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nicki_theoverflowingbookcase's review
5.0
With something missing from their marriage, Will and Aaron feel adding a third to the relationship will give Aaron the pain he desires and Will the chance to watch his submissive husband enjoyment fulfilled. But what neither of them ever thought of was that when they opened their marriage and added Kelly it would also open their hearts but also their fears of not being enough. Can they all come together and fix what is broken? Or are they adding more cracks in their already shaky foundation? Once again L.A. Witt takes the reader on an emotional journey of epic proportions. Between the adorably irresistible characters, the baggage that keeps them from moving forward and the duo then triad dynamics this book could not have been written any better. 5 Stars are not enough and this would be a book that I would love to see re-opened for another look a few years down the road.
bookish_notes's review
3.0
I admit I was extremely intimidated by this book, considering it’s 140k words and not being all that familiar with the author’s solo works. I actually read this pretty quickly because it definitely kept me interested enough to keep reading. There’s also 3 POVs, so it only makes sense that this book is so long. I should preface that I’m reading this Bold Brew series completely out of order and read book 9, Cinnamon Roll by Anna Zabo, FIRST and I wanted to know more about Aaron, Will, and Kelly, so here we are.
Trigger warnings include unresolved grief over an estranged parent dying, a parent dying pretty tragically before the book starts, constant rejection and put downs by family members, and fatphobia.
So, this book is about three guys. We have the married couple of 20 years, Will and Aaron. Although it should be noted that they’ve only been together 20 years, and not married quite as long. Will is a Dom and 41-years-old. He’s a part-time art professor at Laureslburg University, and does all sorts of art (like animation and logos) for a living. He has ADHD. Aaron is a submissive and is 46-years-old and owns a small law firm with Tom (who gets his own book in Cinnamon Roll). Aaron is a defense attorney and while the small town of Laureslburg doesn’t have any high profile type cases like he had back in Chicago, it can still be stressful. Then there’s Kelly, 32-years-old and winds up moving back to Laureslburg when his dad dies and leaves him the family home and an inheritance. An interesting thing to see in this book is that Kelly doesn’t like anal at all (giving or receiving).
I know I’m reading an arc and all, but what was weird to me is that this book didn’t come with trigger warnings as all. This book HEAVILY deals with Kelly’s unresolved issues with his dad and the grief from his dad’s death and knowing they’ll never be able to talk things out in the future. It’s incredibly heavy stuff and the blurb implying this is “fluffy” in any way is a lie. This permeates a lot of Kelly’s story and angst over the house he’s been willed, so if any reader comes into this book thinking they’re just getting a kinky, sexy book with minimal angst needs to take some TWs into consideration first.
*****SLIGHT SPOILERS, INCLUDING FOR CINNAMON ROLL*****
I did search who the MCs were in the book directly BEFORE this one and seems like they’re not mentioned in this book at all. So, that’s super weird. I don’t think any of the previous characters in the other books are even mentioned in this one, so if you wanted to read these books like any other romance series and see some familiar characters, you’re definitely going to be disappointed.
On the polyam front, it’s almost disappointing how...against it this book is? I mean, I kind of get it? Will and Aaron have been together for YEARS. But this book definitely made me question whether this book WAS a polyam endgame because everyone seemed so...not open to the suggestion at all, to the point it sounded aggressively trying to hammer the point home this wasn’t going to be polyam. Add to this, the reason for the third act breakup, and it just doesn’t sit well with me at all.
There IS a third act breakup in this book that isn’t surprising to me, but I was surprised at just how late it comes into the book. The reasons for the breakup are totally unnecessary, I think. It just seems ridiculous when they’re all already on the same page but refuse to speak about any of it to one another. Especially since at the beginning of the book everyone was almost textbook at how they talked about needing to be in communication with one another and to respect each other’s decisions. I know emotions aren’t rational, and that could be just what it boils down to, but the breakup just felt shoved in when it didn’t need to be for extra angst. Especially since it happened during a scene when someone safe worded out and despite reassurances that safe wording out of a scene is no big deal, everything kind of went off the rails and it was never addressed again how it was wrong for the two others to ignore the guy who said his safe word.
