Customer Reviews

Rough, Raw and Ready (Rough Riders)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book is the first book I've ever reviewed on Amazon. Most of the time I can't come up with anything new and enlightening to say....but in this case, I have to disagree with the reviewer. This is an amazing love story, that happens to have 3 people involved. Chassie, Trevor and Edgard will open your mind, and you will not be disappointed. If you have read erotic romance and liked it, then give this book a try (and all the rest of Lorelei James' Rough Rider series).

I must disagree with the reviewer who stated that Chassie needed someone of her own and never got it. Rough, Raw and Ready is a love story with a Happy Ending. While some may view it as an unconventional love story, Chassie, Edgard, and Trevor defy the odds and manage to come to peace with themselves and each other. I believe that the heart is big enough and strong enough to love more than one person at the same time and Mrs. James does an excellent job of portraying this in her writing. Not only do her characters have depth, but they deal with everyday, real life situations. Chassie, Edgard, and Trevor struggle with their own fears, the fears of each other, and the fears that society has and will place upon them and come out winning. They find love, understanding, acceptance and peace with each other. We should all be so lucky. If the reviewer who criticized Mrs. James' book was expecting a fairy tale fluff piece, then they did read the wrong book. This is an awesome book about love, life, the acceptance of oneself and the acceptance of others. Thumbs up to Mrs. James and I can't wait for the next installment of the Rough Riders Series.

J. Hunter

I read this book and felt so incredibly sad for a girl that wanted to be enough her whole life and still wasnt. Edgard came into their lives with the intent to ruin a marriage and he is a good guy somehow. Both men seemed selfish to me and I felt like the woman was a third wheel. I could not stand Trevor and his supposed proffesions of love for his wife when to me they felt so unbelievable. I wanted Chassie to kick him to the curb and get a man who would love only her.

I have read the books before this one in the series and really enjoyed them, these books are fun reads. This one though has to be my least favorite. I knew right away when they mentioned in book 4 that trevor was married to chassie something bad was going to happen.
It seemed when Edgar came into the picture Chassie really didnt matter that much but Trevor told her she did. It was extremely hard to connect with this book becuase(yes i know this is more or less a fantasy book but none the less) it was unrealistic the way she had the characters react. Chassie got like 5 seconds to feel hurt than she was pretty much forced to deal with it. No real back lash for Trevor. It seemed he felt bad for about 5 seconds than wanted to have sex with Edgar as soon as possible. Chassie got the shaft a lot in her life and got it again with her husband and just went with it like no biggie. It was somewhat annoying and it seemed like that Edgar and Trevor were closer and she was more or less an outsider the whole time.
If your like me you will get annoyed with the book alot with the way the author lays out this story. I felt it could have been done differently. It seemed Chassie was just a filler so it was okay for Trevor and Edgar to be together and find some kind of acceptance from there peers instead of being "that gay couple" to everyone. I think this could have been an amazing book (I was hoping she would do a book for Trevor and Edgar but this was a let down) but the way Chassie deals with things and how things are dealt to her just is annoying and some what unfair. You'll see some onse sided-ness with Trevor when it comes to Chassie liking someone else and he freaks but he can have his ex-lover? Yeah alright. He can be really rude to her for no reason and be forgive the next second, Chassie can't do a thing though, just be a good wife.
So definitely not my favorite book at all, but I made myself finish it, if someone reads this sorry for the length, I think it just shows how disappointed I was in the book though. So just beware, a lot of people enjoyed it, but I can't see how no one felt bad for Chassie who was stuck in the position, "deal with it now or leave but dont think I wont take your man if you leave". So who knows, you may hate or loves this book, took me about 60% into the book before I could handle it without rolling my eyes too much.

<<<<SPOILERS>>>
I bought this book on SO many people recommending the series. This is the first of this seies that I read and I am not completely put off by this book but I don't think I would rate it as high as everyone has for a few reasons. First, I really felt badly for the h. When her husband's ex-lover walks back into her husbands life and she finds them kissing she is ofcourse mordified. Yet never in the conversation that followed did her husband ever say "sorry for making out with my ex in the barn" despite how much she was hurt by it. Not one little sorry!!! That is when the story started going south for me. Then the poor girl comes back and desperately is trying to keep her husband so she talks herself into watching them have sex. What was SO painful as a reader was how she ached to be with her husband after watching him be with someone else in such a passionate manner. Her need to be reassured that her husband still loved her was just sad, she was obviously hurt by his actions. It gets even worse for the poor h when she joins in later and she actually voices her fears of her husband leaving her. It was heart breaking, that is why I can't give it 3 stars.

