. I was very satisfied with the ending of REVELATION and it left enough open to guarantee enough fodder for another De La Vega Cats book and I’m already looking forward to it even if I don’t have a clue whose book it would be. Gibson maybe? Because this De La Vega brother who is the jamboree’s Bringer (of justice and law) totally intrigued me. He had a scene near the end that definitely put him in my line of vision and I hope he'll find his own stubborn, difficult woman to protect in a future De La Vega Cats installment.

The dialogues, characterization and plot drew me in completely. Once you start reading the easy dialogues set a nice fast pace, the plot keeps you curious for more and the strong characters, both primary and secondary, keep you engaged in a way you don't want to let them go. I loved the way the sexy times alternated with Kendra's back-story (mainly), information on witchcraft and magic(k) and the plot. A plot that had some turns I kind of saw coming and yet they surprised the heck out of me when the things I suspected actually happened. And there were some things in the plot that I really didn’t see coming and also surprised the heck out of me. I like to be surprised!

I couldn’t help but notice that, as with the Federation Series and with the Brown Siblings series, the first book in the series is centered on the m/f/m ménage and the second is a strong m/f relationship. I like that and wonder if this will remain a recurring thing in future (new) series too. It does kind of offer something for everyone. I personally like both tropes, as long as the romance, plot and sex is good…either ménage or plain m/f works for me.

REVELATION totally caught me by surprise and turned out to be an awesome read! The plot and its twists and turns, the characters and their development, the beautiful and at times surprising romance rife with intensity and some very hot sexing, it all came together to create a perfect read and have me desperate for more in the world of the De La Vega cats.

Though I have one complaint, this book is getting the perfect score from me. My complaint? I didn't get that office/desk scene Lauren Dane dangled in front of me through this quote:

Max: "Have I ever shared this recurring fantasy I've had about you, me and my desk?"

If I had gotten that particular scene I would've been very tempted to give this book an 11!

Quotes:
Max: "I walked into the building when I smelled my lovely Kendra. I needed to make my way here to rub myself all over her."

He held a hand out to her, helping her up. “Come on then.” He sighed dramatically. “Clearly, you’re a nympho and need some of my special medicine for it.”

She grabbed his lapels and dragged him closer, tiptoeing up to whisper in his ear. “I want you to mark me again. On the inside of my thigh.” Their energy reverberated, humming, vibrating until she nearly came from it.
“I want to lick you until you say my name. You know how you do it, stuttering, breathless, like a sob. It makes my c#ck hard. Let’s go home right now (…)”

10 out of 10

One witch, one cat shifter. Add one wolf. Blend. Safety glasses recommended.

Renee Parcell loves her life. Her smoothie/coffee cart business is successful, and she’s deeply in love with her boyfriend, Galen. He makes her laugh, he’s gainfully employed, and he satisfies her as only a sexy cat shifter can. He even puts the toilet seat down.

Yet they both sense something in the air. An anticipation that leaves them both unsettled.

Tall, blond and gorgeous Jack Meyers, Enforcer of National Pack and one of the most beautiful men Renee and Galen have ever seen, stumbles into Renee’s life and the riddle of their expectation is solved—Renee is Jack’s mate. What surprises them all is when the three of them touch, magick creates an unexpected triple bond of witch, cat and wolf.

Even as they learn to navigate the steamy intricacies of their bond, a threat looms over Renee. First in the form of resurrected memories, then in the shape of darker magicks someone is aiming at her. Set on stealing her inherent powers—even her life.

Renee can stand to lose almost anything, except her mates. But there seems to be no talking them out of laying everything on the line for her…

Warning:
All kinds of alpha maleness going on up in here and the woman responsible for keeping them in line. Sexin in many varied settings and positions, including sexy times between dudes. Bad words. Tight butts in worn denim. Some violence here and there.

I was enthralled even before starting reading this book. The intriguing premise of a witch, a cat shifter and a wolf shifter combined with the exhilarating Samhain warning were enough to reel me in and Lauren Dane definitely delivered on their promise. This is my very first taste of Lauren Dane's shifter books. I've had her Cascadia Wolves series on my TBR for quite a while but never got around to them. Trinity is a spin-off of that series and though it can be read as a stand-alone perfectly, it definitely triggered me to pick up the Cascadia books very soon. Subtly, effortlessly and seemingly unnoticed Lauren Dane weaves in the intriguing Cascadia back-story through Jack's POV and some secondary characters.

Renee Parcell owns a juice and coffee cart in the metaphysical bookstore/magick shop her stepmother runs. Renee speaks her mind; she’s saucy and independent, strong-willed, tough and very caring of the people she loves. She’s a powerful witch with a strong magic force surrounding her but knows little of her magical background and her father and stepmother's disapproval and denial of magic prevents her from acknowledging it. Later on in the story things come to light that put this in a very different and surprising light and that turn Renee’s world upside down.

