Series: Ink and Chrome

Review: Falling Under by Lauren Dane

Posted January 21, 2016 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Falling Under by Lauren DaneReviewer: Holly
Falling Under by Lauren Dane
Series: Ink and Chrome #2
Also in this series: Coming Back, Coming Back
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Publication Date: August 4, 2015
Pages: 320
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

The men of Twisted Steel are great with their hands.

And they're not afraid to get dirty.

Duke Bradshaw, co-owner of the Twisted Steel custom motorcycle and hot rod shop, may devote his days to chrome and leather, but his nights belong to Carmella. His sultry redheaded neighbor has a smile like an angel and a body built for sin, and for the past year both have dominated Duke's dreams. When a problem at Twisted Steel requires a fast fix, Duke sees his chance to finally make his fantasy a reality.

Ever since she first heard the low rumble of his engine, Carmella Rossi has wondered if Duke Bradshaw handles his women as expertly as he handles his bike. When he shows up at her door offering her a much-needed job at his shop, she gets her chance to find out. Beneath Duke's masterful touch, Carmella soon submits to a world of unimaginable pleasure.

But history has taught Carmella how bad a boy boy can be. If she doesn't put on the brakes fast, her hard-bodied heartbreaker could drive her right over the edge . . .

I actually read this book ages ago and wrote a review for it that disappeared completely. Since I didn’t update my reading log with exactly when I read it, I’m just going to mark it as read-for-the-first-time in November.

Carmella is dealing with a lot of stuff in her personal life. Her ex is a d-bag and most of her energy is taken up dealing with her mom. She’s secretly been lusting after her hot neighbor Duke for ages, sure, but lusting and liking are two different things. She isn’t quick to trust, so when he offers her a job she takes it reluctantly, because she doesn’t want to get wrapped up with Duke. He’s hard to resist, though, and it isn’t long before they’re seeing each other. Casually at first, then more seriously.

Duke has been eyeing Carm for years, too, but she’s so much more than he expected. They get off to a rocky start thanks to him jumping to conclusions, but before long they settle into a sweet romance I really enjoyed. There isn’t a lot of conflict or tension. There’s sexual chemistry in spades, but not a whole lot of internal or external angst. Carmella is dealing with her mom and Duke has some family issues of his own, but mostly this was a sweet story of two people coming together and learning to let go with each other.

I really loved Duke and Carmella. Dane writes sexy alpha-males who aren’t assholes and strong, independent women who don’t cross the line into “so independent they’re stupid”. I love the Twisted Steele setting (the shop Duke co-owns, where they build custom cars), the secondary characters and the romance. This series has it all.

4 out of 5

Reading Order:

Opening Up
Falling Under
Coming Back

four-stars


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Review: Coming Back by Lauren Dane

Posted December 21, 2015 by Holly in Reviews | 4 Comments

Review: Coming Back by Lauren DaneReviewer: Holly
Coming Back by Lauren Dane
Series: Ink and Chrome #3
Also in this series: Coming Back, Falling Under
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: December 8th 2015
Genres: Fiction, Erotica
Pages: 320
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

The men of Twisted Steel are great with their hands.

And they're not afraid to get dirty.

Mick Roberts, the newest partner at Twisted Steel's custom hotrod and motorcycle shop, looks like a man with everything. But secretly he still craves the connection he lost when his best friend Adam and the love of his life Jessilynn walked out. Then, he wasn't ready for the pleasure they promised. Now, things have changed.

Rich, powerful, and insatiable, Adam Gulati is used to getting what he wants. And there's nothing he wants more than Mick and Jessi. He hasn't seen either in over a year, but the second he sets eyes on them again his memories-and his desires-can't be denied.

After trying to live without them, Jessi Franklin realized no one else can satisfy her like Adam and Mick. The three of them need one another-in more ways than one. It's time to stop pretending and submit to the hunger they all share. But once they go down this road, there's no turning back. As deeply devoted as they are, no one knows what great bliss their forbidden fantasy will find-or the price they may pay . . .

