Claim Me Hard

Some menage stories feel like they're a loose plot primarily designed to carry hot set scenes. Nothing wrong with that, but there are times a person really wants a good story along with the heat. Vanessa Vale really delivers in that regard. It's a fantastic series and I've enjoyed everything of hers I've read to date. This book could benefit from a trigger warning for abuse I thought. The heroine is on the run from a terrifying ex. Fortunately we don't see too much of him, and in true Bridgewater style, when he turns up he regrets it spectacularly. I would rate these stories 5 stars, but my only complaint is I wish they were longer, so we could spend more time (literally and figuratively) with the characters. Their stories do feel a little "Speed" sometimes, but we do get to revisit them in future books, so I suppose there's that. I just find the dynamic of a triad fascinating, and this is probably one of the first contemporary series I've read that seemed to really honor it. I'd love to see more about what day to day life looked like. The types of thoughts the characters had as they developed their relationships etc. None the less, highly recommend this series if you enjoy a little heat, and little suspense, and a lot of very devoted alpha types:)

YOU’RE MINE AND I’M NEVER LETTING YOU GO Book two in the Bridgewater County series is another amazing adventure that is a spinoff from the historical based Bridgewater Menage series but takes place in present day. The town of Bridgewater, Montana, still holds with the founding father principals of two or three alpha dominant males claiming and marrying one woman, and partnering for life. This method has proven successful for over a hundred years and why change what works? The story will read as a standalone. It will have characters from the first book, Ride Me Dirty. Dr. Hannah Lauren Winters is no wallflower. Having gone to Stanford and now working in the ER of a hospital, she has seen and handled it all, and can hold her own. Working with women who come in and have been battered and broken by men, she has counseled and advised them on breaking away and provided the help to do so. Why can’t she listen to her own advice, and it will take another broken woman to make her see she needs to practice what she preaches. Hannah will finally realize that if she is to live, she must escape from her abusive ex-boyfriend, Lieutenant Colonel Bradley Madison. It will require walking away from everything and going under the radar. No cell phone, no vehicle, no ATM, or the use of credit cards. She can’t even be a doctor, or he can find her. When the bus stops in Bridgewater, Montana, Hannah will get off and walk around the quaint western town, and when she misses the bus, she will stay. Now she needs a job, and Jessie will hire her to work at the diner as a waitress, and offer her an apartment over the diner to live. When two men, Cole and Declan, come in each day to sit in her section and flirt, she will learn that not one of them, but both of them what to date her, together. Finding out that this is the norm in Bridgewater comes as a complete shock, but it must work since it has been the way things have been for over a hundred years. “They are loyal, sincere, chivalrous—and possessive.” The plot will have Hannah on the run, leaving behind everything she has worked for to become a doctor, including acceptance into a new practice. She must remain under the radar of Brad and will go by Hannah Lauren and avoid using anything for him to track. When she learns of the “Bridgewater way of life” she will be shocked but fascinated. Having two men vie for her attention and telling her that she is theirs, even if she doesn’t know it yet, is scary. She is escaping one controlling man, and the thought of two more is more than she wants. With the entire town pushing for Cole, Declan, and Hannah to get together, she is willing to go out on a date with them to the local watering hole. Having two women vouching for the Bridgewater men and their proven way helps for the night, but she plans on only one night. “They believe in making sure she is always taken care of—her problems are their problems. It’s their duty to make sure she is happy—and satisfied.” A life and death situation will open the door for discovery for Hannah and just when she was learning to be happy and trust Cole and Declan; she will feel the need to run. Can the men prove to her they want her to stay and that they will keep her safe? When the opportunity for her to continue being a doctor comes to light, will she be willing to settle in Bridgewater and find her happily-ever-after ending? “I’d found where I belonged. Good from bad. Light from dark.”

This is the second book in the series. Hannah is on the run from her abusive ex. She runs from a nightmare, but she may end right where she's meant to be. Cole and Declan take a shine to Hannah. They're going to show her how a man is supposed to cherish their woman. Can they convince Hannah. There is also the threat from her ex. This book is very steamy. It's a MFM relationship. The way of relationships in Bridgewater may not be society's norm, but it works for this town. It's a shock to an outsider like Hannah, but Cole and Declan are up to the task to show her the benefits of that type of relationship.