Galen de La Vega is Renee's fiancé (in human terms) and imprinted husband (in cat shifter terms). Galen is a Spanish/Jamaican shifter and lawyer. His parents are the alpha couple of the jamboree (jaguar equivalent of a pack). Since Galen first brought Renee home it’s been a struggle to get her accepted by everyone in the jamboree but Galen doesn’t accept their disapproval and sticks with Renee all the way.

Quote: "The sound of his voice was like caramel, thick and sweet."

Jack Anderson Meyers is Renee's other mate, a wolf shifter, Enforcer of his pack, who accidentally bumps into Renee and recognizes his life mate in her. His stumbling into Renee’s world triggers stuff that not only rocks the worlds of both Galen and Renee, but also his own.

Quote: "What a voice. Lazy, redolent with sex, deep."

Both Galen and Jack are fearsome, protective and confident alpha males. I loved how Renee stood her ground and told them off when they did stupid things or were too bossy and overbearing. The set-up of the tri-mate bond between Galen, Renee and Jack was excellently written and I was smoothly eased into the ménage.
I was utterly intrigued by the complexity of the mating/bonding triangle between Galen, Renee and Jack and I was curious how it all was going to work out. And I’m not disappointed at all. That first sex scene was off the charts hot and I could almost feel the emotional intensity. And once again (as in LAID BARE and UNDERCOVER) Lauren Dane made the m/m sexy times work for me because it wasn’t too explicit and the focus point remained on Renee. For any m/m/f ménage to work for me I need the focus to stay on the female and not too much m/m sexy times and Lauren is an author of erotic romance who has never let me down in that.

After the halfway mark there was so much going on, so many questions popping up, my head was spinning! In a very good way. I couldn't read fast enough to find out what the heck was going on! One small thing bothered me. There's a scene with a (verbal) fight between Renee and Jack over something Jack says and I didn't understand Renee's anger and therefore didn't understand the fight or the need for this scene. The scene that followed, offered ample explanation though and was pivotal tot he plot and Renee's character and back-story so I was quickly back on track and even more intrigued then before. At first I couldn't understand the ambiguity in Renee's character: feisty, vibrant, saucy on one side and insecure, low-self-esteem and defending people who are bad for her, abusive even on the other hand. However, this is all explained little by little throughout her characterization and at the end of the book I understood it a little bit better.

I developed an instant dislike for Renee’s stepmother Susan. It had been a while since I had such a violent reaction to a secondary character but I wanted to climb into the pages and kick her toxic ass. And this only got worse and worse the more I read about her. When I came to the end of the book all I wanted to do was punch her in the face. Hard! (I am NOT a violent person, I swear…)

When I started reading TRINITY someone on Twitter expressed that I was so lucky to be reading it so close to the release of REVELATION, its sequel. To be honest I didn't understand the fuss until I reached the last page and was treated to one heck of a cliffhanger. Seriously people, I’m talking the mother of all cliffhangers here! Saying I need to read REVELATION immediately isn't even an understatement. What's bigger than an understatement? Well, that's the word I'm looking for!

TRINITY is comprised of easy dialogues, witty banter, great characterization, clear world building without info-dumps, emotional development and off-the-charts sex scenes. For these things alone lovers of shifter paranormal romance should read Lauren Dane's De La Vega Cats!

Quotes:

She looked up, into his face, met his eyes and smiled. “Did you have a request?”
“My c#ck does and I’m its spokesperson.”

“You’re tense. Not so much now that you think you’re getting some morning sex, but earlier. Your muscles were bunched up.”
“Am I?”
"Bunched up?"
Leaning in, he drew a deep breath, his lips just touching her throat. His system went into overdrive. “Getting morning sex.”
"You’re going to get your junk punched if you don’t tell me what had you all stressed out.”

Their early morning coupling wasn’t about sensuality. It wasn’t a slow seduction. It was hard and fast, bodies meeting, sliding in a slick of sweat, the ache of desire, the spice of their attraction hanging around them. Her nails dug into his sides as she came, her body clasping his with such heated ferocity he had no choice but to give in and climax.

What she felt when he marked her that way wasn’t something she could easily put into words. It was a wedding ring, a declaration of his connection and commitment, it was sexy and caveman all at once, wrapped up in caring. It made her feel cherished and cosseted. Possessed but not owned.

Galen and his mom:
“You’re bloodthirsty.” He smiled, for real this time. (...) “I am. Where do you think you get it? Your papi is mellow. He’s a poet who practices law. Me? I’ll rip throats out and then read poetry."

“Don’t think I can’t feel you two scheming through the bond. And all that hot gay stuff too. That part I like.”

8.5 out of 10

Back Cover:
Desire is the most dangerous sensation of all.

