Helpful Score: 5
Lauren Dane is one of the better authors out there doing erotic romance. Dane's a very good storyteller, creative, witty, and capable of drawing original characters and plots and breathing life into her tales. Dane has used domination and submission in several of her books to varying degrees with and without menage. In Undercover, a futuristic novel, she uses D/s and menage in combination.
Undercover is set in set once upon a time, somewhere in space - not Earth's future. Lieutenant Sera Ayers of the Federation Military Corps has been summoned by her commanding officer, Subcommander Yeager, for new orders - not with the team she's worked so hard to get.
Pissed off and ready for a fight she gets more than she bargained for when Commander Ash Walker, her lover and 'master' ten years ago, is there - as her new boss. She greets him as he deserves - "F**k you," she snarls, landing a solid right hook to his jaw. (Two thumbs up for Sera.)
Ten years ago Ash Walker taught Sera how to surrender and be his submissive. An interpreter for the diplomatic corps, after the break up with Ash, she moved to the military corps. The Federation is dominated by the Ranked Families, old extended business/blood lines that effectively run the Federation and employee the vast majority of the people outside the military. The Federation is trying to keep the Imperialists (Fascists) from winning control of anymore of the outer systems. The war has been going on for many years and it's the ordinary people that have been doing the bulk of the fighting and dying. Both Ash and his partner Paracommander Brandt Pela are both from high Ranking Families.
Sera has rebuilt her life and wants nothing to do Ash Walker, but Ash isn't giving her any options. She's forced to report to her new quarters where Ash and Brandt live. A confrontation after dinner in their quarters when Ash collars Sera with his hands has Ash on the floor with Sera's boot on his throat. Brandt just manages to get her to calm down so he can speak with her, but he realizes shes just barely holding it together. After convincing Sera that she really needed to pose as a concubine she's hit with the last bit of information - Brandt is the brother of the woman Ash married. Her break up with Ash happened after he professed his love for Sera then the next day offered her a contract as his mistress with her own apartment near the new house where he and his wife would live.
After Sera sends them away, Brandt and Ash realize this might be too much (Ya think?), but Ash wants Sera back - and he wants Brandt too, the three of them together. Brandt and Ash have a longstanding sexual relationship and switch back and forth on the dominant role. Ash wants Sera and knows he made a huge mistake with her. He broke more than her heart, he broke trust, and that will take a great deal to overcome.
As the story progresses, the three struggle to begin functioning as they will be expected to on Nondal. Since Sera will be posing as Brandt's concubine, this includes growing used to his touch - among other things. Sera even gets hair extensions, semi-permanent makeup and body sculpting to look more like a true Nondal concubine. Her real problem isn't getting into the role of sexual submissive, it's can she get back out when the mission is done?
Dane does a balancing act here between Sera the military officer and Sera/Sela the sexual submissive concubine. The relationship that Brandt builds with her is more than cover, it's what he wants for real. Ash wants to get back with her and a run in with his ex-wife, Kira, on Nondal gives him the chance to reestablish his bond with her and to start the relationship as a permanent menage.
I genuinely liked Sera, Ash and Brandt and enjoyed their story, even if I do have problems understanding D/s, it never really bothered me much here. Sera is smart, strong and independent and doesn't roll over for Ash and Brandt like some simpering wimp. Both men must exert considerable emotional energy get and keep the relationship working and convince Sera to make this arrangement permanent. In the end, Sera does have the pleasure of seeing the snobs caught in the web of their own making. The sex is hot and the D/s elements didn't overwhelm the love part till it felt twisted, as it so often does to me in BDSM stories. There is far more sex here than in her previous books. Sometimes it felt like the sex was thrown in because there simply hadn't been any for awhile, so someone said "let's add some sex here". The established relationship between Ash and Brandt is very well done, quite believable and adds depth to the story. I just wish Dane had expended more time and effort developing the surrounding story which would have taken the book up several notches. This was not up to her usual storytelling quality.
I gave it 3.7*
Undercover is set in set once upon a time, somewhere in space - not Earth's future. Lieutenant Sera Ayers of the Federation Military Corps has been summoned by her commanding officer, Subcommander Yeager, for new orders - not with the team she's worked so hard to get.
Pissed off and ready for a fight she gets more than she bargained for when Commander Ash Walker, her lover and 'master' ten years ago, is there - as her new boss. She greets him as he deserves - "F**k you," she snarls, landing a solid right hook to his jaw. (Two thumbs up for Sera.)
