Rough, Raw, and Ready, Lorelei James

I just had to include this one by Lorelei James. I like her cowboys and this was a 5 star read for me.

- Review by Kazza K

So many books, so little time. Slowly getting through the Rough Riders series. My favourite, up until now, had been Cowgirl Up and Ride. I loved A J and Cord but Rough, Raw, and Ready surpassed that book for me. Just some thoughts.

I enjoyed Trevor and Edgard, somewhat, in Long Hard Ride, I didn't like Trevor letting Edgard go but it seemed inevitable at the time. I wasn't sure whether Lorelei James would revisit them, glad she did because their story needed closure. Just for the record, this book comes with a clear statement that there is menage as well as man on man sex. There is M/F, M/M, M/M/F and M/F/M. If anything apart from M/F bothers you, then either think about whether you should skip this one or be open to something different and, hopefully, pleasantly surprised.

WHAT I LIKED

Liked the 3 MC's - Chassie, Trevor and Edgard, with particular love for/of Chassie. The sex was hot as, and all aspects were well written, including the M/M and M/M/F scenes, they were smokin'. I enjoyed, yet again, the family dynamic (McKay, West, Glanzer), it's pretty real - there's flaws and infighting, expectations, moments of sorrow and disappointments, plus dysfuction. I loved the fact that Trevor grew up, and that Chassie was a conduit for love and their different relationship. Chassie loved being adored by two strong, virile men. To her it was a vindication of all her difficulties growing up, feeling looked down upon and never good enough. Trevor and then Edgard made her feel special and loved. It helped her realise just how important they all were to each other, she didn't care what others thought anymore.

Don't let anyone else sway you if you want to try this style of romance (M/M, M/M/F) it was beautifully done. Not everyone fits into a twosome or vanilla relationship; and Ms James did the series justice in portraying that here. Nobody cheated on anyone else and no-one was blackmailed into anything, sure, there may have been a big revelation at the beginning for Chassie; but it shook everyone up in a positive way. Chassie's lack of full-blown jealousy, being open to another in her life, after careful consideration, dealing with her husband's past was not a sign of weakness. Three souls that had had a rough trot in life and had been dealt blows by their respective families found their own family. Who can sneeze at getting that chance, and for some a second chance at that.

Looking forward to Colt now, I thought his actions so poignant in the latter part of this book.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
Nothing much, perhpas the GFY component withTrevor, but it was a darn good book so...

Fabulous read from the 'pen' of Lorelei James, I am glad she told this story it gave the series a real shot of reality and broadened its scope beautifully for mine.