With tensions between the Federation and Imperial ‘Verses rising, one woman may hold the key to victory. The dangerous mission to smuggle her out of Imperial Territory falls to Daniel Haws and his team, the ultra secret Phantom Corps. This elite squad of the Federation Military is the only one trusted and skilled enough to remove her from under the watchful eye of her father, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial ‘Verses.

Carina is used to wearing a mask. Her father and his men think her little more than a pretty prize to be won by a man more ruthless than the rest. When he announces his intention to marry her to one of his henchmen, a man known for his cruelty, Carina knows she has to move as soon as possible to get out. But getting secret information to the Federation has served her well for years and she appeals to them for help.

She expected rescue from a man who’d been her enemy. But she wasn’t prepared for just how intense her attraction to Daniel Haws would be. Born as adversaries into different ranks, and on the run for their lives, they now need each other to survive–by holding on to the only thing they have in common: a growing desire that is dangerous, irresistible, and insatiable…

Things are heating up between the Federation and the Imperialists and stuff is brewing on The Edge. When Carina Fardelle has to defect to Federation territory with crucial Intel about her father's plans, Daniel, leader of the Phantom Corps, is to head-up the extraction mission.

Daniel is part of an elite team of assassins called Phantom Corps. Recently promoted to leader of the Corps the responsibility that rests on his shoulders is significant. Daniel is an impatient man, which I found a rare trait for an assassin. He is also honorable, intense, capable and protective. I adored Daniel in RELENTLESS because of the way he was open in showing his care for his sister Abbie and his sense of humor. And then the opening scene of INSATIABLE showed undeniably how hard and ruthless Daniel can be when you hurt the ones he loves and I fell even harder for him.

Carina Fardelle is the only daughter of an Imperialist hotshot, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Universes. She has mastered to perfection the art of pretending to be who she's not and yearns to shed her assumed persona and be the person she truly is, openly and without fear for her life. Carina was a complex character for me. Inside she’s observant, alert, tired of scheming to protect herself, but also feisty and quick-witted and on the outside she’s a spoiled, arrogant, confident, cool and regal princess.

From the moment Daniel and Carina meet and their joint journey starts I was mesmerized by their story and Lauren Dane allowed me to accompany them on their journey. Both Daniel and Carina are characters who complement each other and slowly open up to each other and get more comfortable with one another. As with UNDERCOVER and RELENTLESS the theme of star-crossed lovers, for whom a relationship is made difficult by social standings and differences, runs strong and I loved that. I liked Daniel a lot as a hero. The contradiction of his harsh profession and his caring nature and his gentleness with Carina struck a cord with me. I thought he was perfect for her, putting her on her place when needed but never denying her the freedom to be herself.

Though I really liked Carina as a character, it was also a bit hard for me to get a grip on her true personality because to me she seemed a bit whimsical. I loved her strength and resilience and her empathic and compassionate character despite her background. But she would be strong, smart, sensible and giving Daniel a run for his money one moment and tentative, insecure the next. At times she'd be stubbornly unwilling to listen to what Daniel and the others are telling her for her own good and reminded me of a spoiled child, pouting and stomping her foot to get her way. And then, within a few pages she'd realize her behavior was childish and she'd get a grip and act more mature again. This, for me, is what kept her likeable and away from venturing into selfish.

Because I read RELENTLESS not too long ago, I was very pleased to Abbie and Roman make an appearance in INSATIABLE. Of course, Abbie being Daniel’s sister this was a given but still I really liked the roles both Roman and Abbie played in this book and in this story. Lauren Dane also possesses the talent to have quite an extensive cast of secondary characters in this series and still keep it clear and never giving the reader a feeling the book is too crowded. I think it’s the combination of familiar characters which were introduced in earlier books and some enticing new ones that most definitely are intriguing fodder for future installments in the series, that make the presence of quite a few secondary characters one of the strong points in this series.

In this series Lauren Dane set the bar high with the ménage in UNDERCOVER and a dirty talking hero in RELENTLESS and the self-pleasuring scene which was the first sex scene in INSATIABLE, kept that bar set high as it was followed by some utterly hot and erotic scenes when Daniel and Carina finally gave in to the powerful attraction between them. And though Lauren Dane remains the queen of sizzling, raw, explicit sex scenes in my opinion INSATIABLE doesn't reach the scorching heights of either UNDERCOVER or RELENTLESS in this aspect. Can't give an exact founded reason for it. Maybe it's Carina being a virgin and Daniel's tentative sexual approach of her, always concerned about hurting her and thinking for her and therefore not going full-on and all-out with her. I do know it just felt a bit tamer than the two previous books in this series and hope those scorching, spine tingling scenes will be back in the next installment.

My last little point of comparative criticism is that I missed the fast-paced action I did get in UNDERCOVER (covert op) and RELENTLESS (political stuff). Despite Daniel being an assassin, halfway through there were only two scenes (one of them the opening scene) that were memorable. This, for me took away from the pace and the story moving forward and slowed it a bit. It wasn’t until the last few chapters that the plot action picked up and really hooked me for the next installment of the Federation Chronicles/Phantom Corps series.

