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Erotic Literature. Fiction. Romance. HTML:Holly Bardwell is running from her past mistakes. Straight into the arms of the Colter brothers. Colters' Legacy, Book 1 Adam, Ethan and Ryan aren't looking for women. They're looking for a woman. One woman they know will share their lives and their beds. They're losing hope they'll find her, that is until Adam discovers Holly lying in the snow just yards from their cabin. Adam knows she's the one the minute he holds her in his arms, and as soon as his brothers see her, they know it too. The only problem is convincing Holly of that fact�??and protecting her from the danger of her past. This book has been re-edited and revised. Includes an expanded ending and a new, never-before published short story sequel. Warning: This title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language, ménage a quatre, violence.… (more)
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The premise (is this a premise?): The Colter boys live in a place (as we used to say about Michigan Tech when I was a lithesome coed) where the men are men, the women are scarce and the sheep are scared. They are looking for a wife. 1-for-all-3. Now, family is everything to me, but (there are so many ways I could finish this sentence, but I am going to leave it here and let anyone who reads this sentence finish it as they wish.) So the Brothers C are sitting around waiting for THE ONE, certain they will know her when the see her. Where they are going to see her I am not sure. There is only one woman anywhere nearby and they have already determined that she, the sheriff, is not THE ONE. Then, hallelujah! Adam finds a woman unconscious in a ditch and gets hard (ew!) and knows she is THE ONE, He carries her inside, She is suffering from exposure and dehydration and running from her murderous husband who is a really uncompelling villain.. As she hangs limply in Adam's arms, Ryan and Ethan see her. Sho 'nuff, schwing!schwing! Blood flow don't lie. She is THE ONE! They are all in love! And it all follows from there. I don't want to tell the whole story, and honestly the story beyond what I have shared really doesn't matter.
So all that takes me back to my first sentence, about how I don't know how to rate this. As noted this is objectively terrible in every way, The story, the writing, just everything is terrible. A single star would be a gift. BUT. If I had picked up a comedy book and it made me laugh this hard and consistently it would be a 5-star. Deciding on the rating turned out to be a bigger dilemma than I expected from a book where the primary plot can be condensed down to "3 holes no waiting." Thank god the Colters' parents stopped at 3 or they would have had to find THE TWO or else organize some sort of shift system. That would be complicated, but once you read the mechanics of their various 4-ways you will have to concede that all are clearly masters of trigonometry and geometry, and they know how to make gravity work for them, so an erotic work-wheel would likely be a cinch for these boys.
So do I recommend you read this? If you are looking for sexy material I think the answer is no. My jaw muscles started to ache in sympathy during every sex scene, to say nothing of my sphincter. If you are reading for the romance my answer is also no. There is nothing romantic about three men getting boners looking at an unconscious woman they have never seen before and instantly deciding they will spend the rest of their lives with her. Even more unromantic is a woman who has made a terrible decision in choosing her first husband and then decides what the hell, yeah three horny brothers I met an hour ago sound good to me. However, if you are looking to laugh and laugh at purple prose and instalust and the poetic pronouncements of deeply lonely cowboys, and if you are a reader who will take pleasure as you marvel at the unbounded ingenuity of three brothers longing to have simultaneous sex with the same women, well then you really need to get your hands on this very special addition to the literary canon. A one-star for nearly everything, a five-star for being a hell of a lot more fun than a trip to the circus. Today that equals a three-star.
Holly was from a wealthy family, and after her parents died in an accident, she became the ward of one of their friends. Little did she know that he has ties to organized crime and is trying to get his hands on her trust fund by marrying her. She goes on the run from her abusive husband, whom she escaped from on their wedding night after witnessing him murdering another man. After her car broke down, she ended up walking through the bitter cold in the Colorado Rockies, before passing out in a ditch, which is where she was found by one of the three Colter brothers. They take her in and immediately recognize her as the one they’ve been waiting for. She allows them to care for her and protect her, but when her husband comes looking for her, he places all their lives in danger. Overall, I’d say that I liked and related to Holly. However, where I had a little problem is in the fact that she’s only marginally wary of the Colter brothers after experiencing such a harrowing ordeal. Not to mention, despite still being a virgin, she’s almost immediately accepting of their proposal of an unconventional relationship with all three of them, and turns into an instant sex kitten. Regardless of how hot and nice they were, I think I’d be a little more questioning of all this before diving in head-first just a day or so after meeting them. Also, her backstory being expanded a little more to understand her motives a bit better certainly wouldn’t have gone amiss. Otherwise, Holly is a good heroine, who is equally as protective of her men as they are of her, and she can also be resourceful when she has to be.
