Laid Bare (A Brown Family Novel Book 1)

I just love this author and this series. Getting to know all the family and their stories is great. I also love how the past characters also feature in this book. Great story, you will not be disappointed.

The book could have ended about midway through. It seems the author brought in details from tangets that were not relavent to the three people who formed the primary focus of the plot. These tangets did not contribute to the understanding of the relationship between Erin Brown - the rock star victim of a stalker, Todd Keenan - the ex cop who returns to Seatle after being shot on duty in Bostom and Todds best friend, Ben. Why does the author bring in Ben's previous girl friend? Or the parole hearing for Erin's attacker? In my opinion, the book lost the excitment before page 200.

There is a bit of interesting interaction between Ben and Todd as they explore a male/male relationship that was a surprise to Todd. Is male on male the new trend in menage? Or has it always been there?

I buy nearly everything by this author and am very rarely disappointed. This book was no exception and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love catching up with the family members and reading what has changed in their lives as well as the new characters. Great book.

Loved, loved this book. It was so beautifully written. The characters Erin,Todd and Ben were so well developed. I loved the confidence Erin had in her own sexuality, she knew what she wanted and she was secure in herself to go after what she wanted. Todd at the beginning he was very repressed I could certainly see how that happened given his background, but he eventually was true to who he was. Ben what can I say about him, he is probably my favorite character because Ben knew who he was and did not make excuses for it. He had such a wonderful spirit and compassion. These three individuals came together and created a wonderful bond. In the end I think they had so much more then they hoped for. I would highly recommend this book and any of Lauren's books. She is a wonderful writer with such a gift for words. If you enjoy menages, BDSM and great hot steamy drop dead sex then this is the book you want to buy.

I have waited forever to read this last installment of the Brown siblings and it did NOT disappoint. Questions answered and a well written story with just enough "heat" to set your panties on fire!! Loved it!!

My Rating: ★★★½
GOOD: The characteristics of a 3 star book include: interesting characters, a decent storyline, and unique story elements; there was something about the story that I didn't completely connect with; the book is a solid read. I would recommend it to a friend.

My Thoughts:
Drawn Together was the sixth installment in the Brown Siblings series. Side note: interesting name for a series that only has three siblings but six books. But I like the Browns and their cast of friends in this series and the Delicious series.

I'm a bit torn on my review. Parts of the story I enjoyed --like Jonah breaking down Raven's walls. The guy was just 100% solid all the way around and you just couldn't help falling in love with him a little. Parts of the story left me feeling a bit "meh." The Raven in this story seemed like a watered down version of her previous self in some respects. Dane did an excellent job explaining why and it showed throughout the story but I expected Raven's story to have a bit more bite. I truly enjoyed the moments when the old Raven came out for a visit. I love how she put Charlotte, Liesl, and Beth in their place. The confrontation with her aunt was heartbreaking but showed the Raven-mettle that I enjoyed about her character.

And speaking of the confrontation with her aunt. Wow. The big revelation was right out of a soap opera. Jonah made a similar commentary. But boy...it was just a bit too far-fetched. I get that this is fiction but that scenario was unbelievable as was her aunt's reason for her actions. I was doing a lot of SMH with that particular story line.

Overall, I enjoyed Drawn Together. It had it's moments of sweet, sexy, and heartbreaking. But it was nice to see Raven get her happily ever after with a man who understood and cherished her. I just expected a bit more from the end of the series and wasn't "wowed" by this. BUT, Dane notes on her website that she may chronicle the lives of the children in the story when they grow up. If so, it makes sense why they were a prominent detail in this story.

This is definitely NOT a stand alone book. Readers will need to have read the other books in this series and possibly even the Delicious series to understand who all the characters are because they are integrated throughout this one.

