Title: Hush
Author: Tal Bauer
Genre: M/M Romance, romantic suspense
Release Date: July 12, 2017
Publisher:  Tal Bauer
Length: 462 pages

Description:

A federal judge running from the truth.
A U.S. marshal running from his past.
A trial that can plunge the world into war.

Federal Judge Tom Brewer is finally putting the pieces of his life back together. In the closet for twenty-five long years, he's climbing out slowly, and, with the hope of finding a special relationship with the stunning Mike Lucciano, U.S. Marshal assigned to his D.C. courthouse. He wants to be out and proud, but he can't erase his own past, and the lessons he learned long ago.

A devastating terrorist attack in the heart of Washington, D.C., and the capture and arrest of the terrorist leads to a trial that threatens to expose the dark underbelly of America's national security. The Russian president is gravely injured and fixated on revenge, while a gay Russian dissident is arrested and put on trial in Judge Tom Brewer's courtroom.

As Russia beats the drums of war and the United States struggles to contain the trial before it races out of control, secrets and lies, past and present, collide in his courtroom, before his bench. With the world's attention fixed on Tom, secrets from his past explode during the course of the trial, which place him at the very center of the case and make him the only man who can try to stop the world's slide into war.


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OUR REVIEW

When we heard that Tal Bauer had released Hush, we were excited, but also a little worried. How could Bauer possibly write another book as good as the ones in The Executive Office series?

Well, we shouldn't have worried. Bauer has done it again! Hush is once again set in D.C., but this time, we are plunged into the fascinating world of the Federal Court system where Federal Judge Tom Brewer meets sexy U.S. Marshal Mike Lucciano.

Tom has been in the closet since being given an ultimatum between being gay and going to law school. So, for twenty-five years, he's been celibate, but now that he's found Mike and now that times have changed, maybe it's his chance to come out, to be himself, and live the life he's always wanted to have.

"Living like I have, I don't recommend it."

Mike pulled back slowly, his hands on Tom's shoulders. He searched Tom's gaze, his expression unreadable. "Why now? Why are you doing this now?"

He squirmed. "I... fell for a guy," he breathed. "I fell for this guy, this amazing guy. I think he's worth it."

Mike looked like Tom had just kicked his puppy. "Tom..."

"It's okay, I don't expect anything. I know I'm not your type. But you are amazing, Mike. Just this. Just... telling you." He squeezed his eyes shut. Licked his lips. "Feeling your hands on me. It's worth it." His eyes fluttered open.

"You need to stop saying that," Mike grunted.

"Saying what?"

"That you're not my type." Mike swiped his thumb over Tom's cheek, brushing away the river of tears. "I met this guy, too. He's..." Mike sighed. "He's so brave. So, so brave."

With Mike at his side, Tom decides to take baby steps towards coming out. First with friends, and maybe later at work. But then there's an attack on the Russian president on the steps of the Capitol, and Tom's worst nightmare begins to unfold.

He couldn't think. Couldn't put two and two together. Could not string neurons into a coherent thought. Blind panic had replaced all higher order functions. Pure, unadulterated panic.

This was everything he'd feared. Exposure, media evisceration, millions of eyeballs poring over his life, his every movement, following him everywhere he went. Fears fell like drenching rain, and he tried to swim out of the rising tide before he drowned. Mike, the choices he'd started making, planning for his eventual coming out.

[...]

All of that, everything he'd planned, every careful step he'd agonized over, was going up in smoke. 

Page by page, Bauer weaves a web of plots, deals, and double-crossings that will blow your mind when it all comes to a head in a Bauer's usual spectacular way.

OUR RATING: 5 stars!

See our review of Enemies of the State (The Executive Office, Book 1) here.
See our review of Enemy Within (The Executive Office, Book 3) here.

ARC #REVIEW Enemy Within by Tal Bauer #mmromance #suspense #adventure

Title: Enemy Within (The Executive Office Book 3)
Author: Tal Bauer
Genre: M/M Romance, romantic suspense
Release Date: March 28, 2017
Publisher:  Tal Bauer
Length: 485 pages

Description:

The White House, infiltrated.
The president, running for his life.
A traitorous general, intent on burning the world to the ground.

When everything falls apart, who do you trust?

President Jack Spiers fled Washington DC on the heels of a devastating attack on CIA headquarters, masterminded by one of America’s own, former General Porter Madigan. While the world believes Jack was killed in the bombing, he embarks on a wild infiltration mission, smuggling himself into occupied Russia to rescue the love of his life: former Secret Service Agent and First Gentleman Ethan Reichenbach.

