ARC Review: Captivated by Lauren Dane

Captivated

(Phantom Corps #3)

by Lauren Dane

Lauren Dane crafts an emotionally-charged story that brings a broken woman named Hannah Black from the confining net that total isolation by the Imperialist troops have casted over her. Eleven months she was held captive, but when Vincenz Fardelle rescues her from them, readers see the spine of steel hidden beneath the abused woman.

It was easy to like Hannah. Despite being emotionally sensitive, she is a strong woman who does what is necessary to survive and return to her previous state. She undergoes treatment that is uncomfortable for her, but with the help of Vincenz and Julian Marsters, the slow steps they take towards recovery have shown her resilience and a core strength that cannot be denied.

Vincenz and Julian are also great characters that show sympathy and kindness towards Hannah. But they are also very passionate people. It was clearly evident that Vincenz and Julian love each other and Dane does a great job of making that known on the first few pages of this book. Dane then adds Hannah into that mix and it was interesting to see how this protectiveness extended towards her too. I must comment on the sex scenes in this book. Dane incorporates a variety of sex scenes – there are M/M scenes, M/F/M, and M/F scenes. There’s a lot of goodness in it, but I know some are more hesitant about M/M scenes so this is a fair warning. For me, this was a perfect balance. I loved that Dane did scenes with Hannah and the men separately as well as together because it shows how well they are together as a threesome.

Again, the worldbuilding is interesting and engaging, giving the story a natural push as the war approaches and Hannah takes a more active part in the role. I have to say that I was really impressed by this book and hope to read more from Dane because not only was it emotionally gripping, but it was hella hot too!

 *ARC provided by author

 

 

Purchase Links: Amazon

Review: Mesmerized by Lauren Dane

Mesmerized (Phantom Corps # 2)

by Lauren Dane

Paranormal Romance

Find it on Goodreads!

Andrei... Andrei... Andrei... YOU SEXY BEAST! There is nothing I like more than a hot, intense, alpha male! And Andrei is all that and then some. Now if we could only get him to admit he has a future with Piper.

I thought Andrei was a sexy as hell in the previous book, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on his story. I enjoyed the beginning where it actually gives us a small glimpse as to how he became a part of the Phantom Corps, and where he came from.

I was not expecting, however, that this would be a story of reunited lovers. Such a contradiction for him. He's been in love with Piper from when they were both poor teenagers without much of a future. He was always the trouble maker, and this leads him to disappear from Piper, and her family's lives, pretty much without a trace.

Except he kept in contact with them throughout the years, helping them by sending them credits. With this help they were able to do something with their lives, and Piper is now a bad ass mercenary!

When the war in the 'Verses is almost upon them, and danger is escalating, Andrei is sent to investigate and gather information through the mercs, and he is put in close contact with Piper again.

Piper was such an enjoyable heroine. After the disaster (for my taste) of the last heroine in this series, I'm so glad I can say I really enjoyed Piper!

"She'd lived her life making choices. Not always the ones she wanted to make, but she'd made them and dealt with the consequences. She'd existed and survived, and on the continuum of joy and sorrow, she'd had much more of the former. Her life was filled with love. Love she'd made the deliberate choice to open her life to."

Even though he fights this all the way, he can't deny his attraction, and even his love, for Piper is still there. He was in love with the girl then, and he's still in love with the woman now. No other woman since could compare, and no woman ever will. He realizes this will always be true. But he doesn't think he has anything to offer. He's a killer, no good for her.

Except Piper has plans for them. But she's changed as well, and she can play with the big boys. In fact she shows him that she can by becoming sort of his partner in this investigation, against his better judgement.

This story is full of action, a lot is happening, attacks that are changing the future, and new information coming in.

On the other hand, Andrei and Piper are HAWT together! He's a bit of a dominant, and she lets him show her his wildest side.

"You know," Andrei spoke low as he moved his chair closer, "it's so dark back here I bet I could make you come without putting my hand in your pants."

This is my favorite book in this series now!! And let me just say the setup for the next book was very well done, and I can't wait to read it!

Review: Insatiable by Lauren Dane

Lauren Dane is one of my favorite authors and I really wanted to LOVE this book, but it didn't quite get there for me. I've enjoyed the other books in this series and I was sooo looking forward to reading this one, specially by just by looking at the cover. This has to be one of the hottest covers ever! *wipes drool off the keyboard*

I enjoyed the story though, it had a really good plot, I think maybe even better than some other books in this series, but my main complaint....there wasn't enough action. The heroine, Carina, was a bit immature and a bit too childish for my liking at times, not enough that I would consider her annoying, but she came across as very needy. One good thing about her was that she knew when to listen and let Daniel do his job, instead of being the "I-can-take-care-of-myself female" that sooo annoys me.

Going back to the lack of action, it seemed that they didn't have to face too many problems getting out of the Imperial 'Verses, which means either Daniel and Andrei were just that good (and they might've been) or the bad people just plain sucked! LOL But that was ok.

I really liked Daniel as a character, his story, where he came from, his relationship with his family, a really sweet guy behind the tough exterior. Carina I didn't really connect with. I kept hoping she would grow on me so I would see her as more deserving of Daniel, but in the end I guess I'm happy with them being together, she'll be good for him and will balance him out. There was just something missing that I can't quite put my finger on.

The secondary characters I'm intrigued by. Andrei, Vincenz, Alex, and I really didn't see the need to kill Marame. I was rooting for her and Vincenz to end up together :(

I am looking forward to the next book to see where the war between the Federation and Imperial 'Verses will end.  If you're looking for something different, a bit of sci-fi romance, this series is great!