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ravenwilds's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
unusablebooklore's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
21 year old boy dreams of being man handled and meets a 29 year old (who’s voice is English in my brain) to be the man to handle him. Sexy man handling happens, along with a whole lot of fun k!nks. I'm a little confused why does Hugh keep saying he’s old, and "in the middle" of his journey. He’s 30. Give me a GD break.
At 60% we meet the third member of this party, but the book continues with two very distinct relationships. But, they stat to overlap with time. Be warned there is a, holy wow, intense 3 person CNC scene.
In the end this all merges into a HFN situationship. I didn’t realise books 2-9 aren’t standalone. I liked it, and the next books are much shorter. I’m just not interested enough for 8 HFN books that seem to get increasingly filled with drama, sadness and eventually infidelity. 😬
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Rape
tinkcourtney's review against another edition
5.0
This author keeps throwing me for a loop. This book starts with a straight (?) boy (Will) who is ashamed of his fantasies spending time with a male Dom (Hugh), who is helping him experiment with submission and other aspects of BDSM. It’s not sexual . . . until it is.
Now, in your average romance, you could pretty much call it from that point. Oh, yeah, Dom will fall in love, straight boy will realize he’s maybe not entirely straight, and they’ll ride off into the sunset. Only . . . that’s not quite what happens.
If you’re a blurb reader, you know that the Dom gets a boyfriend (Truman). I am a possessive, jealous person on behalf of fictional characters. I was prepared to HATE the boyfriend when he finally showed up, on behalf of poor Will, who I was sure would be feeling angst-ridden and left out. But it is written so beautifully, and makes it CRYSTAL clear that Will is happy for them, and actually has a girl he’s started seeing. Yet, even though Hugh and Truman are starting to build a future together, they’re still finding a place for Will that meets needs for all three of them.
The dynamics of these three guys is just fascinating. I am really glad there are many more books to read in this series, because I want to delve deeper into their minds and see how all of this goes. From the synopses I read of the other books, there will be many twists and turns along the way. Normally, that’s something I avoid, but in this case, I’m entranced and can’t wait to dive in.
Now, in your average romance, you could pretty much call it from that point. Oh, yeah, Dom will fall in love, straight boy will realize he’s maybe not entirely straight, and they’ll ride off into the sunset. Only . . . that’s not quite what happens.
If you’re a blurb reader, you know that the Dom gets a boyfriend (Truman). I am a possessive, jealous person on behalf of fictional characters. I was prepared to HATE the boyfriend when he finally showed up, on behalf of poor Will, who I was sure would be feeling angst-ridden and left out. But it is written so beautifully, and makes it CRYSTAL clear that Will is happy for them, and actually has a girl he’s started seeing. Yet, even though Hugh and Truman are starting to build a future together, they’re still finding a place for Will that meets needs for all three of them.
The dynamics of these three guys is just fascinating. I am really glad there are many more books to read in this series, because I want to delve deeper into their minds and see how all of this goes. From the synopses I read of the other books, there will be many twists and turns along the way. Normally, that’s something I avoid, but in this case, I’m entranced and can’t wait to dive in.
mooswandern's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
emotionally 5 stars, more ~objectively (whatever that is) probably 3,5
leatherbee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
Wow. Not your typical romantic novel, but I am pretty sure there is an HEA in Will’s, Hugh’s, and Truman’s future.
teresab78's review against another edition
4.0
Sooo.... I had this book on my TBR for awhile. I recently had a challenge which had another person pick a book for me and they picked this one. I was reluctant to read it as I like my poly relationships to be everyone together and closed, not open, and no cheating. I knew from reading the synopsis for the rest of the series that that is not the case here so I was leery. In fact I was dreading reading this book and almost asked for a the person who recommended it to pick a different book.
While I won't be continuing the series due to the issues above, I did enjoy this. The characters were genuine, the relationships interesting, and I could feel the emotions portrayed. I could see these three together easily. Well, the relationship wouldn't be easy - it would be complicated - but they'd fit. The sex was hot and not repetitious and had some really sweet moments.
If my issues are not your issues, I recommend giving this book and this series a try.
While I won't be continuing the series due to the issues above, I did enjoy this. The characters were genuine, the relationships interesting, and I could feel the emotions portrayed. I could see these three together easily. Well, the relationship wouldn't be easy - it would be complicated - but they'd fit. The sex was hot and not repetitious and had some really sweet moments.
If my issues are not your issues, I recommend giving this book and this series a try.
kristinab1985's review
Very repetitive and found out they don't even end up together
blandrea_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I totally get it now.
It has taken me a few tries through Kris Ripper books to hear zir voice. Very hot, sometimes almost unbearably intimate, I loved watching the tangle and untangle and intertwining of Hugh, Truman and Will.
This was a re-read, and I'm very glad I revisited.
It has taken me a few tries through Kris Ripper books to hear zir voice. Very hot, sometimes almost unbearably intimate, I loved watching the tangle and untangle and intertwining of Hugh, Truman and Will.
