Coming Undone (A Brown Family Novel Book 2) Kindle Edition

Like a day at the beach, Lauren Dane's second novel in the Brown Siblings series, Coming Undone, is sexy and smooth, bright and memorable, and hot...oh, so hawt!Elise Sorenson arrived in Seattle ready to move forward and make a better life for her daughter. She is a survivor with a capital S, ready to put the chaos and pain of the past behind her and build a normal, loving future for the two of them. With her success as a principal dancer in the National Ballet Theater, Elise has opened a studio and purchased a home. Her life finally feels stable and complete. And even though she enjoys fantasizing about the Harley driving hunk across the street, she has no inclination to disrupt the peace she and her daughter, Rennie, have found at long last.Brodie Brown knows he's got the perfect life. After taking on the responsibility to raise his younger brother and sister at the age of eighteen, he reflects with pride as he watches his brother's rock star career continue to thrive and his sister find happiness in the life she has built with her two men. He owns his own home, runs a premier tattoo parlor, has the love of friends and family and enjoys his freedom. He's got it all and a relationship is the last thing on his mind when a drunk driver hits him in front of his home and an angel comes to his rescue.Coming Undone is a story about family--family by blood and family by bond. It is a slow ride to discover how unlikely friendships come together and enrich each other. Dane's second tale was more than the story about Elise and Brody. It is the story of how Elise, her daughter and her parents come to be part of the Brown's family circle. How Erin (from Laid Bare) and Elise develop an empowering friendship based on their love of Brody and their similar pasts. The unlikely bond that the ballerina and rocker-chick found in their shared tragedies made the story seem genuine.Elise is real. She is the kind of friend you could respect. Elise has seen the gutter and survived, leaving her confident in her convictions. I admire how she has steadfastly kept her priority clear--her daughter. She is fun, good and loyal to the core. Her past has humbled her and taught her compassion for others. I know I could be myself with Elise and that would be all she would want. And I have to love her conviction to always make her daughter's well-being her primary focus even when it means putting your libido on hold. Elise can come teach me to shoot pool or pirouette any day of the week.In Laid Bare, I saw Brodie's protective side, but to be honest, I wanted Todd and Ben to be Erin's protectors. Brodie just came off a little overbearing. Having learned more about him in this book, I find him endearing. I can see that he has actually held back his need to manage Erin and he consciously allowed her husbands to move into his protector role. The way Brodie remembers Rennie by bringing her flowers along with those for her mother or planning dates that not only include Rennie but are designed to entertain her showed how much thought and attention he puts into his relationships. What a charmer! And I have got to be honest. The man knows his way around a bed (or a ballet studio, stairs, hallway, wall, tattoo parlor...and the doorway. Yep, the doorway was good too!) Mmmm. For a compassionate softie, this Harley ridin' tattoo artist knows how to take control and light a fire.Coming Undone moved at a slow and steady pace. It lacked any real tension although there were conflicts to overcome in the plot. A true contemporary romance, there were no hidden daggers or surprise twists. It was more like a train ride with wonderful people and a cooler of beer than a wild roller coaster ride. The sex was hot and plentiful, but not erotic. It accentuated the story rather than overpowered it.I happened to pick Coming Undone up on a day filled with interruptions, laundry, ironing and the life of a crazy mom. It was the perfect fit for the day. Easy to set aside, and just as easy to fall right back into when I sat outside a dance class. I am giving it a big thumbs up and I've already marked my calendar for November 2, 2010 when Cope's story, Inside Out, is released.

This series is prime comfort material. The homey vibe hugs readers, but it's more the warmth of heated floors than a campfire outdoors. In short, COMING UNDONE is cosy, but lacks spark. To elaborate:You'd love to have these characters in your life. With their unconditional love and support, insatiable seksual appetites, unwavering hotness, and stubborn sincerity, they'd be the best friends you'll ever have. But what we want in real life is not necessarily what we want from fiction. People read for many different reasons: Some read to escape, others to learn, others to think. Some enjoy reading about lives less hectic than their own. I like to read about characters who have bigger issues than I do - and this is why COMING UNDONE doesn't suit me.The characters' histories are more intriguing than their present. The truly bad stuff is behind them; they've survived, and even thrived. Now, there's only the THREAT/IDEA that what and whom they love most will be taken away - it doesn't actually HAPPEN. And this troubles me because there's great potential here for conflict to form a real page-turner. But that's all it is: potential. The way things could've gone, but didn't, would've made a much stronger, gripping story. COMING UNDONE certainly has a whimsical charm about it, but it could've been more.SPOILERS AHEAD-Elise fancies Brody. He fancies her. They strike up a deal for shagging without love. Their shagging is perfect every time (if in different positions). They fall in love with one another. They marry. VERDICT: Potential to create conflict, but doesn't.-Elise is the single mother of a circa-seven-year-old. Rennie is well behaved, socially well adjusted, healthy, spirited, loving and talented...the kind of kid who isn't flawed. Who doesn't throw tantrums, or has trouble making friends, who's not particular skilled or gifted, or has chronic illness. Yes, being a parent can ruin seksytimes...only it doesn't here. Elise's parents and friends are always on hand to be with Rennie, so Elise and Brody can have seksytimes. They even have seksytimes while Rennie is in the house, but she never interrupts or wants attention at a less-than-convenient time. VERDICT: Potential to create conflict, but doesn't.-The characters are very close with their families and their friends. Everyone does what they love, and loves what they do. They're successful. They're businesses are popular and profitable. They're the best in their fields. Everyone is ridiculously good-looking. Everyone is healthy, even mentally. The only character who's less than perfect is Raven, and that's why she's my favourite. She doesn't have everything she wants. She feels left out. She feels Elise is usurping Raven's position within the group. Raven doesn't want to settle down and get married and have kids. She's the devil's advocate who dares to admit that all this lovey-dovey, cosy-sweetness thing is actually quite freaking annoying. She's the only character who has a distinctive personality (the others may have different names, jobs and relationships, but at the core they're the same). At one stage Raven asks Brody about Elise, "Is her pussy magic?" Raven may be cast in the bich role, but she's my favourite, and I love her to bits. Does she cause conflict? Yes, but not enough to derail the relationship or life. She just plants doubt and jealousy; not a big deal. VERDICT: Potential to create conflict, but doesn't.-Elise killed her druggie ex in self-defence. No criminal charges, no prison, no worries. She took her daughter and easily moved west, got a house, a job, a lover, friends, and living near her parents (and babysitters on demand for Rennie). Everyone thinks she's perfect, but Elise claims not to be: that she's a bad daughter, wife, mother, lover, friend. But she's not. She may have poor self-esteem, but she is essentially perfect. VERDICT: Potential to create conflict, but doesn't.-Elise's ex's parents take her to court to claim full custody of Rennie. They could've really loved Rennie, but instead saw her as a tool to defeat Elise. The Sorensons have no real proof that Elise is unfit to be a mother. And whilst in the restroom, the judge overhears Mrs Sorenson antagonise Elise and admit they only want Rennie for spite. Case easily closed in favour of Elise. VERDICT: Potential to create conflict, but doesn't.-The characters are rather verbiose, excellent at forming sentences that say exactly what they mean and in such elaborate detail. Dare I suggest taking writing advice from FUTURAMA's Robot Devil: "Your lyrics lack subtlety. You can't just have your characters announce how they feel." There are MONOLOGUES in this book. The characters are always in each other's business, discussing their seks lives. Everything is shared. Brody tells his siblings to mind their own business, but they don't, and he lets them. VERDICT: Potential to create conflict, but doesn't.-Erin is married to Todd, and Ben is their husband, just not in official paperwork. Erin is pregnant. Who's the biological father of the child? I'm guessing we won't know, because the baby will love everyone equally, and will be equally loved by all. But the very fact that Erin and Todd are married shows a power imbalance, though they claim to be equal. But Ben's on the outside because of their marriage. As kids grow up, you can see physical resemblances to their ancestors. I don't know if it's scientifically possible to have genetic material from two fathers unless there's IVF or whatever involved, but this baby is conceived just by rooting. I would love for the baby to be genetically Ben's and for that to be obvious as the kid ages. That could cause conflict. But I think we all can guess that it won't. I'd love to be proven wrong, I really would. VERDICT: Potential to create conflict, but probably won't.

