Review of No Filter (No Shame #1) by Nora Phoenix

 by Nora Phoenix

3.5 Stars

Indy will do anything to prevent his mobster ex from finding him. Their last encounter left Indy recovering for months in the hospital, and ever since he’s become an expert at hiding in plain sight. Determined to stay under the radar, he takes on a new identity and moves from place to place. His life has no room for friendships, let alone love, so he keeps his heart firmly closed. After all, he has nothing to offer but a damaged body and a broken soul. Plus, he’s so done with men. Until he meets the man who breaks through all his defenses.

Former Army Medic Noah came back damaged from his last tour—in more than one way. Between supporting his best friend-with-benefits Josh who’s struggling with PTSD, dealing with his own issues, and the stress of his job as a physician assistant, rebuilding his life seems impossible. There's little time for what Noah needs, let alone for what he wants. When he meets Indy, Noah discovers what he wants more than anything: for Indy to stay. But how will a relationship with Indy work when Noah needs Josh as well?

Indy never expected the strong, confident Noah to be as damaged and broken as himself. But what will happen if he starts letting Noah in? Indy knows he should run to protect Noah and Josh.

Noah needs Indy to stay more than anything. But will what little he has to offer be enough to make Indy trust him and stay?

No Filter is book #1 in the No Shame series by Nora Phoenix.  It is an interesting story of 3 very broken men finding comfort in each other – a ménage book?  Yes, and well, no.

What did we love?

-          The Characters: We fell in love with all 3 men, Indy, Josh and Noah.  They are all broken and trying to heal in their own way, and their struggles really spoke to us. 

-          Interesting Story:  Nora Phoenix weaves a really fascinating story, and with 3 very different men we get a glimpse into each of their lives.  It is well written, and easy to follow, even with 3 very strong characters. The first chapter grabbed us into the story, and riveted us.  Did the whole book keep our attention…..meh.

-          The sex:  This is a good and bad.  There is lots of sex, lots and lots and lots.  But the ‘sex-for-love’ sex is hot, steamy and sizzling, it creates a good connection between the characters and you can see the bond between them growing.

What left us scratching our heads:

-          The sex: So so so much sex, it became a little much, like every other page and we ended up flipping a bit.  I am unsure if Nora Phoenix really meant this story to end up as the sex-fest it did, but it slipped to far into erotica for our taste.

-          Sex for pain relief: A bit like above, we are unsure if this was necessary.  Specifically sex for pain relief, I think if it was packaged  as sex for comfort to help soothe pain it might have not felt so in our face.

-          The ménage: We are still confused – this is and isn’t a ménage story.  Indy/Josh, Josh/Noah, Indy/Noah, wha???  No Filter starts to clear up the issue of who is with who towards the end of the book, but left a huge chunk in the middle when we were wondering where the ménage wanted to go.  And honestly, this feeling on confusion just took away from our reading experience.

No Filter, an almost-ménage book, an interesting read that left us confused but still wanted to read the next book.  Even with the muddle of bed-partners, No filter sets us up for romance in the second book, and we are hoping that these 3 men get their happy endings (mind out of the gutter, we meant their happy-ever-afters!)

Review of Middleman by Jayne Rylon

 by Jayne Rylon

3.5 stars

I don’t kneel for any man. Not anymore.
I had the perfect dominant boyfriend. Then Cortez left me to save the world.
After two and a half years lost drowning my misery in bad decisions, one man changed everything.
Rogan is the perfect submissive, who puts me back in control of both him and my life.
Until Cortez comes home.
Who am I? Cortez’s bottom or Rogan’s top?
Maybe I’m both.
Maybe I was made to be their middleman.

Hmm, a ménage romance, 3 hot men and a BDSM kink, sound like a steamy book.  And Middleman delivers on the steam, but a few little issues kept us from totally falling in love.

Kaden is an artist and a dedicated bottom for dominant Cortez.  Cortez is a soldier, and when the military calls him away for a special op for an extended period, he thinks he does what is right and breaks it off with Kaden.  Kaden is broken and spends the next years finding relief in other men, drugs and alcohol. However, while doing a portrait for a new sexy client, Rogan, he finds himself pulled into his drama and is happy to find relief for his broken heart.  But things aren’t simple, Cortez comes back form the dead and wants Kaden back.

This is a story about 3 very different men; Kaden, Cortez and Rogan. It is a hot hot steamy erotic story, but it missed a bit for us in the BDSM side, it is a bit more of a kink with light bondage and not really BDSM.  But, it is sizzling, the sex is off the page hot, and really if you are looking for serious chemistry and scalding sex than read on. 

