Customer Reviews

Undercover

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A dangerous mission brings Federation lieutenant Sera Ayers into uncomfortably close proximity to two equally dangerous men.

Years ago, Ash Walker broke her heart after announcing his engagement to another woman and asking Sera to be his mistress. Heart broken, Sera fled, floundering through life until she established a successful career in the military. Now Ash is back in her life, and if that weren't bad enough, he's her superior officer.

Brandt Pela is the third member of the undercover team. As long-time best friend to Ash, Brandt is very familiar with the story of Ash and Sera's previous romance. When the mission plan mandates that Sera must play mistress to one of these men, Brandt seems the lesser of two evils.

There will be cameras watching their every move while on their mission, and their lives will depend on their enemies believing their relationship is real, making frequent intimate contact mandatory.

Both Ash and Brandt are determined to take full advantage of the situation to seduce Sera into their lives rather than just their bed. Sera has no hope of holding out against the sensual onslaught by either man, but when they combine forces she knows she is fighting a losing battle.

I became a fan of author Lauren Dane after reading her digital books published by various e-publishers. To see this talented writer move into the big-time with a New York print publisher is absolutely wonderful. The more successful an author is, the more novels their fans will be able to enjoy from them, right? *grin*

UNDERCOVER is a really great story, and one that I expect will garner more than a few new fans for Ms. Dane's work. With a delicious blend of kinky sex, suspense, and romance, this story grabs the reader's attention and doesn't let go until the final page.

With two alpha male heroes, you would expect to have a power struggle between the two, and there is a bit of that. The deep friendship these two share helps them find a middle ground where they share that dominant power. In fact, it is his friendship with Brandt that helps Ash bridge the chasm between him and Sera, allowing them to find a happy ending together.

Sera is one lucky, lucky woman. A relationship with either Brandt or Ash is the stuff women's romantic and erotic dreams are made of, but a ménage with both men? Absolutely mind-blowing. Although naturally submissive in the bedroom, Sera has more than enough backbone to hold her own with both men, no matter how masterful they are.

Readers should know before beginning the story that although the primary focus is on each man's relationship with Sera, there are some pretty hot scenes where the men share their sexual attention with each other as well.

UNDERCOVER is a sensual exploration into the dynamics of long-term ménage relationships with a fantastic Science Fiction setting. This is a must-read for fans of Lauren Dane, and a perfect introduction for erotic romance readers who are new to this author.

**Courtesy of Wild on Books**

Undercover is the first book I have ever read by Lauren Dane, and it defintely won't be my last. This futuristic sci-fi tale is a bit on the kinky side with a great deal of erotic sex. There is no plain vanilla fun in these pages, but a great story filled with S&M and wonderful ménage love between two men and the woman they want to spend the rest of their lives with.

Sera Ayers is a lieutenant in the Federation Military Corps, a strong leader and woman not to be messed with. Her past comes back to haunt her in the form of Commander Ash Walker. Sera and Ash had an all consuming love affair ten years ago. Sera and Ash's relationship was based on much love and respect, for Sera allowed Ash total control over her body and tapped into her inhibitions. Sera loved that Ash could dominate her in the bedroom and loved being his submissive. But things ended very badly between the two. Because Ash comes from a high-ranking family, he had to sacrifice their love because it was expected that he would marry a women who was of the same station as he. All he could offer Sera was a position as his mistress, which is quiet respectable in his circles. Sera told him to shove it and walked out of his life. Both have never forgotten each other and Ash loves her more than ever. He is now divorced and wants Sera back.

Because the third member of Ash's covert ops team retired, he and his Para-Commander, Brandt Pela, who also happens to be his ex-brother in law and close friend, need someone to fill the empty position. Because Sera is so skilled, she has been assigned to join their team. The Federation's enemy, the Imperialists, have attacked various outposts and have obtained very classified data. They have tracked the stolen information to a planet called Nondal. Ash, Brandt and Sera must go undercover to Nondal. Sera freaks out because she must go as a concubine to either one of the men since Nondal is very patriarchal and women are seen as play things. Ash assumes Sera will be his concubine, which will enable him to reach into Sera's heart. Sera is not falling for it and rather be with Brandt. Brandt accepts even though Ash and Sera may still have to be hands on for the sake of the mission.

