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Brazen
The rules are simple. Be quiet, look sexy, follow orders.Caroline’s plans for maintaining a harem of eager young men are going as smooth as could be, until a troublesome newcomer arrives and throws her tidy kingdom into disorder. He seems perfect at first. Breathtaking eyes, gorgeous face, a body custom-made to keep a greedy woman up nights.But Sean’s got something else too—the will and the power to get under Caroline’s skin in a way she can’t stand. And can’t stay away from. He’s too disobedient to work out as a disposable toy in her harem, but it’d be a shame to waste a willing body as fine as his… Perhaps all the man needs is a little discipline.
43 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 19, 2010
6 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Cara McKenna
41 books2,240 followersSince she began writing in 2008, Cara McKenna has published nearly forty romances and erotic novels with a variety of publishers, sometimes under the pen names Meg Maguire and C.M. McKenna. Her stories have been acclaimed for their smart, modern voice and defiance of convention. She was a 2015 RITA Award finalist, a 2014 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award winner, a 2012 and 2011 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award nominee, and a 2010 Golden Heart Award finalist. She lives with her husband and baby son in the Pacific Northwest, though she’ll always be a Boston girl at heart.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
November 10, 2016
2.5 stars. Hot but uneven. Not my favorite Cara McKenna.
December 21, 2014
Wow, that was Hot! Like all my brain cells just explode out of my head.
August 31, 2015
O-M-G this short novella was SO DIRTY! It was yet again another novella by Cara I had a distinct impression of after reading the synopsis then got a total different thing when I actually started reading it.
While it was A LOT about the sex, there was also a very interesting heroine (the sole POV) with quite an interesting psychology behind her behavior.
Caroline is a 40 years old photographer. She divorced a few years ago and since then though she wanted men in her life she mostly wanted to be able to objectify them, get her needs and not have any sort of a relationship. I guess she wanted to be free or to be able to be a Dominant. I'm not sure what went wrong with her ex-husband, maybe it was even just about them not "clicking" sex-wise anymore.. or something was missing.. though I'm not sure why it meant for her wanting to be alone. She was an interesting character, it was fun trying to figure her out.
Having enough money for her disposal she hires men to come and do her bidding. It was kinky, yeah, but she wasn't misusing them or something like that. I'm sure it was "the best job e-v-e-r" if you'd ask them hehe
The plot starts with Caroline explaining the whole "Harem" idea she had and telling us about one of the guys, Sean, who keeps disobeying her rules. It annoys her but it also draws her to him. The connection between her and Sean was electric. Even more so with all the other guys around and the "games" they were playing with each other.
I'm not going to say more, just that don't expect this one to end with a Happily Ever After note, it's simply an Erotica novella. Take it and have fun with it like that, or don't read it at all. I really enjoyed it, though I didn't expect myself to feel this way. It felt different. In a good (extremely kinky) way :)
More Reviews HERE
While it was A LOT about the sex, there was also a very interesting heroine (the sole POV) with quite an interesting psychology behind her behavior.
Caroline is a 40 years old photographer. She divorced a few years ago and since then though she wanted men in her life she mostly wanted to be able to objectify them, get her needs and not have any sort of a relationship. I guess she wanted to be free or to be able to be a Dominant. I'm not sure what went wrong with her ex-husband, maybe it was even just about them not "clicking" sex-wise anymore.. or something was missing.. though I'm not sure why it meant for her wanting to be alone. She was an interesting character, it was fun trying to figure her out.
Having enough money for her disposal she hires men to come and do her bidding. It was kinky, yeah, but she wasn't misusing them or something like that. I'm sure it was "the best job e-v-e-r" if you'd ask them hehe
The plot starts with Caroline explaining the whole "Harem" idea she had and telling us about one of the guys, Sean, who keeps disobeying her rules. It annoys her but it also draws her to him. The connection between her and Sean was electric. Even more so with all the other guys around and the "games" they were playing with each other.
I'm not going to say more, just that don't expect this one to end with a Happily Ever After note, it's simply an Erotica novella. Take it and have fun with it like that, or don't read it at all. I really enjoyed it, though I didn't expect myself to feel this way. It felt different. In a good (extremely kinky) way :)
More Reviews HERE
December 15, 2010
I love it when first person is done well. Cara nails it with Brazen. I especially appreciate the unresolved, not so HEA ending to this short. It doesn't need it, nor do I think it would work with the characters. Smart, sexy writing.
July 14, 2012
They're starting to run into each other. Difference between a writer's obsession (eg. mirror in this author's case) and redundancy. Plus, erotica can have have happy endings to you know...*sigh*
August 28, 2012
Fuck me, I need a cigarette.
June 24, 2017
What a hot quickie! A nice, contemporary, female photographer's twist about a harem of young boys to service her...
Steamy and a bit kinky...
Steamy and a bit kinky...
May 3, 2011
Super short and super hot!! It's been a while since I've read a book written in first person. It seems a little awkward at first, but you get used to it after a few pages.
Caroline is a photographer just out of a shitty marriage. She has her assistant, Will, arrange for her to have a harem of men at her house. There are strict rules (no shirts, no talking, no touching unless asked, etc.). If they break the rules, they're fired. Then Caroline meets Sean. An English violinist who breaks all her rules. She fires him (of course), but he returns anyway.
And y'all - when I say this book is short - I mean, it will take about 20 to 30 minutes to read. And when I say it's hot - I mean it is scorching.
Easy 5 stars. But damn, I wanted more! (I'm soooo greedy.)
