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Today is a book review of a book I received from The Romance Reviews to read a bit ago. This is a great book! I thought the topic was dealt with in a sensitive fashion. See what you think!
Braided Desire by JC Szot
ISBN: 978-1-60737-975-1
Publisher: Loose Id
Release: Mar 8, 2011
Source: TRR
Josh and Cole live alone on an isolated, six-hundred-acre farm. Chelsea, a local girl from town, visits them sometimes to help them keep their needs met. She thrives off Cole’s dominant nature. The meaningless menage is not enough for Josh, who wants a woman who can help him reach Cole emotionally. Who can help him win Cole’s love.
When Toni arrives at the farm, she quickly discovers the men’s arrangement with Chelsea, and that it’s not satisfying Josh at all. As Josh and Toni’s attraction and connection grows, Josh becomes sure she’s the right fit for both of them. He knows she’s the one who can help him break through the ice around Cole’s heart. But first, he’s got to find a tactful way to get rid of Chelsea, and then, he’s got to convince both Cole and Toni that Toni wants them both.
Braided Desire by J.C. Szot is a dark horse in the menage category. It combines three incomplete individuals to form a complete family unit in a story that will have you crying, laughing and cheering, and best of all, wiping the steam from your glasses!
Toni Jameson has arrived at the farm her deceased father spent the last years of his life at. She’s there to clean out the cabin that he lived in, but never let her visit. Her relationship with her father over the last decade or so has been phone calls and his visits into the city to see her. Her mother was killed when she was a child and so the death of her father leaves her alone. The farm where her father spent his last years is owned by Cole Harrington and his best friend, Josh is his only employee. Cole’s parents were killed by a drunk driver and at times, his friendship with Josh seems to be the only thing that keeps him going.
Although Toni has taken a leave of absence to deal with her father’s affairs, she really isn’t intending on staying at the farm long. But it seems, the longer she stays, the more comfortable she feels. A feeling that she doesn’t have in the city. She is attracted to both Cole and Josh, but Josh is the easier personality of the two men. She doesn’t know what to do with the attraction as she isn’t intending on staying. When the two men approach her to use her accounting skills to help them out with paperwork on the farm, it gives her a reason to stay longer. They encourage her to learn to ride and participate in various farm activities, giving her more to do with her day, and more ways to avoid finishing dealing with her father’s affairs. When she’s caught in the hay loft one day, she watches both men share Chelsea, a woman from town. The feelings that develop while watching something so explicit, concern her. It isn’t long before she not only gives into to her feelings for Josh, but also confesses her attraction to Cole as well.
Braided Desire is an appropriate title for a story about three people who’s lives become intertwined, not unlike a braided rope. This story is a menage and not for the faint of heart, but the menage almost takes a back seat to the tortured life of Cole and how Josh and then Toni help him work though all that has happened in his life. It is the story of two friends that have a woman join their group to complete them both. I really enjoyed this story. Cole and Josh are very different personalities and it was interesting to see the author “braid” their lives together. All three characters help one another to work through the various issues in their lives to form a little family unit.
An excellent, spicy, yet touching story. I highly recommend this book!
Amazon Purchase Link for Braided Desire
