Friday, January 15, 2010

Review: Coming Undone by Lauren Dane



Coming Undone is the highly anticipated follow-up to Laid Bare (my review of Laid Bare here). Although this is a sequel it can definitely be read as a stand-alone. Coming Undone centers on Erin's older brother Brody and his new neighbor, Elise.

Brody is almost 40, tatted up, and hot; he actually owns his own tattoo parlor. We learn throughout the story that Brody's parents died when he was a young man and he left his plans for the future to care for his younger brother and sister - he doesn't regret any of it, they are a very close family.

Elise is a former ballet dancer and single mother. Her daughter, Rennie, is six years old. Elise has a pretty terrible past and works hard to protect her daughter from any of the aftereffects. Her ex-husband was abusive and Elise has is wary of men in general and Alpha-type men specifically. She's moved across the country to start a new life.

Brody and Elise get to know each other through a series of events and they end up dating. Neither one is looking for anything serious, but over the course of several months they do become serious; everyone around them knows it except Brody and Elise. There are some very sensual and tender moments, and Elise's former in-laws cause a lot of problems for Elise and Rennie. Brody wants to help but Elise is determined to handle things on her own.

While I did enjoy this book immensely, one thing I didn't like was how often Elise brought up that she wasn't going to put up with X,Y, or Z because she wanted to protect Rennie - she mentioned it a lot; such as the scene where Raven tells her off and Elise refuses to be around Raven "to protect Rennie". I felt like it really had nothing to do with Rennie and Elise was using it as an excuse to not have to deal with Raven.

Speaking of Raven - Ooohhh! I loved hating her!!! She was great (in a totally bitchy way, of course), and I couldn't believe Brody was that clueless about her.

I liked this book, I liked Brody and Elise, and I was glad we got to see Erin, Todd, and Ben again. I'm hoping the next story is the third sibling, Adrian, but I read somewhere it's going to be Cope's story (Ben's brother, I think?). Either way, it's an auto-buy for me!
I give Coming Undone 4/5 stars.

11 comments:

  1. Great review, I am happy to see you liked it, I do wanna read more Dane

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  2. So, maybe I should read Laid Bare sometime! :) I have enjoyed Dane's Cascadia Wolves series. And I think I won an ebook of Always, now that I think about it...

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  3. I didn't care for Coming Undone as much as Laid Bare. I think Elsie and Brody got together too quickly there was no build up for me. Not a bad book, but I liked the excitement of Laid Bare more... maybe it's a m/m think *giggle*

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  4. Blodeuedd - I did enjoy it - Brody is yummy!

    Chris - I read one Cascadia book and thought it was okay, I prefer her contemp stuff.

    KC - I liked Laid Bare better to (5/5 stars) but really enjoyed this book too. *whispers* I wondered if it was the menage aspect LOL!!

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  5. Ohh yes Raven! I really hope we'll get to see more of her, she was an interesting charater.

    I've read the snippet 'letter' Lauren Dane posted about Cope's book and i'm so excited now. I'm so curious about Inside Out

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  6. Great review, Patti! I haven't read any of Lauren Dane's books yet, but I do have a few in the tbr.

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  7. I so agree with you. I thought the same thing about Elise.
    But I have to admit I'm so hooked on this series now and I can't wait to read Inside Out.
    Great review!

    I've got a surprise for you at my blog.

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  8. Laid Bare was one of a bunch of books I ordered and had sent to my sister in the States. My other sister was going to visit her over the holidays so could bring it back with her. After reading her two books in the Federation series and really liking them, I wanted to read more of her work. I'll probably start it in the next day or two. So I'm glad to see that you liked this one. If I enjoy Laid Bare as much as the Federation series, then I'll have another one to read after!

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  9. Im planning to read Laid Bare next hehe I always see so many of you talking about Lauren Dane =)

    Great review!

    btw,... I got an award for you up at my blog! =)))

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  10. Guess what!? I got a KINDLE! Woo-Hoo!
    I've already bought Josh Lanyon, Ava March & Maya Banks! I'm going to be keeping a close eye on your Kindle reads from now on :)

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  11. Great review! You had me cracking up with "I loved hating her!". I have Laid Bare on the shelves and I really want to get started with this series :)

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