Ash is hurt that Sera won't give him a second chance and knows he has a great deal of work cut out for him. He must prove to Sera that there is no other woman for him. And you would think the guy would be jealous because Brandt will be intimate with Sera in ways that only Ash wants to be. But Ash isn't. Ash and Brandt have a very special relationship where they have enjoyed each other sexually. He feels that it is something very special for Brandt to share Sera with him. Knowing the man he cares for will be with the woman he loves excites him. He only hopes that Sera will welcome two men into pleasuring her, and give pleasure in return.

Sera knows she has no choice when it comes to Ash because if she is only intimate with Brandt and refuses Ash, it could jeopardize their mission. She gives into Brandt, which at first is a bit awkward, but all too soon he breaks through her defenses and from that she welcomes Ash into her bed. Soon these three are not just acting for the sake of their mission, but they genuinely begin to care for one another. Most of the time Sera is riding Brandt into orgasm or Ash is driving into her. And then when both men want to share her at the same time, Sera is so sexed beyond belief that she can hardly move.

But even as Sera has fallen in love with Brandt, and admits to Ash that she still loves him more than her own life, they still have an important job to do. Not only are they being watched and listened to every moment of the day, but the enemy may be closer than they think. Is it just coincidence that Ash's ex-wife Kira and her husband have arrived on Nondal? Or do they have something more sinister planned?

Undercover is a great sci-fi romp that is heavy on the sex. The action and suspense is more secondary. Brandt, Sera and Ash make a great team. Sera is no TSTL (to stupid to live) heroine and even as she is deeply involved with these two men, she doesn't let them walk all over her. All three give and take equally, and because of that, the love scenes really work. Sera is able to handle these two men. She says what is on her mind and won't take any crap from anyone. My favorite character was Brandt because of his loving nature for both Sera and Ash. He is a great guy who shows his love proudly. The way he is with Ash and Sera is really sweet. It took me a bit longer to warm up to Ash. There was just something off about him, as if he wasn't too well rounded, perhaps a bit too one-dimensional. It may have just been my own personal preference, rather than Lauren's writing of him. I found Sera to be very believable, and her emotions over Ash's betrayal came through nicely. I enjoyed Ash more when he was having fun with both Sera and Brandt at the same time, rather than one on one with Sera. But even though I may have a small issue with one of the main characters, I still felt the love story to be very well written. Who would have thought that a woman being shared by two good friends could be so much fun?

Like I said before, the sex scenes are not your typical vanilla ones you may read. There are a great deal of various positions and holes being filled. Even so, Lauren can write some steamy sex that may cross some lines but nothing too uncomfortable for my tastes. There was bondage, sex play and some domination games. Sounds like a great time, right?

Undercover is an easy read for those who enjoy characters who are not afraid of sex exploration in a unique type of setting. Sex in space has been giving a whole new meaning in Undercover with the creative story writing skills of Lauren Dane.

Katiebabs

Sera Ayers has worked her way up through the ranks of the military and reached a level of lieutenant and even commands her own team. It's practically unheard of for a female of an unranked family to have obtained such a goal. Unfortunately she's still subject to her superiors whims and because of her intelligence and dedication she's been reassigned to a special team. She's definitely not happy over this latest development, but just in case anyone thought she'd be honored the right hook she plants in Ash's face should make her displeasure obvious.

Due to the recent retirement of the third member of their covert ops team Commander Ash Walker and Para-Commander Brandt Pela have been forced to find a replacement for his position. Sera's qualifications make her the perfect choice and they have no regrets about having her reassigned to work with them. The simple fact that Sera and Ash have a past history which didn't end well could prove to be problematic but they're convinced that they can overcome any qualms she may have with them.

Sera is resigned to working with Ash and Brandt. She doesn't have a whole lot of choice after all she took an oath when she joined the Corps. Her desires take a back seat to doing whatever's necessary to fight the Imperialists. She just never imagined it would mean working alongside the one man who ripped her heart in two. Ash regrets that he let Sera go when he was forced to marry another - as the second oldest son of the Walker Family he hadn't had any choice but he never wanted to lose Sera. He had the paperwork drawn up that would have given her status as his mistress, but she chose to leave him instead.

It's been ten years since they last saw each other but his love for her is as strong as ever. Thankfully Brandt is present as Sera and Ash face off. He's the voice of reason, calm, controlled and sexy as hell. For Sera pretending to be a concubine is difficult enough, but it would be unbearable if she had to go along with the original plans and act like she belongs to Ash. Of course that means that Brandt and Sera have to become extremely comfortable with each other and she can't help but desire him - even while she admits to herself that she still loves Ash. Loving both men is part of her cover, but what will happen once the assignment's over and they all return to reality? Can she bear to have her heart broken all over again?