This was a re-read, and I'm very glad I revisited.
bookish_notes's review against another edition
4.0
I will say that I enjoyed this book. It wasn't quite what I expected, but for what it was trying to do, I think the story accomplished that? Based on the blurb, I thought this was going to be a M/M/M and it was. In a way. This isn't a story that ends with all three characters necessarily having a HEA together. So, we have Will Derrie. He lives with his twin brother, Adam, and his brother drags him to meet a female Dom and her friend. Will believes he's firmly attracted to women, but sex with his past girlfriends has always been missing...something. His fantasies always involve submitting to a Dom and everything chances for Will when he meets Hugh Reynolds.
Hugh can give Will what he longs for, and without their arrangement involving sex. Will is incredibly insecure and Hugh helps Will to kind of come out of his shell and really ask for what he wants. I do love the Will and Hugh dynamic and how Will grows as a character because of his interaction with Hugh. Will comes to banter with Hugh and gains confidence around him.
Then, there's Truman. I do like Truman, but...it almost feels like he comes into the story too late? We don't meet Truman until the 60% mark and by then it's an almost insta-love situation between Hugh and Truman. We don't really get to see a growing bond between Hugh and Truman at all, besides just being told from Hugh's perspective that they're perfect for each other. We do eventually get Truman's POV chapters, and that helps a little, but it just felt really rushed compared to the extensive time we got between Will and Hugh at the beginning.
The story winds up being Hugh and Truman, with Will eventually becoming a weekend boyfriend of sorts for Hugh (even though Truman does join in his own way). I feel like that's fine, but it would have been nice to have been told that upfront in the blurb?
At this point, I'm probably not going to continue with this series. For one, it's a lot of books, and I feel like the story is just okay. My main issue is that the story is too contained? And what I mean by that is that the story doesn't really take place in the outside world. There's hardly any interaction with the character's day jobs, or anything outside Hugh's house. The characters do occasionally go to a restaurant or a club, or it's mentioned that Will goes home, but that outside world situation is essentially nonexistent. It's always just mentioned in passing and I'm not a fan.
This book is solely focused on the character's relationships, and it does that really well. It's very positive when it comes to BDSM and consent and poly relationships. It seems like those aspects of the book are handled well. And I do like Will, Hugh, and Truman. But this book is long and missing things that I enjoy with books (which is no fault of the author, this is just my personal preference). I miss stories with characters that have a life outside their relationship and seeing how that affects the characters and we don't really see that here, unfortunately.
For what the book set out to do - explore the relationship between Will, Hugh, and Truman - I think the story does convey that well enough. There's a lot of positives about how the relationships are presented that do work and are presented in a positive light, which is why I'm bumping up my rating to a four rather than a three. As a personal preference, this book was good, but I wanted more.
Hugh can give Will what he longs for, and without their arrangement involving sex. Will is incredibly insecure and Hugh helps Will to kind of come out of his shell and really ask for what he wants. I do love the Will and Hugh dynamic and how Will grows as a character because of his interaction with Hugh. Will comes to banter with Hugh and gains confidence around him.
Then, there's Truman. I do like Truman, but...it almost feels like he comes into the story too late? We don't meet Truman until the 60% mark and by then it's an almost insta-love situation between Hugh and Truman. We don't really get to see a growing bond between Hugh and Truman at all, besides just being told from Hugh's perspective that they're perfect for each other. We do eventually get Truman's POV chapters, and that helps a little, but it just felt really rushed compared to the extensive time we got between Will and Hugh at the beginning.
The story winds up being Hugh and Truman, with Will eventually becoming a weekend boyfriend of sorts for Hugh (even though Truman does join in his own way). I feel like that's fine, but it would have been nice to have been told that upfront in the blurb?
At this point, I'm probably not going to continue with this series. For one, it's a lot of books, and I feel like the story is just okay. My main issue is that the story is too contained? And what I mean by that is that the story doesn't really take place in the outside world. There's hardly any interaction with the character's day jobs, or anything outside Hugh's house. The characters do occasionally go to a restaurant or a club, or it's mentioned that Will goes home, but that outside world situation is essentially nonexistent. It's always just mentioned in passing and I'm not a fan.
This book is solely focused on the character's relationships, and it does that really well. It's very positive when it comes to BDSM and consent and poly relationships. It seems like those aspects of the book are handled well. And I do like Will, Hugh, and Truman. But this book is long and missing things that I enjoy with books (which is no fault of the author, this is just my personal preference). I miss stories with characters that have a life outside their relationship and seeing how that affects the characters and we don't really see that here, unfortunately.
For what the book set out to do - explore the relationship between Will, Hugh, and Truman - I think the story does convey that well enough. There's a lot of positives about how the relationships are presented that do work and are presented in a positive light, which is why I'm bumping up my rating to a four rather than a three. As a personal preference, this book was good, but I wanted more.