Step Brother Bastard (Hawthorne Brothers #1)

by Colleen Masters

Synopsis

It started off as a dare…a harmless one-night-stand with a complete stranger. He was just another badboy I met in a bar, a harmless fling to start my summer vacation. One unbelievable night of sex, and I’d never have to see him again.

But the next morning as I pull up to the lake house my mom has rented for the summer, I get the feeling my world is about to crumble…it was just supposed to be us girls—me, my two sisters, and Mom…but we’re not alone…

Apparently my mom’s old high school sweetheart John owns the house, and he has three sons, all around the same age as me and my sisters. And they thought it would be a great idea to put us all together under the same roof for four weeks.

We’ll have to share bedroom walls, sit down for family dinners, and suffer through a million other forced, awkward, sexually confusing family activities I’m sure…

And then I realize my mom’s new boyfriend has a son a little older than me. I see him barreling toward me on a 4-wheeler, a lit cigarette between his lips, strangely familiar tattoos on his muscular forearms and chest…as he gets closer I’m filled with dread as I begin to realize who he is…but he isn’t slowing down.

The f*cking prick nearly runs into me.

As he takes off his helmet I’m instantly filled with horror and an undeniable twinge of excitement between my legs. It’s him. The man who took me last night, used me every which way, stretched me more than any man I’ve ever been with before…and now he’s ignoring me, acting like he’s never seen me before in his life.

I have a feeling it’s going to be a fun summer.

This Contemporary New Adult Stepbrother Romance Novel is the first book in the three book Hawthorne Brothers series. The ending is HFN. The book contains harsh language, sexual content, and adult situations that may offend some readers.

My Review

What I loved about this was the steamy and hot sex scenes between Cash and Maddie and how they fought the chemistry they had. Also the other siblings all held their own within the joined family dynamic in the group settings. It does make me want to read the other books in the series just to see them all find love and happiness even though their parents are a bit left of field.

Now although titled as a Step Brother romance, really they are all grown adults and I thought the story centred more on the fractured relationships they have with their parents. I do understand that Maddie felt a sense of taboo as not wanting to jeopardise her mother’s happiness and Cash really is his own man and did not give a shit about anything apart from his brothers.

The differences in the personalities of the sisters and brothers and their connections within their own trio of family and where they stood as oldest, middle and younger child was really interesting to me. Their placement in affection from their own parents and then as they entwine together and ultimately stick up for each other and support each other I found one of the best parts of this story.

I would have really enjoyed seeing more of the aftermath of the family when Cash and Maddie leave the house especially a conversation between the two parents to see how they ultimately felt would have maybe resolved a few more questions for me. I admit I really did not like Maddie’s mother as a character, her girls are screaming out for affection and stability after their father’s sudden death and she is just so flightly – I wanted to strangle her in some parts of the book.