Ten years ago Ash Walker taught Sera how to surrender and be his submissive. An interpreter for the diplomatic corps, after the break up with Ash, she moved to the military corps. The Federation is dominated by the Ranked Families, old extended business/blood lines that effectively run the Federation and employee the vast majority of the people outside the military. The Federation is trying to keep the Imperialists (Fascists) from winning control of anymore of the outer systems. The war has been going on for many years and it's the ordinary people that have been doing the bulk of the fighting and dying. Both Ash and his partner Paracommander Brandt Pela are both from high Ranking Families.
Sera has rebuilt her life and wants nothing to do Ash Walker, but Ash isn't giving her any options. She's forced to report to her new quarters where Ash and Brandt live. A confrontation after dinner in their quarters when Ash collars Sera with his hands has Ash on the floor with Sera's boot on his throat. Brandt just manages to get her to calm down so he can speak with her, but he realizes shes just barely holding it together. After convincing Sera that she really needed to pose as a concubine she's hit with the last bit of information - Brandt is the brother of the woman Ash married. Her break up with Ash happened after he professed his love for Sera then the next day offered her a contract as his mistress with her own apartment near the new house where he and his wife would live.
After Sera sends them away, Brandt and Ash realize this might be too much (Ya think?), but Ash wants Sera back - and he wants Brandt too, the three of them together. Brandt and Ash have a longstanding sexual relationship and switch back and forth on the dominant role. Ash wants Sera and knows he made a huge mistake with her. He broke more than her heart, he broke trust, and that will take a great deal to overcome.
As the story progresses, the three struggle to begin functioning as they will be expected to on Nondal. Since Sera will be posing as Brandt's concubine, this includes growing used to his touch - among other things. Sera even gets hair extensions, semi-permanent makeup and body sculpting to look more like a true Nondal concubine. Her real problem isn't getting into the role of sexual submissive, it's can she get back out when the mission is done?
Dane does a balancing act here between Sera the military officer and Sera/Sela the sexual submissive concubine. The relationship that Brandt builds with her is more than cover, it's what he wants for real. Ash wants to get back with her and a run in with his ex-wife, Kira, on Nondal gives him the chance to reestablish his bond with her and to start the relationship as a permanent menage.
I genuinely liked Sera, Ash and Brandt and enjoyed their story, even if I do have problems understanding D/s, it never really bothered me much here. Sera is smart, strong and independent and doesn't roll over for Ash and Brandt like some simpering wimp. Both men must exert considerable emotional energy get and keep the relationship working and convince Sera to make this arrangement permanent. In the end, Sera does have the pleasure of seeing the snobs caught in the web of their own making. The sex is hot and the D/s elements didn't overwhelm the love part till it felt twisted, as it so often does to me in BDSM stories. There is far more sex here than in her previous books. Sometimes it felt like the sex was thrown in because there simply hadn't been any for awhile, so someone said "let's add some sex here". The established relationship between Ash and Brandt is very well done, quite believable and adds depth to the story. I just wish Dane had expended more time and effort developing the surrounding story which would have taken the book up several notches. This was not up to her usual storytelling quality.
I gave it 3.7*
Ten years ago Sera walked away from Ash. Due to his social status he could never get married to her and was forced to marry another women. Ash offered Sera the status of being his mistress which hurt her deeply. Now working as an officer for the federation she is forced to work with Ash and Brandt to expose traitors within the Federation. Sera is furious because she has to pose as Brandt's concubine so they can gather evidence. She is fighting her attraction to Brandt and really hates herself for still having feelings for Ash.
Ash has never stopped loving Sera and now that he is no longer married he wants to pick up where he left off. In the beginning he comes across as an unfeeling jerk and Brandt defuses alot of the tension between Sera and Ash. Since Sera is supposed to be Brandt's concubine she has to get used to him making love to her and touching her. Sera starts falling in love with him also and after forgiving Ash they start a menage a trois relationship. Both Ash and Brandt are dominants and Sera loves to submit in the bedroom only. There is some m/m interaction , some flogging and spanking. I would consider this light BDSM. There was no humiliation, slave or masters. Even during the sex scenes you could feel the love and respect both males had for Sera.
If you enjoy a well paced story with alot of graphic sex, mild BDSM and a HEA menage a trois then you will enjoy this book.
Ash has never stopped loving Sera and now that he is no longer married he wants to pick up where he left off. In the beginning he comes across as an unfeeling jerk and Brandt defuses alot of the tension between Sera and Ash. Since Sera is supposed to be Brandt's concubine she has to get used to him making love to her and touching her. Sera starts falling in love with him also and after forgiving Ash they start a menage a trois relationship. Both Ash and Brandt are dominants and Sera loves to submit in the bedroom only. There is some m/m interaction , some flogging and spanking. I would consider this light BDSM. There was no humiliation, slave or masters. Even during the sex scenes you could feel the love and respect both males had for Sera.
If you enjoy a well paced story with alot of graphic sex, mild BDSM and a HEA menage a trois then you will enjoy this book.
