Uncut is the fourth and final (for now) book inClaudia’s Complicated Series. It can be read as a stand-alone but I strongly
urge readers to at least read Unlike Any Other, if not all three previous books
in the series, before reading Uncut. Trust me. These aren’t your average
romance novels. These are epic love stories and readers cheat themselves and
the Decker family by skipping the other books. Yes, I am a bit delusional in my belief that the Deckers really exist and wish to adopt me.
Much like Unlike
Any Other, Uncut delves into a subject I am not experienced with as a person or
a reader and when I read the blurb, I was unsure how I felt about tackling this
book. That said, Claudia blew my mind with the first book and I knew if any
writer could help me understand and enjoy such a book, it would be her. My
faith was more than justified.
Matthew is a “jack
of all trades” in business and pleasure and he is master of all. He knows what
and who he wants and he is completely comfortable with himself. Tristan grew up
in a family and religion that taught him to be ashamed of his desires and to
fight them with all he is, even to the point of being alone and unhappy. Thea
is the enigma. She guards her secrets and her heart, never letting
anyone get close. Three people battling their own demons. Three
lonely souls with secrets. Can they find
their way together or is life not meant to be lived in threes?
What I love about
this book is that it drew me in from the start and held my attention all the
way through to the end. Evenly paced and gripping throughout, I hated putting
this one down to do silly things like clean my house, feed my family or pick up the
kids from school. My heart ached for
each character, even when they fucked up. Tristan and Matthew are two men that
any woman with an open mind would love to have. Thea, even with her vulnerability, is a pillar of strength.
I also love how
the story was handled. While I have never read a book exactly like this, I have
read several books dealing with threesomes and those books treated the
relationships as something easy and focused more on the sex than the emotions
within the relationship. Claudia didn’t brush over the complexities of this
story. Yes, there was off the charts steam but it pushed the story forward
instead of being the story. There is nothing easy about Uncut but everything
about it is beautiful, including the struggles and heartache each character
endures.
Each member of
the Decker family makes an appearance in Uncut but the focus remains on
Matthew, Tristan and Thea. This isn’t one of those books that will use side
characters as filler but we do find out how the Decker family is doing and
growing. Rather than distracting from the main story to build anticipation, the
secondary characters play roles in moving the main story along, which is the
way a series about a family or group of friends should be written.
Ratings
Overall – 5 stars
Steam factor – off the charts
Feels – I laughed. I groaned. I may have thrown a pillow. I
cried. I sighed.
HEA – Yeah, I am not telling.