Ordered this after checking out the reviews on Amazon and Listmania as it was also mentioned with J. R Wards Black Dagger Brotherhood, which i've loved. This is a story set in modern day and the relationship that developed between two people, Brody and Elise. Lauren Dane manages to cover some relative everyday issues that touch many peoples lives, addiction, abuse, helplessness and anger and yet although she weaves them into the story they don't so much dominate the book as help the reader to understand the characters and their strengths, Brody and Elise the two main characters in the book travel through the story overcoming their own personal issues, but i mostly like that Dane doesn't put them both in the pitty parlour as i think it would have been easy to have fallen into the trap of making Elise too much of a victim, instead Dane gives her a strength which makes her a likeable character and Brody is a real sexy hunk. The prominent thread in this story is the incredibly hot sexual relationship they develope almost from the word go!!, i just want to know how you get one that hot in real life? because i want one please! this book is 100 percent fantasy and just a great fun read with some very hot and steamy sex scenes...i'll be checking out more of her titles soon

Excellent

Ein geeignetes Buch, wenn man dem Alltags-Stress vergessen will und sich mit einer Lovestory entspannen möchte :) Aufregend genug, um einen nicht zu langweilen – aber ohne hysterische (oder launige) Charaktere… perfekt für meinen Leseabend auf der Couch!KlappentextAfter his parents’ death, Brody gave up a promising career to care for his family. Now, with his siblings grown, Brody owns his own business, and for the first time in years he’s alone. Elise has come to Seattle with her daughter to find peace. After years as a world-famous ballerina-and trapped in a marriage gone bad – she’s looking for neither love nor attention. But she finds both in the handsome, honest man who befriends her with no strings attached. Brody and Elise discover in each other the wild, physical passion they need. But it’ll take a shadow from Elise’s past to make them look beyond what they need – to what they truly desire.RealitätscheckOkay, es unwahrscheinlich, dass der eigene Nachbar ein sexy, tättowierter Kerl mit Sixpack ist (und seine Geschwister alle Rockstars)… trotzdem ist die Geschichte doch relativ realitätsnah, die Charaktere könnten tatsächlich unsere eigenen Nachbarn sein. Die Charaktere haben ihre Fehler und Schwächen (genau wie du und ich :) ) und versuchen, das Beste aus ihrem Leben zu machen. Inklusive übereifriger Familie und eifersüchtiger Freunde.SpracheFür einen Nicht-Muttersprachler einfach zu verstehen – ich finde es flüssig geschrieben, leicht zu lesen und alles ist sehr bildlich beschrieben; Lauren Dane schafft es, eine eigene Welt in meinem Kopf zu erschaffen.Romantik-LevelMittel. Es gibt keine großen romantischen Gesten, aber es ist wie im echten Leben – es gibt eine glaubhafte Entwicklung der Beziehung zwischen den Charakteren, aufgebaut auf Verständnis und Freundschaft… bin ich froh, dass es keine “Tomaten auf den Augen” Lovestory ist!Smut-LevelHoch! Explizit, aber nie ins vulgäre abdriftend. Auf Englisch: it’s swoon worthy!RandnotizDas Buch “Coming Undone” ist das zweite Buch der Brown Family (oder Brown Siblings) Serie; Band 1 “Laid Bare” habe ich zwar gelesen, aber wegen des Themas (es ist eine Dreiecks-Beziehung) nicht auf meinem Review-Radar… nicht, dass ich Laid Bare nicht mögen würde :) aber ich finde Band 2 einfach besser. Die Charaktere aus dem vorherigen Buch muss man nicht unbedingt kennen (wäre aber natürlich für manche Erläuterungen die im zweiten Buch vorkommen vorteilhafter).Lesen – Ja oder Nein?Ja, auf jeden Fall!FazitEine entspannte Lovestory (die selbstverständlich ihre Highlights und Konflikte hat, besonders wegen der Tochter der Heldin), ohne unnötige Dramas und ganz realen “Problemen”. Was ich an Coming