I'm a sucker for Lauren Dane stories. I know what I'm going to get in one of her stories: Hot, explicit sex scenes with people comfortable with their sexuality. Characters who have hot button issues due to prior psychological trauma but who are well grounded and refreshingly mature about working through them. And an outstanding array of supporting cast, with lots of quirky friends and family who are supportive and give great advice. Lauren Dane delivers those stellar points in spades in this book, THE BEST KIND OF TROUBLE.

This is book one in the Hurley Brothers series, although we have already been introduced to the Hurley boys in Lush, in Dane's Delicious series. The four Hurley brothers are in a band, Sweet Hollow Ranch. Lauren Dane always talks on social media about her playlists for a book, but now the playlist for this book is listed at the beginning of this book, which I find awesome in a book that has so much to do with music- not as a main point of the book- but serving as an important underpinning for the story. As a bonus, I can dial up her playlist to get me in the mood for her book.

Paddy Hurley is the vocalist and guitarist in his band, and has been living the stereotypical rock star life. When he is back in his hometown, he runs into Natalie, a woman with whom he had a two week intensive fling with years ago when his band was just starting out. She's now a librarian in his little hometown, and works hard to provide a place of safety and mental escape to kids who need it. She grew up in a household with an alcoholic father who abused drugs. The out of control childhood she had has engendered a deep- seated need for control and the public appearance of propriety. Paddy immediately pursues Natalie again, intrigued by his memories of her as well of his view of the woman she's become.

The underlying push-pull of Natalie and Paddy's relationship is the wildness of Paddy's lifestyle while his band is on the road versus Natalie's need for control in orderly and tame living. The explosive physical chemistry they have provides an great underpinning, and their slowly developing trust and love drives them to face and beat the challenges they are presented with. The sex scenes are out of this world, oh my god, H-O-T!, and were perfectly salted throughout the book to provide a great counterpoint to the rest of the story. While very candid, their sex is still underlaid with a true intimacy and not simply physical in nature, making it the perfect mix of lust and love.

Fans of Lauren Dane will find THE BEST KIND OF TROUBLE to be an excellent example of her fantastic mix of personal growth and inventive sex wrapped up in a love story. Newcomers will find a story that wraps up heart and soul with a satisfyingly inventive bedroom (and concert hall dressing room, and shower and house entryway... you get the picture!) life.

Book Summary

She has complete control…and he's determined to take it away

A librarian in the small town of Hood River, Natalie Clayton's world is very nearly perfect. After a turbulent childhood and her once-wild ways, life is now under control. But trouble has a way of turning up unexpectedly—especially in the tall, charismatically sexy form of Paddy Hurley….

And Paddy is the kind of trouble that Natalie has a taste for.

Even after years of the rock-and-roll lifestyle, Paddy never forgot the two wickedly hot weeks he once shared with Natalie. Now he wants more…even if it means tempting Natalie and her iron-grip control. But there's a fine line between well-behaved and misbehaved—and the only compromise is between the sheets!