Samantha Kane ~ Love’s Surrender (Brothers In Arms 9)
From: Ellora’s Cave

Review of: Samantha Kane ~ The Courage To Love (Brothers In Arms 1)

Treva Harte ~ Home (Alpha3)
From: Loose Id

Cause you’re hot then you’re cold
You’re yes then you’re no
You’re in and you’re out
You’re up and you’re down
You’re wrong when it’s right
It’s black and it’s white
We fight, we break up
We kiss, we make up
Katy Perry ~ Hot N Cold

Sometimes telling a good story is not so much about what you write about but what you choose not to write about. Especially when it comes to Ménage Romance and issues concerning sexuality and who is doing whom and why. Treva Harte just seems to me to stand out from the pack. I love her Alpha series but as many people have pointed out to me again and again Home is the best of the bunch and I have to agree.

None of Treva’s characters in this series strike me as necessarily in control but they are not all innocent victims either. In fact I would say they seem, both the men and the women, more likely to be in a barroom brawl than a romance at any given moment. They are raw and they are who they are with no excuses. I like that.

Even so, Rome smelled like sex and — beer. Mia’s nose wrinkled.
“Are you drunk, Rome?”
“Not enough, baby.”
She would have left then, although it was her room and she was naked, but she realized there was something else Rome smelled like. Sex and alcohol and tears.
Oh no. It couldn’t be. Rome was tough and macho. She might be tempted — had always been a little tempted — by the virile Rome. She’d always been able to resist that Rome. But this Rome? She’d always been a sucker for the injured.
Mia put her hand on Rome’s shoulder, and he flinched, just slightly.
Definitely there had been tears.
“Who hurt you, Rome? What’s wrong?”
“No one. Nothing.”
“Stop being so manly for a minute. You came here for a reason. If you aren’t going to talk, why bother?”
“What makes you think I came here to talk? And fuck it if I’m too manly for you.” He looked down at the floor. “Maybe that was Grey’s problem. I’m too manly. Or not enough.”
His laugh sounded like a sob and, as if he realized it, Rome cut it off in the middle and took a deep breath instead.
“Grey?”
“I don’t want to talk about Grey. I don’t give a damn about Grey right now.”
“I don’t think that’s true, Rome. I’ve always known how much you worshipped him.” Mia could never figure out what anyone saw in that silent, rather menacing beta, but then he probably saw even less in her. He never even talked to her. Everyone knew he didn’t give a damn about women.
Rome went back to staring at her, as intensely as before. “That’s bull. I never worshiped anyone. Except — well — look at you, all stripped down and built like a goddess. I could worship you.”
He might be avoiding the issue but it worked. Mia knew she was blushing. She liked to ignore her looks since they meant nothing. Omegas didn’t mate. Omegas only had sex if the higher ups in the pack demanded it of them, but that wasn’t an issue in this pack. Her looks didn’t matter to anyone. In fact, lately she’d almost forgotten what she looked like — which might be why she was here, defenseless in front of a hungry were who was definitely noticing her appearance.
“I look like a woman. What of it?”
Sex. The smell of sex strengthened. Mia licked her lips and tried to ease the dryness in her throat.
“What of it? Jesus, Mia, you’ve got breasts like a porno star’s, except they’re real.” Rome came closer and Mia stiffened. He didn’t touch. But the way he looked made her as itchy as if he had. “And your ass. That is one fine ass.” He stopped and whispered, “I even like those big, big eyes of yours, staring at me like I’m going to gobble you up.”
The big, bad wolf had definitely arrived tonight. Mia took a step backward and tried to rally. “You have the hots for Grey. I’m sorry if you two had a fight, but why run to me?” ~ Page 18

Treva refuses to label anyone one thing or the other sexually throughout the whole series and it really shows in Home. Sure you as the reader can figure out who they love. It is not that the characters are unsure of their sexuality just that they do not waste time worrying about it. It comes across to me at least as feeling somewhat raw and abrupt but also organic in the way it gets presented. No pages and pages of characters angsting over whom they are attracted to or why. No “Gay for you”, no “Straight for you”, no mitigating circumstances in sight. I find this refreshing.

Now in regards to this being a Ménage Romance I do find similarities with Samantha Kane’s The Courage To Love.

There is a charismatic focus amongst the three lovers. In The Courage To Love it was Jason who had the title, money, and the need to wed and have kids along with a best buddy who he had deeper feelings for. Here in Home the main focus is Rome who is the lone wolf, the outcast Alpha, the wild card, and someone who both Grey and Mia are sexually interested in. Treva twists the Alpha role here by making Rome younger and more unsure of himself and his role in the ménage thus giving Grey a chance even as a Beta of contributing age and experience and stability to the threesome.

We also see the similarity where even though Rome has in the past made a move to seduce Grey he was rebuffed and he in turn rebuffed Mia ultimately making the romance story told here about discovering their mutual desires and forming some type of trust in order to be a “balanced” ménage. So there is no real pre-existing relationship in the way of us enjoying what does happen in the process of building a relationship that involves all three of them.

So “clarity” is in the rather blunt acceptance they have of their sexuality. “Balance” comes from Rome being a young charismatic yet inexperienced Alpha which allows them all to contribute something to the ménage.

