Customer Reviews

Mail Order Bride for Two [Badlands 1] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Elle St. James releases the first installment of a new series, BADLANDS. Her heroes are two men who have been the best of friends their entire lives. Both men are looking to share one woman for the rest of their lives. That woman turns out to be Clarissa Barnes, a MAIL ORDER BRIDE FOR TWO.

Clarissa Barnes had to leave her employment suddenly when she was accosted by her lecherous employer. With no money and no way to get another job, she agrees to become a mail order bride. Arriving in South Dakota, she is upset to find out that the man who paid her way West has already gotten married. Help comes in the form of Logan Granger and Derek Brand.

Derek Brand and Logan Granger have been friends their entire lives. They also have been sharing lovers for quite a while. Both men have decided that they are tired of being alone, so they have paid a lawyer to head east to find them a mail order bride. Waiting on her train, the men are anxious but can't wait to become a family of three. Finding out that their affianced bride jumped off of the train to her death sets heavy on them, but their luck hasn't completely run aground. It seems that the lovely lady who told them about their bride is also husbandless and has been left standing in the train station. That's when they decide then and there to make her their bride. All she has to do is agree.

MAIL ORDER BRIDE FOR TWO made me blush more than once. The men, Logan and Derek, are sin personified and totally dreamy. Their treatment of Clarissa was tender, yet forceful. They knew they wanted her - they knew she wanted them. The rest fell into place quite nicely.

I am addicted to ménage love stories. I can't help it. There is just something about being cherished by two alpha men that just makes me swoon. MAIL ORDER BRIDE FOR TWO by Elle St. James is such a book. Provocative and naughty loves scenes mixed with a stirring plot made me enjoy MAIL ORDER BRIDE FOR TWO from cover to cover.

Natalie S.

Clarissa Barnes is heading to the badlands of South Dakota to meet with the husband she was contracted to marry, while still in Boston. But, as her luck has run recently not only is the train late, her seatmate had jumped off the train and killed herself, but she is greeted with the news that her promised spouse has married another. The only thing that might save her is that the two men, yes two, that were there to meet the suicide victim might just offer her the same deal as the dead woman. If she wants it that is.

Can Clarissa take on the role as the "special" bride or will she think what Logan and Derek are offering is too scandalous for her?

Ms. Saint James puts an interesting twist on a well known plot line, the mail order bride. I found this twist as well as the interactions with the characters to make for a fun and fast read. I am interested in seeing where this series heads, and hope to see more of Clarissa and her men in the future. I enjoyed Mail Order Bride for Two and look forward to more from Ms. Saint James.

Tanya
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Well, if you like reading about erotic threesome encounters with two hunks than this is the book for you. Most of it was not practical being the ladies first encounter but it is short and sweet. I would have liked to pay less to read it but what else is there to do on a rainy afternoon. I would have liked a much longer book with more of a story line with the erotosism sprinkled throughout instead of on every page. I may look into the rest of the series to see if it all ties in. Enjoy.

I think this started out well and was well written. It lost me on how fast the female agreed to their plan. All I got was how attractive these two were. Other than sexual there seem to be a lack of chemistry--it was just sex. I just think they move too fast and if they wanted to keep things quiet, the three should have waited to have sex after they got back to the ranch. As for the little suspense added about the female being afraid of her previous employer's son coming after her, well the man was not going to follow this woman because he was disowned. This was back in the day and it wasn't like the son could hop on a plane, train, or greyhound--he should've been broke, anyway.

Loved the story line, but it was a very short Kindle book! Makes me wonder if I'm getting the shortened version because I'm ordering it on my iphone...??? NOT FAIR!

I nice little tale about a mail order bride for two ranchers living in south dakota. Sweet but steamy, it won't disappoint!

Book 1 of 3 in "Badlands" series. Book 2 is Two Wanted Men, Book 3 Double Chance Claim. Note that Badlands appears to combine all three, in paperback.

Plot:
When her life in New York became unbearable, Clarissa signed on as a Mail Order Bride. Her choices narrowed when her fiancee married someone else just days before her train arrived. Luckily for her (?!) the wife Derek and Logan had ordered jumped off the train. Lots of sex later and a non-traditional marriage may well lead to a HEA in the Badlands.

Comments:
- 2170 kindle locations, 27,767 words
- Set in "The Badlands", South Dakota, 1890.
- m/f/m - they get into it very quickly (by chapter 3) and keep it up to the end! Frequent, explicit, generous.

Opinion:
A surprisingly nice little story. Lots and lots of Wild West cowboy menage; the whole book is really just two days of unbridled bonk-fest. Yet there is a nice little plot interweaved that is thoroughly enjoyable and allows you to convince yourself you're not just reading smut. *grin* Good characters, nice story, happy ending.

Aside:
The Badlands books are written by "Elle Saint James" but looking around it appears this is a pseudonym. Does this matter? Probably not. And I'm not going to say who I believe it is, 'cause that would be telling... Okay, it's not difficult to work out but where would the fun be in that? If an author writes under multiple names, there's usually a reason. Often the author is testing a different voice, or a different genre. In this case I suspect she is using it to delve into the cowboy menage genre (not really featured under her other name). And "Elle Saint James" is an excellent name for Wild West author. Very evocative.

***SPOILER***
Derek and Logan's ordered wife, Miss Miranda Hetherington, jumped from the train. Her story is told in Book 2 "Two Wanted Men".

-CR-

After Logan and Derek's intended bride jumps off a train in order to avoid marrying them, they decide to marry Clarissa, another mail order bride on the train whose intended husband has married another. Immediately after the wed, they have sex for nine solid chapters. All three of them are exchanging words of love after the first sexual encounter. Even though this book was majority sex, it was still a nice, and naughty, read. Logan and Derek were very good with Clarissa, and never once did I feel that there was or would be any jealously between the two men. I did end up really liking the characters and look forward to continuing the series.

I don't have time to review each book independently but wanted to share some ratings of several books I consider outstanding. Happy reading!