AND SPEAKING OF SAFE WORDS. This book felt very weird about them? The safe words are the words “red” AND “yellow”. But it’s never said that they’re not the usual traffic light safe wording principles (like red means to stop the scene entirely and yellow means to slow down). I think in this book BOTH come to mean stopping the scene but whether they stop the scene and stay in the same room or move out of it is the differentiating factors between the two words? It’s never explained whether there ARE any nuances and I don’t know how Will and Aaron would ever expect Kelly to know. He just does, but we, as the reader, do not. It doesn’t help that Kelly is the youngest of the trio and although he’s not young, he is kind of new in town since he hasn’t been back as a grown up, and knows NOBODY else in town. He’s pretty isolated, although it’s not really Will or Aaron’s fault, it does leave him pretty alone after the breakup and that felt really icky.
One of most baffling thing to me in this story is that the men mention getting a polyam friendly counselor and going to Tom for recs. Which technically makes sense because he’s a divorce lawyer and would know queer friendly relationship counselors. HOWEVER. It’s mentioned before that the owners of Bold Brew are a polyam triad so WHY NOT ASK FOR THEIR ADVICE TOO??? It’s baffling to me that there’s a whole trio who owns the place this whole book series is set in and 1) doesn’t even have their own book and 2) doesn’t even show up in the books aside from a mention or two. Like, every romance book series whether it’s set in a kink club, a bar, whatever that kicks off a series usually starts with an intro to the characters that creates the place the world will be set in? And it’s just baffling how that’s not the case here and we never even SEE them. Especially in a book that’s ABOUT a polyam relationship. They’re a polyam triad who created a coffee shop in the small town of Laureslburg that doubles as a place for kink demonstrations. Tell me more about THEM. Or at least have them show up in everyone’s books in the series.
*****END OF SPOILERS*****
I question if any characters in these books takes place at the kinky play place called Mansion House because so far, both this book and the next book only mention it in passing as places the characters have definitely been to but don’t show any of them actually going into the place. Why mention it at all if we never see it?
The kink was fun in this book and even though Kelly is brought in to do more intense pain play, this book (almost disappointingly) doesn’t have much of that at all. I totally get wanting to work up to it with a new partner you’re adding to your relationship, but story-wise it’s definitely just meh for me on that front since that was THE WHOLE POINT of Will and Aaron searching for a sadist and submissive in the first place. I think the book actually fairs more on the lighter side of kink than I was expecting. Especially after reading a more intense pain play type book like Cinnamon Roll that has a Dom sadist and a submissive masochist. Something I would like to add here is that while I know 46-years-old doesn’t make someone ancient or one step away from the grave, I do worry about Aaron’s knees and how much he kneels. At what point does age factor into submission and kneeling for a Dom? I could feel pain in my knees every time he knelt and I just had my 30th birthday. But maybe this just plays into Aaron’s masochistic side. I don’t know.
And okay, I want to talk about this house. This house isn’t small by any means. It’s MASSIVE. I don’t think the book actually details this well enough for someone to picture how absurd it is for just Kelly to live in this house alone. I mean, the book hints at how lonely he feels and the ghost of his dad’s disappointment and all that, but this house is apparently SEVEN THOUSAND SQUARE FEET. We’re talking a pretty significant size house here and the fact that it only has FOUR BEDROOMS? Okay, it’s actually totally possible to have a 7000 sq. ft. house with only 4 bedrooms, but I want all the details!!! This book unfortunately does not provide any significant details about the house and what exactly makes up this ridiculous square footage? It mentions a big living room with a huge wall. But...that’s pretty much it. Does this house have a massive master bedroom and en-suite, an inside pool, an obnoxious walk-in closet, a ridiculous sized dining room??? WE WILL NEVER KNOW. The fact that Will and Aaron don’t even remark on the size of this house at all when they obviously live on the other side of town and it doesn’t seem like they live in as big a house as this one? I am....disappointed. I want to know more about this house.
This book is easy enough to read, and a surprisingly quick one when you consider how long this book is. The 3 POVs actually do sound too familiar to differentiate mid-chapter, but relies heavily on context for readers to tell the characters apart. That said, I do like Will, Aaron, and Kelly. If I could cut out the third act breakup here, I would. It just seemed so unnecessary by that point. I wish there was way more integration of the other books and characters in this series between authors, but if you’re just planning on reading this book and Anna Zabo’s, it’s fine. Just don’t really expect anyone else to show up. Overall, this book is fine and I thought it was interesting to read about a submissive sadist as a character in a book and his scenes mixed with the other two characters who have been in a relationship for awhile.