A few things that made us scratch our head.  There is a lot of drama, Cortez leaving, Kaden’s broken soul, Rogan’s cheating ex, and it got a bit much, a bit like drama for drama sake.  Plus we didn’t really like how the fell into the ménage.  Seriously, if your boyfriend’s ex (the one he still says he loves and is heart-broken over) returns would you invite him to be your bodyguard? Yeah, no, it wasn’t really believable.  This is our first Jayne Rylon book, so maybe we aren’t used to her style, but we felt the story missed a flow, like it was a bit forced.  We like the 3 characters individually, and the Kaden/Rogan and Kaden/Cortez relationship but we weren’t really sold on the ménage.

But we are just being picky.  We wanted to like this ménage, we really liked the steam, and the sex scenes are phenomenal, but the story didn’t really work for us.

Review of What he Left Behind by LA Witt

 

by LA Witt

3 stars

Josh Carver would do anything for Michael Adair, his childhood best friend. In the five years since Michael finally left his abusive ex-partner, Josh and his husband Ian have helped him leave that horrific past behind him. Michael seems to have adjusted well enough…until he admits he’s afraid to date because the abuse has left him terrified of physical intimacy.

Josh is stunned again when Ian proposes a solution—Josh can help Michael learn to enjoy sex again. It isn’t like it would be the first time. After all, Josh and Michael lost their virginity to each other years ago.

Michael hesitates, but then takes him up on the idea. It isn’t long before Ian’s getting involved too… and it’s all fine and dandy until emotions come into play that threaten their friendship, as well as Josh and Ian’s marriage.

Let’s start off by saying that we love LA Witt, gobble up all those great romance books, but somehow the ménage in this book didn’t grab up like we had hoped.

Josh and Ian are a happily married couple, and wish everyone could find the love they have.  Josh’s childhood best friend Michael is still re-living the horrendous abuse from his last partner and is struggling to let anyone in and push the past behind him.  Even after 5 years of therapy he is still handcuffed by his ghosts.   Josh wants nothing more for Michael to find the man of his dreams, but know that if he can’t find a way to let anyone in he will spend his life alone.  Ian suggests that maybe the key to helping Michael is finding someone that he is comfortable being intimate with; Josh. 

This is essentially a ménage book, but it isn’t really.  What he Left Behind focuses on the intimate relationship between Michael and Josh, and a building friendship of Michael and Ian.  And hold on to your hats, this book is very erotic, lots and lots of sex!  Michael struggles with a sexual relationship and Josh tries to get his libido back on track with lots of therapeutic time between the sheets.  And it is hot, hot hot! 

But feeling always start getting involved.  When Josh starts feeling this relationship with Michael is more than him just helping him get his groove back, the book starts to fall apart a bit for us.  Ian gets involved in this sex-triangle, but it feels like it is forced, like the book should have gone a different direction, that Josh should spread his own wings and fly on his own.  But instead we get a ménage story.   And don’t get us wrong, when it work it is hot, but this didn’t work for us. 

What he left behind set us up for a great story, but fell a little flat unfortunately.  If you are looking for a hot read and not much of a story, that this could be right up your alley!

Review of Misfits by Garrett Leigh

by Garrett Leigh

 4 stars

Sweet, sexy, ménage-a-trois love story that is more than just sex.

Jake Thompson is a down-on-his-luck waiter, self-imposed loner who finds himself in Tom Fearnes bed.  Tom is successful, gorgeous and the kind of man Jake wants.  But an explanation of Tom’s open relationship with his longtime lover and business partner, Cass Pearson, leave Jake feeling like he is the other man. 

Cass and Tom have been tighter for 10 years, and although full committed to each other, life has gotten in the way.  Tom wants to help Jake and Cass sees Jake a way to sooth Tom and his need to have him closer to home.  Simple on the outside, but once they are all falling in love, how does a threesome really work?

Let’s start by saying how much we didn’t except to love Misfits by Garrett Leigh, but fall in love we did.  Jake has Tourette’s, and honestly at the beginning we thought it was a little distracting to the story, but  his TS added so much to his character, and his strength.  Cass has led a hard knock life and struggles with the idea that he deserves everything good in his life.  And Tom tries to keep everything together, and everyone happy,   Each of the men are flawed but together they make a whole.   Misfits is a ménage-a-trois love-story, but it is SO much more than that, it is a story about connections, healing and learning to really depend on each other, through thick and thin.

And it is HOT.  From the first hook-up of Tom and Jake, Garrett Leigh creates some serious chemistry.  The sex story balance is good, and the sex isn’t there just to be sex between 2-men, rather adds another layer to the story, how physically they can be who each other need.  The angst level is thankfully low, and a bit of jealousy rears its head, but again makes this story so much more believable. 

So, although ménage-a-trois love-stories may not be your thing, this is one that will get you hooked from the first chapter!