Undone mag: die Heldin weiß genau, was sie will und ist kein hilfloses Mauerblümchen… Außerdem gibt es (juhu!) klare Aussprachen bei aufkommenden Problemen und keine (vom Autor) gewollten Missverständnisse, die die Story nur in die Länge ziehen würden. Ich kann sogar über die eifersüchtige Ex-Freundin hinwegsehen (und mag sie am Ende schon fast!), da sie zur Geschichte beiträgt und kein dazwischen gequetschtes Beiwerk ist.Ein Hinweis: die Liebesgeschichte an sich ist sehr “entspannt”, es gibt keine -durch Missverständnisse- ausgelösten Irrungen und Wirrungen-, trotzdem behandelt das Buch ernste Themen, die durchaus in der Realität vorkommen können (Drogenmissbrauch, Gewalt in der Familie, Sorgerechtsstreit).Für mich ist das Buch wie eine gute, heiße Tasse Kaffee :)Rating: 4/5

Ever since I read LAID BARE I've been waiting for Lauren Dane to continue with her sexy `Brown family' series and with Erin's brother Brody as our lead character here she doesn't disappoint. COMING UNDONE grabs your attention right away with its cast of familiar characters, erotic love scenes, perceptive writing and Brody. Wow, who wouldn't fall in love with this bad-boy on the outside, tender and sensitive on the inside charmer, sigh. I have to say though not much ever really happens within this story; it's more a character study which Dane does very well, drawing the reader into the emotional lives of her characters with amazing dialogue and chemistry.Our story takes place over the period of a year so we also get to watch the entire Brown family grow and change and in chapter 16 Erin/Ben and Todd show us what they've been up to in a ménage a-detail romp and um yeah, it's hot. As a whole though I think true erotica fans will be slightly disappointed (with the exception of chapter 16) because of the lack of heat. Don't get me wrong Dane's sex scenes are amazing (mirrored ballet studio or tattoo shop desk anyone) and so well written they're just relatively tame compared to Laid Bare and it's over the top kink factor. Still this is an amazingly hot and sensitive read that fans will love.Brody Brown has always been responsible for others giving up a promising art career to raise his younger brother and sister after their parents died. Now that they've grown and moved on Brody's life has finally become his own and with a prosperous tattoo shop, nice house and freedom to do as he pleases life is good. However when Elise Sorenson moves in next door he can't help but get involved in more ways than one.Once a world famous ballerina, Elise and her young daughter have moved far away from the horrors of her past hoping to start a new life. The last thing she wants is a relationship especially with a tattooed, Harley riding bad guy but what Brody offers isn't a relationship instead he offers companionship with no strings attached. A friends with benefits you might say and it's working for both of them until Elise's past comes back to haunt her. Now as much as she doesn't want to admit it Elise might need Brody for more than just a good time in fact he may be what she truly desires.This could be read as a stand alone but readers will benefit from reading LAID BARE (because it's awesome) and you get the entire back story on the yummy Brown family and friends. Cheers

Reasons to love this book:'Our Beloved Characters: I read and loved Laid bare, and COMING UNDONE is focusing on Brody who is Erin's brother from Laid Bare'that means that we get to meet again all the characters we came to love. I'm always torn when there is to be another book with a different POV, when you've loved a character and got your HEA you want it to stay that way. And reading a book where you know you'll see them through someone else's eyes is scary, it can ruin a character for you'well it can for me. This is not the case here, i was SO happy to see Erin, Ben, Todd and Adrian again it was a pleasure to see what happened to them after the end of Laid Bare. (And there was an 'extra pleasure' but it get its own point a bit later in my review ;) ) If you haven't read Laid Bare get out of here!'