Review: TEXAS TANGLE by Leah Braemel

Thanks to her cheating ex-husband and her thieving brother, all horse breeder Nikki Kimball has left is a bruised heart, an over-drawn bank account and an empty home. When sex-on-legs Dillon Barnett and his brooding foster-brother Brett Anderson start showing more than just neighborly attention, Nikki is intrigued…and a little gun-shy.

Dillon and Brett have a history; back in high school, the two friends fought a bitter battle over Nikki. Now, ten years later, Brett still longs to be the man in Nikki’s life, but he’s determined to stand back and let Dillon win Nikki’s heart.

Society says Nikki must choose between the two men she loves. Is Nikki strong enough to break all the rules in order to find happiness?

Title: TEXAS TANGLE
Author: Leah Braemel
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Publisher: Carina Press
Year of release: 2010, June 28
Format: eBook
Source: Requested from publisher via NetGalley

First line:
“No, no, no!” With steam billowing from the hood of her truck, Nikki maneuvered blindly easing the vehicle to the side of the road, making sure the horse trailer she was towing wasn’t blocking traffic.

Memorable Scenes:
– table smexing scene, including whipped cream and caramel sauce > Need I say more?
– Brett telling Nikki how Dillon saved his life > yes, I cried.
– Scene at the pond > I cried again.

Nikki Kimball is divorced and struggling, still she strives to maintain her independence and she’s resilient. Nikki is a people pleaser and stubborn, a mix of strength and softness and bit insecure at times. Nikki’s parents were a piece of work, with parents like that who needs an abusive ex? They did a number on her self-esteem in the past and actually are still trying to undermine her every attempt at confidence and happiness.

Dillon Barnett is Nikki’s neighbor. He’s impulsive and energetic with a look-on-the-bright-side-of-life attitude.

Brett Anderson is quite the opposite of Dillon. He’s brooding, quiet and stoic,. His past has left him damaged and the only good things in his life are Nikki and Dillon.

Again this is a review for which I have very little review notes to go on and it’s been more than 6 months since I read it. One thing I do remember vividly and that is that I thought it was an awesome book and I read it in a very short amount of time.

TEXAS TANGLE was emotional and hot, in other words: erotic romance as it’s meant to be. Ms Braemel had me hot and bothered on one page and on the next I’d be sniffing into a tissue reading heartbreaking stuff. The few chapters leading towards the end were particularly heartbreaking when Nikki has to decide between following her feelings and caring about what society would think and the consequences of her choice for the men she loves. But the emotions also ran high for me throughout the book as the men have past issues to overcome and I was reading how they struggled through them.

I loved Dillon’s grandmother, Gramma Barnett, and when I finished the book I was very curious about her grandparents’ threesome arrangement. In the meantime it seems Leah Braemel has written that story and it will release in 2011 under the title TANGLED PAST. I can’t wait to read that story!

TEXAS TANGLE is like a diesel steam train, it takes a bit for it to get going (on the hot and heavy ménage) but once it does, it’s launches full steam ahead towards an ending that was sizzling hot and tear jerking emotional and completely blew me away!

Favorite Quotes:
“An idea? Involving Brett?” She must have been having a few fantasies of her own from the blush that crept up her neck and filled her cheeks. Damned, if she didn’t look even more innocent. And as sexy as all get out.
He pulled down the neck of her shirt and peered beneath the fabric.
“What are you doing?”
“Seeing if that blush you’ve got going extends all the way down. Hey, look at that, it does.”
She slapped at his hand until his finger popped from the fabric. “Do you ever think of anything but sex?”
“Sure. I think of food sometimes too.”

“From where I’m standing, I’ve got a couple of choices here. My favorite right now is to move back to my place and not date either of you. I’ll raise goats and morph into an eccentric old lady everyone laughs at.”
“I’m not liking that option,” Dillon muttered.

The mattress dipped when Dillon shifted his weight. She murmured something about morning breath, and Dillon chuckled. “My dick doesn’t give a damn about morning breath, darlin’. Open those pretty lips of yours, will you?”

“Hon, it’s time to put on your big girl panties. You have to stop living your life trying to please everyone else. I know it’s tough—as women we’re trained to put ourselves last. But there comes a time when you have to think of yourself. When you have to listen to your heart.”