Laid Bare by Lauren Dane - Brown Siblings #1 - 1 STAR :(

Laid Bare by Lauren Dane

 

One awful star

Blurb - 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?

Laid Bare is the first book in the Brown Siblings Series, Having read Lauren Dane’s book Sway I starting having a look at the authors back catalogue and found this book.  I loved Sway so I was really excited to start this book.

I will be honest this was not exactly what I was expecting.

Ok so the good bits...

·         The first quarter of this book is great.

·         I love Erin she knows exactly who she is and what she wants.

And the not so good bits...

·         This book got a bit weird!!

·         I really hated Ben!!

This book started out great strong women Erin wants Todd, he’s a cop who’s a closet wannabe Dom but he thinks that’s bad and dumps Erin, Flash forward ten years and he’s embraced his sexuality he reconnects with Erin and they have sort of kinky sex.

Now all this took less than half of the book and this is the point when this book starts to get a bit weird.

Enter stage left Ben, he’s Todd’s bessie mate and somehow he ends up in an odd three way relationship with the now married Todd & Erin.

Cue some excruciatingly awkward sex scenes between the three characters. Now I’m no prude I love smutty, kinky books and I have nothing against threesome scenes.

But for me once Ben gets involved this whole story stops working, having a threesome with a mate is one thing it’s titivating and forbidden. I have even enjoyed books where the story revolves around unconventional relationships with one woman and multiple men (Maya Banks Colters Woman).

However why this book doesn’t work is because Erin & Todd had a happy relationship with some kinky sex and a lot of love. I don’t have any clue why they would then decide that a third person would be thrown into the mix.

Ben declares that he is Bi and is interested in Todd but apart from some kissing and a couple of very uncomfortable wanking sessions they really don’t interact with each other. Ben is obviously into Erin and Todd likes to share fair enough whatever floats your boat.

God I’m sorry but I just hated this book, I finished it because I really struggle to not finish a book I start, but I cringed the whole way through.

I liked Todd and for the first part of the book I engaged with him and liked his character, however I feel like once the triad situation took hold he kind of just became part of an ensemble cast.

I’m just not sure how this book went in such an odd direction and then you throw in Erin’s stalker and the man who killed her daughter being up for parole and the book darts in another random plot twist.

Then please don’t even get me started on the end, it just stops and I’m left feeling very odd, there was no happy ending epilogue and Ben is alienated from half of his family who can’t accept that he is in a Triad relationship.

Sorry but hated, hated, hated this book just drove me insane if I didn’t want to break my ereader I would have thrown it across the room grrrr.