Lauren Dane's amazing skill in pairing characters and her ability to write sizzling erotic scenes are enough for me to adore this series and the overall plot arc subtly set-up and laced through the books was luckily redeemed in the last pages of INSATIABLE, something I wasn't too sure of in the middle part of the book.

Quotes:
She was something he couldn’t define, but had become rather essential to his life. They would fall into bed again, he knew it was inevitable, he just needed to hold his c*ck in check until they’d arrived somewhere safe enough to let his guard down. He hoped that was soon; there was only so much masturbation a man could survive without wrist injuries.

“I need you.”
“Knock it off, Carina. You’re hurt. I won’t be gone that long.”
“Now which one of us doesn’t sound sincere?” she teased, reaching down to grab his c*ck.
“You’re hurt! You could have died. Damn it.” He let go of her hand with a groan of surrender.
“I am, and I could have. But I’m here, and I need you. I need to reconnect with you. I need to feel alive. You make me feel alive when you touch me.”
“Your arm.”
“Unless I’m really not catching on to how this sex thing works, you don’t put your penis in my arm.”

“I love you,” she said, because there was nothing else she could say with him so deep inside her, wrapped around her, filling her physically and emotionally.
He touched his forehead to hers briefly. “I love you.”
The sound of it, so quiet but rife with emotion, filled her, up and up, up until she felt as if she’d burst with it. She flew apart, and he rebuilt her, each stroke, each press and pull he made, his body over hers, around hers, inside hers, he was everything, and she never wanted to find a time when that wasn’t so.

“Again with the undoing. Daniel, you are the sweetest man to ever live.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” He swooped in and ended up on top of her, looking down into her face. “I’m not sweet. I’m not good. But I love you so much I’d tear the fabric of the ’Verses apart if you but asked. You’re my mate, my heart and soul, and you remind me I’m a man.” She blinked away tears. “I waited my entire life for you.”

7.8 out of 10

Back Cover:
In this erotic universe, passion knows no rank…

Since the first settlers came through the portals from Earth, fifteen Families have held the rule of the Federated Universes in their hands. There’s never been a better time than now to throw out the old and usher in a new order. Give voice to the unranked. Abbie Haws has spent her life battling the system. A fighter, she’s always been too busy and driven to pay much attention to finding love. But when she’s granted audience with Roman Lyons, the head of House Lyons, who stands for everything she hates, her instant attraction catches Abbie off-guard…

It’s common knowledge that the Known Universe revolves around Ravena—and that Ravena revolves around Roman Lyons, bred to lead since birth. Roman dreads his meeting with a defiant—if stunning—rabble-rouser. But, sometimes, headstrong personalities in the conference room make for hot-and-heavy, guilty trysts in private….

Now, Abbie will show Roman the parts of her world he wouldn’t otherwise get to see. And he’ll give her a glimpse of the Families’ age old tradition and unleash a sexuality he’d never given rein to before.

Abigail "Abbie" Haws is the spokesperson for the Movement for Representative Democracy (MRD). She’s a crusader against the injustice of a class-ruled society/world and works as a senior barrister for the Society for the Defense of the Accused (SDA). In her pursuit of justice she’s fierce and ruthless. Abbie is vivid, tenacious, resilient and smart. Her back-story is a hard and emotional one that made me admire her even more for her resilience and strength.

Roman Lyons is the widowed head of the Family Governance Council. He’s restrained by what is socially accepted but he’s also an honorable, passionate and dutiful man. He’s torn between duty and his growing feelings for Abbie whom he can't be with openly without causing trouble for them both in their respective layers of society.

There’s a magnetic pull between Roman and Abbie they both can't seem to avoid or ignore but the class society they live in causes a lot of different complications for them. Their relationship seems impossible and unattainable and I wondered how it was going to work out for them. Their separation broke my heart. Their reunion glued it back together.

The supporting cast of characters was a true addition to the story, both romantically and in the political plot. The bond, support and easy camaraderie between the Haws siblings were great to read. I loved it! And Daniel (Abbie's oldest brother)? I can't wait to read his story. He is Abbie's fierce protector and loyal brother and has a life no one knows about. Abbie knows a little but that doesn't even scratch the surface. There is much to tell there and I am sure Lauren Dane will deliver it with INSATIABLE.

Lauren Dane's writing has a way of pulling me in from the start. Even with the sometimes complicated and intricate world building of the ways of the Families and the legal stuff, undoubtedly her dialogues, characterization and sexual chemistry between the characters stand firmly in the foreground, enthralling and captivating. I loved Abbie and Roman and their story, which was filled with political intrigue, social pressure and definitely let’s not forget a dirty talking Roman who stole my heart.

RELENTLESS is fast-paced, not overly filled with world building, which allowed the story to move along at a swift pace. It’s also hot, very hot but that is old news for readers of Lauren Dane's books because when it comes to hot and sexy writing she dominates the genre effortlessly.