What is left is “benefit” and that mostly comes from outside the threesome. Both of their packs benefit from these three mating and having children. Treva again twists the reasons here to give a “making it work” for the good of everyone else feel to the story. This also provides the internal problems each member has to forming a relationship that will involve kids and why they are participating.

Grade A example Treva on how writing any type of romance even a ménage does not mean having to provide full explanations for every character’s motivations. Some people may be turned off on how raw this comes across as since there is no couching “emo” moments but I say mapping it all out for pages upon pages of boring pointless emotionally reasoned drivel will kick me out of a story quicker than adding a glossary or footnotes. Treva did far more to convince me this whole thing could work by carefully orchestrating around providing obvious compensating benefits that did not need such explanation to begin with.

Even when bisexuality shows up in a romance the story does not have to suddenly stop and bore me to death with pop psychology gimmicks or half-assed teary eyed excuses. If I wanted a fucking “after school special” I would be reading dead tree publishers not ePublishers.

When in doubt just throw it out and tell me the damn story you want to tell. Thanks Treva, the queen of show, not tell!

Samantha Kane ~ The Courage To Love (Brothers In Arms 1)
From: Ellora’s Cave

A Free eBook From Ellora’s Cave This Month!

Whenever I think of a really good representation of the type of Ménage Romance story I want to read I keep coming back to this one. The Courage To Love just seems to do so many things really well and in a small amount of space. Here let me show you…

When Tony touched Jason’s arm, the skin was hot and damp with sweat. Jason looked over at Tony, his eyes smoldering. As he stared at Tony, he pulled out of Kate and then thrust into her hard, making her cry out. Tony’s breathing became labored, watching him. God, he loved to watch Jason fuck a woman, loved to touch him while he fucked. Leaving his hand on Jason’s arm, caressing the bulging muscles there, Tony leaned down and kissed Kate’s shoulder. She looked over at him with dazed eyes, shuddering with each thrust of Jason’s hard cock inside her.
“Kiss me, Kate, kiss me while Jason fucks you,” Tony breathed in her ear.
Kate immediately reached for Tony with her mouth. There was no hesitation, no worry over wrong or right. Tony was pleased with her acceptance of the two of them. Apparently it felt right to her, just as it did to him and Jason. It was as if suddenly all the pieces of a puzzle fit together.
He met her halfway for the kiss, and kissed her long and tenderly. His mouth sipped at hers, his tongue dipped in to taste, invited her to taste him, his teeth nibbled at her lips. It was a deliberate contrast to the hard, rough fucking that Jason was giving her. Her whole body shook with each of his thrusts. He had forced her legs up around his waist, and was holding her hips tight to him with one hand, while still bracing himself up with the other.
Tony watched him out of the corner of his eye while he kissed Kate. Jason fucking was a vision of brute strength, dominance, sheer physical beauty. It made Tony hot and hard to watch him, to touch him and feel the harsh strength of his thrusts. When they were fucking together, Tony could feel Jason inside a woman, his cock slamming up against his own in there, and it drove him wild. When they watched one another, Tony preferred to go second, so he could watch Jason. Watching him first made Tony a better lover. ~ Page 22

See! I mean just think of all the conversations you have heard lately about Erotic Romance and what it is and how we should define it and why it has an important place in Romance and then go back and read that single moment in the book. No wonder those Passionate Plume folks nominated it.

But that’s not all!

This being a series I can then take the fact the same author wrote several other variations on this theme and compare and contrast why I like The Courage To Love better than say one of her later books like At Love’s Command. Now why would I have not chosen that one? Samantha Kane’s writing is better, it is stronger and all that in At Love’s Command. Which leads me to this whole list of reviews I am writing about Ménage Romance because thinking about this one series made me start analyzing the differences between what worked and what did not and why. The why becomes apparent when you start adding all my favorite books together.

I think the first thing I figured out was the “balance” (You will hear me use this word often from now on out so beware.) in the relationship between the three players here. Jason and Tony are close close friends who have shared sex with other women but they are not lovers. They have no defined sexual relationship or mutually negotiated emotional baggage and nothing that the establishment of a ménage relationship with Kate would undermine or betray.

I think this is key since we are reading a romance first and foremost so things like undermining and betrayal of an existing relationship just won’t work. Sure, I know in the real world that most folks in a ménage relationship start with a couple and then renegotiate by adding someone. BUT! One thing I have learned from reading romance is that real world realities do not always make great reading. The more convoluted and complex dynamics it takes to get even a typical couple together can be off putting so adding the whole extra baggage of an established relationship into a Ménage Romance where you have three different sides just brings with it too many possible questions for me the reader.

Remember “balance” the word I use? Well, the minute I think that someone in the story is nothing more than an added third wheel or is there for the selfish fulfillment of the wants of one party of the existing couple bringing with it the unsaid threat of him or her leaving… Well, in my opinion there is no balance there and I just find I cannot buy into an HEA for the Ménage Romance. That is just the way I read it folks.