Reunited, Jack, Ethan, and deposed Russian president Sergey Puchkov, along with President Elizabeth Wall—the only person left in Washington DC who Jack trusts—must work together. They piece together a desperate plan, hunting Madigan to the ends of the earth and the bitter frigidity of the Arctic, where Madigan’s world-shattering doomsday plan comes together.

Outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and outgunned, Jack, Ethan, Sergey, and the rest of the team struggle to put a stop to Madigan and his army. In the desolate extremes of the Arctic, their resolve, their strength, and even their love is tested, pushed to the absolute limits as choices must be made: choices that pit the fate of the world against the love in their hearts, and the loves of their life.

As the world crumbles around them, Jack and Ethan find themselves waging a war on two fronts—against an enemy they can see, and another, hiding within their ranks.

Who can be trusted when the enemy is within you?


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OUR REVIEW

Enemy Within is another fabulous addition to The Executive Office series. Seriously, I can't get enough of these guys and of Tal Bauer's incredible writing. The characters are vivid, the dialogue is snappy, the action is riveting, and the romance is entrancing. Here's an example of the tension, pervasive in this final (?) battle to save the world from the villainous former General Porter Madigan.

One of Ethan's arms rested under the blankets and wrapped around Jack's chest, holding him tight.

His other hand gripped his pistol.

He'd kept hold of his weapon all night long. At the slightest noise, Ethan had it up in the darkness, ready to fire.

Another snap, and then the crunching of footsteps in the snow, coming up the side of the jeep.

Ethan's arm tightened around Jack, and his gloved finger hovered on the trigger. He held his pistol ready, pointed at the passenger window, and waited, not breathing. 

I loved every word of this book. The characters and actions are so well portrayed that the reader is there with them, through every skipped heartbeat and drip of sweat. There are three main angles in this novel: Jack and Ethan, Sergey and Sasha, and Adam and Faisal. Each of these couples continues to face completely different hurdles, yet equally unwinnable odds. They are all heroes, willing to lay down their lives to save their respective countries and the man they love.

Perfection rolled through Sergey, a wave crashing against his soul, followed by searing, roaring flame, enough to blind him and whiteout his vision. Everything clicked into place suddenly, as if he'd been trying to solve a Rubik's cube and could previously only see one side. His life came into focus with a snap, a clarity that stole his breath away.

[...]

He saw, in Sasha's eyes, his desire, his passion, and even, deep in his ice-blue gaze, his love, tangled and twisted around an aching, gnawing fear. "Sasha..." 

Congratulations to Tal on a truly epic series. I truly hope that we have not seen the last of these amazing men.

OUR RATING: 5 stars!

See our review of Enemies of the State (The Executive Office, Book 1) here.

#REVIEW Enemies of the State by Tal Bauer #gayromance #suspense #romhero

Title: Enemies of the State (The Executive Office Book 1)
Author: Tal Bauer
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: February 14, 2016
Publisher:  NineStar Press
Length: 336 pages

Description: A rogue Black Ops unit with the president in their crosshairs.

A Secret Service agent who will break every rule.

A president falling for the one person he shouldn’t—a man.

Newly elected President Jack Spiers’s presidency is rocked from the very beginning, and he’s working furiously to keep the world from falling apart. Between terrorism attacks ripping apart Europe, Russia’s constant posturing and aggression, and the quagmire of the Middle East, Jack is struggling to keep his campaign promise—to work toward a better, safer world.

For Special Agent Ethan Reichenbach, Jack is just another president, the third in twelve years. With Jack’s election, he’s been promoted, and now he’s running the presidential detail, which puts him side by side with Jack daily. He’s expecting another stuffed suit and an arrogant DC politician, but Jack shocks him with his humor and humanity.

There are rules against a Secret Service agent and one of their protectees developing a friendship—big rules. Besides, Jack is straight as a ruler, and a widower, and Ethan has always avoided falling for straight men. Ethan keeps his distance, but Jack draws him in, like gas to a naked flame, and it’s a lure he isn’t strong enough to turn away from.

As the two men collide, rules are shattered and the world teeters on the verge of war, and a rogue Black Ops unit bent on destruction sets Jack in their deadly crosshairs. Ethan must put everything on the line in order to save the man he’s come to love, Jack’s presidency, and the world.


