I'd read what I remembered to be great reviews about this book, so when I saw it on the shelf I grabbed it! Oh. My. God. I don't even know where to begin...Let me just say up front this review is going to be all over the place. The placemnt of the apostrophe in the title should have been my first clue.
Let me start by saying I like Maya Banks' work. I really liked Be With Me and her Sweet series is awesome! Colters' Woman? Not so much. From page one, you have to drop your disbelief at the front door and pick it up on your way out. I spent almost the whole book thinking "that would never happen" or "WTF?"
The book starts with Adam Coulter, the oldest of three brothers, going out in the snow to get the mail and he sees a woman passed out in the ditch. He rushes over and picks her up to get her inside and immediately gets a hard-on. (My first thought is what kind of guy gets a hard-on for an unconscious woman? But I digress....) He gets her in the house, strips off her clothes, and puts her in the tub to warm up. Then, after she wakes up, and he's got her out of the tub and she's asleep, he sneaks in and gets into bed with her and gets her off with his hands. She thinks to herself WTF and then just as quickly she's okay with it.
Holly is on the run from her husband. She left him on their wedding day after she saw him murder someone. He's looking for her and she's running scared.
Here's the thing with the brothers: Adam is the oldest, kind of Alpha (I guess), Ethan is the middle brother, he's sweet, and Ryan is the youngest, he's an Iraq war vet with some low-grade PTSD. They've been looking for a woman to share. Yes, share. As in BROTHERS HAVING SEX WITH THE SAME WOMAN AT THE SAME TIME. Apparently their fathers had one wife and their grandfathers had one wife. I think I would have been okay with the brothers having sex with her one at a time (which they did) but they also had sex with her at the same time. They didn't care who went where - one would get off inside her and the next one would literally stick it in...mouth, vag, ass; she was like a living blow up doll. And did I mention they're BROTHERS!? I think I also forgot to mention that Holly is a virgin, and her first sexual encounter is with the three brothers.
Oh yeah, back to the plotline - The brothers talk Holly into being "theirs" and she agrees to it (pretty quickly) and they want to help her get a divorce from her husband. She tells the husband if he doesn't leave her alone she'll tell the authorities about the man she saw him kill. Holly thinks it's okay and she can be with the Coulters, but her ex-husband hires someone to kill her. That part of the storyline was pretty good.
I did like seeing Holly go from a scared little girl to a more confident woman as the story progressed. And Ryan's changes as she helps with his war memories is sweet but brief. I think I would have liked this book more if it was about three friends and not brothers. The ending was sweet but too quick.
"Oh. My. God. I don't even know where to begin..."
ReplyDeleteYep, that's pretty much how I felt too...lol.
Lol at when you said you had to suspend disbelief at the door-I think that's true with a lot of romances.
ReplyDeleteI read a Stephanie Julian book where two brothers have sex with a woman..I don't know. I love a menage..but brothers kind of freak me out. I guess it depends how it is written.
ReplyDeleteDon't know if this one is for me.
I've heard a lot about this one through the years and have been very tempted to give it a try - but something has always held me back. I think it's the way the heroine who is a total innocent, just dives into this REALLY alternate life style without even getting to know the players.
ReplyDeleteLike Mandi, I still don't know if this is the one for me.
Hmm am I very jaded when I say I have this one one the reading list (as with so many many books) and the brother thing hasn't freaked me out enough yet, not to want to read this?? *ducks away*
ReplyDeleteGreat review by the way Patti
...wtf!?
ReplyDeleteThat is my reply after reading this too...ok. But you did great Patti, my review would have been one big WTF
J. Kaye - glad to know I'm not alone!
ReplyDeleteBuckeye Girl - I agree but with this one you had to not only drop disbelief at the door but toss it across the street!
Mandi - see, it's the brothers thing for me...ick.
Kristie J - yes, that's the other thing is she just jumps right in!
Pearl - thanks! If it doesn't squick you out you may enjoy this.
Blodeuedd - yes, I didn't know where to begin, it was just...wow. And normally I really like Maya Banks' stuff.
I love your thoughts on this ménage story, Patti! Though I've read it and I kinda enjoyed it... after I shook off my disbelief about all the characters' ease to go into a polyamorous relationship like this. And you'er right about Holly's virginity. I thought she appeared way to sexually experienced for being a virgin...
ReplyDeleteThanks for your review!
Sorry for the typo's, arghh!
ReplyDeleteACK, the net has gobbled 2 comments...
ReplyDeleteLOL - Yeah, WTF is certainly the question in Holly's case! lolol
Great review Patti, I agree with everything you said.
Thanks
L
Hey hon, I have an award for you at my place!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Janna
You have got to be kidding!!!!!! Hee hee hee...this sounds unintentionally hilarious.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Patti!
(Do the brothers call her "baby" a lot? Because that really drives me right over the edge...)
'Living blow up doll' - HA HA HA, so true!
ReplyDeleteAw, sucks that you didn't like this one. This was my first foray into erotica, so it kind of has a special place in my heart - but even I can admit it has shortcomings (Adam pretty much molesting an unconscious woman, for one thing).
Great review Patti!
ReplyDeleteI've read something similar to this with Lora Leigh's Men of August trilogy where three brothers share but they don't share just one woman. Each has a wife but they all have a group sex thing.
I think, like you mentioned, one has to really be able to suspend their reality to read this type of plot line. But it can be written well and be enjoyable. However, this particular plot by Banks seems more far fetched than normal.
:) VFG
I just finished and #1, thanks for letting me borrow it and #2, WOW!
ReplyDeleteJust WOW!
*snickers* LOL!
ReplyDeleteROFL the comments really cracked me up Lea: "Yeah, WTF is certainly the question in Holly's case! lolol"
ReplyDeleteBook sounds interesting to say it nice. Three brothers? And a virgin? Oh my!
I am one of those that love this book... and I actually did not like Be With Me....
ReplyDeleteLove your take on it though.. had me laughing out loud....
As much as you hate this - I think Banks has the shorts follow up to the book no her blog for free... try it out and see how they end up...
E.H>
The brothers thing REALLY squicked me out. I had to pretend that they were just friends who called each other "brother" (and kept praying that was actually the case).
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing felt really rushed to me, and while I LOVE Maya's menage stories, I just couldn't hang with this one. I won't be reading it again, unfortunately.