Samantha Kane defined yet another important factor though in this story and showed character growth and benefit constantly through out the Ménage Romance. Here let me show you…

He turned to walk away, and Tony’s frustration got the better of him. “It is not settled,” he growled, and grabbing Jason, spun him and shoved him against the wall. He fell against him to hold him there, and then did what he’d wanted to do for days. He kissed him. Holding Jason’s shoulders to the wall, Tony pressed his mouth furiously against the other man’s. Jason’s lips were pushed open in the assault and Tony thrust his tongue inside his mouth, mad with grief over what they had come to.
Jason allowed the kiss, holding tight to Tony’s waist. When Tony pulled away, both men were breathing heavily. You could have heard a pin drop in the ensuing silence.
“So it’s that way, is it?” Jason asked quietly.
Tony lowered his head until his forehead rested against Jason’s. “Yes, yes, I suppose it is,” he whispered.
Suddenly Tony felt Jason’s hand grabbing his hair and pulling his head up, and he was spun around until his back was against the wall. Jason kept his grip on Tony’s hair, pressing hard against him. He leaned in and spoke quietly in his ear.
“Do you think I would risk losing this? You and Kate, and what we can have together? I want this, Tony, I want this life with you both so badly I can taste it. No, darling, I won’t die tomorrow. I won’t allow it. I’ll be here, and you’ll have to live up to this promise.”
He had dragged his mouth across Tony’s cheek so the last word was spoken against his lips. Then he kissed him, his lips soft against Tony’s. The kiss was more searing for its tenderness, and Tony’s mouth opened on a sigh. Jason licked into his mouth, rubbing against his tongue and encouraging Tony to do the same. The kiss quickly escalated, and Tony wrapped his arms around Jason, reveling in the hard feel of him, the taste of him, the sheer joy of having him like this. He tasted of coffee and the sweet marmalade he favored every morning, and Jason.
Jason broke the kiss slowly. He looked at Tony, his desire clearly written on his face. They stared at each other for a few moments, and Tony gradually became aware of the other men in the room, who had turned away to give them some privacy.
“Jason,” he murmured.
“Yes, Tony.” Jason’s reply was soft, but ardent. “Yes, Tony, I want this. And by God, I’m going to have it. Robertson isn’t going to stop me.” ~ Page 85

So there you go. Samantha Kane showed that Kate was finding benefit and redemption by her involvement in the ménage by finding protection and social standing in another established group. While the guys are shown benefiting from the ménage by a deepening of the their close friendship by becoming lovers. All of that very understandable and important to each of them. They all gain something emotionally fulfilling beyond the shared sex which is what we want in any romance.

So The Courage To Love stands for me as a textbook Grade A. As an Erotic Romance and as a Ménage Romance it just works. I like to say this story has strong bones. In my opinion Samantha Kane could strip away the Regency garb and put it in Western gear or a kilt and she still would have a good Romance story here.

That may piss off some of the historical accuracy mavens out there. I guess in the end I read for the romance not the historical accuracy and although some blunders are show stoppers but if the romance story itself is good a lot of inaccuracy is simply forgiven or ignored. Like it or not.

In the end I know when I read something if it all works because it comes across so effortless. This book is effortless from beginning to end and yet I can see the focus clearly from the start. The fact there is constant balance, benefit, and clarity helps sell the Ménage Romance HEA.

I was going to choose something that did not work for the next review but I think I will keep going to show you guys a bit more about “balance” in Ménage Romance and how it works for me. Treva you are so next.

Elizabeth Moore ~ Brotherhood Of Fire
From: Noble Romance Publishing

HOT! Red HOT! Get your Studly Straight Firemen Ménage right here! Red Hot!

I love this! Yesterday I was bumming around on All Romance eBooks see and I ran into a damn good quick and dirty Ménage Romance that you will love. If you like the Ménage Romance deal that is.

So Garrett and Carrie have been together for a while and they are sexually kinky but not, you know, out right sluts or anything like that. So Garrett is in training to be a fireman and he has this best friend and mentor named John and John is hot and sexy and Garrett is getting Carrie into the idea of a threesome with another guy and well John is single, hot and sexy and a fellow fireman see and…

Elizabeth Moore keeps it just that simple and basically manages to still make it all seem emotionally logical for the characters she has written. Both guys are very straight and very alpha and they remain in character so no “reach arounds” were present or accounted for if you know what I mean.

My only complaint was the sudden appearance of two guys who show up out of nowhere to provide what I guess you might call “Emergency Ménage Counseling” to our two heroes who were trying to make a mess of the whole situation. Who were those masked Ménage firemen? Why were John and Garrett so willing to spill their guts to them?

The world may never know.

Grade B for an extremely fun, effortless, and probably destined to become a comfort read.

Samantha Kane ~ Love’s Fortress (Brothers In Arms 7)
From: Ellora’s Cave

Emery Sanborne ~ Last Thought
From: Liquid Silver Books

Like that cover!

From: Kris ‘n’ Good Books ~ Encounters With My Baby Brother 5

*The following post was brought about by Kris’ TMI conversation with her brother which we shall try to refrain from commenting about*

In Ménage Romance with two guys there is always the question in my mind of the exact orientation of the men involved. I like great character writing so my inquiring mind wants to know what is in it for the other man so to speak Bi/Gay? Bi/Bi? He likes the blow jobs? The problem for me is not to read Gay into everything but on the other hand we are talking guys committing to a relationship here that involves another naked man in bed with them on an long term basis.

Let’s review what is out there in eBook land though shall we…

You could have the one extreme of M/F/M such as with the deliciously taboo Lora Leigh ~ Men Of August where the men are Straight and brothers (Oh yeah this is Lora Leigh at her best.) and so they stay strictly on their respective sides of the bed. This as far as a Romance is concerned frankly always seemed a bit clunky to me. Lora Leigh I must admit does somewhat address this with her “terrible secret trauma” approach to the story she weaves here. I still find it clunky because if these guys are involved over a long term period as indicated by a Ménage Romance does that not point out to the fact they like being sexual around each other and are attracted in some way to repeated watching over and over? Maybe for the guys it’s like live porn to them but then I am thinking they must be sneaking a grope here and there out of camera range. *sigh* Maybe that’s just over thinking all this.