Caroline is a photographer just out of a shitty marriage. She has her assistant, Will, arrange for her to have a harem of men at her house. There are strict rules (no shirts, no talking, no touching unless asked, etc.). If they break the rules, they're fired. Then Caroline meets Sean. An English violinist who breaks all her rules. She fires him (of course), but he returns anyway.
And y'all - when I say this book is short - I mean, it will take about 20 to 30 minutes to read. And when I say it's hot - I mean it is scorching.
Easy 5 stars. But damn, I wanted more! (I'm soooo greedy.)
April 21, 2014
An interesting read but not one of my favourites .. Not sure about the harem theme here but hey it may suit others
February 8, 2024
Eh this was weird
March 1, 2015
I'm on a quest to read everything this author writes!
This one was... different!
Not really my cup of tea but as always some beautiful lines and super erotic.
This one was... different!
Not really my cup of tea but as always some beautiful lines and super erotic.
November 22, 2013
yeay this is cara mckenna's that i love!
just like wiling victim, short hot intense but still beautiful. not a pwp.
id like to read more about sean. *winks*
just like wiling victim, short hot intense but still beautiful. not a pwp.
id like to read more about sean. *winks*
January 12, 2016
What a good way to start the day! :)
January 25, 2016
Wanted something short, it was good in a weird way? And yeah it was hot. =)
January 23, 2023
I love to get to know characters so that part was missing for me because it’s a novella but it was hot and well written and I’ll always be curious what happened after
August 30, 2023
Whoa, that was a perfect erotic read, a fantasy come to life!
September 8, 2025
This was a fun and quick read!
May 18, 2011
Brazen is told in 1st person, my least favorite narrative. But it’s Cara McKenna so suck it up princess. Surprisingly I didn’t mind it. Ms. McKenna definitely has a distinctive voice in the telling of her erotic short stories.
Caroline wants to start a harem of pretty boy toys who look like David Beckham...Hells Ya!
She’s in charge of this little adventure, she makes the rules and they are to be obeyed...no wearing shirts, no talking, no looking her in the eye until “trouble” comes a calling...or as Caroline likes to call him - trouble-man.
Sean pushes all Carolyn’s buttons, disregards her rules and makes Carolyn feel things she hasn’t felt for the past 5 years since her marriage broke up.
Who was once the master, becomes the slave as Sean plays Carolyn like a violin on a concert stage.
Brazen is very short and very steamy. Ms. McKenna definitely left the door open to further explore Sean and Carolyn’s relationship if she wanted to. I for one would like to witness another go-round between these two.
Caroline wants to start a harem of pretty boy toys who look like David Beckham...Hells Ya!
She’s in charge of this little adventure, she makes the rules and they are to be obeyed...no wearing shirts, no talking, no looking her in the eye until “trouble” comes a calling...or as Caroline likes to call him - trouble-man.
Sean pushes all Carolyn’s buttons, disregards her rules and makes Carolyn feel things she hasn’t felt for the past 5 years since her marriage broke up.
Who was once the master, becomes the slave as Sean plays Carolyn like a violin on a concert stage.
Brazen is very short and very steamy. Ms. McKenna definitely left the door open to further explore Sean and Carolyn’s relationship if she wanted to. I for one would like to witness another go-round between these two.
October 28, 2012
i just so did not care about these people or what they wanted and what they did and what they were into. but i must say, at the very least, that mckenna's prose is always strong. and to be fair it's possible that my lack of interest was first because the book focuses on a lifestyle both alien and completely unattractive to me, and second because this was only an erotic novella, not a full-blown romantic character study. whatever the reason, the end could not come fast enough for me, even though it was only 30 pages in.
January 16, 2013
Cara McKenna, what am I going to do with you? I spent this whole story (36 pages)thinking about how much I love your writing, right up until the last page, which kind of ruined the whole thing for me. I think if I'd gone in knowing it wasn't a HEA, but more of an encounter, then I probably would have been ok with it, which is why I went with 4 stars. Not knowing that, I was disappointed by the ending. But I'll still read more by Cara McKenna. I just may look a tags a bit more so I know what I'm getting into.
May 31, 2014
Caroline´s got the perfect strategy to cope with life as a widow, to enjoy her own harem. Perfect (for her) bodies with men eager to please.
Then he joins them. The man with Trouble for middlename.
Sean is not following her rules, but that´s just what she needs by now.
Smutty fluff, harem men and a woman who gets what she didn´t know she needed.
Then he joins them. The man with Trouble for middlename.
Sean is not following her rules, but that´s just what she needs by now.
Smutty fluff, harem men and a woman who gets what she didn´t know she needed.
May 28, 2011
There is no denying the talent that this author has. Her characters are believable and her words have the ability to draw you in. Even though this was extremely short you can't help but be pulled in to the world she created.
October 12, 2013
Even though the characters were doing a lot of feeling (of each other), I didn't feel the characters; not enough depth. If your paying for a harem you should get more out of it (IMO). Caroline did too much giving and not enough taking/receiving.
July 24, 2025
I don't know what this short novel was to be about, 🤔but it was the worse written so far. If could rate 0. The title intrigued me, I expected some better then whatever this book is about 🤷🏽♀️. There is just nothing interesting.
October 22, 2010
Left me wanting more, in a good way. Not to say it wasn't a satisfying story; it was. I'm just greedy and want to spend more time with the characters.
November 26, 2011
Way. Too. Short.
January 2, 2013
Short, hot, served a purpose when you can't sleep :)
May 4, 2013
Short story with an interesting premise.
July 20, 2018
Reverse harem
August 6, 2025
This was not my favorite read and if you want just spice this is a listen for you!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews