Review: Unraveled

Unraveled by Lauren Dane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Read this book now! Ms. Dane starts another emotionally packed series that hits me hard in the heart. I devoured this erotic romance in one sitting. It is a page turning and a must read. Be forewarned, it is angsty and will most likely cause a book hangover.

Always a fan of Ms. Dane, her most powerful romances come from ones where broken families create their own families. This formula works well for Ms. Dane and she does it so exquisitely. In this one, Maybe Dolan's life has been tumultuous as the hated younger child. The cuts Maybe suffers from her parents are so sharp, she bleeds out with no one noticing.

I loved Maybe. She is a character who is strong and a survivor. What she experienced in her family is a disgrace. How her parents could have treated her the way she was treated is unfathomable to me. It is only due to the love of her aunt and uncle she survives her childhood somewhat intact. The scenes between Maybe and her father are infuriating and disturbing. I realize Ms. Dane does not go down the path of sexual abuse from Maybe's father, but I have to say my piece. From an outsider's perspective, Maybe's father is not only one of the worst kind of fathers, but disgusting. My personal take is that he is so terrible to Maybe mostly because he can't handle how sexy his daughter is and that he has sexual desires he can not act upon. So he projects his disgusting filth upon Maybe and completely tries to destroy her. Please note, in this story, there is no incest abuse implied or uncovered. It is my own reading into it.

Despite Maybe's harsh childhood, she is a pretty balanced adult who is doing everything she can to support her sister's huge life change. Learning what happened to Rachel, Maybe's sister, is heartbreaking. I can't wait to learn about Rachel's story. I am sure Ms. Dane will cause me to grab some tissue paper. Maybe is a creative soul who has a great job and does what she loves. Why her parents can not accept this is beyond me. She is easily relate-able and represents a good portion of Americans. The fact that her parents want to crush her under their heel is unacceptable.

Fortunately, Alexsei Petrov feels the same. Alexsei has his own baggage with his family. He too was raised by his aunt and uncle instead of his mother. A different variation than Maybe, but similar enough that they bond over it. Alexsei and Maybe's relationship is complicated and crosses several lines. None of it is insurmountable, yet Alexsei is hesitant. This is what I love about Maybe. Tired of waiting she asks him out and that is all she wrote.

The sexual chemistry between these two is clearly visible. With the support of the family members who matter, they become a couple. I loved the give and take in the relationship. The sex is stellar as Ms. Dane excels with her steamy erotic scenes. There is no kink in this story even if Maybe jokes about not being Vanilla. It is "spiced" Vanilla in my book. Quite tame yet still blazing hawt! The ending of this book is sweet, even if it leaves it a bit of a cliffhanger. Basically, Rachel and Maybe's parents pull a crazy stunt which may be resolved in the next book. I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in this new series already. This erotic romance is highly recommended to all romance readers.

*provided by Netgalley