~REVIEW of Lauren Dane's LAID BARE~

Laid Bare (Brown Siblings, #1)

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

Oh I loved this one. LAID BARE it's one of the best erotic books I've ever read; encompassing the perfect mix of raw sexuality along with tenderness, growth and understanding. There is also a beautiful love story here that eventually involves 3 people and Lauren Dane has done a wonderful job of exploring the boundaries and complexities involved in an M/M/F relationship. Bondage and the Dom/sub lifestyle are also explored but always done here with love and respect, which I appreciated.

This story grabbed me from page 1 as we are introduced to wild child Erin. She's beautifully written as the tattooed and dreadlocked singer from an emerging Indie band. Erin makes no apologies for what and who she desires and she desires her neighbour, the straight-laced, country music lovin cop Todd. Todd in turn is attracted to Erin but doesn't foresee a future as they are just so different in fact he doesn't even want his cop buddies to see him with her. She also brings out his darker, kinkier side which scares the hell out of him, enough so that he eventually ends the relationship and marries a `good girl' Erin in the meantime becomes a full blown rock star, popular with the MTV crowd because of her ever-changing appearance and wild antics.

10 years later the now divorced Todd enters a coffee shop only to find Erin behind the counter. She's changed, no longer the carefree rocker chick he once knew (although she does have pink hair) Something's happened to her on the rise to fame, something so terrible it's stolen her spirit and almost killed her. They can't fight the fact that they still have feelings for each other though and with Todd now willing to embrace his alternative needs they fall in love.

Even though Erin is strong willed she still likes to be dominated in the bedroom. And as their relationship grows we get some very intense love scenes as they take things to new and exciting levels. When exhibitionism enters the mix its only a matter of time before Ben, Todd's sexy best friend and new business partner gets involved in the scene and then WOW do things ever heat up.

I'm not usually one for the ménage but this worked for me, the perfect combination of alpha male exploration and sensitivity. Ben is bisexual whereas Todd's never even considered taking a man into his bed until Ben offered. Still Todd loves his best friend and is willing to just see where things go. He's a bit shy so when they share their first kiss, sigh... it's pretty hot. Initially I felt kind of uncomfortable when Ben got it on with Erin, it felt like they were cheating even though Todd was right there with them. I credit this to this to writing because I was so wrapped up in the characters and what they were feeling that I didn`t want anyone to get hurt. As the passion and love the trio shares begins to transform and mend Erin the evil from her past comes back to haunt them. Will they be strong enough to get through it?

If you're a fan of erotica then I highly recommend this. I can honestly say that I've never been quite this turned on by a book and there was the added bonus of a great storyline too. COMING UNDONE is the next book in the series. Cheers!