***Thanks to Annabeth Albert’s arc group for giving me an ARC to read and review!***
Trigger warnings include unresolved grief over an estranged parent dying, a parent dying pretty tragically before the book starts, constant rejection and put downs by family members, and fatphobia.
So, this book is about three guys. We have the married couple of 20 years, Will and Aaron. Although it should be noted that they’ve only been together 20 years, and not married quite as long. Will is a Dom and 41-years-old. He’s a part-time art professor at Laureslburg University, and does all sorts of art (like animation and logos) for a living. He has ADHD. Aaron is a submissive and is 46-years-old and owns a small law firm with Tom (who gets his own book in Cinnamon Roll). Aaron is a defense attorney and while the small town of Laureslburg doesn’t have any high profile type cases like he had back in Chicago, it can still be stressful. Then there’s Kelly, 32-years-old and winds up moving back to Laureslburg when his dad dies and leaves him the family home and an inheritance. An interesting thing to see in this book is that Kelly doesn’t like anal at all (giving or receiving).
I know I’m reading an arc and all, but what was weird to me is that this book didn’t come with trigger warnings as all. This book HEAVILY deals with Kelly’s unresolved issues with his dad and the grief from his dad’s death and knowing they’ll never be able to talk things out in the future. It’s incredibly heavy stuff and the blurb implying this is “fluffy” in any way is a lie. This permeates a lot of Kelly’s story and angst over the house he’s been willed, so if any reader comes into this book thinking they’re just getting a kinky, sexy book with minimal angst needs to take some TWs into consideration first.
*****SLIGHT SPOILERS, INCLUDING FOR CINNAMON ROLL*****
Spoiler
I think continuity-wise, this works okay back-to-back with the next book. There are weird continuity instances within this book itself where things are mentioned one place and changed later in the book? But series-wise, looking back now, I think I would’ve liked more Will and Kelly in the next book. We see Aaron a lot simply because he’s Tom’s law partner, but the others? Not so much. Also, it’s incredibly weird how Kelly doesn’t even show up in the epilogue with Will and Aaron in Cinnamon Roll? Also, there was an offhand comment in this book but it mentions that Will and Aaron have played with Tom before as a threesome? There was no mention at all about that in Cinnamon Roll as best I can remember. On a whole though, I think the two books connect the best compared to say, other books in this series. It looks like this book answers my question whether the law firm is a 3 person firm or 4. Brook? Don’t know him apparently. He’s not mentioned in this book at all. There’s only Aaron, Tom, and Kip (the paralegal). I wonder if Brook was in an earlier version between the authors and later got written out.I did search who the MCs were in the book directly BEFORE this one and seems like they’re not mentioned in this book at all. So, that’s super weird. I don’t think any of the previous characters in the other books are even mentioned in this one, so if you wanted to read these books like any other romance series and see some familiar characters, you’re definitely going to be disappointed.
On the polyam front, it’s almost disappointing how...against it this book is? I mean, I kind of get it? Will and Aaron have been together for YEARS. But this book definitely made me question whether this book WAS a polyam endgame because everyone seemed so...not open to the suggestion at all, to the point it sounded aggressively trying to hammer the point home this wasn’t going to be polyam. Add to this, the reason for the third act breakup, and it just doesn’t sit well with me at all.
There IS a third act breakup in this book that isn’t surprising to me, but I was surprised at just how late it comes into the book. The reasons for the breakup are totally unnecessary, I think. It just seems ridiculous when they’re all already on the same page but refuse to speak about any of it to one another. Especially since at the beginning of the book everyone was almost textbook at how they talked about needing to be in communication with one another and to respect each other’s decisions. I know emotions aren’t rational, and that could be just what it boils down to, but the breakup just felt shoved in when it didn’t need to be for extra angst. Especially since it happened during a scene when someone safe worded out and despite reassurances that safe wording out of a scene is no big deal, everything kind of went off the rails and it was never addressed again how it was wrong for the two others to ignore the guy who said his safe word.
