Review of Drawn Together (Brown Family #5) by Lauren Dane
Drawn Together is the fifth book in the series Brown Family.
Raven Smith is a wandering tattoo artist who lives her life by rules that keep a wall around her heart. She's free-spirited, blunt, and prickly, but those she lets in are loyal to her.
Jonah Warner is a successful attorney who approaches Raven for a tattoo. He's mesmerized by her and wants to push past the prickly exterior to the woman underneath. She undoes him in a way no one ever has, and he finds her bluntness refreshing.
The two grow closer as Raven works on the tattoo, and Jonah makes her break all her rules, including her no-monogamy rule. But he sees her in a way few ever do, and he appreciates her for who she is. He wants to know all of her, but there are some things she wants to keep locked away.
Then someone from deep in her past shows up at the tattoo parlor, blowing Raven's life apart.
I was interested when I saw this book was about Raven. She's been a presence from the first book because she's Erin's best friend, but her personality and prickliness made her appear as both positive and negative. I didn't have a very high opinion of her because she's not the type of person I'd like to be around.
In this book, we get to know why Raven is the way she is, and it makes her more understandable and likable. As she opens up more to Jonah, the reasons for her attitude and rules become more clear. Her story was a sad one, and the way Jonah didn't judge made me like him more.
Jonah was a suitable match for Raven. He's honest and blunt in his own way, and his dominant nature made him a more imposing presence. Raven doesn't seem the type of person to submit, but she did so with little hesitation, seeming to enjoy not having to think for a while.
I struggled a little with Raven so willingly submitting to Jonah. I understood her enjoyment of someone who appreciated her bluntness and encouraged her to open up, but with her prickly, forceful personality, submitting like that didn't seem in her nature. It works somewhat within the storyline, but the way she didn't protest pushed at my suspension of disbelief.
Lauren Dane's writing was the strongest I've seen yet, though she still struggled with descriptions of settings and reminding readers what people from previous books look like. The dialog was better, and character development stronger.
I enjoyed the book, and while it was in some ways the strongest book in the series, in other ways it was the weakest.
This book ends the series, and I'll miss the Browns.
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