A review by cala_p
Crux Untamed by Tillie Cole

5.0

I was not nearly excited for this one as I was with the others. Excited because it is a Hangman novel? Yes, definitely. Excited for this particular one? Kinda. Not really. I wished we got another brother’s book instead. Especially since the author takes a lot of time to make these books perfect (which we all appreciate), but the time between this one and her previous one was not as large as the gap between the previous one and its successor. So for another one to be written “shortly” after, I wished it was another couple, one I look forward to more. Like Tanner. Given his history, I think his will be interesting. Afternote: After reading I retract this part. I see why Tanner’s story needed to take place after Hush’s.

That being said, I was never one of those readers who saw it was a menage and refused to read it. Quite the opposite. I’ll read whatever Tillie puts out, but I was bummed that there is a menage book at all. Again, probably not for the same reasons that everyone else has. Love two people? Sure, I don’t care. But Tillie writes such beautiful romances and each couple just makes me tingle so damn much, I couldn’t imagine them with anyone else. So for her to make a book with a female and TWO males...Oh no. I don’t like menage books in general because my body gets confused, my heart always wants her to be with one person, and my head will always look to choose the better guy in the two and then secretly hope it’s only him and her, and not the other character. THAT was my “ugh” with this book--I just didn’t want a book with two male love interests because I would always want her to choose just one. And Tillie’s books being how they are, I honestly didn’t know how my soul would live through two males being chosen. So while menage books generally are not my thing, I had no doubt that I would read this one. (And highly suspected I would love it).

That being said, I was less than 10% in when I was just hooked. My damn school work prevented me from sitting and reading all day. I don’t know if it’s the story, the writing, or just being back in the Hangman world, but whatever it was, I was right there into it.

The character development in this novel is phenomenal. More so, just how the characters interact with each other--this may be her best novel yet for those interactions. Right off the bat I was so taken with Hush and Cowboy. At first, Hush seemed more interested in Sia, but he was quiet and reserved, while Cowboy was right up there flirting with her. But through all this, there was no jealousy by Hush. Well, a little because he believed he didn’t deserve her but wanted her. Besides that, nothing. This is only the beginning of what makes these two great. Sia is such a strong person. There’s so much of her brother in her and it’s great. She stands out from all the other females in the series thus far. She’s more outgoing and such than the others (for obvious reasons-the cult girls) and that is required for this book.

Which leads me into the menage aspect. Hush and Cowboy’s set-up is interesting, but just shows the connections and loyalty between these two. They’re never each with a woman alone. They’ll always do threesomes. We’ve seen this in other books, but this one gives more meaning as to why they do that only. What sets this book apart from other menage books is Cowboy and Hush’s relationship. Other books of the type involve three people--if there was already a previous connection between 2/3 or even 3/3 then it was not one like this. Although they are not gay, they are in a relationship on their own and Sia is the third person in this. It is not Sia’s story and they are seconds. No, they are the main and she is the third; the add-on in their already existing relationship. The connection they have is crucial for this book. The threesome’s are not even for the mutual pleasure for these two. Hush needs them; needs Cowboy with him, so Cowboy modified his sexual relations for his childhood friend. This is the connection I am talking about. This is why this menage book is different. More so, it wasn’t all sex, nor was it instant. Hush avoided her, Cowboy friended her, and Sia was attracted to both. But the attraction wasn’t what we would see in other menage books, or just books in general. She was attracted to them both equally, fell for them at the same time, and they her. Again, there was no debating to make it so she could date both of them--it was pretty much you get both or none, and Sia wouldn’t choose even so.

As a final note, after I finished the book, I sat book and looked at the entire book inside the series. This was the most appropriate group to have this story with. Basically, this menage book was set-up from book 1 when Cowboy and Hush were first introduced. They are a couple on their own, and putting them with someone like the cult girls would not have been realistic. Given their history, it took them a while to be with one man; I couldn’t imagine what being with two at once would do to them. It would send them on a mental overload. Plus, they’re deeply religious, and I’m sure this goes against the bible. But Sia is a regular woman. Born in the biker life, and ran away to have a normal life as a rancher. She’s a contemporary character and would be mentally and ethically stable enough to handle two men. Without Sia, Cowboy and Hush would have no love interest, and it would only be those two because they also wouldn’t break apart. Again, book 1 set their duo up too tightly,

I realize what I just said contradicts what I said at the beginning, and that is exactly what I was trying to do. I didn’t want to spend my whole review on the menage aspect, but considering the controversy that surrounded this book, I feel like I need to rationalize it to all reading this. Tillie Cole’s writing made this menage a super sweet and emotional novel. She made the menage thing work. I feel like after all this I should add a disclaimer: I do not judge. If this book matches your real lifestyle, good for you. I will hate the haters for you. Your life is your own. From a novel aspect I don’t like it, only because I feel like I need to choose one. I guess my “dislike” for menage is similar to my “dislike” for love triangles. I don’t hate them, I just don’t search for them in my book choices. But if I read one and it’s done well, then I will admit to enjoying it. I suppose menage books are the same thing and I didn’t realize it until now. But Tillie wrote a menage book that was beyond tasteful so I enjoyed it. It’s SO hard to explain to people how this book differs from others. I urge anyone debating to boycott this book to give it a try. Make it 15% in, and if you’re still not enjoying it, then drop it. But give it a shot to see that Tillie wrote this as well as the rest of the series. If it’s the sex scenes you hate, skip those. They are a mix of hot and sweet, but if they are a personal bother to you, then remove the bother.

So to go back to the actual novel itself and the story...WOW. When Sia was first brought in, we knew she had a history given how she was hidden by Ky, but I didn’t think she would be interesting. She has such a heartbreaking story for such light-hearted girl, proving how strong she really is. The flashbacks to her past were agonizing to read, knowing what was bound to occur next. The history we’re given of Hush and Cowboy too was so interesting. To know they came from backgrounds surrounding racism and hate, but from different sides of the tracks so to speak. I liked watching all three develop through their past, and how all their pasts seem to catch up with them. Hush’s emotionally, Cowboy through association, and Sia’s physically. That was a fantastic part of the book because we got to see the Hangmen in action again!

After book 4, with the cults gone, I wondered where this series would go. It started out very central around that, so I’m happy it’s gone in other places now. Everything mentioned with the Klan in the past books seemed just internal war stuff, so I am happy we’re being brought into that side. This novel was important to be that bridge between cult and Klan, given the pasts of Hush and Sia especially. We’re now wide open for Tanner’s book and given what we’ve learned about him in this book, I am super excited for that one. Especially since Tanner was never a major player, so it’ll be nice to have a down-low character brought to the light.

I didn’t meant to write this much, but given the amount of work the author put into this pure gold book, only to have a bunch of backlash on the subject, I feel like a review is the least I could do. I am pleased to see so many others say the same thing I am. Even those like I who didn’t want a menage book, who were more like meh about it, it still came out on top for them.