I've got a major headache and I'm not the least inspired to write a review, so I'm following Shawna's idea and posting a "visual review". :)

Here's how I picture Colt, after some years of Indy's TLC:

And the hits just keep on coming...

Branded as Trouble was such a sweet story. We’ve been watching Colt as he spiraled downward into a very dark place, waiting and hoping that he’d find his way back to us. Thankfully he did and now we finally get to see what his life was like, both during his addiction and after. Now, three years into his sobriety, he’s finally cutting himself some slack for the time he spent drunk, stoned and otherwise useless and what an emotional ride it is! As I’ve said befor More...

Opening Line: "In celebration of his first year of sobriety, Colt McKay climbed on the back of a bull and rode for a full eight seconds.

Welcome to another deliciously hot read from Lorelei James' Roughrider series. This is book 6 and I’ve come to the conclusion that James can do no wrong as each instalment is more addictive than the last. Somehow she always manages to keep the storylines fresh and the numerous sexcapades just different enough that they never feel formulaic or repetitive. We’re More...

Rating: 4.5 / 5

I almost like this one at much as the previous book, Rough, Raw and Ready. It was really good and I liked both Colt and India a lot. If I could have, though, I would have adjusted one thing about the book and that's to have made it a little more balanced with regards to the sex (which I'll explain in a little bit).

Branded As Trouble is the most recent and sixth book in Lorelei James' Rough Riders series. Back around book 3, readers got to know Colt McKay as the drunken, drugged up More...

Another broken-record-sounding review here, but I can't help it--Lorelei James is consistently awesome with her Rough Riders series--there hasn't been a bad one in the bunch yet! I know I'm not the only one who appreciates this series--there's just something so effortless about LJ's writing that makes it so darn easy to gobble these stories right up! Her characters are so real and relatable--they're far from perfect and sometimes you get annoyed with them, but always, always by the end of the st More...

As my second time reading this book, I can honestly say that I can appreciate it much more after having read the first five books. This time around I knew who everyone was and could understand the relationships and situations better.

There's nothing that I really disliked about this book, either times I've read it. The one thing I noticed this time around, though, was that I felt like this focused more on Indy and Colt's sex life than the building of their romantic relationship. It wasn't focused More...

"Cross you arms over your chest. Close your eyes. When you're ready, fall back. Straight back."
"That's it?"
"No, you have to trust me. I'll catch you. I promise. Even if you fall, I'll pick you up."
He closed his eyes and let go.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

OH GOOD LORD! I swear, all the McKay men have to do is look at his wife and she gets pregnant! It's getting hard to keep up with this litter of kids they are all having! It' More...

OMG where do i start!
I cant come up with the right words to explain how hoe i LOVED this Book. It was so freaking good, Colt and Indy were AMAZING!! This is my fave book so far in the series, and maybe fave book i have read in ages!! I laughed, i cried and igot mad i love it when we get to go on the emotional rollar coaster!!!

I cant wait for the next one!!

OMG Re Read Was Aweosme!! I loved it even more!! i wanna re read it again!! Colt is my fave!!! This book is my Fave!!!

This series is so addictive that even after not liking Tied Up, Tied Down I still could not take a break. This is one of the best romantica examples of the friends to lovers trope because it was so darned believable as to why they hadn't acted on their feelings yet. They have only known each other 3 years, and she has been his AA sponsor. But now he's well established in his sobriety, and their feelings just can't be denied. The love scenes are off-the charts smokin' as usual, but the over-the-t More...

WOW, WOW and more WOW! As usual Ms. James has delivered yet another hot and delicious read. This will definitely be one of my favorites. We get very indepth looks at India and Colt's relationship which of course includes signature McKay hot steamy sex (I'll never look at caramel and whipped cream the same again) and their mutual and constant battle with their adddictions. Characters are different from other characters in the series and they both give the impression of being perceived as black sh More...