AND SPEAKING OF SAFE WORDS. This book felt very weird about them? The safe words are the words “red” AND “yellow”. But it’s never said that they’re not the usual traffic light safe wording principles (like red means to stop the scene entirely and yellow means to slow down). I think in this book BOTH come to mean stopping the scene but whether they stop the scene and stay in the same room or move out of it is the differentiating factors between the two words? It’s never explained whether there ARE any nuances and I don’t know how Will and Aaron would ever expect Kelly to know. He just does, but we, as the reader, do not. It doesn’t help that Kelly is the youngest of the trio and although he’s not young, he is kind of new in town since he hasn’t been back as a grown up, and knows NOBODY else in town. He’s pretty isolated, although it’s not really Will or Aaron’s fault, it does leave him pretty alone after the breakup and that felt really icky.
One of most baffling thing to me in this story is that the men mention getting a polyam friendly counselor and going to Tom for recs. Which technically makes sense because he’s a divorce lawyer and would know queer friendly relationship counselors. HOWEVER. It’s mentioned before that the owners of Bold Brew are a polyam triad so WHY NOT ASK FOR THEIR ADVICE TOO??? It’s baffling to me that there’s a whole trio who owns the place this whole book series is set in and 1) doesn’t even have their own book and 2) doesn’t even show up in the books aside from a mention or two. Like, every romance book series whether it’s set in a kink club, a bar, whatever that kicks off a series usually starts with an intro to the characters that creates the place the world will be set in? And it’s just baffling how that’s not the case here and we never even SEE them. Especially in a book that’s ABOUT a polyam relationship. They’re a polyam triad who created a coffee shop in the small town of Laureslburg that doubles as a place for kink demonstrations. Tell me more about THEM. Or at least have them show up in everyone’s books in the series.
*****END OF SPOILERS*****
I question if any characters in these books takes place at the kinky play place called Mansion House because so far, both this book and the next book only mention it in passing as places the characters have definitely been to but don’t show any of them actually going into the place. Why mention it at all if we never see it?
The kink was fun in this book and even though Kelly is brought in to do more intense pain play, this book (almost disappointingly) doesn’t have much of that at all. I totally get wanting to work up to it with a new partner you’re adding to your relationship, but story-wise it’s definitely just meh for me on that front since that was THE WHOLE POINT of Will and Aaron searching for a sadist and submissive in the first place. I think the book actually fairs more on the lighter side of kink than I was expecting. Especially after reading a more intense pain play type book like Cinnamon Roll that has a Dom sadist and a submissive masochist. Something I would like to add here is that while I know 46-years-old doesn’t make someone ancient or one step away from the grave, I do worry about Aaron’s knees and how much he kneels. At what point does age factor into submission and kneeling for a Dom? I could feel pain in my knees every time he knelt and I just had my 30th birthday. But maybe this just plays into Aaron’s masochistic side. I don’t know.
And okay, I want to talk about this house. This house isn’t small by any means. It’s MASSIVE. I don’t think the book actually details this well enough for someone to picture how absurd it is for just Kelly to live in this house alone. I mean, the book hints at how lonely he feels and the ghost of his dad’s disappointment and all that, but this house is apparently SEVEN THOUSAND SQUARE FEET. We’re talking a pretty significant size house here and the fact that it only has FOUR BEDROOMS? Okay, it’s actually totally possible to have a 7000 sq. ft. house with only 4 bedrooms, but I want all the details!!! This book unfortunately does not provide any significant details about the house and what exactly makes up this ridiculous square footage? It mentions a big living room with a huge wall. But...that’s pretty much it. Does this house have a massive master bedroom and en-suite, an inside pool, an obnoxious walk-in closet, a ridiculous sized dining room??? WE WILL NEVER KNOW. The fact that Will and Aaron don’t even remark on the size of this house at all when they obviously live on the other side of town and it doesn’t seem like they live in as big a house as this one? I am....disappointed. I want to know more about this house.
This book is easy enough to read, and a surprisingly quick one when you consider how long this book is. The 3 POVs actually do sound too familiar to differentiate mid-chapter, but relies heavily on context for readers to tell the characters apart. That said, I do like Will, Aaron, and Kelly. If I could cut out the third act breakup here, I would. It just seemed so unnecessary by that point. I wish there was way more integration of the other books and characters in this series between authors, but if you’re just planning on reading this book and Anna Zabo’s, it’s fine. Just don’t really expect anyone else to show up. Overall, this book is fine and I thought it was interesting to read about a submissive sadist as a character in a book and his scenes mixed with the other two characters who have been in a relationship for awhile.
