Review: Coming Back by Lauren Dane

08 December of 2015 by Deb Markanton

Reviewer's Rating: 4

4.0Overall score

A Sweet and Sexy Menage

Coming Back By Lauren Dane,

Contemporary Erotic Romance

Released December 8, 2015

Forever Publishing

Series: Ink & Chrome, Book 3

Reviewed by Deb

The men of Twisted Steel are great with their hands.

And they’re not afraid to get dirty.

Mick Roberts, the newest partner at Twisted Steel’s custom hotrod and motorcycle shop, looks like a man with everything. But secretly he still craves the connection he lost when his best friend Adam and the love of his life Jessilynn walked out. Then, he wasn’t ready for the pleasure they promised. Now, things have changed.

Rich, powerful, and insatiable, Adam Gulati is used to getting what he wants. And there’s nothing he wants more than Mick and Jessi. He hasn’t seen either in over a year, but the second he sets eyes on them again his memories-and his desires-can’t be denied.

After trying to live without them, Jessi Franklin realized no one else can satisfy her like Adam and Mick. The three of them need one another-in more ways than one. It’s time to stop pretending and submit to the hunger they all share. But once they go down this road, there’s no turning back. As deeply devoted as they are, no one knows what great bliss their forbidden fantasy will find-or the price they may pay . . .

A Sweet and Sexy Menage

I love Lauren Dane’s books. The End.

Sometimes I wish it were that easy to convey the oh so many feelings and thoughts I have while reading one of her books. Each series has its own unique flavor and resonates with me in a slightly different way. As I said in a previous review, Ms. Dane doesn’t write cookie cutter novels. She doesn’t plop same character/different name into a Doppelgänger plot. However, there is a common thread to all; beautiful and complex family, friend, and lover dynamics that blow me away with their accuracy and emotion. Coming Back wraps up the Ink & Chrome series. Or so I hear. I guess I missed class that day. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but there did seem to be a few indications during the course of this book that there is yet another story to be told…

Coming Back is technically a stand-alone, however, I would highly recommend you read the other two before jumping into this one. Opening Up and Falling Under really get into the nitty gritty world of Twisted Steel, the custom hot rod and motorcycle shop owned by Asa Barrons (of book one), and Duke Bradshaw (of book two). I loved how the inner workings of the shop featured prominently and reflected the personalities of the characters. Coming Back leaves Twisted Steel in the forgotten background, which was a disappointment even though it works for the plot.

The end of book two left us with Twisted Steel undergoing a pretty serious two-fold expansion. Business has grown to the point they not only need a larger, fancier showroom, they need another partner. Asa and Duke have offered a third of the business to Mick, an old buddy recently returned from a few years away in Iraq. It was made clear in book two that Mick had some problems he needed to address, and Ms. Dane did a good job of making us wonder and want more. She gives us the more in Coming Back.

The opening of this novel is one of the few times we visit Twisted Steel. It is the grand opening of the new showroom as well as the announcement that Mick has come on board as a partner. It is here we meet Jessilyn and Adam, two people who mean the world to Mick. It is a reuniting that has been four years in the making. Mick, Jessi, and Adam have been in each others lives since childhood. If one believes in such things, as Jessi does, they are fated to be together.

She believed she had a life she was supposed to be living. She believed being with Mick and Adam was a choice she’d been meant to make since the first time Mick had ever kissed her and Adam had punched him and kissed her too.

But sometimes people need to go off on their own, slay demons, burn bridges, whatever necessary to clear the way for the real journey. Which is why when Mick went off to war, Adam drifted away from Jessi, and Jessi moved to another city. It was what they were supposed to do. Until now.

Mick had sent Jessi and Adam invitations on a whim and they were both there. Both looking at him the same way they always had, and it was simultaneously the best moment and the worst because he’d left them behind. He hadn’t seen Jessi in nearly four years.

Thus begins the real journey for Mick, Adam, and Jessi. Ms. Dane throws us into the deep end of this complex relationship right off the bat. Even though they’ve been apart for four years, their reunion instantly ignites a bonfire of love and passion mixed with memories and past hurts that must be worked through. Fortunately, and this is what I love about Ms. Dane’s novels, there isn’t that annoying back and forth of I’m not good enough, you deserve more, blah blah nonsense. Her characters don’t make you want to tear your hair out. Yes, there is drama. Good drama. And it always serves to keep the story moving in a forward direction.

Jessi is the dreamer, the one who holds faith in the goodness of people. I loved her ability to see the positive side of people and situations while at the same time not taking anyone’s bullshit. She loves Mick and Adam deeply and it shows in virtually everything she does. Her creativity as an artist, her gentle soul, and fierce devotion to family and friends are enviable. She makes life look easy. Mick and Adam’s fathers are influential, controlling bastards who have never liked Jessi or her loving family. They still harbor anger and resentment over the fact that their sons preferred Jessi’s family over their own while growing up. They used that anger to make the boys lives miserable then, and are attempting it again now that the three are back together. It is the background drama that highlights how far both Mick and Adam have come in their lives and their utter devotion to Jessi.

Mick, the bi-sexual, warrior, bad-ass mechanic, bare knuckle fighter uses pain as a means to punish himself for his shortcomings. Finally submitting to Adam, trusting him to understand his pain, opens Mick like nothing he’s ever experienced in his meaningless hook ups.

All the fighting and the high adrenaline stuff like racing and even dangerous stuff like multiple tours in Iraq were Mick’s way of punishing himself. But in Adam’s hands, the pain was a caress. It was a loving way to wash away all that loathing, all the toxic, vile stuff his family made him feel.

While Jessi may be their anchor of goodness, Adam is the captain of the ship. He is the Dominant Jessi and Mick need. Not to control every aspect of their lives, but to guide them and keep the relationship on track. He is the voice of reason during the stressful dealings with his and Mick’s families. He has the clear vision and innate understanding that makes him a very hot Dom in the bedroom. The sex between these three is sizzling as they reacquaint themselves as friends in addition to the next level – lovers. This triad is really very beautiful.

Coming Back is another beautifully written novel from Lauren Dane. She always amazes me with her ability to create fascinating characters that are down-to-earth, sexy as hell, and just a bit damaged to make them even more loveable.

** My reviews for Opening Up (Book 1) and Falling Under (Book 2) in the Ink & Chrome series were written for another site. They can be found at the links below. Unfortunately, this site does not allow the posting of their reviews to booksellers or Goodreads so I am unable to post them on those sites.