Scan barcode
A review by balletbookworm
Harbor by Rebekah Weatherspoon
5.0
FEEEEEELINGS. (Brief content warning that the pre-chapter 1/off-page backstory contains cheating by romantic partners and death of romantic partners; there is also homophobia/kink-shaming on the page/related by characters' family members.)
The Beards & Bondage series concludes with an expertly-written poly/menage BDSM romance between three people brought together by the violent deaths of their romantic partners. Vaughn and Shaw lost their partner Corrine and Brooklyn lost her fiance Josh when Corrine and Josh were murdered by Corrine's stalker - while they were together romantically. Their affair was revealed during the police investigation. Vaughn, Shaw, and Brook feel an immediate connection, but Brook chooses to walk away for the time being. Over a year later, she contacts the two men, deciding that perhaps she would like to explore their connection and see if there is more in the relationship than just bonding over shared trauma.
Each book in this series turns on the trauma-bonding between the main characters but I really feel like Rebekah excelled in this book in giving each character time to explore his or her own grief and trauma and wants and needs as the relationship progressed. This novel also takes place over a considerable time period, which really let the characters feel their emotions (and for the reader to feel them, too). The BDSM scenes, while certainly explicit, are exquisitely written. Rebekah could give a masterclass in how to make a scene hotter than hot but without using awkward euphemisms. Poly romances in general are hard to me to get into because it feels like - in my head - there are too many people and emotions to keep track of. I did not have a problem in Harbor - each character's motivation and needs are very clear and they all worked together toward a beautifully satisfying emotional outcome.
The Beards & Bondage series concludes with an expertly-written poly/menage BDSM romance between three people brought together by the violent deaths of their romantic partners. Vaughn and Shaw lost their partner Corrine and Brooklyn lost her fiance Josh when Corrine and Josh were murdered by Corrine's stalker - while they were together romantically. Their affair was revealed during the police investigation. Vaughn, Shaw, and Brook feel an immediate connection, but Brook chooses to walk away for the time being. Over a year later, she contacts the two men, deciding that perhaps she would like to explore their connection and see if there is more in the relationship than just bonding over shared trauma.
Each book in this series turns on the trauma-bonding between the main characters but I really feel like Rebekah excelled in this book in giving each character time to explore his or her own grief and trauma and wants and needs as the relationship progressed. This novel also takes place over a considerable time period, which really let the characters feel their emotions (and for the reader to feel them, too). The BDSM scenes, while certainly explicit, are exquisitely written. Rebekah could give a masterclass in how to make a scene hotter than hot but without using awkward euphemisms. Poly romances in general are hard to me to get into because it feels like - in my head - there are too many people and emotions to keep track of. I did not have a problem in Harbor - each character's motivation and needs are very clear and they all worked together toward a beautifully satisfying emotional outcome.