***SPOILERS****

This is beginning to be a trend for me, but; once again, I loved the male and hated the female. India was one quirky character. Not talking about the tats and piercings. I'm talking about her behavior. She zigged, then zagged - and then she paused, and zigged again. She was so all over the place I just completely failed to get a sense of her. I could even go as far as to say that I was not convinced she 100% was in love with Colt. Or, at least, not to the extent that he was in lov More...

Angeline's review posted 3/22/12 on Guilty Pleasures

Angeline’s Review:
When I first discovered Lorelei James Rough Rider series, I was in heaven. Cowboy heaven to be exact. I believe the Rough Rider series to be one of the most accurate accounts of life in ranching, rodeoing, and cowboying that I have ever read. Am I an expert? Close enough. I am blessed to live this in real life.

Colt and India are best friends, who truly understand each other but are both scared of making the move to something More...

3.5 stars

Colt has been in love with India for 3 years and considers her his best friend. He wants to take things further, but is uncertain that India feels the same way about him. India does feel the same way about Colt, but she's never noticed his interest in her. They decide to take things to the next step, but they have to learn to deal with issues from their past.

Branded as Trouble started out great; I absolutely love the tension between Colt and India. It was easy to see how much they cared More...

India has been Colt's AA sponsor and best friend for the past three years, but he feels more than friendship for her. It was interesting to watch their relationship turn into more than just two people trying to offer support to one another through their battle to stay sober.

Both India and Colt truly cared about one another even though they were not always open to admitting it to the other. It was as if they were concerned with scaring the other away. They did seem to have a lot of struggles with More...

I was really looking forward to seeing wild boy Colt settle down and find love with India and this book didn't disappoint.
What I liked about this book was the realistic romance between these two recovering addicts. One thing I hate about some books that involve addicts is the complete lack of research, they get it so wrong but this book hit the situation perfectly.
It showed how hard Colt was trying to pick up the pieces after getting sober and how his family were struggling with the changes.
More...

5+ stars – Contemporary/Western Romance/Erotica/BDSM

Lorelei James can do no wrong with the Rough Riders series. Seriously, every book gets big 5 stars and I think they can't possibly get any better. But then much to my heart's content, she proves me wrong. Branded As Trouble is another winner and the sweetest romance in the series so far. I loved everything about it: the great writing, the likable characters, the real life drama, the strong, emotional connection between the H/H, and especially t More...

I liked this book. I enjoyed how Colt and India's relationship evolved from friends to lovers. We haven't experienced any of the previous couples in the series dating and just being a couple outside of the sex so it was refreshing to have that with Colt and India. I also liked that we saw the McKay family wasn't without fault. It was terrible how they treated Colt and I loved Cam for standing up for Colt. I was glad when Colt's family came around to apologizing to Colt. I truly enjoyed this book More...

For significant time the measure of whether a book is something I really enjoy is if it sends me to an extreme of emotion at some stage. If I laugh out loud or catch myself crying, it's a good book.

This book is the sixth in a series however I found no difficulty at all in not having read the previous installments (not that I don't intend to backfill when I can). Colt and Indy both have backgrounds which led them to AA (where they initially came to know each other) but this isn't a story where t More...

Lorelei James is blazing hot with another great emotional read!

Colt McKay is by far one of my most favorite among the McKay men and its probably due to the fact that is falls under the tortured hero category for me. From the very begining I witnessed Colt's history of violence, alcohol abuse and family segregation that poor Colt just continued to spiral down the proverbial toilet until he hit rock bottom and realized that he needed to get help or else life was going to be very dismal.

While bei More...

I'll go against the flood of 5 star reviews and say I was pretty disappointed with Branded as Trouble.

I thought it started out with great promise: intense sexual tension, a tried and true premise, interesting characters, and a crazy family.

However, I think it all kind of went downhill about 1/4 of the way in. It seemed like Colt went from this macho, alpha cowboy to a waxing poet. The character development seemed to fall apart, intense monologues appeared seemingly out of nowhere for no real rea More...

Sixth in the Rough Riders erotic romance series revolving around the extended McKay family of Wyoming ranchers. The couple focus is on Colt McKay and India Ellison.


