Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level Low, HEA for 3
Series-Delicious #2 (Note that Delicious is connected to the Brown Siblings series)
Reviewed by Anne
So, last Wednesday I confessed to
buying this book, Tart. It was on the
expensive end of what I’m willing to pay for a book, but, in this case, I have
no regrets. Be warned, this is going to
be another love fest from me to Lauren Dane.
I really love her contemporary set writing. I know it’s not perfect, but I don’t
care. It’s perfect to me!
In this book, Jules, friend to Daisy and Gillian, is nursing a long standing but unreturned affection for Cal. This has been the status quo for several years. Cal, openly bi, has serially dated several women and men during this time. He’s secretly got a thing for Jules, but feels unworthy of her and is too scared of losing the friendship he has with her to take a chance and make a move. That’s the case until Jules and Gideon meet.
Gideon is a childhood friend of Jules
and Cal’s. He’s returned to town to help
his grandfather run his farm. There are
immediate sparks between Jules and Gideon, and the move quickly into a
relationship they both realize is serious.
That finally spurs Cal into action.
For me, this point where Cal decides to
pursue Jules is the weakest point in the story.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but the way they moved from a couple and
an outside pursuer into a triad was difficult for me to believe. However, besides this point in the story, I
thought the rest of the dynamics of being part of a triad were realistically
portrayed. (Disclaimer: I’m not an expert on triads, this is just based on
how I would imagine it being. To me this is fantasy in a contemporary setting.)
As I’ve mentioned many times before,
I enjoyed the Brown Siblings series and now the Delicious series because there
are no villains and no susupse, just a telling of how two (or three) people
come together. In this story Jules had
more growing to do than the two men. I’m
not sure they could have made a relationship work if they all were a mess. But I can buy into this fantasy, and I
enjoyed being there! I’m impatient for
the next story. For me, there is just no
one who writes quite like Lauren Dane when it comes to this kind of
contemporary book!
I started reading tart yesterday and got sucked in right away. Even though we were just meeting the characters, they just felt familiar right off the bat. I kind of have mixed feelings about how much the Brown siblings are in this one. I love that we get to see more of them...but sometimes it almost feels a bit forced...like oh yeah heres a good spot to have Adrian in, and this spot is good for um...Erin.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am not done with it, I have to agree with your post about their first time together with all three of them. If Disney was going to write a menage, thats how they would have written the first time together. It was almost too perfect. Too easy. Somehow i picture bluebirds and bunnies circling Cal's house and serenading a la The Little Mermaid. sha la la la la la my OH my. He's gonna kiss the girl...and the guy.
I kept waiting for Cal to stick up for himself and tell Gideon...dude youve been banging her for a month now...I get it first tonight since I've been waiting seventeen years.
However, I am still loving the book. The first menage scene in Maya Banks' Colters' Wife left me feeling the same way. She just told you she was a virgin...and yet the three of you are just going at her full force...nothing easy for the first time. Oh well. Colters' Wife is still one of my favorite menages.
~Kate
Kate,
ReplyDeleteYour Disney/menage comparison has me laughing! First, at the thought of a Disney menage (I picture Ariel, Eric, and the unseen undersea boyfriend Ariel had)
Second, I'm laughing because you are so right! And I was singing along in my head, and that's a disturbing change you made to the lyrics. I hope you enjoy the rest of the book!
~Anne
Anne and Kate,
ReplyDeleteI just finished Tart and it was far and away better for me than the novella. I agree with Anne that it wasn't perfect but I enjoyed it. Her family was very frustrating for me. I never really got the connection with the boys. Over all it left me a little cold. I liked Rough, Raw and Ready by Lorelei James for this kind of a story line. I did thoroughly enjoy this story though. Now I have a date with Jill Shalvis so...Cheerio.