Quotes:
Oh dear gods, she loved dirty talk. Real dirty talk done by someone who felt it. Logan sounded ridiculous when he tried it, but deep inside, Roman Lyons was a very dirty man, and because he owned the words, they worked. Straight down to her toes.

Roman: “I carry this thing between us, like a weight. A good weight, in my pocket. I reach out and hold it from time to time like a wonderful secret. I will always have that. I will never feel this way about another woman, ever. My heart will be yours forever, no matter who shares my bed, no matter whose children you bear, I’m here.” He tapped her chest. “And you’re here.” He tapped his own.

Abbie: “By the way, welcome to the family, Marcus. I’m sorry you thought we were normal. Nyna will make you fat, I’ll weep on you and Daniel will frown you to death.”

8.3 out of 10

Back Cover:
KEEPING IT TOGETHER
Brody Brown has always been responsible for others. After his parents’ death, he gave up a promising artistic career to care for his younger brother and sister. Now, with his siblings grown, Brody owns his own business, has a nice house, makes a nice living, and for the first time in years he’s on his own.

Elise Sorenson has come to Seattle with her young daughter to find peace. After years as a world-famous ballerina—(and just as many years 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.

More than friends, Brody and Elise discover in each other what they need—wild, physical passion without commitment. But it’ll take a shadow from Elise’s past to make them look beyond what they need—to what they truly desire.

It takes an accident, in which a speeding car hits Brody for neighbors Brody Brown and Elise Sorenson to make the first contact after noticing each other from afar ever since Elise moved to the neighborhood. The accident is the start of a tentative exploring of the feelings that are growing between them but before they can live happily ever after, there are some issues, mainly from Elise's past that need to be dealt with.

Brody is caring, responsible, sexy and masculine. He is alpha, but not overly so and he's a real family man. He loves his family and would do anything for the people he cares about. He is the epitome of a good guy with a bad boy exterior. He's big and tattooed and may look intimidating but he is so caring and...well, sweet. I have no other word for it, even if in the bedroom he is very clear and firm about what he wants. It was this last bit of him that made me fall hard for Brody. He is very vocal in what he wants and how he wants it. Since I really appreciate dirty talking sweet guys, Brody is very much a man after my own heart.

Elise is a woman with a difficult past but she has overcome it and is now trying to make a good life for herself and her daughter, Rennie (Irene). She is calm, attentive and direct and would walk through fire for her daughter. She has closed herself off from love and romance and decides that, with Brody, sex will have to do. She is not ready to put herself and Rennie in a vulnerable position with a man ever again.

As in LAID BARE, again in COMING UNDONE Lauren Dane doesn't shy away from heavy emotional subjects and again it's all about family. I loved the easy banter and the bond between Erin, Brody and Adrian. But the mother-daughter bond between Elise and her daughter and parents was also beautifully written. The close tight-knit family theme throughout the book showed that people who genuinely and truly care about them and support them surround Brody and Elise.

Slowly but intensely and effortlessly I was pulled deeper and deeper into a story that builds up gradually but is fast-paced nonetheless. Lauren Dane's fluent writing is contributes for a great deal to that because unperceived you read and read and want to keep reading until before you know it you are at the end of another great story by her hand. I loved the build-up of Brody and Elise's relationship. I took every step into it along with them. The slow and gradual build up was not only found in the romance but also in the plot. From the start you know there's something ominous surrounding Elise, something from her past. Throughout the first part of the book this is just touched briefly with small hints in Elise's POV and some dialogues and in the second part things are slowly revealed. One thing that I didn't like much in the plot was the way it was wrapped up. After the slow build, the wrap-up felt a bit rushed and brushed over, I was expecting a bit more conflict and fireworks there but it wasn't delivered to me.

To me COMING UNDONE, despite being intense and emotional, did not reach the level of intensity LAID BARE had. That book just rattled me and is still one of the favorite sexy contemporary books I've read. That being said COMING UNDONE still was a perfect combination of emotional and extremely hot writing. The sex scenes...wow, just wow. I know from other books by Lauren Dane that she is the goddess of the scorching hot love scenes but with COMING UNDONE she exceeded my already high expectations and she did it without anything other than two people, a man and a woman, wanting each other. No m/f/m, BDSM or other more bold and much used tropes within erotic romance. So even if I wasn't as blown away as I was with the first book of this series, COMING UNDONE, managed to keep me enthralled from start to finish because Lauren Dane is excellent at writing family bonds and dynamics and combine them with strong characters, heavy emotions and sizzling hot love scenes.

Brody, Elise and Rennie made the pages burn, made my heart melt and made me root for them and their relationship and now I am so ready for Cope to come and sweep me off my feet because the little mentions of him in COMING UNDONE weren't nearly enough to satisfy my craving for him and his story.