.errr no i mean it's not a problem it can be read as a stand-alone (but who would want that?!)'Brody: That character alone would be reason enough to read this book. Sexy, sweet, funny, Big Tattooed Brody'Hot indeed, Brody is teh smex on a stick seriously'well It might help that i love tattoos and muscles lol (this is hardly ever a bad combination) . Brody is the neighbor every woman dreams to have. I just love how responsible he is and he's always been there for his family and those he loves in general. And what a lover! Oh yes ladies that man knows what he's doing''A strong heroine: Elise is a very loveable character, i loved how dedicated she was to her daughter. She's suffered a lot but she's strong and doesn't need someone to save her. Elise is haunted by the traumatic events from her past. I was a bit annoyed at the fact that she wanted to 'survive' by herself and did not want to burden the people around her, which made her very stubborn sometimes'but she cannot bear to be controlled again, which i understand. (I know I'm contradicting myself here, but you know sometimes you have to learn to lean on someone else a bit).' Family: This book is filled with great characters and one of them is Rennie (aka Irene). Elise's daughter is an amazing child. I was afraid when i read that the heroine already had a child'Children in romances, particularly when from a previous marriage, are often a baggage, a burden'not here'Rennie is as much the heroine as Elise. The relationship between Brody and the child was so sweet my cheeks aches from smiling. Also family is important for all the characters, Brody's relationship with his siblings is fantastic, I'm an only child and i would have loved to have this kind of relationship with siblings.'The Smex: I left the best for the end, the smex! I have to say the smex is sizzling between Elise and Brody, Holy Cow i had to sit on ice to cool down a bit! Don't you forget that our heroine is a Ballerina'.how flexible is she? lol well you'll have to read it to know the answer ;)'The BONUS Smex: Lauren Dane is getting cookie points for chapter 16'.Oh my, chapter 16! I won't tell you what this one is about I'll just quote you the beginning of the scene:'She unlocked her front door and put her coat in the closet andher bag on the table. Moments later she heard the groan and she ranhot, knowing just exactly what that sound meant. She undressedquickly and quietly, then headed up to the master bedroom andstopped at the entrance.'That's when things get real hot i tell you! I think I've read this chapter 4 times already. You can't blame the girl! (Dirty minded much? oh yes!) Warning you might burst into flames while reading this chapter. You might want to leave a fire-extinguisher near just in case.What didn't really work for me:'A sense of Déjà-vu: The story is a bit too similar to the one in Laid Bare, the heroine is going through nearly the same thing : her past haunting her and coming back to bite her in the ass/trial/resolution. Don't get me wrong it works perfectly for the story and i enjoyed every moment of it but i did get a sense of déjà-vu sometimes. (well i had to find something negative to say, hadn't i?)Now that we got the story for Erin and Brody i can only hope we'll get Adrian's book?(last of the siblings) Well a girl can hope, can't she? Adrian is verra drool-worthy , and a Rock Star is bound to have lived a few smexy things of his own ;) There are so many amazing characters is this 'series' that I'm sad to part with them. I felt a bit sorry for Raven and i was hoping to see her get some kind of HEA too.COMING UNDONE is definitely going on my keeper-shelf. COMING UNDONE doesn't disappoint, both Hot and Sweet you won't be able to stop once started. I will be rereading it that's for sure. Thank you Lauren Dane for delivering once again an amazing book