Customer Reviews

Bound, Branded, & Brazen

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4 star:		(8)
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Bound

Dr. Valerie McMasters returns to the Bar M ranch after a 2 year absence for the funeral of her uncle Ronald at the insistence of her youngest sister Jolene. Valerie has made a life for herself in Dallas where she completed her Internship and Residency and plans to go into practice with 3 other family physicians. She is about to see all the years of hard work pay off. Valerie divorced her husband Mason, the Forman of Bar M, when she left the ranch and planned never to return to the memories of their time together as well as the heartache of the loss of her parents years earlier. However, with Uncle Ronald's passing, ownership of the 10,000 acre cattle ranch will be equally divided between the 3 sisters, Valerie, Brea and Jolene.

Mason loved Valerie McMasters from the time she was 16 years of age and even though there was tremendous hurt when she left and divorced him, he has never stopped loving his beautiful, brilliant and stubborn ex-wife. Mason is an intelligent, strong, ruggedly handsome, career cowboy who has worked hard at the Bar M for many years. He knows Valerie, that she keeps her secrets close and while they have sexual chemistry which ignites into a passion that for him is unmatched, she never opened up and shared her secrets or fears with him. I really liked Mason's strength of character and ability to back off when it comes to Valerie who runs hot and cold at the blink of an eye.

Cattle ranchers work extremely hard and share a love of the land and country life which came through loud and clear in Ms. Burton's well crafted narrative. I was quite surprised to learn what was involved in the running of a large cattle ranch such as the Bar M, and as Forman, Mason works in tandem with Jolene McMasters overseeing the day to day running of the ranch, an enormous responsibility.

Valerie, against her better judgement, agrees to stay at the Bar M for one month but is determined to return to Dallas and her carefully planned life. She makes sure, her sisters and Mason are well aware of this. Try as she might to push Mason away and deny her need for him the sexual tension and attraction builds and explodes between these two characters and they again become intimate. The love scenes penned between Val and Mason are smouldering hot intense and explicit. Ms. Burton is known for writing sensual love scenes and the eroticism permeating the narrative of this novel is no exception.

Valerie and Mason's is a story of reacquainted lovers, but it is not an easy one. Valerie is determined to return to her life in Dallas and she has a soul deep fear of committing herself to him again for reasons you will have to read the novel to discover. There are also issues in the community that come knocking at her door and this along with what she feels are unrealistic expectations of her family cause her to flee the Bar M and Mason again.

Branded

Brea McMasters has made a life for herself in Tulsa working as a freelance programmer/analyst. Brea is a shy bookworm who has significant self image problems thanks to a couple of unfulfilling, unpleasant relationships. As with Valerie, Brea returns to the ranch after a 2 year absence at Jolene's request to deal with her part ownership. Brea too intends to return to her life in Tulsa after 1 month. Upon her arrival at the ranch her sisters immediately notice she hides her beauty behind too big clothing and an unbecoming hairstyle. Brea has very low self esteem. It doesn't take long for the strong and overbearing Jolene, with Valerie's support, to take matters in hand and whisk Brea off to town getting her a makeover and some new clothing. While this "new look" does show off Brea's inherent beauty to her benefit, it does nothing to help her self image problems.

Enter Gage Reilly, a gifted horse trainer, and drifter whose latest job stop is at the Bar M. Gage is not only extremely handsome, he is well read, enjoys the arts and what I really liked about him is his honesty, he calls a spade a spade. This hero has no intention of settling down, enjoying his footloose and fancy free lifestyle. He is sexually experienced, very charismatic but picky about the women with whom he spends his time.

Gage immediately notices Brea and is inexorably drawn to her soft innocence. He also notices a sadness evident in her expressive eyes. Brea of course has noticed Gage but feels unworthy of his attention which couldn't be more untrue. With gentle encouragement Gage stokes Brea's passionate nature and desire to be with him. He is completely honest about his plans to move on and inability to make any sort of commitment. Brea understands and their relationship starts as a casual no strings attached intimacy. However, as the beautiful, confident butterfly comes out of her cocoon, both these people begin to develop feelings beyond the "casual" which causes Gage to run scared and hurt Brea in the process. Then Jolene sticks her nose in and really muddies the waters.