Jessi and Mick became best friends at the age of 5 when she saw him watching her birthday party through the window and drug him inside. They met Adam when they were in high school and the three formed an unshakable bond. Eventually they realized they felt more than friendship for one another and briefly tried a relationship. Mick, confused and conflicted because of his extremely conservative upbringing, fled after a short time, leaving anger and devastation behind. Adam began pulling away from Jessi until eventually he, too, moved on.

It’s been four years and all three have grown and changed. Jessi isn’t the woman she used to be, and both Adam and Mick have come into themselves and realized they gave up too much when they walked away from Jessi. When they all come together at the grand-opening of Twisted Steel’s new showroom, all three realize this is the time to fight for one another, not against.

In theory the idea of a permanent menage relationship is compelling, especially for a woman. Two dudes dedicating themselves to one girl’s pleasure? Oh yeah! Naturally the reality isn’t that simple. I like that Dane explores the complexity of the individual and group dynamics. Jessi was the common denominator and touchstone the first time they were together, but this time Mick and Adam realize they have to solidify their own relationship before they can commit to a future together. The outside criticism and society’s view of their relationship – especially their close family and friends – plays a large part in the conflict. The story is multi-faceted because the relationship is multi-faceted.

Jessi is a strong woman who knew what she wanted. She took the four years she spent away from her two best friends to find herself and come into her own, which allowed her to find definition away from them. Mick I loved from the previous books, and my feelings didn’t change. He was a strong, stand-up kind of guy who suffered from his past and was doing his best to move into a clean, happy future. That he had dark desires and a need to burn off tension in potentially negative ways didn’t detract form his overall character, since he found more positive ways to indulge with the help of Adam and Jessi.

Something I really loved was the deep and true friendship between all three. Mick and Jessi especially had a strong connection that came from a lifetime of knowing one another.

This is a sexy, sweet tale of love and acceptance. I stayed up most of the night to finish it.

3.75 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: Coming Back by Lauren Dane

Posted December 14, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Coming Back by Lauren DaneReviewer: Tracy
Coming Back by Lauren Dane
Series: Ink and Chrome #3
Also in this series: Coming Back, Falling Under
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: December 8, 2015
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three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Arriving back in Seattle after five years, Jessilyn Franklin is done pretending she didn't want two men. She's done letting anything stop her from being with Adam and Mick, now back from the war and working at Twisted Steel, a custom hot rod and motorcycle shop. One night changes everything, but their relationship must strengthen to weather the storms they'll face as they make their way back to one another.

Mick met Jessilyn when he was seven years old and she was just five. They were the best of friends until they, along with their friend Adam all got together. Mick couldn’t handle what he was feeling so took off and re-enlisted. That was four years ago and now Mick is ready to face his feelings for both Jessi and Adam.

Mick and his partners in Twisted Steel are having a grand opening for their new showroom and Mick invites both Jessi and Adam even though he hasn’t seen them in a long time. They both show up and when they all go back to Adam’s house it’s like they were never apart. Of course there are talks about what happened four years earlier but for the most part the three fall into a close relationship.

Mick’s parents are extremely religious and they’re not afraid to tell Mick exactly what they think about what he’s doing. Adam’s father isn’t thrilled either but only because he feels that Mick and Jessi are below Adam and how would that make the family look? Jessi’s family is wonderful and accepts all of them for who they are. That doesn’t mean that the trio has an easy time of it. With so many people trying to tear them apart they’re bound to have problems.

Coming Back, imho opinion, is the weakest in the Ink & Chrome series. While the relationship between the three is touching and I felt for them with all they were going through, it just didn’t have the extra something that I felt the first two books had.

Mick, Jessi and Adam were all great characters. I very much enjoyed Jessi’s independence and I loved her family to pieces. She was really the bright star in this novel for me. Mick and Adam were good characters as well but even though I felt they had bigger parts in the book they didn’t stand out to me quite as much as Jessi did. The relationship between the three was a good one, that’s for sure. I liked the strength of it and the fact that they all felt so comfortable with each other even after an extended period apart.

While I found this book entertaining I found it to be a little lacking as far as the plot and for that reason didn’t hold my attention too well.

Rating: 3 out of 5

three-stars


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