Then there is the opposite extreme M/M/F as found in Samantha Kane ~ Brothers In Arms where the guys are secretly hiding this crush on each other and it is through their participation with the Ménage Romance they feel comfortable in exploring this Gay aspect of their mutual attraction. Which leaves me to sorta wonder since I tend to think men are very binary with their feelings but capable of evolving so could these characters one day wake up to each other and dump the chick if you know what I mean. Another HFN thought there but I lean more towards thinking for men bisexuality tends to be more an emotional transitional deal once they try out the sexual part.

I should note that there are even more interesting looks at this underlying dynamic such as with Lauren Dane ~ Cascadia Wolves (Why is Tri Mates not in print yet?) Lauren in Tri Mates brilliantly setups up the typical Straight guys in bed M/F/M aspect at first but then has a scene later on showing that there is an interest developing between the men being hinted at. Now that was just fun because I was not expecting much in that area since these stories tend to stay strictly one way or the other. Sort of a nice parting gift for the reader.

What type of Ménage is your favorite.

Marion Zimmer Bradley ~ The Forbidden Circle
From: DAW

The Forbidden Tower (published 1977) is set in her well known world of Darkover and is the second book in the unofficially recognized Forbidden Tower “sub cycle”. Marion Zimmer Bradley never actually designated The Spell Sword, The Forbidden Tower (both found here in this newly published book called The Forbidden Circle) and The Bloody Sun as a true trilogy within the series but since she made the effort in 1979 to re-write The Bloody Sun with a new first chapter explaining how the events in The Forbidden Tower lead to the story found in The Bloody Sun… I for one, lump all three books together when talking about them. Now why did the publisher want to add to the confusion and call this The Forbidden Circle is beyond me but at least you are getting two of the three books.

Series wise, the most interesting thing about this grouping is way it tracks Marion as a writer The Spell Sword was written when Marion was 16 and is the first book about Darkover she ever wrote and the story’s simplicity reflects her age. The Bloody Sun is considered by fans the first “adult” Darkover novel that defined a style and a formula that would bring Marion a huge fan base. Placed smack dab in the middle, The Forbidden Tower is Marion at her peak writing skills and is a prime example of the writing done during her most creative period right before the 80′s. As a warning though, Marion Zimmer Bradley along with several other of the well known sci-fi series writers (Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey) follows an unfortunate rule in the fact that I stop recommending anything by the author after about oh 1981 or so. It may seem to be an arbitrary cut off date but take it from me, the golden era of Sci-fi fantasy series seems to end with the late 70′s in my opinion.

Our hero the lonely, misunderstood, man from outer space (typical Marion Zimmer Bradley trademark) Andrew Carr comes to Darkover and rescues the “damsel in distress”… and hey, this all was really gone over in The Spell Sword but you get a quick summary in The Forbidden Tower too. He ends up married to said “damsel in distress” Callista and living in her father’s castle with sister in law Ellemir and brother in law Damon, who stay over in the next room. Now if this all seems like the end to some children’s fairy tale and if you stop reading after The Spell Sword you would be correct in thinking that it all sounds pretty unexciting and well worn plot wise, no surprises there. This next book though, The Forbidden Tower then starts turning the whole “happily ever after” on it’s head while beating it severely around the head and shoulders till it screams for mercy.

Turns out that the “damsel in distress” is a highly trained telepath with a couple of serious sex issues and the other members in the family are telepathic too. Our poor heterosexual hero, farm boy, space man, Andrew Carr turns out to be telepathic also but he has no idea how an alien society like Darkover makes all this work. He has to come to grips with relatives who can read his every thought and every emotion as he learns more about the strange world he has chosen to live in and do all this while trying to fit himself into this noble alien family. While we are at it he also has to learn the politics, the expectations, and the cultural taboos and last but not least their sexuality.

Now notice; I told you that Andrew Carr was heterosexual and that the in-laws were in the next room and that they were all newly married and telepathic and teaching Andrew to be OK with all this? Um, well think about it and you will understand why I love this book. Pure pot boiler!

The Forbidden Tower in my opinion was Marion Zimmer Bradley at her peak writing skills in the 20 or so books she wrote in the Darkover series, what gets written about the Darkover society here is much more detailed than she had ever been up until this point and that is probably why she decided to rewrite the older book The Bloody Sun in 1979 in order to give it a more consistent flow with the world she evolved and elaborated on. The Forbidden Tower is more than just a sequel to a simplistic story she wrote at 16, it’s an exploration of how even in the fictional world she built the characters lives do not come with easy answers, convenient labels, and every decision has a sometimes unknown price even after the story ends. She also goes to great lengths to intelligently explain her worlds culture and I don’t think you can get more intimate culturally than learning about their sexuality and how they express it. The typical sci-fi cliche telepathy aspects provided Marion with a springboard for why the Darkovan culture is so alien in contrast to our own even though it is familiar on the surface but what she explores even sexually here is never graphic or vulgar like say your Robert Heinlein.