Never fear, Ms. Burton does pen a lovely HEA for this couple and, Brea and Gage's very hot romance was my favorite of the three.

Brazen

The title for Jolene's story is perfect because she is indeed "brazen", a weapon on legs who has run the Bar M since a young age. Jolene is blonde and beautiful, tough as nails, has a razor sharp tongue, and, is set on having Walker Morgan. The poor guy doesn't stand a chance. lol

Walker has worked at the Bar M for 5 years, he has proven himself time and again and is going to be offered the job of Assistant Forman. After having a very bad experience with a previous ranch owner, thereby losing his job, he has no intention of getting involved with "the boss". I found Walker to be a solid hero, I really liked his integrity and strength.

Jolene institutes relentless war to win Walker's affection, however she does nearly gives up when Walker continues to feign disinterest, however he finally can no longer resist Jolene. The lead up to the scene where they finally "do it" is again a riot, I will say, it involves mud.

As their intimate relationship intensifies, Walker refuses to be seen with Jolene or acknowledge they are involved in public or around ranch employees which causes major conflict. Jolene's vulnerable side does surface and she begins to question her choice for a male partner. Walker has not shared his work history with Jolene so she doesn't understand what is standing in the way of a commitment between them. Ms. Burton penned a twist in the climax of Walker and Jolene's story that was surprising.

Of the three interconnected stories I enjoyed Walker's and Jolene's the least. It wasn't because I didn't like these two characters because I did. I think it was that I didn't see why Jolene was so attracted to Walker. Perhaps I would have liked to see him be a little stronger and taking the "lead" more with this incredibly strong heroine? This didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the novel, because I had difficulty putting "Bound, Branded and Brazen" down. Further, I've developed a new love for `cowboys' in romance. lol

I thought the descriptive prose in involving the country, the climate and the rigors of cattle ranching was wonderful. The narrative of "Bound, Branded and Brazen" is laced with Ms. Burton's signature humor, which I love. I also enjoyed the over arching plot that involved Valerie, Brea and Jolene being reunited, finding love and overcoming their family history of tragedy.

If you read and enjoyed Ms. Burton's 2008 novel "Wild, Wicked and Wanton" and have been looking forward to "Bound, Branded and Brazen, I don't think you will be disappointed. If you like a hot erotic romance you may like to give this book a try.

I purchased this book with great expectations (I have all of her other Ellora's Cave titles and Wild, Wicked and Wanton). I thought this would be along the lines of Wild and found that the only resemblance it had to the previous book was that it had three different women that were connected in some fashion as protagonists. The stories seemed rushed, the character development was sparse and I couldn't bring myself to care about any of them. Even the intimate scenes were tame compared to the other Burton books I have read. There was little to no spark in any of the stories in my opinion. This was a disappointing purchase.

Well it's cowboy smut so how can I not like the book!
This book is extra special because it is autographed by Jaci Burton!

Bound, Branded & Brazen is about 3 sisters and these sisters seem like real life sisters not fictional characters. Their relationship seems like the real deal.

I am not a fan of anthologies. I really like to invest time into characters and really get to know them and anthologies are too short for me. Jaci Burton has a really good idea when she turns 3 stories into one book. You get a short novella but each of the characters still show up in each other stories so you still get glimpes into their lives.

As usually Jaci Burton has great writing and after reading her stories, the characters are still on my mind. I like that.

"Bound". Although her two sisters will be there, Valerie McMasters does not want to go home to her family's Bar M Ranch where she fears she still wants her former husband Mason, the foreman, but leaves Dallas for the Oklahoma spread to attend Uncle Ronald's funeral.

"Branded". When horse trainer Gage teaches Brea McMasters the wild side of riding, she realizes he ties her heart as well as her body in knots of desire, but how to lasso him in seems out of reach.

"Brazen". Jolene McMasters knows she will need to walk on the wild side to get rancher Walker into her life permanently.

