"Brazen" is the first in Queen-of-the-menage Maya Banks 'Brazen' series. Her sex scenes are very erotic and her characters are very tortured and normally I like that. But there was just something about this one that kept needling at me and kept me from enjoying it as much as her other books.

Brothers Seth and Zane are in the big city bar after a successful presentation for their ranch when they are approached by a very young woman offering one of them sex. After hustling her out of the bar and the out of the sight of her pimp, they take her for some much needed sustenance and get the whole story from the sixteen year old with nowhere to go. Just like that, Jasmine becomes a part of their life. They take her to their ranch, hire a housekeeper/mother figure, and work to erase the shadows from Jasmine's eyes.

Several years later, and after a year in Paris away from the ranch and Seth and Zane, Jasmine is ready to return. Her time away was good for her and hopefully, now, the 'boys' will see her as the woman she is instead of the girl they rescued. Jasmine wants that very much as she loves BOTH of them...as a woman loves. But Jasmine will need all her wiles and all her patience to woo both men into a sharing relationship.

So! Yes, they both love her...THAT way and yes, the brothers have a hard time with the thought of 'sharing' even though they've participated in threesomes before. But that was for fun, not for life and Seth especially isn't sure he can accept a situation like what Jasmine is asking for.

Maybe what bothered me about this one is that Jasmine is obviously the aggressor in this relationship. Why does that bug me? I honestly have no idea...but it does. The younger brother is quick to fall to her seductions, but the older brother Seth, the authority figure and responsible caretaker, has some very serious issues with Jasmine. I guess I felt that Jasmine didn't give his thoughts the serious contemplation they deserved. Or maybe it was because I felt she pretty much forced herself on him...but either way, it left me irritated and little appalled.

However, it all worked out and the three all get their HEA and the book was pretty darn hot. I'm not sorry I read it and maybe I just need to open my mind a bit more and this book can help with that. It's not one for my keeper shelf, but it wasn't a 'wall-banger' either! ( )

**Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques**

Jasmine is returning home after a year abroad. Her time in Paris expanded her horizons in more ways than she could ever have anticipated, and she is now ready to return home to the two men she has long loved but thought she could never have. You see, she loves both of the Morgan brothers, but could never have chosen between Seth and Zane. Now she knows she just might not have to. The problem will be persuading the two men – not to mention convincing them to see her as a woman instead of the child they first met all those years ago… But Jaz just may be Brazen enough to do it!

If you were to ask me to recommend a great author of ménage romance, Maya Banks would be at the top of my list. Heck, she is at the top of my list of romantic authors, actually. But back to the ménage. LOL Banks has a knack not only for writing some pretty intense M/F/M love scenes, but for delivering compelling reasons for the ménage relationships. Rarely are her trios simply a fling; they almost always end up together for the long haul, with the heroine legally married to one of the men but bound to both (or all, in the case of Colters’ Woman.)

Jasmine is a great match for the two Morgan brothers – sassy and strong-willed with a determination to match their stubbornness and overpower their reluctance. Of course, it just might be their deep-rooted love for her that helps her case just a bit… J Jasmine pulls out all the stops to seduce the men she needs in her life, and demands all or nothing.

Seth and Zane are enough to make any woman’s knees wobbly. A couple of honest to goodness cowboys, they bear all the traits you’d expect in a sexy alpha male hero – nobility, strength, tenderness, possessiveness, and an ability to love to the depths of their souls. It is easy to empathize with why both men fight their desire for Jaz, but oh boy is it hot when they finally start to lose that battle!!!

Brazen has it all – enough titillation to heat you all the way through even on the coldest winter night, and so much love that you know you’ll never feel cold again if you could just be in Jaz’s shoes. If you crave wonderfully spicy romances with a ménage theme, you will want to buy your copy of Maya Banks’ Brazen tonight!

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