Quotes:
He'd meant to slide into it, to take it slow and give her a sweet smooch. Instead, the moment her taste met his lips, a fire banked within him. He needed more and settled in, coaxing her mouth open, sliding his tongue along hers, only barely resisting his desire to cup one of her breasts, though his palm felt the phantom press of a wanton nipple

Something passed between them, addictive and sweet, sticky and heady, and like an addict, she wanted more.

She'd never imagined anyone saying such a thing to her. So raw and beautiful, honest and frankly sexual. It was invigorating to have someone want her like that. Thrilling. This man before her was hers in a sense, in her bed, wanting her in his life both in his bed and out of it. That was a powerful lure. To be wanted that way soothed some jagged spot inside she hadn't know was rubbing her raw until his presence eased it.

And just because I can't resist a bit of Cope
Cope flashed a smile, complete with a dimple. This guy was a real bad boy. His grin was pure sex and he knew it. It charmed her. (*sigh* and *drool*)

Rating: 8.7 out of 10

Back Cover:

JOURNEY TO AN EROTIC FUTURE UNIVERSE OF PASSION, DANGER, AND DECEIT…

As a lieutenant in the Federation Military Corps, Sera Ayers is more accustomed to giving orders than taking them. Now she must obey the one man she can’t stand—and can’t stop thinking about.

With the enemy Imperialists gaining ground, a new covert team is assembled by Ash Walker. Ten years ago, Sera had lovingly submitted to Ash’s dominance in the bedroom. And when he was forced into a political marriage, she chose to leave him rather than becoming his mistress. But his marriage is now over, and Ash wants Sera on his team—and back in his bed.

The third team member, Brandt Pela, has an elegance to match Ash’s savage sexuality. And when their undercover plan requires Sera to pose as Brandt’s lover, it ignites a passion among the three of them more dangerous than their mission...

When Ash Walker recruits his former lover and the woman he shunned for a political marriage 10 years earlier for his and Brandt Pela's latest undercover Federation op, he has a reunion, rekindling of their past relationship in mind. Sera Ayers, however, initially wants nothing to do with him but she accepts the orders to join his team. Sera has to pose as one of the men's concubine but she adamantly refuses to play Ash's concubine so they agree that she'll pose as Brandt's concubine. The team is sent to scout on Nondal, a ‘Verse suspected to be the starting point of Imperialist attacks on Federation outposts.

Sera is outspoken, direct, doesn't waste time on unimportant issues or take crap from anyone, strong-willed, skilled. Her cover for the op is Sela Carter, concubine. Ash and Brandt are opposites in both appearance and demeanor. Ash is impulsive, explosive, short-fused, and dominant yet gentle and caring. Brandt is diplomatic, a mediator, seductive, and kind yet forceful. Their cover for the op are to form as little of a threat as possible by posing as spoiled, rich, good-for-nothing playboys, caring about nothing but spending money and pursuing their pleasures.

I must honestly admit that, especially in the beginning, I fell for Brandt much harder than I did for Ash because of Brandt's more laid back and mediative character. Ash’s more raw and unapologetic character did give me pause at the start especially where getting back Sera was concerned. Probably because I was relating to Sera's hurt and he sometimes came across as the rich spoiled boy, used to getting his way, he was supposed to portray for their covert op. Ash's actions in the past seem unforgivable to Sera. However, he redeemed himself beautifully in the course of the story. I began to like him more when he decided to take a step back and take it slow with Sera and I really started to melt for him when he showed more gentleness. By the time I’d read the first third of the book, Ash had grown on me and I liked him as much as I did Brandt from the beginning. Pressure from his family and his sense of duty led Ash to marry Brandt’s sister Kira and hurt Sera in the process by turning his back on their love. His deep, almost desperate, love for Sera and the impact of his harsh decision 10 years back made his earlier behavior more acceptable for me.

The balance of the triad was done very well and the three of them are a perfect match. I really liked Sera's character and personality. Even in her role as Sela, the concubine, she didn't lose her strength, fire or independence. Brandt was the connecting element that brought and kept Ash and Sera together. His seductive charm complemented Ash’s rough and raw charisma perfectly. Together they are a force no woman in her right mind could ever fathom to resist. Kudos to Ms. Dane for her characterization skills.

Quote to illustrate Sera's personality:

"I'm well aware as Brandt's best friend, you'll be allowed to show me sexual attention in Nondal. I will tell you right now to keep it to a minimum, or you'll be drawing back a bloody stump. Don't use this to manipulate me."

With an explosive and attention-grabbing start UNDERCOVER is a fascinating, intricate story, fraught with subdued emotions that are bound to come to the surface in an explosive way. The world building is done subtly and almost imperceptible. This is something that is highly appreciated by this reader. Lauren Dane didn't overwhelm me with massive info dumps but gave me relevant bits of information in the appropriate places, nicely mixed with dialogue, action and eroticism. She sets up the world and the plot in a simple and easy to understand manner. It mixes smoothly with the explicit and scorching hot sex she writes so well. The wrap-up of the plot was done nice and clean, just as the plot had been throughout the whole book.

