Sarah's Seduction [Paperback]

OK, Men of August isn't as good as the Breeds books, but it's still pretty hot. Those who like Lora Leigh's other erotica will probably like this as well.

It's true that there is a lot of stupidity in the plotting of this book (and the other August books). Yeah, it's dumb that the brothers have threesomes to "heal" and I didn't really care for all the psychobabble explanations.

But that didn't make it any less erotic that they did like to have threesomes. And that's the point of the book - Brock and Sarah are in love, but Sarah is having a lot of difficulty coming to terms with the fact that if she is going to be with Brock, she will also have to be with the other brothers.

And that, not the whole sexual healing bit, was probably the most annoying thing - how many women would have a hard time with the idea of being loved by three incredibly hot guys? The August men have the unique ability to find the most prudish, unaccepting women out there. So that was stupid, sure. And Sarah was annoying.

And I still couldn't put the book down. The eroticism was done so well that it was easy to ignore all that, most of which was just background anyway.

The writing itself is not bad at all. In fact, it's one of Lora Leigh's better written books. The lines about souls shattering are unfortunate, but they don't characterize the majority of the book.

I would recommend the August books to fans of LL's other books, although I'd point out that the Breeds books are still the best of all of them. It's hard to find writing as erotic as Lora Leigh's, and the erotic scenes are done well in this book, as in all her books. For those for whom perfect plotting and totally plausible dialog are more important, this may not be a great choice.

I have no problems reading books about domination and ménage sex; in fact I've read hundreds of books with these themes. But Cade and his brothers take it a step too far. They basically tell these women you will be having sex with me and my two brothers as often as we like. And if you try to leave we'll just come after you. Because you belong to me. Oh, and my brothers as well. Doesn't matter whether the woman wants it or not.

Cade and his brothers have got some serious psychological issues. And they think that sharing their girlfriends between them makes them feel closer and therefore helps. Erm, guys, ever heard of COUNSELLING??! But no, let's not do that, let's just bully and ridicule our girlfriends into having sex with all of us instead. That way we get all the fun and they just have to put up with it. Because we're big, tough, domineering men and you WILL do what WE want.

In fact as the series progresses, the books say they are allowed to have sex with any of the women whenever they want to. Not just in a ménage setting. If Cade wants to have sex with Sam's girlfriend he can, if Sam wants to have sex with Brock's girlfriend, hey bro, go right ahead! And to make this easier on the men? The women aren't allowed to wear underwear. Ever. It's taken away from them. I mean, heavens above, if one of the guys gets an itch and Marly is available in the kitchen, we couldn't possibly expect him to have to deal with underwear! And even worse, when they first start having sex, each woman gets a brown paper bag on their bed. Inside is a sex toy and lubricant, along with a SCHEDULE of when to use it and for how long! This way the woman is ready to be taken anally whenever the men want. These women aren't women, they're objects to be used as and when required. The emotional involvement is incidental. The brothers are only going out with them because it solves the problem of finding a willing woman in town.

This book sickened me. It left me feeling dirty by association. I felt like I needed a hot shower afterwards, and not in a good way.

Also, can I just ask, why is every single woman in Lora Leigh's books completely spineless? It's like they're completely controlled by what's between their legs. It doesn't matter how badly the men treat them, one look and their minds have gone completely. They're all Too Stupid To Live.

If Lora Leigh thinks the treatment of the women in this book and the others in the series is acceptable then I think she also needs counselling. No woman deserves to be treated like an object, to be used when needed, dominated to the point, that, if she says no, she's not comfortable doing that, she's punished and ridiculed.

I was kind of nervous to begin reading this book, but I was obsessed and wanted to know how things in the August family played out. This one was by far my favorite of the initial three books. I found Brock to be the more sensitive of the three brothers and more willing to talk to Sarah about what happened to them during those years of abuse. Where as Cade in the first book just demanded that Marly accept it without explanation. I admired Brock for disclosing as much as he did to Sarah. This might be why I enjoyed it more so than the first book, Marly's Choice.

One thing that kept getting to me is the harsh exterior the brothers exhibited. It seemed like it was an extension of the abuse they fought so hard to repress. And why they continued to do it, knowing how much it affected them as young men, is beyond me. And to see how the women justified and accepted everything mystified me as well, but for the story's sake I guess it had to be done.

In all this one was more fulfilling than Marly's Choice and Heather's Gift. I wasn't as shocked by the menage scenes so much this time, but it was still disturbing, can't help that catholic upbringing. Enjoy!