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OUR REVIEW

Enemies of the State is without a doubt one of the best books I've read this year. It is captivating, intriguing, and ambitious. Bauer very dexterously takes on a delicate topic--a president involved in a gay relationship--as well as a plot by rogue operatives that could endanger the entire world. I love it from the first page to the last!

Ethan is the Secret Service Special Agent in charge of protecting the president. A very lonely president who wants a friend. Of course, Ethan knows he's not supposed to be develop personal relationships with his protectees. He's certainly not supposed to befriend one, or worse, fall for one. Ethan's struggle to remain impartial, to smother his growing attraction for the president is real and felt by the reader as though it were happening to us.

President Spiers smiled, big and broad. "I'd appreciate that, Ethan. You know, I do value your advice. You've seen my predecessors, and all of their foibles and faults. If you have advice for me, I'm always all ears."

That was not what he'd been expecting. Swallowing, Ethan tried to find his tongue. "I'm just your detail lead, sir."

"You're the kind of guy I'd be proud to call a friend."

And there it was, that invisible barrier the president had bemoaned, slamming down between them with all the force of a guillotine. Ethan felt the physical push of the barrier against him, a klaxon blaring in his mind, telling him to back away. This was dangerous, this path to familiarity and traded smiles. Where there was familiarity, there was ease, and where there was ease, there was danger and risk, and breaches in security. He couldn't be a friend to him, the man he was supposed to protect at all costs, even with his own life. How could he ever be objective if he was to befriend this man?

How indeed? Especially when everyone of the president's friendly overtures feels like flirting to Ethan? The slow burn between Ethan and Jack will have you flipping the pages to see where their friendship will go. Is Jack interested in Ethan or is this up-to-now straight man really just looking for a friend?

You'll have to read the book to find out!

There are so many touching moments in this story. The secondary characters characters are amazing and interesting in their own right, including a very interesting president of Russia. You'll be like me and want to know all their stories as well. Lucky for us, Enemies of the State is the first book in a series. Yay! I can't wait for the next one.

If you love slow burn tension that leads to explosive romance in the midst of crises of international importance, this is the book for you!

OUR RATING: 5 stars!

ARC #REVIEW Mr. and Mr. Smith by HelenKay Dimon #RomHero #mmromance #military

Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: May 24, 2016
Publisher:  Random House LLC
Length: 215 pages

Description: Fisher Braun knows how to keep a secret. As a covert paramilitary operative, his job—and his life—depends on it. He’s at the top of his game, ready for action and always in control. No enemy has ever brought him to his knees, but one lover has: Zachary Allen, the man currently sharing his bed. The perfect package of brains and brawn, Zach is someone worth coming home to, and Fisher hates keeping him in the dark about what he does. But the lies keep Zach safe. Until the day Fisher loses everything. . . .

Zachary Allen is no innocent civilian. Although he plays the tech geek, in reality he’s deep undercover for the CIA. In a horrible twist of fate, the criminal enterprise he’s infiltrated has set its sights on the man whose touch drives him wild. Zach would do anything for Fisher—except blow his own cover. Now, in order to save him, Zach must betray him first. And he needs Fisher to trust him with all his heart if they want to make it out alive.


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OUR REVIEW

Loved, loved, loved this book! The suspense starts on page one and keeps going right to the end. Undercover becomes double cover and behind it all is a blazing attraction and love. The danger is thrilling, the banter is witty, and the sex is hot.

"Sometimes you'd hum." Zach smiled at the memory. "I doubt you even realize you did it."

"Fuck it." Fisher whispered the words as he moved. In two lunging steps his hands slid over Zach's shoulders and pushed his back against the wall.

Their mouths met in a hard kiss. Deep and devouring. No slow burn here. They raced from cool and arguing to skin on fire. Lips tasted and hands roamed. A grumble sounded in the back of Fisher's throat. He was all over Zach, crushing him into the concrete while he cradled Zach's head in his palm.

What more could anyone want in an m/m romantic suspense? Oh, how about some heart-wrenchingly impossible situations?

The emotional distance showed in every line of Fisher's body and the stark look in his yes. His mouth pulled tight until tiny lines formed at the edges.

Zach guessed this was what hatred looked like. He'd seen so many emotions cross Fisher's face during their time together. Heat, longing, need, caring. They'd come full circle. Wariness and doubt lingered there now. No warmth. Worse, no trust.

Both Zach and Fisher are intriguing characters. I'd love to know more about them and see how they do in a real-life relationship.