Now about this sexuality that gets talked about in the book… This is the only book in the whole series that contains more than a brief mention of how these Darkover people express sexuality in their married lives and only because they are having to explain these things to Andrew. I am not talking about out and out pornography just intelligent discussion of the facts not descriptions of the acts. In a nutshell, sexuality is simply an expression of intimacy and a persons sexual preference only designates the emotional needs not the physical events that may occur. In other words, on Darkover whatever gender you would choose to marry may not be the only gender you will ever have sex with. Especially if you have a truly intimate friendship with someone, it is accepted and also somewhat expected if you share such intimacy it will also be expressed sexually even with the same gender. Their society has a very fluid idea of sexuality that allows for those gray areas in life to exist and occasional events to happen without being absolutely traumatic to your sense of self or what others may think of you. Marion expresses this whole quagmire of complex and hard to define human sexuality so well that this unique perspective has stayed with me since I read this book many years ago. It made sense to me as a teenager and I still appreciate Marion’s thoughts about it all now.

The most memorable part of this whole book in my opinion is the reactions of our poor heterosexual hero, farm boy, space man, Andrew Carr in learning all this twisted and perverted stuff. Here he was playing the traditional story book role of macho hero and faithful husband only to find the culture he married into has an entirely different set of expectations of him. The scene I will never forget is close to the end of the book when Damon confronts Andrew after he gets used to the fact he likes the whole sharing a bed with the other couple setup and keys him into the fact that Damon (Another man!) is in that bed too and Andrew needs to get over that particular aspect.

What is hilarious in hindsight is Marion Zimmer Bradley was a woman writing sci-fi novels back when women were not supposed to do such things who also ended up writing more intelligent gay or bisexual male characters with a natural masculinity and believable motives and realistic relationships with other men and women than most of the “real” Gay authors of the time period. It is incredibly sad but since her death a lot of people are missing out on a very unique amalgamation of space ships and technology, and sword & sorcery (well OK… psychic, mental matrix magic, oh whatever!) done in a fashion that is quite entertaining even if it can seem that it is heavily borrowing from the typical pulp sci-fi genre. Give this “Happily Ever After” a shot you might like it with your M/M Romance.

Morgan Hawke ~ Fallen Star (Interstellar Service and Discipline 2)
From: Loose Id

Break the window
By the town hall
Listen the siren screams
There in the distance
Like a roll call
Of all the suburban dreams

Let’s take a ride
And run with the dogs tonight
In Suburbia
You can’t hide
Run with the dogs tonight
In Suburbia
Pet Shop Boys ~ Suburbia

Thank god they finally updated that cover. But blond? Really?

You all have probably read the review of Fallen Star with my good blog buddy LBea over at Nose In A Book. I love reviewing with LBea because for me it’s like taking a tour of the book and being able to share the high and low points with someone else around to pick out the parts you may have missed. LBea is also funny and insightful which makes it so effortless.

Now I think we hit a lot of things in the old review that people who go to read the book should be aware of. Fallen Star does have some parts to it that might cause issue. It has a heroine being captured and some non-consensual things going on through what turns into a Ménage Romance. Unlike all the double dicked surface resemblances to such (What I like to call) Shock Romances like Elizabeth Amber’s The Lords of Satyr this works. That Nicholas ewwwww I cringed through that whole dang book!

Morgan Hawke gets away with it by being a smart cookie. She might write a shocking scene but she always makes sure you can relate to the heroine going like “You did WHAT to me?” “I’m gonna kick your ass!” And it works! The reader never loses the fun of the read or loses wanting to know what happened next. It’s that smarts of making sure the reader continues to relate to the story that makes me come away from the book thinking I might not like everything but that Morgan Hawke is one smart writer. She could sell ice in the Arctic. The first book Victorious Star did not work as well as this one did but Morgan fixed all those issues I had.