This is an engaging contemporary romantic trilogy that will have readers playing M.A.S.H. as the three McMasters sisters frolic on the ranch hog tying the men they love. Although Brazen fails to match the emotional intensity of the other B tales, fans will enjoy Jaci Burton's heated ranch romances.

Harriet Klausner

Bound, Branded & Brazen by Jaci Burton
* I received this ARC free from the author in exchange for an honest review*

3 Sisters are brought together by one ranch, the Bar M in which they all have equal ownership of. Valerie ran away from the ranch and her husband to become a Doctor. Brea ran away to Tulsa where she is a freelance programmer/analyst. Jolene has been running the ranch the past few years.

Valerie has been running from love since their parents were killed in a car accident when they were teenagers. Every time she gets too close to someone or something she gets scared and leaves. Mason hopes to change her mind and show her why they belong together. Circumstances pull at her heart while she is home on the ranch and this time she might just stop running.

Brea is more comfortable hiding behind her books and baggie clothes. She lacks self confidence and is inexperienced when it comes to men. She loves reading steamy romances and dreaming they are about her. She can't believe that the sexy ranch hand, Gage is interested in her. She decides for once to take a chance on what she wants and go for it.

Jolene knows what she wants and she goes after it. She has been running the Bar M ranch and has turned it into a successful cattle business. She now has set her sights on Walker but he refuses to get involved with his "boss". Walker has a secret that he is worried will affect Jolene and the Bar M ranch. She is worried that he sees her as one of the guys until things start to heat up. Who will win this battle of wills between them?

I loved all three of these stories. Each of the heroines had some quality that I could relate to in my life. Valerie was the one that took care of her sisters when their parents died, Brea isn't very confident in herself or appearance and would rather hide behind her books and Jolene was the one left at the ranch to take care of it when they both left. I take care of everyone in my family, hide behind my books and am left to clean up any mess there might be.

Jaci Burton gives you real working cowboys and the women they love. The men are rugged, tough and not afraid of hard work. They love just as hard as they work. They are the real deal not some cheap imitation.

The stories have plenty of sizzling sex in some very unique places, which made it very entertaining. All three of the stories are separate reads but I like the fact that they all flow together and you get to find out how things are going for the others as the book progresses.

I really enjoyed these stories and would recommend if you haven't read anything by Jaci to definitely take a chance and pick it up. I give this book 4 flaming hearts.

I loved all the sisters and the guys a lot. Great stories and great sex, but not just another Pw/oP. Jolene had the most spunk, I'd say and was a good match for Walker - even if he had his head up his ass for a long time. Val and Mason's story was sweet and hot; I'm glad she figured out that she could be more than a rancher's wife if she let herself feel what she needed to. Brea and Gage were a good pair together. I really liked this book, as well as the last one like it - and adding cowboys to the mix made it all even hotter.

This novella made me laugh out loud at times. The plot flowed smoothly from one novella to the next. The pacing was a little slow at times but my interest was maintained with all the characters showing up in each novella. It was like reading a series without having to wait months between books. The ranch is like another character since it is such an important part of all their lives. The author gives us descriptive information about the ranch and what is involved daily to keep it running. I thought Bound was the most emotional novella, Branded the most enlightening and Brazen was the most fun to read. - Lisa Freeman

I'm not going to provide a synopsis as that has been repeatedly done by other reviewers. Rather this review will be a reflection my opinion and reaction to reading bound, branded, & brazen. This book was a great disappointment and at times difficult to read. The characters were underdeveloped. The book feels like the author had a deadline to meet so she through together this book. The structure of the book, the way the three stories blended, was fine; but it did not work this time because each of the stories fell short. As a result, I was not invested enough.