This story really was more around the two guys in the story. I felt like the h was just a sex toy that they used to please the H's in the story. Yes, they did please her sexually and reassure her when she seemed to ask for reassurance but as the story reads, you didn't see any tender, intimate moments with the h and her husband but you did see pleanty with the H and his lover. There was a clear preferance for the lover. It was simply too sad to read about a girl who always had insecurities only for them to be confirmed with the fact that she was not enough to make her husband completely happy. Maybe if I felt as though her husband cared more about her, not just said, but actually acted as though he loved her it wouldn't have bothered me. He wasn't a jerk, selfish maybe, but not a jerk. The guy practically shoved her out of the way to get to his lover as soon as the h allowed them to have sex, even though the H knew how much this could hurt her.

On the other hand, it was an interesting read simply because I had never read a book that had a gay relationship. That part was well written. If the h wouldn't have gotten emotionally beat up, I thinkI would have really enjoyed it more. I especially liked the Ed character. Towards the end I was wishing that he and the h would run off together.

Part of the Rough Riders series by Lorelei James, Rough Raw & Ready tells the continuation of Trevor & Edgard's tale that began in Long Hard Ride.

3 years have passed and Trevor is now very happily married to Chassie West. They're working her Ranch and trying to make ends meet while still retaining dreams of a bigger and better spread (one day). Edgard's return to the States; and to Trevor's (and his wife's) life brings change, some heartache, a lot of soul searching and ultimately acceptance and love.

Read this book if you are not afraid to see that Love isn't always defined by the one man, one woman viewpoint. The writing is masterful - you really feel yourself part of the story.

I'm new to erotica/romantica, I'll be upfront about that. And of the few in the genre I've read, this book was MUCH better. As in, the characters were moderately distinguishable from each other. There was more sass than the usual growling and hissing. Our heroine, Chassie, has some dimension. But alas! I'm still struggling with some things that must be mechanisms of the genre.

For example, very thin sketches of relationship. I didn't feel Trevor loved Chassie, I mean, not as much as he was constantly--CONSTANTLY--saying he did. And I know we're supposed to believe Chassie and Edgard are in love at some level by the end of the novel, but it felt very forced. And the lack of jealousy/possessiveness. These last items could have saved the book from a startling lack of conflict.

Edgard was definitely the most interesting character. I think this book could have been really interesting if James had pushed it more. What if Edgard had fallen hard for Chassie? No, I mean REALLY fell for her? What if Trevor did actually feel jealous of them? Yes, it would have been a different book. But it could have added some much needed tension into this bizarre threesome and given the characters more depth.

I'm also distracted by lots of telling, not showing. Yanno? Why do erotica authors feel the need to do this? Don't TELL us Edgard loves Chassie. Make us believe it by SHOWING us. Instead, that part of the plot is tossed out in a slap-crap convo between the two men. You'd literally miss it if you were skimming.

Best so far for me. But still not...good.

Let me begin the review by saying that I am new to the genre erotica/menage romance, so my thoughts are necessarily colored by my "newness". Lorelei James is also a new author for me. I read this book upon the recommendation of a friend during a discussion on the viability of "unconventional" relationships.

I applaud James for tackling such a delicate social issue and I think she did a respectable job. She is an excellent writer and storyteller. What I liked about the book was the fact that it did tackle the menage-type "love" relationship and attempted to do it justice by showing that love knows no bounds --if people are willing to do the work necessary to make the relationship work. James attempts to show that this particular love match, between Chassie,Trevor and Edgard was not just about sex, but something deeper and lasting, like commitment and genuine affection. So the plot/storyline was good. I also liked and, importantly, cared about all three of the main characters.

However, what I did not like was the fact that Chassie did not seem an integral part of the trio/relationship. I mean, certainly through narration the author tells us that she is, but I could not "feel" it. And, while James takes great pains in the physical descriptions of both Trevor and Edgard, I hardly know what Chassie looks like. And what is often repeated is not necessarily in a positive light --- i.e., she is flat chested, mixed race and wears her hair in a braid! She is described as a person who struggles with self-esteem and a person in need of love, especially the love of her husband. In Chassie, we see a caring woman bent on doing whatever it takes to please her husband in order to keep him.

And, again, while James tells us that Trevor loves her and we get glimpses of it, it does not compare to the love we are allowed to see and experience between Trevor and Edgard. I sincerely felt the love between the two heroes, time and time again. Through her writing, I could feel the loneliness and pain they experienced while separated and the joy and love once reunited. When they were together nothing and no one else seemed to matter. I recall one scene between Trevor and Edgard, where Trevor admits that he forgot Chassie was in the room. She seemed peripheral -- too often!

So, to remedy this I would have liked to see James show the reader via dialogue and actions that Trevor (and later Edgard) really did love and value Chassie, as the happy and well-written ending so adequately suggests. And that Chassie was not just a convenient tool to ensure their continued relationship and complement their sexual appetites. It would have also been helpful to further develop the struggle the trio (especially Chassie) had in becoming a family, after learning of Trevor and Edgard's love for each other. It is often in struggle and pain that true and authentic love emerges.

Having said all this, I would still recommend the book to others who want to ponder the issue of "unconventional" relationships. James certainly had the right idea and ingredients for such a story, it just fell a little short to me. But, the book did make me think and care and will serve as a tool for discussion. Oh, and I do plan on reading more of her work.

P.S. I just finished reading book #1, Long Hard, Ride and now I am fairly convinced that Chassie cannot be an equal love partner. Given Edgard's character in book #1 it is hard to imagine him having a desire to enter in a menage-type relationship with Chassie -- unless it offered him the chance to be with Trevor.

"...Torn between the love he has...and the love he's always wanted"

Wow, with each instalment in the Roughriders series I keep saying this one is my absolute favourite; it just can't get any better. Well I was sorely mistakin because James has outdone herself with #5 and this really is the best one yet (no really) Now I'm left trying lamely to put into words how fantastic this story is.

Ever since book #1(Long Hard Ride) I've been wondering what happened to Trevor and Edgard and hoping for their story. I was curious as to how these delicious cowboys could get their HEA especially in a homophobic and generally not alternative lifestyle appreciating town like Sundance Wyoming. I never counted on a wife being involved but lucky, lucky Chassie Glanzer. She gets the lovin of two damn fine men here. And talking about fine men; if you're a fan of M/M lovin then hang onto your cowboy hats because this is all kinds-of-ways hot and sexy man lovin. Of course Chassie does participate on occasion and even though I'm not a fan of the ménage, this works for me because all the partners are involved equally. There's also an amazing 3-way love story unfolding here, full of undeniable passion, emotion and heaps of consequences which are all explored beautifully. And Yes theres a whole lotta spicy sex going on too, in just about every conceivable position/combination and location possible. Yeehaw!

Trevor and Chassie have been happily married for one year. Trevor loves his wife and life on the ranch is good but he's never quite been able to forget about his old roping partner and he knows that sometimes Chassie can sense his longing. Trevor never expected to see Edgard again though especially after it became clear that he couldn't be the kind of man that Edgard needed but now his secret Brazilian lover is walking right up the dusty driveway, looking as fine and sexy as ever and hoping to sort out their tangled past.

With the kind of sparks that are flying between this pair of cowboys it doesn't take long for Chassie to catch them together (and damn those first mergers are aggressive and scorching hot) Chassie thought she knew everything about her husbands chequered past but this is really pushing things. However before she can come to terms with the fact that Trevor and Edgard were lovers she has to face the fact that she might just be losing her man because its not just lust she see's in their eyes its unbridled love too.

Trevor promises he won't leave but she doesn't want him to stay out of any sense of duty, she knows he'd be forever missing his Latin cowboy and she'd be living half a marriage. So Chassie does the only thing a girl could do in this kind of situation she asks if she can watch them together and then she joins them. Of course for this arrangement to succeed theres all kinds of issues to work out and they are slightly worried about what the townsfolk are gunna think down at the local feed store but the more time they all spend together the more passion and raw emotion comes to the surface. Trevor and Edgard finally feel complete and damn if Chassie doesn't too.

In Rough, Raw & Ready we see a continuation of Edgard & Trevor's story from Long Hard Ride. I found their story heartbreaking and so wanted them to have a HEA. And their sex scene was the hottest I think I've ever read.

I'm so glad that Lorelei James brought them back together in Rough, Raw & Ready. She wrote Chassie, Trevor & Edgard's love story with such finesse. In other books where there's been m/m love, I've felt it's gotten short-changed to fit more into social norms. James didn't cop-out. She wrote of a complicated situation and brought it together into a wonderful love-story. I loved whole book, but especially the ending. I've never written a review before. I'm not good at writing them. But I had to write about this book. I couldn't put it down--it was so well written--from the powerful love story to hot intense sex scenes--the book is definitely to be reread again and again. It's my favorite of the Rough Riders Series which is saying something, because I love this series.

Leah