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I'm Over at Dear Author...

with a review of Full Moon by Mari Carr.

See what I thought here.

Tea for Three by Anne Douglas

Why I read it:  This book was recommended to my by one of my Twitter friends when we were having a discussion about m/m/f menage stories, so I went and bought it.

What it's about: (from author's website)   Straight, gay or in between, turning thirty’s never easy.

Craig wonders just where his life is heading. His relationship with Jack is satisfying, to say the least. But deep down, he sometimes still craves the soft touches of a woman.

Something’s bugging Craig, and Jack knows it. Some sort of pre midlife crisis that he just can’t understand. The sex is hot and demanding. Their home life is comfortable without being too familiar. But he just can’t help feeling he might be about to lose the love of his life.

Then they meet lovely, loyal and slightly broken Wren Browne. It doesn’t take long to realize, they might have just have found the solution to both of their problems.

Love isn’t tidy or simple; it doesn’t come packaged in neat little boxes. And sometimes you have to set the table with tea for three.

What worked for me (and what didn't): If there are two men and one woman in a romance, my personal preference is that it is an m/m/f rather than an m/f/m story.  I have enjoyed m/f/m stories but I think they work better where there is a sexual connection between all three parties - it has something to do with my sense of equality I think.   When GrowlyCub said that she thought this book was one of the better examples of the genre, I couldn't resist.  I didn't end up liking it as much as she did, but I did enjoy it.

July Round Up

On Paper/eBook

Mad About the Boys by JL Merrow and Jo Myles - B  This anthology is a collection of 1 new and 4 previously published short stories featuring m/m/f romance (which is my favourite kind of menage story).   

Dinner for Three (Merrow) is a wonderful start to the anthology, a contemporary about two happily coupled guys who are interested in expanding their relationship to include their oblivious housemate Claire - I could happily have read a full length novel about this trio.  Because of the very short word count, the characterisations are necessarily very thin and the story doesn't take us beyond one day of encounters.  What there was however was so very engaging, I was sad when the story ended - I really wanted more.
   
In the Greenwood (Myles) is a paranormal fairy tale of a wood sprite who brings two men together and then manages to become real - again, this story suffered a bit from the short length but it's fairy tale quality meant that a certain air of unreality was to be expected and made the story work better than it would have otherwise.

The Antithesis of Magic (Merrow) is about a man with no magic in a world full of magic users, who finds he is the perfect third for a fairy and a werewolf who need him.  I wasn't clear exactly on why Gus was needed and there wasn't really any relationship between the three so it was the least satisfying in terms of romance.  If it had been expanded to a longer story so I could see a courtship/developing relationship, I would have enjoyed this much more because the set up and the tone of the story was great.   

Changeling (Merrow) Another fairy tale type story, this was a lot more successful for me.  The connection between Meg and Adam/Thistledown was apparent and, I felt the characters were more developed. Certain character-types were representative/short cuts, but this works in a fairy tale so that's not a criticism - rather a clever use of the style.    

Kiss Mark Two (Myles) This contemporary story was a delight and, in my opinion, the best of the book.  Like my other favourite, Dinner for Three, it is a contemporary, but this time it is an m/f couple who hook up with his best friend.  Like the first story in the anthology, I could happily have read a whole novel about them, but the story did feel remarkably complete for all of the short word count.  I enjoyed the tone and the characters very much. I think I'd quite like a friend like Ruby.

All in all, the anthology was a lot of fun and perfect for when you're time poor or perhaps having trouble deciding what to read next.

BUY IT:

AMAZON       KOBO

A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses by Molly Harper, narrated by Amanda Ronconi

Why I listened to it:  I have enjoyed all of the Jane Jameson/Half Moon Hollow books on audio and picked this one up at Audible when it was released.

What it's about: (from Goodreads):  Nola Leary would have been content to stay in Kilcairy, Ireland, healing villagers at her family’s clinic with a mix of magic and modern medicine. But a series of ill-timed omens and a deathbed promise to her grandmother have sent her on a quest to Half-Moon Hollow, Kentucky, to secure her family’s magical potency for the next generation. Her supernatural task? To unearth four artifacts hidden by her grandfather before a rival magical family beats her to it.

Complication One: Her grandfather was Mr. Wainwright and the artifacts are lost somewhere in what is now Jane Jameson's book shop.

Complication Two: her new neighbor, Jed Trudeau, who keeps turning up half naked at the strangest times, a distraction Nola doesn't need. And teaming up with a real-life Adonis is as dangerous as it sounds, especially when he’s got the face of an angel and the abs of a washboard—can Nola complete her mission before falling completely under his spell?

What worked for me (and what didn't): To be honest, I nearly quit this one about 10 minutes in. I usually enjoy Amanda Ronconi's narration but her accent for the narrator and main character, Nola, was putting me off.  I persisted, in the hope I'd get used to it.  Fortunately, by the middle of Chapter 3, it was explained that Nola's accent was a horrid mashup of Boston and Ireland and maybe something else.  And you know what? That's exactly what Nola's accent sounded like.  I thought it was Ms. Ronconi doing a really bad Irish accent.  But I did her a disservice when I thought that - she actually voiced the character as written - it's just that it's not written right at the beginning of the story so it was a little hard to understand at first.  When there were Irish characters, Ms. Ronconi did a fine Irish accent.  I can't say I'm sorry that the Boston dropped out of Nola's accent for the most part by the latter part of the story.  It did sound a bit like Ms. Ronconi's teeth were clenched and that can't have been comfortable.