justmevictoria 's review for:

Braving the Storm by Elliott Rose

4.25

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 Just a one-bed mountain cabin and the man you have no right being attracted to… 

 

Former bull rider Storm Lane is content with his solitude on a mountain above Crimson Ridge, helping his rancher friends when they need, and enjoying a peaceful drink in the small town. But under the cover of darkness his solitude is interrupted with the arrival of someone he thinks just wants a meaningless hookup. Moments before crossing the line with his pretty young intruder, he recognises her as his niece - more specifically, the daughter of his adopted brother. Briar has escaped her Californian life to the remote one-bedroom cabin her father left her, surprised to find her estranged uncle residing there, and shocked by how his very hands-on welcome has left her feeling. Definitely NOT how she should be reacting to her uncle. Life in Crimson Ridge is the furtherest thing from the world she's left behind, and for the first time she can live and breathe properly. But no matter how much they try to resist, there's a chemistry and connection between Storm and Briar that they cannot deny. Briar wants someone to hand control over to and who knows exactly what her body wants, and she never expected that that person would be her Uncle Storm. 

 

I don't normally read the teaser for the next book in the previous book (half the time the next book isn't out yet, so I don't want to be left hanging with a long wait), but I just couldn't help myself with this one - while we didn't see too much of Storm in the first book, he seemed like an interesting character, so I was intrigued about his story, especially after seeing one of the tropes. And oh my god, the teaser had me loading the next book onto my Kindle because I needed to see how this story unfolded! 

 

And Elliott delivered! Storm and Briar have some seriously sizzling chemistry, from their efforts at trying to resist giving into the taboo temptation, to finally exploring the raw attraction and lust between them. The spice in the first book was all the hot pepper emojis, but Elliott somehow managed to take it to the next level here *chefs kiss*. But not only that, their romantic chemistry was also so swoony as it developed throughout the book. Damn I love a good age gap romance! 

 

And look I get it, the uncle/niece thing is a little icky. BUT, it's fairly well established from the get-go that Storm and his brother are adopted, meaning Storm and Briar are not blood-related. Plus Storm has been estranged from the rest of his family for most of Briar's life, so it's not like he was watching her grow up before jumping into bed with her (THAT would be icky). As one of the characters ends up describing it - incest by proxy. If it's not your vibe, that's totally okay, but it's not something to completely blow up about. The taboo girlies will get it. At the end of the day, it's really just an age-gap romance with a slightly complicated history between the characters.  

 

As with the first book, Elliott just has a really good writing style, from effortlessly whisking us away to the world of Crimson Ridge, to building-up the romantic and sexual relationship between the leading characters, and the baggage that both characters come with and have to deal with. Plus, we got to see more of our OGs Colt and Layla, as well as establishing more about the future leads in the series. It was just good vibes all round! 

 

Elliott has done a really good job at outlining all the content warnings and triggers on her website (literally chapter-by-chapter), but a heads up for emotional abuse & manipulation a nd gaslighting from family, abusive language, and blackmail. There's a LOT that both Storm and Briar have had to deal with prior to the events of the book, and a lot that they have to address and overcome throughout the story. It's really heavy at times, but Elliott does a really good job at showing the character's strengths and balancing the heaviness with lighter moments. 

 

If you're an age gap girlie and don't mind a bit of taboo and forbidden romance, then Crimson Ridge is the place for you! We're talking swoony cowboys with the dirtiest fantasies and all the tattooed daddy vibes you could dream of!