Nikki’s review of Brazen by Maya Banks
Erotic romance ebook released 4 Sep 07, print release 29 Jul 08 by Samhain

I just love, love, love ménage stories. They are my weakness. They are the ones I finish even if they are bad. They are the ones that have me reaching for Buzzy, my B.O.B. Having read and enjoyed Bad Girl, I was thrilled to find a ménage story by Maya Banks.

Brazen is a different kind of ménage story. Most take the easy way out. Two guys are trying to get a girl to join, a girl finds a bi-couple and tries to join, etc. Brazen comes from the direction of a young lady trying to convince two straight men to share her. Ok, it’s loosened up a bit by the fact that the guys have shared women before but they weren’t relationships, just sex. This time they are facing the idea of sharing a wife.

The younger brother, Zane has been the most easy-going brother. For six years Jaz has been coming to him at night if she needed comfort. He let her snuggle in bed with him and it wasn’t sexual. He’s closer to her age and so it is more of a shock for him, when she comes home from a year away, to find himself getting hard for her. He tries to fight it, hide it, not realizing it’s exactly what she wants.

For older brother, Seth, it isn’t a new thing. He’s the more controlled, more conservative brother. And he’s wanted Jaz for years but hasn’t acted on his desire because she’d been through enough. She needed a place she could feel safe. A home. He doesn’t know she wants to change the dynamics of that home quite so radically.

Jasmine’s character is a good example of a young woman just coming into her own. She’s inexperienced and makes some judgment errors but nothing extreme. It was definitely in her character, not bad writing. She has determination and a lot of heart. She shocks them right away with in-your-face sexy dress and behavior that they can’t ignore. The fact that they both love her, already, definitely gives her an edge.

I love Maya Banks’ writing. I’m thankful every time I find an author who’s easy to read. There are just times in life when I need to sit down and enjoy a book without having to work at “getting into it”. You know that reading zone where you don’t see the words on the page anymore, you’re just in there? I get there with Maya’s writing from about the first page.

As for the erotic side, this book builds well. It is a romance and doesn’t just toss in sex where it doesn’t fit. Thank you. Nothing is, to me, as unsexy as sex that doesn’t fit.

Butt, on the topic of sex that doesn’t fit… The first dual-penetration scene was my only real problem. I don’t know if it was deliberately glossed over for more sensitive readers (though a ménage book probably assumes anal sex in most minds) or if it was unintentional. Jaz hasn’t done this before and it just wouldn’t be that quick and easy. Anal sex allows for some very tender, trust building interaction precisely because it takes so long to prepare for. The guys wouldn’t hurt her for the world, and anal sex shouldn’t hurt, but the way it was written would hurt. A lot. But maybe Banks just didn’t want to go into it for some reason. This was the only area I felt a little cheated.

Overall Brazen was a treat. Highly recommended.

Grade: B+

     One woman’s campaign to win the hearts of the two men she loves. Jasmine left the Sweetwater Ranch and the Morgan brothers, no longer able to bear the painful dilemma of loving them both. After a year away, in which she gains new perspective, she returns home with one goal. To make Seth and Zane Morgan hers. Jaz may have left an innocent girl, but she’s returned a beautiful, sensual woman. Seth and Zane aren’t prepared for the full on assault she launches and each battle an attraction they’ve fought for years.
     She wants them both, but Seth has no intention of sharing his woman. Its up to her to change his mind because she can’t and won’t choose between two men she loves with equal passion. For her, its all or nothing.

     Read an excerpt and an  excerpt (it’s a hot one).