Author: Lexi BlakeSeries: Nights in Bliss, Colorado #4
Audience: +18
Genre: Erotic Romance, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: DLZ Entertainment, LLC
Release Date: September 25th 2018
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Laura Niles walked out the door and never looked back. As she left Washington, DC, her career was in ruins and her love life decimated. Her desperate flight eventually led her to Bliss, Colorado, where she managed to find a new home and a little peace. That will have to be enough because Laura cannot imagine finding happiness without the men she left behind.
For five years, Rafe Kincaid and Cameron Briggs have searched for the only woman they ever loved. When she disappeared, everything became crystal clear. For one night, everything had been perfect and instead of embracing what they had found, they let it all slip away. They had let worries about their FBI careers and what others might think destroy the most precious gift they had ever been given. Now they have finally tracked her down, and they want answers.
Laura is shocked when her former loves show up in her new home. When the full force of the FBI arrives with them, Laura knows that the quirky little town is in for a rough ride. The killer that ruined her life has been watching and waiting for the opportunity to strike again. For Rafe, Cam, and Laura it’s time for second chances — to stop a monster, and to reclaim everything they lost.
*Disclaimer: I receive an eARC of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.
**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result, my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only.
One of my favorite things about Lexi Blake's books is the way she manages to combine erotic elements with really dark, heavy themes. This book certainly does that and more, and I kind of imagined the story as an erotic version of a Criminal Minds episode.
Lost In Bliss tells the story of Laura, Rafe and Cam, as each try to make sense of their lives five years after a devastating event that changed their futures forever. For Laura, it meant losing a part of herself, a true violation of her body, mind and soul, and she doesn't know how to deal with it. For Rafe and Cam it meant not only realizing they're not immune to making mistakes, but also figuring out how to live with those mistakes. Sure, they didn't do anything except stating an opinion all those years ago, in a brutal and kind of harsh way, true, but their action set in motion a string of events that eventually led to Laura being abducted, tortured and left for dead by a serial killer.
Laura was such a strong character. Being in Bliss definitely helped her heal, but her will to live is amazing. I kept waiting for her to open up about what happened, not because I wanted to see her relive those horrific moments, but because keeping everything bottled up and talking about it in the clinical way she did in the past hasn't helped her truly heal and move on. It isn't until she says it out loud that her healing truly started and I shed a tear or two when that scene was going on.
Rafe and Cam are both fantastic guys. The thing Lexi Blake did with these two was new to me. I've never before read a menage story where the guys weren't on board with the idea of a menage from the very start, so it was interesting to see them navigate this world and try to make sense of what they wanted versus what they thought people might say about their relationship. I believe that being in Bliss and having a rather honest and open conversation with the men involved in this type of relationships, and seeing the various couples interact and actually have normal lives, is what made their relationship with Laura be one I could believe in. Because at first it felt all just about sex, and while it was hot, it didn't feel like it could be something they could keep doing long term. Bliss and the people in this town helped Rafe and Cam understand that they shouldn't let what other people deem "appropriate" or "normal" define their lives. And it's with that realization that they can help Laura deal with her trauma. If in the first part of the book Laura had to deal with Rafe and Cam being mostly at each other's throats, once they stop viewing themselves as rivals for her love Laura can relax and allow them to get close enough that she can share what happened to her. Not the clinical facts, because they know them, but the emotional trauma that she's never before talked about.
This book reminded me in some ways of Alex and Eve's book from Blake's Masters and Mercenaries series. However, I felt like the villain in Lost In Biss was more twisted, and much scarier, since had it not been for Laura, the FBI probably never would have had any chance of finding who he is. Like I said in the beginning, I felt like I was watching an episode of Criminal Minds, and I loved that about this book.
Lost In Bliss was a fantastic story and a fantastic addition to the Nights in Bliss series. There are some mentions of new characters that I'm very curious about, and I cannot wait to see what the next book brings to the series.
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Rafe didn’t miss the way Laura’s body went still, her muscles stiffening where a moment before she’d been laughing with her friends. She changed the second she became aware of them. It wasn’t the greeting he would prefer. Back when they were friends, when she would see him coming, her whole body would go soft and a welcoming smile would transform her face from something professional to an intimate visage, one only meant for someone close to her. He’d taken great pride in the fact that he’d only ever seen that look on her face for one other person.
“Hello, bella.”
She frowned at him. Even with her lips turned down, she was stunning. She looked only slightly out of place in her yellow heels. The rest of her outfit was charmingly Western. She had on a full cotton skirt, a yellow tank top, and a light denim jacket. It wasn’t far off from what many of the other women were wearing, yet Laura made it seem elegant. Everything she did had an air of grace to it, even when she was bitching at him.
“I thought I asked you to stop calling me that.”
He wasn’t going to let her push him. He gave her what he hoped was an easy smile. “And I asked you to stop calling me asshole. I doubt you’ve done that. Dance with me.”
Her eyes widened, a look of horror crossing her face. “No.”
“Come on, baby. Don’t say no.” Cam crowded her, but she held her ground. Those heels were planted firmly in the grass beneath her. “I can’t dance with you until you dance with him. I lost the coin flip.”
“Oh, that’s romantic.” Her hands found her hips, and those gorgeously full lips pursed. “Every woman in the world wants to be won by the flip of a coin.”
“We didn’t have time to play cards,” Rafe admitted. He was well aware that people were listening in. Oh, they were pretending to be doing other things, but they leaned over and then talked behind their hands. The citizens of Bliss seemed to be enjoying the drama. Damn, he couldn’t get used to it. In DC, no one paid a bit of attention to what was going on around them. He tried to ignore it. “We weren’t sure how else to handle it, bella. You have to teach us.”
Her lips rose in a sarcastic grin. “See, that’s easy. Let me teach you how to handle a situation like this. You both turn around and walk out the way you came in. You get in your car and drive to Alamosa and get on a plane back to DC.”
Cam sighed. “That’s not going to happen.”
Cam ran a hand up her arm, and Rafe was satisfied with the way she shivered. She still responded to Cam. Would she respond to him? He reached out and took her hand, studying it. Her hand was small in his, her skin fair against his olive tone. Her nails weren’t as long as she used to keep them, but they were still manicured and painted a pretty pink. “Come on and dance with me. We came all this way. We’ve looked for so long. Can’t you spare a moment of your time? I promise to behave.”
He wouldn’t behave. He had every intention of reminding her of the chemistry they’d had, but he wasn’t going to announce it.
“Fine.” She pushed off of the picnic table she’d been leaning against. “One dance and that’s all.”
“With both of us,” Cam added quickly, pushing the advantage. “It’s only fair. Otherwise, we’ll both dance with you here and now.”
There it was. Rafe’s heart soared. Her eyes had flared momentarily, and it wasn’t with disgust. When they had checked into the odd motel at the edge of town, they had decided it would be best to come at her together. She’d been turned on by sex with both of them. They needed to remind her of what they had to offer.