The three Colter brothers, Adam, Ethan, and Ryan run a ranch and hunting lodge in the Colorado Rockies. They, themselves, are a product of menage a quatre relationships that have gone back a few generations, so they’ve always known that they were looking for just one woman to complete them all. Adam, as the oldest and the most dominant, is pretty much the leader. He previously thought he’d found “the one” in Lacey, the local sheriff, but it turned out that he was the only one of the three who felt that way. Adam is the one who finds Holly on their property, and this time, he’s certain that she’s their soul mate. When he brings her to his brothers, they both agree. Adam can be sweet and also very protective, but he’s perhaps the most demanding of the three and the one most prone to possibly saying something he’ll regret. Ethan, the middle brother, is more of an alpha/beta mix with a sweet, more thoughtful side. He was probably my favorite of the brothers, although admittedly, he was also the least well-developed. What you see is pretty much what you get with him. Ryan, the youngest, was in the military and was held as a prisoner of war in Iraq before finally being released and coming home. He hasn’t been the same since, but he also hasn’t been forthcoming about what happened to him over there, so Adam and Ethan hope that Holly will be able to get him to open up. I like the closeness of the three brothers and how they always have each other’s backs, and that, of course, extends to Holly when she joins them. They’re also all very sensual and seductive, and I like the way they pleasure her into oblivion.;-)
Overall, Colters’ Woman was a good story that I liked. The only thing that really bothered me was the magical nature of the romance itself. The brothers’ recognition of Holly as their wife is definitely nothing more than a fantastical connection. They simply know just by looking at her, which was a little hard to believe. Holly isn’t much different, being attracted to, and aroused by, the thought of belonging to all of them within only a day. Everyone is totally on board without any genuine contemplation at all, which was a little hard to swallow. However, I did like how gentle, but passionate, the men are with Holly, as well as how protective they are, determined that her husband won’t get to her. I also wouldn’t have minded a little more plot in between the love scenes. While generally pretty delicious, they do dominate the first 2/3 to 3/4 of the book with only a little bit of story in between. The last ¼ or so of the book is better with some fast-paced action and a touch of suspense, followed by a sweet HEA. It may not have been as perfect as the other book I read by Maya Banks, but if you’re looking for an erotic menage romance that has a decent storyline, then Colters’ Woman should fit the bill.
Note: This book contains explicit language and sexual situations which may offend some readers, including ménage a quatre and anal sex within M/F, M/F/M and M/F/M/M combinations.
Callie’s Meadow – I read the older paperback version of Colters’ Woman that was published by Samhaim Publishing, and it has a bonus novella in the back that’s titled “Colters’ Wife.” This is where things get a little confusing, though. Apparently the story I read is now titled “Callie’s Meadow” and takes place eight years after the end of Colters’ Woman, while there’s a different novella that takes place just a few months after the end of Colters’ Woman that is now the new “Colters’ Wife.” Sadly I didn’t get a chance to read that one, because it appears that both of these novellas are now only available in the newest edition of Colters’ Woman. Had I known this, as well as the fact that Maya Banks re-edited and added some new content to Colters’ Woman, I probably would have tried to get the newer edition, but alas, I didn’t find out until after reading it.
Anyway, as I said, “Callie’s Meadow” takes place eight years later, and is basically an extended epilogue for Colters’ Woman. It shows us Holly, Adam, Ethan, and Ryan living the HEA, while raising their three little boys. They didn’t plan to have another child after Holly experienced frightening complications while giving birth to their youngest, but accidents happen. Holly is nervous about telling her men that she’s pregnant again, because she knows they’ll be worried sick about her and probably won’t be happy about it.
I very much enjoyed this follow-up to the main story. I loved seeing the characters happy down the road and working out their differences in a healthy way. It was also fun to get a peek at Michael, Seth, and Dillon as little boys before they become the very grown up heroes of the next book of the series, Colters’ Lady. And we’re also introduced to their only daughter, Callie, who becomes the heroine of the third book of the series, Colters’ Daughter. In addition, we’ll get to see all the characters from these three books in the fourth reunion installment, Colters’ Promise. So overall, this was a very enjoyable read. Other than the fact that the heroine is married to three men, there isn’t any particularly objectionable content. It’s just a sweet slice of family life story. Star Rating: ****1/2
Colter's Woman is a reverse harem romance. I actually think I might have read one of the books from this series and I hadn't been a fan and probably why I put off this author for as long as I did. I just grabbed this
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