The first sex scene was an m/m scene, which was unexpected but done so tastefully and fitting the characters that it didn’t bother me and the two male characters in this book immediately intrigued me. The sex scenes are very explicit yet done with such refinement they never go too far. The following quote reflects exactly how I feel about the whole m/m thing and why I am more of an m/f/m reader. Thank you Lauren Dane!

Sera: "Look I'm all about the boy-touching, let's make that clear. As long as I'm involved, I can watch, and you can come back to me, I'm on board."

Although this first book in Lauren Dane's Federation Series has a few elements that are situated on the outskirts of my comfort zone: m/m sex scenes and a futuristic setting, it totally worked for me and after just a few pages I was completely taken in by a wonderful story with strong characters, a very well executed plot and some erotic scenes that made my glasses steam up real good. I just couldn't stop reading this book. I had planned to read another book (in a different genre) at the same time and alongside this one but I couldn't. This book took possession of all my attention and left no room for any other book to the point I had to put the other book aside.

After just two books read, Lauren Dane is well on her way to form serious competition for my favorite erotic romance authors, regardless the subgenre (contemporary, paranormal or futuristic) and she is one of the few authors who writes m/m scenes I can really appreciate despite m/m not being one of my favorite tropes. The books by her hand that I have read so far are intense, emotional and scorching hot and with UNDERCOVER she added an intriguing plot arc that holds it ground amongst the avalanche of hotness. She does sexy and emotional in a perfect mix like few authors can.

Lauren Dane sets the pages on fire with this emotional, fast-paced and erotic futuristic ménage story. Her characters are strong, sexy and very well written. If you like scorching hot without pulling punches, a great set of characters and just the right amount of plot to let those characters shine, UNDERCOVER deserves a place on your reading list and on your bookshelves.

Rating: 8.8 out of 10

Jacket Copy:

UNEXPECTED DESIRE…
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?

Release date for LAID BARE: August 4, 2009

LAID BARE is a wonderful story that depicts an emotional and erotic journey to happily ever after and it totally took me by surprise. Sometimes you stumble upon treasures where you least expect them. I must admit that I wouldn't have jumped up to review this book if it wasn't for a glowing endorsement from Ann Aguirre on Twitter when Lauren Dane was offering the eARCs of it. I had heard of Lauren Dane's writing via fellow ROOB-reviewer Leontine whose raving reviews put Lauren Dane on my to-watch list but I hadn’t had the compelling urge to reading her work yet. There were other books whose pull on me was much harder. Now I stand corrected though, because after reading LAID BARE I know I will be reading more of Lauren Dane's work soon and I am glad I have some of her books in my possession already.

Back to LAID BARE and my review of it. It is the story of Todd Keenan and Erin Brown. They meet when rock chick Erin becomes Todd's neighbor and clean-cut cop Todd is inexplicably drawn to Erin even though she is not his type. He watches her from afar and doesn't approach her because he doesn't want to give into the feelings of sexual dominance that pummel him every time he sets eyes on her. For Erin the situation is similar, she is intrigued by and attracted to Todd but he is so not her type. After some encouragement and baiting by her brother, Erin decides to take a chance and makes the first move. They hit it of big time and it's all hot and heavy until Todd breaks up with Erin after a few months for fear of the intensity of their relationship and the man he becomes when he's with Erin, a man who answers easily to his dark sexual urges when he was raised not to do so.

Ten years later their paths cross again when Todd moves back to Seattle after moving to Boston for a fresh start and a new career. He has gone through a marriage and divorce, has been in a coma after getting shot on the job and after his rehab decides to go back to his hometown to start a security consultancy company with his longtime friends Ben and Andy “Cope” Copeland.

Erin's life hasn't stood still in those ten years either. Her career as a rock musician took a flight and with that came fame and a very traumatic experience, one that almost destroyed her completely: she lost her only child in crossfire with an obsessed, murdering lunatic stalker. After that terrible experience she disappears from the limelight and is happy running her café, writing songs and doing studio work for her brother’s band.

The actual story starts when Todd coincidentally wanders into Erin's café. Erin has never been far from his mind during his failed marriage and he has learned to accept the man he really is, the man he was with Erin. Todd becomes determined to make up for his mistake of breaking up with her but he is not aware that her loss has changed the way she used to go through life. While Todd embraces his feelings for Erin and wants to act on them without reserve, the trauma Erin went through has caused her to be reluctant in giving her affections. The road to their HEA is a complicated and difficult one, but it's also one that pulls at the heartstrings and provides a lot of scorching moments.