If you enjoy hot, alpha heroes with guns, who happen to love men, pick up a copy of Mr. and Mr. Smith. You won't regret it!

OUR RATING: 5 stars!

ARC #REVIEW More Than Love by Amelia Bishop #mmromance #romhero

Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: March 25, 2016
Publisher:  Amelia Bishop
Length: 198 pages

Description: Dan watched the people in his life settle down, get married, and have kids, while he cycled through a seemingly endless string of break-ups and disappointing relationship fails. So when Ian, the college boyfriend Dan never quite forgot, comes back to town and wants to get together, Dan jumps at a second chance with the one who got away. And despite his track record, he holds out hope that he and Ian might make it work this time.

While Ian is still just as sweet and sexy as he ever was back in college, he’s also harder, slicker, and more secretive than Dan remembers. As a cop, Dan’s suspicions are roused by Ian’s behavior. As a man, he wants nothing more than to ignore those worries and fall headfirst into their new relationship. If Ian is a criminal, turning him in will break Dan’s heart. But ignoring his crimes could ruin Dan’s career.

Sometimes, what destroys us are not the things we fear, but our fears themselves.


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OUR REVIEW

More Than Love begins with a dead drug dealer, graffiti on the wall of a university storage building, and a text message to an ex-boyfriend. When the ex-boyfriend, Ian, texts Dan back asking him to pick him up at the airport, a series of romantic and mysterious events begin to snowball.

Ian is the guy Dan let get away because he was too closeted to have a normal relationship. Dan is the guy who didn't fight for Ian, the guy Ian never forgot. The story flashes back to Ian and Dan's time in college. I really enjoyed these glimpses of the past that revealed so much about how each man had changed.. and how they'd remained the same.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught Ian biting the edge of his thumbnail. He slid his gaze over to get a better view and noted Ian's frown and pinched brows. Dan wanted to touch him, comfort him somehow, but it was too soon for that. He kept his hands on the wheel. "So, what brings you back home?"

Ian straightened in his seat, his face quickly snapping into a composed smile, hands resting professionally on his knees. "Well, it's a long story." He chuckled, a phony sound, and his smile stretched wider. "The company I was working for had some legal issues, nothing serious, but I decided it was a good time to change. I'm thinking of starting a new business here. A friend of mine has a business he's looking to expand, and I'm buying in. I hope."

"Oh? What kind of business?" Dan pulled off the highway and turned the car toward Ian's hotel.

"Direct sales network marketing." Ian said it with the slickness of a well-rehearsed sales pitch, and Dan's heart broke a little at the distance it put between them."

When life brings them back together, can they find their way back to a future together? It's something both men want, but Ian's shady business dealings and his newly acquired upper-middle class status have Dan's cop alarms ringing like crazy. Suspicion sets in and begins to destabilize their deepening relationship.

This second chance story has all the best elements of a romantic suspense: a good mystery, a hot romance, great secondary characters and storylines. Each man has a very interesting family life that has affected their view of what they want dramatically. For example, Dan's mother has Alzheimer's and Ian's father is an alcoholic. There are some incredibly sweet moments in this story, hitting a great range of emotional highs and lows.

Dan shrugged. "It sucks seeing her confused and miserable. I feel like she's dying right in front of me, just, really slowly."

Ian's face scrunched up in sympathy. "I know about that. I mean, it's a different thing, but I've been watching my dad die for a few years now. I get it."

Dan nodded. "Yeah." He forced a smile. "Hey, you know what? Life is short. Let's dance."

There are a few things about More Than Love that I found very refreshing: one, this is an interracial romance that doesn't make a big deal about race, and two, it's one of the only m/m romances I've read where penetrative sex is not on the menu. The author manages to keep the heat high and the variety strong in all the sex scenes without it. Very nice!


OUR RATING: 4.5 stars!
(04/17/2015)

ARC #REVIEW Chasing Shadows by Annabelle Jacobs #mmromance #romhero

Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 24, 2016
Publisher:  Annabelle Jacobs
Length: 238 pages

Description: Jamie Matthews goes to Cornwall to find his missing brother. The police are convinced Michael drowned, but Jamie knows better. No way would Michael swim to his death, especially on a beach with a wicked rip tide. Finding a stranger in his brother’s cottage only deepens his misgivings.