Valerie came off very juvenile and unbelievable TO ME. Her parents died so Valerie fears that if she loves someone the person will leave her. So how did she fall in love and marry her husband in the first place? Doctor Valerie would rather leave those she loves (her sisters, Lilli, and her husband) because they may die and leave her. As a result, she rather leave and live an empty life aside from her work. The hot and cold dance, tantrums, and "it's all bout me" (considering she is the oldest sister) almost made me stop reading the book. It was just too much whining. I was constantly saying "Oh, please, give me a break". The best of the three stories for me was Brea's story. The author might have done better to just tell her story for the 324 pages. I didn't much care about Jolene's story because Walker reminds me too much of Valerie. Grown ass man running from what he wants and the adult female wants because of one incident of him being treated unfairly. Are you kidding me? The long and the short of it, is that the supposed plots were founded on weak premises. The sex scenes (except for Brea's) smoldered flickers of flames (mild erotica). Burton has certainly written better scenes in other books. I'm definitely a Burton fan; but, I wish these characters were introduced after she had put more effort into fully developing them, created a greater concept to display them, and the men they loved.

"Bound"

When Valerie McMasters's uncle dies, she returns home to the Bar M Ranch, promising her youngest sister she will stay for a month while Jolene sorts things out. After that, Valerie is determined to go back to her life as a doctor in Dallas. The Bar M holds too many memories, and plenty of them are in the form of Mason Parks, foreman of the Bar M and Valerie's ex-husband. The fire between Valerie and Mason has always burned bright and hot, but Valerie can't be what he needs. Mason doesn't quite agree with that assessment and he's determined to seduce Valerie into wanting to stay at the Bar M - and with him - forever. But the decision has to be Valerie's and Valerie's alone. Will the lovers get their second chance at happily ever after?

I'm a complete sucker for reunion romances and Jaci Burton does it right in "Bound." I loved how patient and understanding Mason is. There's no doubt he loves Valerie, but he also knows he can only push her so far and that at some point she has to be the one to come to him. I definitely wanted her to, and because I was invested in their romance, I couldn't stop reading "Bound" until Valerie and Mason's erotic reunion was complete.

"Branded"

Brea is the ordinary McMasters sister. She's not brilliant and witty like Valerie, nor is she tough and outgoing like Jolene. Brea would rather stay in and read romances when she's not working on her computer. That doesn't stop her from daydreaming about Gage Reilly. Brea watches Gage from afar while he trains horses at the Bar M. But will she be able to handle it when he focuses all that gentle dominance on her in the most delicious of ways?

"Branded" is probably my favorite story of the three. I love seeing a wallflower heroine come into her own, and that's exactly what happened in "Branded." Brea's shy and a bit insecure, which endeared her to me. What I loved about Gage was that he sees Brea's spirit and strength and encourages her to come out of her shell. "Branded" had a wonderful mix of character growth and romance. To me it was the hottest, most romantic story of the bunch.

"Brazen"

Jolene McMasters has been pretty much running the Bar M for years. Her love of the ranch, hardworking nature, and take-charge attitude are a large part of what makes the Bar M successful. With the Bar M, Jolene has pretty much everything she wants - except Walker Morgan. For five years the two of them have been dancing around each other and with her sisters newly returned and finding love, Jolene isn't going to wait for Walker to make a move forever. It's time this cowgirl ropes her man.

"Brazen" is probably the most aptly-titled story of the three. Jolene is every bit as forward as the title suggests, but Ms. Burton never sends her over the top. I admired Jolene for her confidence, for knowing what she wants and going after it. She and Walker are a perfect fit, except for his refusal to get involved with his boss. Walker has his reasons (which I will not spoil) for resisting his attraction to Jolene. Still, I looked forward to him finding happiness with Jolene and I finished "Brazen" a well-satisfied reader.

Bound, Branded, & Brazen is a wonderfully sexy journey of three sisters finding the joy in home, family, and true love. It's packed with Ms. Burton's signature fiery eroticism, but it's the heart more than the heat that makes Bound, Branded, & Brazen memorable. I adored this book and look forward to re-reading it again ("Branded" in particular) in the near future.

Shayna
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I finished reading this book lastnight. This was my first erotic romance novel and I loved it! I appreciated the fact that there was good storylines, and character development to each of the 3 stories in the book about the McMaster sisters. And the sex scenes were hot! I will deffinately purchase more of her books.