There is so much more to this story than I could summarize without giving away too much. Some of that "more" is the fact that even though Erin and Todd's relationship starts with just the two of them, it eventually evolves into a three-way relationship with Todd's best friend Ben Copeland. This part of the story is wonderfully done by Lauren Dane and very believable. It is set up gradually and effortlessly imbedded in the story, easing the reader into it alongside the characters and making it easy to accept the M/M part of it. For a reader like me, with no fascination for M/M erotica and little to no experience with M/M sex scenes, the ones in LAID BARE were perfect. While I don’t care much for M/M erotica the concept of M/F/M erotica does fascinate me and I must say Lauren Dane’s M/F/M action in LAID BARE ranks pretty high on my scale.

Next to the sizzling erotic scenes Lauren Dane wrote some very likable characters in this book. Erin has a free spirit that even a traumatic loss could not destroy. Though she went through a rough time after the loss of her child, she didn't lose her straightforward, candid and direct character. She is very comfortable with her sexuality, doesn't hide her desires and is willing to go for the unconventional.

Todd's true character doesn't come out until the reunion part of the book. In the first chapter he is the perfect gentleman, nice and controlled, keeping his emotions on a tight leash. Before his return to Seattle he has learned that life is to short and precious to hide his true character and out comes the man he always was: sexually confident and a bit bossy, giving into the desires that were always inside him.

Ben is the glue that keeps both Erin and Todd in check. He is as bossy, protective and dominant as Todd is but in a way that is more smooth and easy going. His character developed the most during the story. Going from Todd's best friend to being Todd and Erin's lover was a logical step but one he has to come to terms with, with both himself and his family.

It's not only Ben who has to find his way and place the relationship, so do Todd and Erin. They accept it but there are moments in the story where they seriously think about the consequences of their choices. I loved Lauren Dane's believable portrayal of this in the book. I was so glad she kept it realistic and genuine, making the three-way relationship something that they did not carelessly commit to and something hard to accept for some family members instead of everybody magically and easily accepting it.

If I ever read a book where the balance between the characters, both between hero, heroine and the characters supporting them, was perfectly done then LAID BARE was it. The secondary cast comprises mostly family members of Erin, Todd and Ben and a few people from their past and present environment. Their interactions have a hint of witty banter in them, even when the dialogues take on a heavy emotional tone. Even in painful and emotionally distressing dialogues there is that hint of banter no matter if it is dialogue between Todd, Ben and Erin or one of them with a secondary character. I really liked this and it made the book richer in depth and made it an erotic romance that is so much more than a string of erotic scenes interspersed by a plot.

Even though Todd and Ben took center stage as leading male characters, their brothers also most certainly caught my attention. From Lauren Dane’s website I understand that Erin's older brother Brody has his own story due in January 2010 but I would also love to see a story on Erin’s younger brother Adrian and I hope Ben’s younger brother Cope will get his own story too.

It's difficult to capture in words what this book did to me as a reader. I think it should be read to be experienced. I started out admiring how good Lauren Dane was in describing the attraction and sexual tension between Erin and Todd and before long I was completely swept away by the way she combined emotionally complex feelings and situations with erotic scenes that melted the pages. What kept coming to mind while reading was that this was an exceptionally hot and emotionally intense read. On one page I would be moved to tears by situations and dialogues that just broke my heart and on the next I would be fanning myself at the sizzling eroticism. And all in a pace that kept me glued to the pages. Lauren Dane took me from one emotional and erotic high to another, with deliciously witty dialogues and banter in between the highs.

The richness and layering of the story came not only from the secondary characters and the dialogues. The things that also did it for me were the characterization, the eroticism and the perfect combination of the two. I really got to know Erin, Todd and Ben, knew their fears and desires, their insecurities and their likes and dislikes. Next to that I was treated to some original erotic scenes that were tastefully and lascivious at the same time. It takes a talented author to capture that exquisite balance and make it work without tipping the scale to either side. This all made LAID BARE a full circle story that excelled in eroticism and character development.

For me LAID BARE was a unique blend of deep emotions, raw sexuality and storytelling capable of keeping me reading until the last page was read and making me crave more now that I've reached the end. It was sweet, funny, sad and intensely erotic, all packaged in a book worth savoring.


Quotes:
The intricate tattoo on her belly connected to the one covering most of her back. The tree of life. On her belly lay roses and ivy. They embodied her. Sharp, barbed and yet beautiful and essential. Sweet and intoxicating.

He looked at her. Into her. She felt bare to her bones. His scent rose from his skin, heady and warm. He smelled different than she remembered. This was . . . She leaned in just a bit, giving in to her needs . . . deep and dark. A man who worked with his body; clean sweat, sex, alluring, something she wanted to lick.

“You’re thinking, Erin. It’s like a movie, watching your face. Don’t run from me. I’ll come for you. I want you and you want me. Let yourself have it.” His whispered breath was hot on her ear and it sent a shiver down her side. She nearly dropped her beer from fingers gone nerveless. How did he get her so well?