Felix Bergstrom is recently discharged from the British Army. Unable to put the past behind him, he takes an unhealthy interest in old acquaintance and millionaire businessman Karl Weston, hoping to catch him up to no good. Michael’s disappearance adds fuel to Felix’s suspicions. Weston’s clifftop home overlooks the beach where Michael supposedly walked into the sea, but Weston has an alibi for that day.

When Jamie and Felix meet, the physical attraction is instant. Mistrust keeps them from acting on it until finally all their secrets are laid bare. But time isn’t on their side. Before they’re able to work out whether they have a future, danger catches up with them and threatens to put an end to everything.

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OUR REVIEW

Chasing Shadows is the dynamic amalgamation of all the best parts of good storytelling: good writing, an interesting plot, a well-developed romance, sharp conflicts, humorous interactions,  and smoking hot sex! 

Jamie and Felix meet under auspicious circumstances. Jamie has come to Tresthelway Cottage, in Cornwall, to collect his brother's belongings and to question the police on the investigation into his disappearance. Everyone is convinced Michael is dead, drowned in the sea, but Jamie dismisses that theory. Something sinister is up. A feeling that is only reinforced when he opens the door to the cottage and comes face to face with a mysterious stranger who refuses to tell him anything.

"What an arsehole!" Jamie yelled into the silence of the kitchen, refusing to look out the window and watch Felix walk away.

Who the fuck did he think he was? Poking around as if he owned the place and then refusing to tell Jamie what it was he'd hoped to find. Michael was Jamie's brother, and Jamie had every right to know.

The initial tension between these two men is fabulous. Their attraction to each other is already making itself known, but they appear to be on opposite sides of this disappearance investigation. Or are they? As they reluctantly come to know each other, truths come out that reveal that they have more in common than either had thought.

Jamie jumped when Felix put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing once with his strong fingers before letting go. This was the second time Felix had touched him, comforted him. The warmth lingered, making Jamie wish Felix had kept his hand there. He glanced up to see Felix watching him intently.

"Jason was my best friend. He called me two days before he died. We argued. I told him he was a fucking idiot and hung up."

Felix scrubbed a hand over his face, and Jamie had the sudden urge to pull him into a hug.

Despite, or maybe because of, the situation, Jamie and Felix are drawn together. They need a release from the taut atmosphere, and soon comfort turns into much more. Now at this point, some readers may argue that no one whose close brother is missing would get involved with someone or even begin to have feelings for someone. But it is that true? Even Jamie questions his actions. What begins as a tryst, a way to turn off the sadness for a few hours, can become more when the partner is right.

They stared at each other for a couple of seconds before Jamie looked down between them and scoffed. "I don't even like you."

Despite the gravity of the conversation only minutes before, Felix was helpless to stop himself shifting his hips. The telltale hardness in Jamie's jeans made him smile. "I beg to differ."

Jamie glanced back up and shrugged. A small answering smile on his lips. "It's only a semi."

"It was only a kiss."

Humor tinges many of the interactions between Jamie and Felix, lightening the considerably dark mood. Also a lot of fun are Felix's army buddies Adam and Nick, who come to visit Felix while they are on furlough. Adam and Nick immediately see what is going on between Jamie and Felix and miss no occasion to take the piss out of the two men (love that expression!). 

The suspense aspects of this story are not overly developed or complex. However, although some parts are very tense and the overall scenario is dark (missing, possibly murdered, brother), Chasing Shadows is billed as a contemporary romance and not a romantic suspense. As such, our rating is based on this being a contemporary romance with romantic suspense elements.

All in all, I really enjoyed Chasing Shadows and will certainly be reading more of Annabelle Jacobs' m/m romances!

OUR RATING: 4.5 stars!

(03/25/2016)

ARC REVIEW: Everything I Left Unsaid by M. O'Keefe #Romance

Genre: First in a Series, Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Publisher: Random House LLC

Description: Fans of Jodi Ellen Malpas, K. Bromberg, and Joanna Wylde will be unable to resist this sexy, deeply intimate tale of a woman running from her past, and the darkly mysterious man who sets her free.

I didn’t think answering someone else’s cellphone would change my life. But the stranger with the low, deep voice on the other end of the line tempted me, awakened my body, set me on fire. He was looking for someone else. Instead he found me.

And I found a hot, secret world where I felt alive for the first time.