“Isabeau?” The sweet and eerily familiar voice whispered poisonously from the corridor behind them. “Izzie Fallon?”
Fallon’s head came up in alarm. Every hair on her body stood at attention. There was no way in bleeding fury her boss’s pet assassin could be on this ship. She turned around to look back up the corridor. They couldn’t have let that nightmare of a cyborg onboard!
Metal struck hammer-blows against metal.
Sobehk jerked at her side. “What in bloody Chaos …?” He turned around to head up the corridor.
“No! Don’t!” Fallon grabbed Sobehk’s arm. “If it’s who I think it is, you’ll only make him attack you. You don’t stand a chance against him unarmed.”
The shriek of tearing metal followed. Shouts echoed down the corridor. Then wet crunches and choked screams.
Sobehk tensed. “What the fuck is going on?”
Fallon’s fingers tightened around Sobehk’s arm. “If we’re lucky, it’s nothing you guys can’t handle. If we’re not lucky, it’s a friend of mine.”
“Isabeau, that doesn’t make sense.”
A smallish, gangling, and completely naked human male came timidly down the hall. His face was plain, with ordinary brown eyes and a mop of bland blondish-brownish hair. He was one of those people you never looked twice at. He lifted his chin and moved his head from side to side. He appeared to be looking for something, or listening for something. A band of silver gleamed around his throat, and blood painted his bare arms almost to the shoulders.
Sobehk frowned and set his hand on Fallon’s shoulder. “Where in bloody Chaos are his handlers?”
Fallon stared at the blood-soaked arms and fought off a shiver. “They’re probably dead.”
“The collar is for controlling killing aggression …” Sobehk glanced down at her. “Is that your friend?”
Fallon swallowed and nodded. And she had thought her luck couldn’t possibly get any worse. “He’s a nano-based mimetic cyborg. I doubt your collar has any effect on him.”
“The collar has some effect; he’s obviously sightless.” Sobehk glanced down at Fallon. “Wait a minute — he’s mimetic?”
Fallon nodded slowly. “He shape-changes.”
“Who is this guy?”
Fallon winced. “Tusk is my company’s assassin.”
“A mimetic cyborg assassin.” Sobehk rolled his eyes. “Great.”
“And he’s good. He’s single-minded, single-purposed, and has never failed a mission.” Well, he had failed once. That was how she found out how to take him out if she ever needed it. The following week, she’d had her augmentation upgraded for dexterity and speed.
The young man’s head came up. He stared straight at Fallon with unfocused eyes. “There you are, Izzie!”
“Oh, hi, Tusk.” She pasted a smile on her lips. “What’s going on?”
The young man smiled. “Oh, the boss wanted to see you.”
“He did?” Fallon kept her hands open and loose at her sides while slowly moving in front of Sobehk. “Why didn’t anybody tell me?”
Tusk shrugged. “Couldn’t find you.”
“Oh, that’s right …” Fallon rolled her eyes and glanced up at Sobehk. “Some guy was chasing me all over the station.”
Tusk shuffled gracelessly toward her, smiling absently. “Rudi said you’d be here, so I waited for you.”
Fallon frowned. “He did?” How in bleeding fury had Rudi known that she would end up here? “How long were you waiting?”
Tusk pursed his lips. “Three days or so.”
Three days? Fallon felt her temper surge. Rudi had set her up. That back-stabbing son of a bitch …
Sobehk glanced down at Fallon. “Who’s Rudi?”
Fallon scowled. “This guy I made my last delivery to. New guy, stinks of the Imperium. He tipped me for the delivery and gave me a pass to the club where I met you — three days ago.”
Sobehk frowned. “That sounds like a setup.”
“Yep, it sure does.” Fallon glanced at him. “The question here is, why?”
Tusk tilted his head. “Rudi told the boss you didn’t make the delivery.”
“He … what?” Impending doom dried her mouth. You did not ever miss a delivery. “Tusk, he lied.”
“Oh … That’s too bad.” Tusk’s brows lifted then fell. “Because I gotta bring you back to talk to him, or kill you.” He sucked on his bottom lip. “But we’re in space already, and I don’t know how to fly the ship, so we can’t go back.”
An icy sweat soaked her back. “Tusk, I’m sure something can be arranged …”
Tusk shook his head and eased closer. “No, I don’t think so.”
Sobehk stiffened and grabbed Fallon by the shoulder. “He’s not terrifically bright, is he?” He pulled her behind him.
“No, but he is terrifically deadly.” Fallon shoved back in front of him. “Do not get in front of his target.”
Tusk sighed and smeared a hand across his cheek, staining his face with blood. “I’m gonna miss you, Isabeau.”
Sobehk frowned. “Is he actually crying?”
Fallon winced. “Yes. He does that, right before he attacks.”
Tusk shuddered violently.
Fallon licked her lips. “Now’s a good time to get your knife out, and if you have a spare, I’d love to have it.”
“I don’t have a spare.” Sobehk drew his long dagger from his boot and moved to Fallon’s side.
Fallon dropped her voice to barely a whisper. “His only weak spot is at the base of his skull in the back just below the data jack. Nothing else will have any real effect on him.”
“Got it.” Sobehk flipped the dagger in his palm. “Just stay out of the way.” ~ Page 46

Anyway, let’s get back to looking at this book from the angle of a Ménage Romance.

Balance: Wow, how hard is this? Morgan does not even introduce Kahn, the ménage, at the beginning of the book. She waits and lets you the reader get attached to the developing romance between Sobehk and Isabeau and only after you start to buy it then she springs Khan on you. Not only that she ends up making him the focus for how they all interrelate to each other. He’s more powerful and manipulative than either party and wins by raising the stakes. Pretty tricky there if you ask me.

Clarity: Again, since the story does not start out with all three characters on stage Morgan has to slowly introduce how they will mold together in the end. She plays a slight of hand and what you think you see at the beginning is not what actually ends up being there at the end. I never had to backtrack to figure how this person relates to that person etc it all remained clear from point A to point B and that is not easy to pull off.

Benefit: That is apparent from the beginning. The heroine is not this sobbing pristine victim of circumstance. She’s a wickedly strong ass thief that ends up bettering her position with her smarts and her talents despite getting busted. The heroes all have their motives both underhanded and upfront for why they are doing what they do. Khan ends up in the end getting everything he wants because he is the most underhanded of them all and tricks both Sobehk and Isabeau into doing exactly what he wants. But… That all makes sense in this book and it is damn fun watching him do it.