***Thanks to Annabeth Albert’s arc group for giving me an ARC to read and review!***
bookish_infusion's review against another edition
5.0
5 ⭐
*Re-read another time only one month later and feel exactly the same*
This was perfect
*Re-read another time only one month later and feel exactly the same*
This was perfect
papercranestitches's review against another edition
4.0
The sex scenes were hot AF, and the story felt fresh (like so few do these days), but knowing how against a polyamorous relationship Aaron and Will were, I read the whole book while experiencing this low level dread for Kelly the entire time. And, even when the guys changed their minds (like we knew they would), I just didn't full trust it.
Oh! I also learned that there was a name for something I have experienced my whole life (executive dysfunction) and that felt pretty powerful. So thanks to Witt for validating that part of me that so many people don't understand and others outright scoff at. <3
Oh! I also learned that there was a name for something I have experienced my whole life (executive dysfunction) and that felt pretty powerful. So thanks to Witt for validating that part of me that so many people don't understand and others outright scoff at. <3
harperrobsonauthor's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favorites. A fair amount of kink, low angst.
knifekun's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
creativelifeofliz's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I felt like all the characters were well-developed, even if the conflict was a bit frustrating.
xanthe87's review against another edition
5.0
*4.5*
Extra Whip is the eight book in the Bold Brew series and the only one with an MMM relationship.
We start with Will and Aaron who have been together for twenty years and are completely perfect for each other. At least until recently, when they discovered that Aaron needs more pain that Will is capable of giving. One of the only solutions that they can come up with is to find a third to play with, which is where Kelly comes in as a perfect match for them both as a submissive sadist.
All three men connect on all levels, not just physically so it comes as no surprise when lines get blurred for them. Will and Aaron already have a wonderful relationship, knowing each other so well on all levels. It's helped them both to get to where they are today in their careers and the life they share together.
It's really interesting to read a character that joins an established couple and how Kelly deals with the interloper feelings, someone there to just patch things up but he has his own things going on with the recent death of his father. The support of Will and Aaron and their friendship come to mean more to him in the short time they spend together and help him get through some hard times which adds to his confusion.
The kink side of things, whilst you would think it's a bit hardcore with pain being what is needed, that's not the main thing that I took away from this story. It's the bond that they create between the three men, as three separate duos and as a triad, and the trust that they take the time to nurture before taking each step together as what the aim is is definitely not for the faint hearted. L.A. Witt has written the relationship and the kink side beautifully as emotions come into their play and develop more than anyone was expecting. I love that they are clear on expectations, limits, safe words etc, quickly showing each other but especially from Will and Aaron to Kelly, that all of heir comfort, safety and happiness is important.
This really was a great read and I would happily recommend it as a stand alone story as well as part of the Bold Brew series. This is the longest from the series but worth the time.
I received an ARC and am happily giving a review.
Extra Whip is the eight book in the Bold Brew series and the only one with an MMM relationship.
We start with Will and Aaron who have been together for twenty years and are completely perfect for each other. At least until recently, when they discovered that Aaron needs more pain that Will is capable of giving. One of the only solutions that they can come up with is to find a third to play with, which is where Kelly comes in as a perfect match for them both as a submissive sadist.
All three men connect on all levels, not just physically so it comes as no surprise when lines get blurred for them. Will and Aaron already have a wonderful relationship, knowing each other so well on all levels. It's helped them both to get to where they are today in their careers and the life they share together.
It's really interesting to read a character that joins an established couple and how Kelly deals with the interloper feelings, someone there to just patch things up but he has his own things going on with the recent death of his father. The support of Will and Aaron and their friendship come to mean more to him in the short time they spend together and help him get through some hard times which adds to his confusion.
The kink side of things, whilst you would think it's a bit hardcore with pain being what is needed, that's not the main thing that I took away from this story. It's the bond that they create between the three men, as three separate duos and as a triad, and the trust that they take the time to nurture before taking each step together as what the aim is is definitely not for the faint hearted. L.A. Witt has written the relationship and the kink side beautifully as emotions come into their play and develop more than anyone was expecting. I love that they are clear on expectations, limits, safe words etc, quickly showing each other but especially from Will and Aaron to Kelly, that all of heir comfort, safety and happiness is important.
This really was a great read and I would happily recommend it as a stand alone story as well as part of the Bold Brew series. This is the longest from the series but worth the time.
I received an ARC and am happily giving a review.
cleo_reads's review
4.0
Really enjoyed this compelling poly m/m/m romance, despite a few author quirks.