My Take
it started out fun and kept going. Well, except for a few little hiccups along the way. If James is going to make an issue of India's esteem issues, then do it. Instead, she treats it in a very low-key manner and ya barely notice it.

Hah! Seems Colt had the last laugh on his family...good on him. Especially when you keep reading More...

When I started this book my very first thought was "OUCH!"
I originally read about India and Colt in Tied Up Tied Down, and I wanted to learn more about them so I picked up Branded as Trouble which is their story. It starts with India shooting Colt in the butt with a nail gun, hence the ouch. It drew me in wondering how this would effect things between them and Ms James used the situation to her advantage showing us the sexual tension riding between the two main characters. I enjoyed the story an More...

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Colt and India's story...... She's been his AA counselor, his best friend, his confident......but he's fallen in love with her. What Colt doesn't know is that Indie has feelings for him too. When a simple evening turns a bit physical, all bets are off. They decide to date without sex for two (long) weeks. When that time is up- WOWSA. Their chemistry is great. I loved their long term, gradual progression from AA support person, to friend, to lover. Some of their issues and fights got on my n More...

I must say that this book was probably the best in the bunch so far for me.

I liked reading about Colt and how he's doing now years after his recovery from alcohol, etc.

His friendship with India, which had always been more for him than it was for her, developed in
such a great way. It didn't feel forced or rushed. I mean, damn, ya think 3 years and a couple months is a long enough time to love someone from afar? That answer would be: HELLS YES.

I thought India was a cool, bad-ass, but admirable fem More...

Started off a little slow, and was slow in other parts. Though I did enjoy India and Colt’s story. Very cute, and passionate. When it comes to the McKay family things are very complicated. Women must be accepted by the entire family before they can be happy with the men of their dreams. I guess it would go the same for men coming into the family. That’s one of the things I loved/hated about this book. The family was so blind to what was going on that it took the right woman to get them to open t More...

I finished this yesterday but was too tired to write a review. It's also a good thing because I was able to compose my thoughts. Ms James did it again, I wasn't expecting anything from Colt and India's love story but the author threw me in for a loop!

After reading the first few paragraphs, I was glued to this novel. We see a different side of Colt, the sobered up one, the one who redefined himself to be a better person, and India, the woman who helped him and believed in him.

I wasn't really fond More...

A beer bottle flew and crashed into the side of the barn, shattering the illusion of stillness.

All eyes zoomed to Cam.

“I’m so sick and tired of the ‘holier than thou’ attitude in this family. So Colt screwed up. Every one of us has screwed up at one time or another. How long are you gonna make him pay for it? Jesus, he hit the skids over four years ago. He’s been on the straight and narrow for the last three. During which time, he’s been busting his ass on this ranch, despite having to listen More...

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I feel like my reviews for the Rough Riders series are getting a little repetitive. Although each novel in this series is unique its own way, each novel has been fabulously written, highly entertaining, smokin’ hot, and extremely enjoyable. I’ve been reading through this series at a lightning-fast pace because I cannot get enough of the McKay family. So far I’ve read 6 out of the 12 novels that have already been published in this s More...

I LOVE Colt and was dying to read his story-- and it -- his story, his motivations, where he's coming from-- is some of the best character development of the series.

HOWEVER there was TOO MUCH SEX (I know, it's erotica, but I got worn out!)-- didn't necessarily further the plot, or, after a certain point, support/illustrate/provide any character insight/development.

I didn't think India's character was very well developed.

In general, I'm not sure I really bought the romance, and mostly because o More...

One of my top three favorites so far in the Rough Riders series, Branded as Trouble is a deeper, darker, more meaningful read as compared to some of the others because both the hero and heroine are recovering addicts. They're also best friends, and the friends-to-lovers theme is such a powerful one and so well done here.

Colt has always been one of my favorite McKay brothers because he was so extreme, the ultimate bad boy, and a lot of credit goes to the author here for not watering that down an More...