Wow! This book rocks! Lauren Dane pulls out all the stops with this soul searing, awe-inspiring read. Sera is a ballsy kick-butt character whom I absolutely love. Ash and Brandt are dominant men and each is a member of a ruling Family, which adds an extra complication and emotional aspect to the storyline. Sera's feistiness really cracked me up but she also has an emotional vulnerability to Ash and Brandt that drew me into the relationship so that I felt like I was there watching as each scene between them played out (and believe me there are some scenes that heated my face and left me tingly all over). UNDERCOVER may very well be Lauren Dane's best work to date. Definitely a must read and deserving of a special spot on the keeper shelf.

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

STORY BRIEF:
Sera's parents were from a low class. Ash and Brandt are from the "Ranking Families" the highest class. Sera and Ash were in love, but Ash couldn't marry Sera due to the class difference. His family forced him to marry Kira, for an alliance. Ash wanted Sera to stay with him as his mistress, but she was hurt and left. She became a successful military officer. Ash ended up divorced. Ten years later Sera is assigned to work with Ash to find out who is giving information to the Imperialists, the enemy. Brandt is also assigned to the job. The three of them go undercover to another planet Nondahl, to spy. Nondahl is a society where women are not allowed in public without a male escort. Sera must pretend to be Brandt's concubine/mistress while there.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Don't read this if you want plot and character development. The story about finding a traitor doesn't move along. There is not much action. There is a lot of talk and discussion about these guys or those guys might be doing something bad. In the end, the evidence and what happens to the traitors was not very interesting, sort of conveniently wrapped up. The story that does move along is the relationship among the three: how they interact with each other, start having sex, fall in love with each other, and decide what to do about it. They are primarily attracted to each other's physical beauty.

On the positive side, some readers will enjoy the hot, wild sex scenes. Most of these are ménage a trois with two men and one woman. One scene has just two men. There is rear door activity and some bondage. If readers are ok with these combinations, then they should find the erotic scenes definitely above average.

DATA:
Story length: 328 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 12. Total number of sex scene pages: 67. Setting: Various planets in the future. Copyright: 2008. Genre: erotic science fiction romance.

Undercover by Lauren Dane
Paperback - December 2, 2008
5 stars

Lauren Dane has out done herself by creating Undercover, an extraordinary erotic futuristic masterpiece that will have you burning through the pages in record time!

Sera Ayers, a decorated lieutenant with the Federation Military Corps has little time for recreation much less love. Initially shocked to be pulled from her squad to serve in a covert operation, the shock turns to anger when she learns that she will be working under her former lover, Ash Walker. Ash was the love of her life, until he left her disillusioned and bitter when he unexpectedly revealed his pending marriage to another woman and insultingly asking her to be his mistress.

Ash made the worse mistake of his life when he allowed family pressure to result in the loss of Sera. Although he has tried to forget Sera, when Ash's latest mission requires a female officer with her skills he realizes this is the perfect opportunity to get her back into his arm in any way possible.

Sera struggles to keep her attraction under control by rushing through the job so that she can return to her normal, safe life. Unfortunately, even though she attempts to deny it, she still has not recovered from Ash's betrayal.

The only thing that makes working under Ash bearable, is having his sexy partner Brandt as a buffer. When Sera is informed that her mission is to pose as Ash's mistress, she rebels into posing as Brandt's mistress instead. This is where the story really starts to heat up as Sera finds herself attracted to Brandt and that attraction is mutual...

Undercover is an enthralling read and I savored every word. Sera is a powerful woman that I can definitely identify with. In fact, I wish I was her! Ash and Brandt are fantasy men that any woman would find exciting.

Lauren Dane could have written a book sketchy on details and storyline, filled with meaningless, hot sex, as it plays-out in so many erotic books. However, this is not the case. The world she creates is as real and intriguing as her characters.

Undercover is a riveting novel of action, romance and well conceived characters. In addition, the extremely sexy scenes (Warning explicit sexuality and ménage) had this reader HOT under the collar! This book blew me away! There is nothing that could be added to make this romance experience better - except a sequel!

Reviewed by Steph from Bookaholics Romance Book Club

My Review:
A wonderful mix of science fiction fantasy and eroticism, this was a fun book to read. Sera, Ash, & Brandt are all soldiers for the Federation, which is at war. Sera has been working her own team, but Ash & Brandt have been working deep undercover and want to add Sera to their team. The issue is that Sera & Ash have a history together that left her broken-hearted 10 years ago and she is not ready to let go of that yet. Brandt comes up with a plan to get Sera to agree to work with them by having her act as his lover rather than Ash's. They are working deep undercover where their every move is monitored at all times so the undercover work has to be VERY convincing.

This book is really very hot. These three are having to maintain their cover story while at the same time, they all three are getting re-acquainted and trying to find a comfortable place mentally to work together. The emotions under the surface are roiling, growing, and changing. A very cool feature in the book is that because they are having to work so deep undercover, they have a comm link within their heads, but they have to open it to get it to work. Sera spent a lot of the book stubbornly ignoring the calls from the other 2 on her comm link.

Sera is stubborn and strong. While Brandt & Ash both have family power and money behind them, Sera comes from nothing and has made a lot of her life regardless. She was devastated 10 years ago, but managed to pull herself back up from that and has become a better person for it. She believes in the job that she's doing and that is most important to her. As her feelings for both Brandt & Ash grow, her softer side comes out and it's really gorgeous how much she soothes both of them just by little touches.

Ash never stopped loving Sera. Family obligations kept him from being able to do what he wanted 10 years ago. In this regard, this book reminded me a lot about the structure from historical novels... Where moneyed sons have to make the correct family matches for their families. But now, Ash has made that sacrifice and is not willing to make it again. He realizes what he lost 10 years ago when Sera walked away and will not lose her again.

Brandt was my favorite character in this book. He realizes almost immediately that he wants a relationship with Sera...one that includes Ash too. He is the most level-headed of the three because he does not have past emotions holding him back. All he knows is that he loves these two and wants to do what he has to to make their Triad work. It's really a fabulous dynamic.

Like I said, this book was simply a fabulous sci-fi erotic book. I enjoyed the world that was established seamlessly throughout the book without all the detailed world-building that you normally get in first books of a series. The scenes are hot and I loved that there was a relationship between the men as well as the relationship with Sera. It makes for a really beautiful relationship between all three. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this series in the very near future!

This book is awesome. Honestly I bought it as a third to get the super saver shipping and it turned out to be the best book EVER. I could not put down the book. This is the book that made me become a Huge Lauren Dane fan that I now purchase pretty much anything that she writes. I don't even need to read what it is about cause if she wrote it, I am buying it.

The story Undercover is awesome! I love how Lauren Dane made her female lead a strong yet feminine woman, not some poor helpless woman in desparate need of being saved by a man. The dominate males in this book are mouthwatering hottness. The menege is outstanding. It does have some light male with male action but OMG that just made it hotter. The male/female/male triade is one of the best I have ever read.

And if you love this book, you will want to get Lauren Dane's next book "Relentless". I will review it too because it is made of awesomesauce. The story is a continuation of sorts from "Undercover". I am cannot wait to read more from Lauren Dane!

This is the first book I read by this author and I loved every page of it. Great characters, fantastic story, a truly great love story. I have since picked up the sequel 'Relentless' and loved it every bit as much. Lauren Dane has offically become one of my new favorite authors. I cannot wait to pick up previous books by this author and cannot wait for new adventures in the future.

I love Lauren Dane's books, the Chase brothers were amazingly hot. This book is no different. Ash and Brandt are both dominant men who love Sera but she's not in their class. It's an appealing story for those like me who love to see the underdog win. Plus the sex between all three was not only hot but well written. I can't wait for the next book in this series.

This was my first book by Lauren Dane. I finished this one in one day and read a second by her today. I guess you can say I'm hooked! Ms. Dane came up with a very engaging plot in "Undercover," but also managed to carve out a place for herself in the genre that sets herself apart and above many others I've read. I read an average of 6-8 books each week, and I do happen to be a sucker for a good romance novel. When I read that many books, they often "blend" together. This book stands apart from the majority of books in the romance genre. She actually made the people real in the book, and you were able to relate to them. Not exactly easy to do when you set up a book in a fantasy world! Of course, I just have to say it was hot as ...well...you know where. My husband always enjoys when I find a stimulating and steamy book, and he was not dissapointed when I finished this one! Hats off to Ms. Dane! I've finished "Giving Chase" now as well, and already I am so impressed with her ability to write such different styles but still be able to draw the reader in to what she writes. I'll be picking up more of her books in the future. Anyone who is reading this review is obviously interested in trying the book out, and I can promise, it doesn't dissapoint.