Helpful Score: 1
Grade: C+
Sera Ayers walks into her commanding officer's office only to be confronted with a man she vowed to forget, Ash Walker. Their love affair ended abruptly after she found out he was engaged to be married and he wanted to set her up as his mistress. See in this Universe, Ash is from one of the founding families and as one of the first sons he is expected to marry for political ties. Keeping a mistress or two on the side is perfectly acceptable by society's standards. Only Sera has more pride than that and was unable to accept the arrangement. Now ten years later she finds that Ash wants to use her in an undercover operation. She with Ash and his partner Brandt are to infiltrate the Imperialists in an attempt to find a traitor, by posing as two wastrel playboys and their concubine. What first begins as a ploy to fool others turns out to be the real thing between Ash, Brandt and Sera.
As I was reading the first chapter of Undercover, I got a little worried about the heroine of the story. When she makes her first appearance it's a violent and explosive one and these are not characteristics which I find appealing. She is bitter and accusatory towards Ash and with good reason, yet I was praying she wouldn't continue to act this way through the whole story. Fortunately, Sera is one of those characters that once she has expressed her opinion she is able to move on and make the best of a bad situation and so my opinion of her went up several notches.
Usually, a certain amount of disbelief is required when reading a romance between two men and one woman. I felt that Ms. Dane did a good job at explaining why and how the emotional pull between Ash, Brandt and Sera worked. Brandt was needed to sort of smooth out the conflict between Ash and Sera and was the glue that helped hold it all together. However, I do feel that much of the emotional development especially between Brandt and Sera was rushed or happened much to quickly.
While I enjoyed the story and the characters, I felt that the reader was only exposed to it at a superficial level. I wasn't as emotionally connected to the characters as I could have been. The world building itself had lots of potential, but for the most part only scratched the surface. More depth from both the characters and the world building would have made an enjoyable book an outstanding book. I would recommend this book for those readers who enjoy a book more focused on the characters instead of the world building.
Sera Ayers walks into her commanding officer's office only to be confronted with a man she vowed to forget, Ash Walker. Their love affair ended abruptly after she found out he was engaged to be married and he wanted to set her up as his mistress. See in this Universe, Ash is from one of the founding families and as one of the first sons he is expected to marry for political ties. Keeping a mistress or two on the side is perfectly acceptable by society's standards. Only Sera has more pride than that and was unable to accept the arrangement. Now ten years later she finds that Ash wants to use her in an undercover operation. She with Ash and his partner Brandt are to infiltrate the Imperialists in an attempt to find a traitor, by posing as two wastrel playboys and their concubine. What first begins as a ploy to fool others turns out to be the real thing between Ash, Brandt and Sera.
As I was reading the first chapter of Undercover, I got a little worried about the heroine of the story. When she makes her first appearance it's a violent and explosive one and these are not characteristics which I find appealing. She is bitter and accusatory towards Ash and with good reason, yet I was praying she wouldn't continue to act this way through the whole story. Fortunately, Sera is one of those characters that once she has expressed her opinion she is able to move on and make the best of a bad situation and so my opinion of her went up several notches.
Usually, a certain amount of disbelief is required when reading a romance between two men and one woman. I felt that Ms. Dane did a good job at explaining why and how the emotional pull between Ash, Brandt and Sera worked. Brandt was needed to sort of smooth out the conflict between Ash and Sera and was the glue that helped hold it all together. However, I do feel that much of the emotional development especially between Brandt and Sera was rushed or happened much to quickly.
While I enjoyed the story and the characters, I felt that the reader was only exposed to it at a superficial level. I wasn't as emotionally connected to the characters as I could have been. The world building itself had lots of potential, but for the most part only scratched the surface. More depth from both the characters and the world building would have made an enjoyable book an outstanding book. I would recommend this book for those readers who enjoy a book more focused on the characters instead of the world building.
Helpful Score: 1
Futuristic erotic romance by Lauren Dane. Ten years ago Sera was in love with Ash. He is from one of the ranking familiies that pretty rule everthing, and she is unranked. The relationship ended badly, when Ash had to marry another woman, and wanted to make Sera his mistress. Sera refused and worked her way up in the military. Now, Ash is back, with his best friend Brandt, and they want Sera in their elite covert military team. They get her assigned to their unit, without her consent. But, Ash and Brandt want more from Sera than to be a part of thier team. They want her in their lives as their woman, permanantly. Ash will do whatever he has to, to win Sera back. This is a pretty good book, but I thought it had some faults. In about a week, Sera goes from an angry, to in love with both me. The storybuilding is flimsy and the beginning is a little rushed. This book has scorching sex scenes including D/s, M/F/M menage. Overall, the book is good.