Khan used his free hand to lift the small blue cup. “Sobehk, she may have caused my blood pressure to spike, but my blood pressure has been high since I first saw you on the Vortex.”
“No.” Sobehk growled.
Khan growled right back. “Yes, damn you. I know you feel it. I can smell it on your skin!”
Sobehk curled his lips back from his teeth, but his chin lifted to bare his throat. “I denied recognition when I left the academy; I deny it now!” He made a visible effort to drop his chin.
Khan sneered, his head low and his long teeth flashing. “You can deny it all you like. That doesn’t change the biological fact that it’s there!”
“Khan, I will not submit!” Sobehk snarled openly, baring the full length of his teeth, but his eyes were wide. “Not then, not now!”
“Sobehk …” Khan sighed, the snarl fading from his expression and from his voice. He took a deep breath and released it. “You already gave me your submission years ago.” He set the cup down. “All that’s left are the legal formalities.”
“No. I don’t want to … serve.” He turned away.
“Why is this so difficult for you? Your father was Dhe’syah to mine; it’s only right that you are Dhe’syah to me. Why do you think your father put you with me?”
“I said no.” Sobehk shook his head then turned to glare at him. “If you push this, I will return to my original quarters.”
Khan’s brow lifted and a very nasty smile curled his lip. “Sobehk, this is my ship, and my crew. You go nowhere that I do not approve of.”
Sobehk jerked back. “What?”
Khan’s eyes narrowed, but his smile remained. “I prefer to have your voluntary admission, but I have no difficulty waiting for your body to make that decision for you. And don’t think I won’t make you kneel for it.”
Sobehk glared, but his chin began to lift. “You wouldn’t …”
Khan’s brows rose and his smile broadened to show teeth. “I told you before, the only constant is change. The Academy was a long time ago.” He sighed and his smile disappeared. “I need you. I need you with me, Sobehk.”
Sobehk dropped his gaze to the table. “Please, don’t force this on me.”
Khan picked up the small blue cup. “I’d rather not, but I am … tired of being alone. Of having no one I can … trust.”
“Trust.” Sobehk groaned. “That was a foul shot.”
Khan snorted. “You’ve always been a pain in my ass, but you have never been untrustworthy.” He sipped.
Sobehk rolled his eyes. “You had to have at least one …?”
“No.” Khan set the cup on the table very carefully. “This … occupation is not conducive to anything but ambition.”
Sobehk looked up and smiled just a little. “And greed?”
Khan groaned. “Go ahead and say it.”
Sobehk assumed a completely innocent expression. “Say what?”
Khan glared at him.
Sobehk’s smile broadened. “Well, if it will make you feel better.”
Khan rolled his eyes.
Sobehk set his chin on his hand and smiled, just a little sadly. “I told you so.”
“Ah …” Khan snarled. “I hate it when you’re right.”
“Oh, come on!” Sobehk snorted. “You hate it when anyone is right — but you.”
Khan stared hard at Sobehk, his mouth tight. “Sobehk, I need my Dhe’syah.”
Sobehk turned his head sharply, as though he’d been slapped. “Khan, please …”
Khan glared at him and spoke through clenched teeth. “I have waited long enough. We have both waited long enough!”
“Don’t!” Sobehk turned completely away, presenting his shoulder. “Khan, I’m asking you … please don’t push this, at least not now.”
Khan sighed. “Very well. Not now.” ~ Page 176

Grade A for creating both a smart and complex but also shockingly good Sci-fi Ménage Romance there Morgan Hawke. YOU SO ROCK!

Jamie Craig ~ Unveiled (The Master Chronicles 2)
From: Amber Quill Press

Whenever I think of a really good representation of the type of Ménage Romance story I hate to read I keep coming back to this one. Does that suck for just about any writer to hear? Oh god, what am I doing? I am so sorry Vivien Dean and Pepper Espinoza you guys are dang good writers.

It’s just that…

As you may have guessed when I started this cycle of reviews covering Ménage Romance I had in mind what worked for me and why and I had firmly in mind what did not. The problem was though I was trying desperately not to call into question the capabilities of the writers involved. The examples I wanted to pull from needed to represent good solid writing that simply worked for me based on Balance, Benefit, and Clarity or did not despite the quality of the writing involved. I was not just going to prove my point from simply picking on some poor writers first foray into writing or M/M/F and point and say “see see see!” That was bad so everything like that is bad.

I repeat again, Jamie Craig’s Master Of Obsidian sits on the Grade A shelf here on my review site for the very reason that Vivien Dean and Pepper Espinoza are talented writers. When considering this book in my opinion um errr… Well, somehow you didn’t think your cunning plan all the way through is all.

So, in Unveiled the vampire Gideon and his faithful sidekick and homosexual lover Jesse Madding are back and at the scene of the newest grisly crime they will investigate in our second book here. Gideon does his typical “must protect Jesse from the evil that vampires do routine”, ho hum. Then wham we are off to that BDSM club scene we visited in the last book that everybody talks about and Jesse is put through his now routine sexual paces by Gideon.

So far so good. Not much here that diverges from the last book. But wait! They pick up Emmy the Emo Empath and take her home.

What lies in store for our boys? Will someone kidnap Jesse? Will Gideon become enraged and rip the immediate city to shreds as he desperately looks for Jesse? Will something happen to tell us why we are reading this book?