I just love the Brown Family Novels along with the Delicious Novels too!!! the latest novel is just as good if not better than Laid Bare. To See Raven grow in each installment and then finally break down her walls and fall in love was great

Of all the Brown Family novel characters Raven has always been my favorite. Her rough attitude and persona in the previous books set it up for her to have one hell if a story. Ms. Dane has done just that. She has created a story for Raven that is fantastic!

this book started off like i like them.....hot and sexy.....and then it became so much more...the characters grew in depth,the storyline became engaging and emotionally intense,the sex got better!.... what an incredible read.... well worth the price

I love the Brown Family and Delicious series. Ravens story does not disappoint. Raven has been a mystery in all the other books i am so glad she got her own book and we could really understand her character. Raven meets Jonah Warner to do a tattoo and through the process learns more about family and love then she ever knew.

The books if full of old characters and i love the fact that even after their books are done Lauren Dane continues to bring them around so you can see how their lives are filling and how all the characters are connected.

Started out great. Then got ok, then just was kinda boring. Once everything came out, it was just, blah. I kept waiting for some problem or issues to work out, but it was all just fine between everyone. Even the sex got predictable.

Waited a long time to read this ending. Thanks Lauren!! Jonah was pure raw M A N. And I was a Brody and Ben fan. BRODY IS SYILL MY FAB. Brown family series is a keeper. I'll read them again. Love Delicious , too.

The first half of this story started off really great. I would definitely give the first half five stars, but then it just fell apart. I definitely did not like the Ben combination. It felt like he didn't fit into this particular relationship. Also, it just wan't believeable. I found it very hard to believe that a tough guy like Todd would be open to another man being with his woman. I was glad that Todd found his sexuality and was ready to explore but for me this wasn't the right way. I've read many menage books that worked really well, but I felt that it didn't work for this book. Also, this book was way too long. After I read about 80% of the book, I was ready for it to be over with and ended up skimming the rest of it. It was a really good story line and I wish that the author would have just developed Erin and Todd's relationship and made the book shorter. She didn't need the other secondary characters. Now I'm kind of scared about reading more from this author especailly if they are going to be like this one. I was really wishing that it would had just been the two of them in the end because Erin and Todd had had that history in the beginning of the book. The author spent so much time developing Erin and Todd in the first half of the book, and it should have ended with just them.

I thougth this story started off rockin' until the 1/2 point where it just fell apart. I started off loving the main characters. I thought Erin was a wonderful character until she keep kept saying "I love you" to anyone who walked into the door. The contant justification dialog just got on my nerves. When Erin told Brody she as sorry because, after their parents died, that he didn't go to art school and instead became a tattoo artist, I could have slapped her. Hello??

Todd started off great until he discovered himself, then I thought he became smug. In the kitchen scene where Todd said "I'll take care of that for you." to Ben sounded more like he was offering to change the oil. There was no emotional involvement at all. Maybe it was just the writing or my interpretation. Ben.. well I couldn't figure out where he fit in. Erin was so into Todd and justifying everything she did, after she said "I love you." of course, that Ben seemed like a third wheel to me. The emotional impact was just not there. I felt more emotion with Brody and Aiden then Ben and Todd combined, and those two where her brothers. I do give 5 starts to the cover. Great art work!

This book was so unbelievably disappointing. I really loved some of this author's other works, but this one was awful. The heroine in the story is such a tramp, and by page 31 she is having sex with the hero. The whole book she behaves like an uncontrollable nymphomaniac. And if you believe the supposed trauma she endured as a child, she would not be so eager to have sex so quickly with someone she just met.

If you are looking for romance with classy characters - don't waste your money on this book. There is nothing classy or romantic about these characters.

Now I have to figure out what to do with this book, because I'm definitely not keeping it! Yuck!

One of the most enjoyable book ever read. Author really knows how to put a story together. This is the first time for me to read a book of this category and I'm glad I chose Lauren Dane's book. Good writing.

I found the first couple of chapters mildly interesting - after the first couple of long sex scenes you start to skim over them because they are same-same. That then leaves the real story and characters, neither of which are captivating.

So this book only gets three stars because the other brown family novels were SO much better. I found this book to be almost boring at times. But I loved that we got another glimpse into my favorite characters lives again, and the sex scenes were pretty darn awesome.