His name was Dylan, and, strangely, he made me feel safe. Desired. Compelled. Every dark thing he asked me to do, I did. Without question. I longed to meet him, but we were both keeping secrets. And mine were dangerous. If I took the first step, if I got closer to Dylan—emotionally, physically—then I wouldn’t be hiding anymore. I would be exposed, with nothing left to surrender but the truth. And my truth could hurt us both.

Amazon US (Kindle): http://amzn.to/20xTUX1
Amazon US (paperback): http://amzn.to/1l9LYuH
Amazon UK (Kindle): http://amzn.to/1Q7pQO6
Amazon UK (paperback): http://amzn.to/1Q7pRS9


OUR REVIEW

What starts out as a phone call between strangers turns into so much more. Something that will change both Annie and Dylan’s lives forever.

On the surface, Annie and Dylan couldn’t be more different. But inside, they are the same. Broken. Running from their pasts. Ashamed. Can they save each other or will their sexy, twisted relationship only make things worse?

Everything I Left Unsaid is an excellent story. Very gripping and surprisingly sexy, with an oh-so enticing slow burn. The writing is fantastically smooth and very realistically plunges the reader into the heads of the hero and heroine, making us feel like we're right there, along with Annie and Dylan.

Note: Ends on a cliffhanger, but the second book will be available on Nov. 24.
Possible trigger warning: contains references to and depictions of abuse.

OUR RATING: 5 stars!

(11/05/2015)

ARC REVIEW: Make Me Whole by R.C. Matthews #menage #disability #romhero

ARC REVIEW: Make Me Whole by R.C. Matthews #menage #mfm #romanticsuspense #disability

Standalone

Publisher: Loose ID

Release: June 1, 2015

For Jake Hanson, it was the perfect solution to a deep darkness. The accident took more than the use of his legs; it took everything that made him feel like a man. He needs their ménage. It puts him on the path to healing. With Jessie and Chad, he can conquer anything...he thinks.

Jessica Hanson did it all for her husband, to make him feel whole again. She didn’t want a threesome. At least, that’s what she believed in the beginning. But when she realizes that she can’t imagine life without both her husband and his best friend by her side, she’ll question everything she thought completed her.

FBI agent Chad Wilson, couldn’t believe he agreed to his best friend’s proposal. There were too many things beyond his control that could go wrong. But when things go right, he is forced to admit to the best months of his life. Yet on the heels of his greatest joy comes his greatest fear. He’s endangered them all, and the clock is ticking.

They’ll push the boundaries and blur the lines, coming face to face with one of life’s hardest truths: Sometimes to become whole, you have to break.

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1USVEqO

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1K2Yofj

OUR REVIEW 

Ménage romance with a twist! I’m not typically a huge fan of M/F/M, because I find it hard to believe that men who enjoy ménage, don’t ever touch the other man or get turned on by him. This book, however, changed my mind.

Jake is wheelchair bound. He misses the days of wild sex with his wife. Doing it standing up, against a wall, bent over a desk. He’s bored with their sex and with his life in general. This exchange with the therapist is poignant and, for me, helped me to truly understand why Jake is so unhappy.

“Don’t you get it? This isn’t just about me. Jessica’s life was forever changed too. Our sex life isn’t the same. It will never be passionate and wild again. It’s eating me up inside, knowing that it’s all my fault.”

When his therapist misunderstands something Jake says and suggests a ménage, the wheels in Jake’s brain start spinning. At this point, Jake is looking for a surrogate lover for his wife. Someone who will be his legs. Who will give her the spontaneous, passionate love-making she deserves. And who better to do it than the man he trusts most in the world? Chad, his longtime best friend, is, of course, first horrified by the idea, but after careful consideration and seeing how much the idea is brightening his friend up, he agrees to a three-month trial, provided that Jessica is fully onboard.

What follows is a loving journey of growth for all three of these fascinating characters. Having Chad in the mix sparks a new enjoyment in sex for both Jessica and Jake. Jessica and Chad have promised to keep the ménage all about sex. But can they keep their promise?

Over the months that follow, not only does Jake’s confidence in the bedroom increase, but also his confidence in other aspects of his life. As the title says, the ménage brings him to feel whole again, and if for that reason alone, this book is inspiring.

The suspense thread in the story is also thrilling. It adds a touch of urgency and danger to an otherwise fun contemporary erotic romance that takes it over the top to garner full marks from us. When all hell breaks loose, the love and loyalty these characters have for each other shines clear and bright. We hope that this is only the first book in a series, because we’d love to hear more about this awesome trio of characters!

OUR RATING: 5 stars!

(07/13/2015)