As soon as he heard the bathroom door slam shut, Gideon chuckled. “And you give me a hard time,” he teased. “You scared her away.”
“I scared her away? She was fine until you came in here and started staring at her. You were practically licking your chops.”
“I was not licking. And it’s not my fault I have eyes. She’s a beautiful girl.” Walking over to the refrigerator, Gideon opened it and began taking out the items he’d need to make breakfast for them. “Don’t try and tell me you didn’t notice her breasts.”
“I didn’t,” Jess said, so evenly Gideon almost believed him. “She is a beautiful girl, but she’s also been through an awful ordeal. She wants to run. Let’s not give her any excuses to bolt before we know she’s safe.”
Page ~ 43

Wait! Hold on here! Did Gideon just ask his homosexual lover if he had seen her boobies? WTF? OK, in the last book Jesse discovered old pictures showing Gideon to be bisexual… BUT! Jesse never indicated any inclination for anything but Gideon’s ass. Why would Gideon ask him that? This is not the “classy ancient vampire” I knew from the last book.

“If you’re going to stay here, you’re going to need some things,” he said. He offered her a small smile. “I’d offer more of my clothes, but I’m not exactly your size.”
Emma shook her head. “I haven’t been back to my place in two weeks. Is it safe?”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll get what you need.” His smile widened. “Ask Jesse. I’ve got a good eye.”
Jess shrugged. “I’m barely allowed to dress myself anymore. But I’ve got no complaints.”
Her mouth twitched. “You mean he lets you wear more than a collar and leash around the office?”
Jess seemed startled by the question, but then he smiled easily. “Yes, but only on days we intend to get work done.”
Page ~ 46

Hold on, why is Jesse suddenly joking with this complete stranger about him and his lover’s very private BDSM lifestyle? This type of thing was what sold me on his relationship to Gideon in the last book because they had been described as buddies for so long and all that… but this perfect stranger of a woman is not freakin Gideon.

Her gaze immediately flickered to his neck. “You really…like that sort of place?”
Jess hesitated. “Yes. No. It’s difficult to explain. When we’re here, in the office, we have a pretty equitable relationship. Well, as equal as things can be, given how controlling and demanding Gideon is. But when we’re there, we’re both afforded a certain…freedom to behave and respond in certain ways.”
Emma sat there for a minute, mulling over his words. “I guess if you love a person enough, wanting to make them happy can become what makes you happy. I’ve just…I don’t think I’ve ever been in a relationship like that. I know I’ve never loved anybody like that.”
“You’re right about how it makes Gideon feel, and how that makes me feel, but that’s not the…it isn’t the only reason
I agree to go there with him.” Jess didn’t know why it was so important to him she understood. She didn’t know them, and he had no reason to believe she even cared about his explanations. “I get my own satisfaction from the experience.”
Page ~ 52

What’s with Jesse continuing to spill his guts? Why are we going page after page of talk talk talk? This is not the Jesse I knew from the last book who faithfully kept Gideon’s darkest secrets.

“I guess it’s better than a doghouse,” she murmured, and then chuckled lightly. “It’s not like you don’t already have the leash.”
“Made use.” Jess chuckled. “Past tense. That’s one thing you have to be prepared for if you’re going to work here, you know. Gideon thinks nothing of twenty-four hour shifts.”
“Stupid vampires.” And her voice was even lower now, her lashes thick as she finally closed her eyes. “They never sleep.”
“No,” Jess agreed softly, watching as her face relaxed and her breathing evened. He willed nothing to disturb her. Gideon would be quiet when he came in because he always moved like he was skulking in shadows. He just hoped the phone wouldn’t ring and no unexpected visitors arrived. He felt quite certain he would do bodily harm to anybody who disturbed Emma’s sleep.
Page ~ 58

Are you getting the sinking feeling this whole scene was an all talk, not show fest that went on and on and on? Yeah, so Emma The Emo Empath becomes the third member of their relationship because Gideon liked her rack and Jesse has suddenly turned into slave mommy.

Where do I begin?

Clarity – Holy preexisting relationship Batman! They wrote a whole M/M Romance book selling me on this dark and dangerous romance between these two GAY men one of whom is a vampire that I ate up like a box of See’s Candy including it’s solid HEA. Suddenly in the very next book I am supposed to handle them becoming this ménage because um, because… I DON’T KNOW! They picked some poor woman up at the bar? You got me here. I am lost!

Balance – I guess the focus is on Gideon. Since he is the only one plainly labeled bisexual in the first book. There was not a lot of help here for me to pick out how he renegotiated the relationship he was having with Jesse. There simply was no scenes of them together alone, without HER. Just because Gideon is a BDSM Top and Jesse is a BDSM Bottom does not negate negotiation and communication and ya know, all those things that make BDSM consensual like.

Benefit – The only one who got any benefit that I could pick out was Emma The Emo Empath (AKA Mary Sue) and that was from having Gideon’s protection. Which I would think would be good enough to stay a couple of weeks at their place and do the dishes but grounds for a ménage… NO FUCKING WAY! In my opinion Jesse should have been jealous and threatened and every other logical emotional reaction I can think of to her becoming part of their relationship but there was nothing there, nothing I could relate to. Dead, flat, no spark at all.

So I guess in the end you might be wondering why if I clearly show this book got a solid F in all my analysis of it as a Ménage Romance so why give it a Grade D? Because the writing was still strong and that at least deserved being mentioned.

I know that Vivien Dean and Pepper Espinoza continue to write this series and it is apparent they have fans who read and enjoy it. Hell, it probably got way better and this was just a bump in the road so to speak. I just wanted to provide a clear example of the type of Ménage Romance that plainly does not work for me. I need more than simply two available gay guys and a damsel in distress and a couple of BDSM scenes to explain it all away.