UNCOVERING SATISFACTION

TITLE: UNCOVERING SATISFACTION

AUTHOR: DIANE LEYNE

Word Count: 44.823

Date: 24/03/2014

Grade: 3.5

Details: no. 3 Satisfaction, Texas

            Received from Siren through

            Love Romances and More

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“Nicola "Nick" Marlow is an agent on leave after a devastating ending to her last undercover assignment when a friend asks her to come to Satisfaction to get to the bottom of a series of incidents that may just close the Whips and Spurs forever.

Micah Durrance owns the public saloon and private BDSM club and is getting desperate. His best friend, Sheriff Dace Lowe, is stumped too, and when a friend recommends Nick as a top-notch investigator they both jump at his offer.

Micah and Dace are surprised when Nick turns out to be Nicola, and shocked when she decides to go undercover as their sub. For real. Feelings escalate quickly as do the incidents as Nicola becomes a target. And what will happen when it’s all over? Is it all just a job to Nicola, or will her heart get broken when it’s time to leave?”

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My thoughts:

This book is the third title in the ‘Satisfaction, Texas’ series. I haven’t read the two previous titles but never felt as if I was missing vital information while reading this book. Having said that, there were clear references to previous books, story-lines and characters and it is possible that I would have gotten more out of this book if I had read it in order.

Nicola – Nick - Marlow is a top notch agent on extended leave after her last undercover operation ended in disaster leaving her feeling guilty and the victim of devastating nightmares. Going slowly crazy at home and with no chance of being redeployed in the near future, Nick jumps at the opportunity when her former partner offers her the chance to investigate a chain of incidents apparently aimed at the Whips and Spurs Saloon and BDSM club in Satisfaction, Texas.

Micah has thrown everything he is and owns into his public Saloon and private BDSM club. The acts of vandalism and string of incidents assaulting his business may close him down if they aren’t solved and stopped soon. His best friend Dace is the local Sherriff, but limited in what he can do. An official investigation into the incidents would reveal the true nature of the private club; something both men are determined to prevent.

When they’re offered Nick’s assistance they jump on the chance. They are surprised when Nick turns out to not only be a woman but also one they’re both attracted to. When Nick offers to become their submissive for the duration of the investigation they’re both shocked and delighted.

Nick takes to submission like a fish to water and what is more, all three of them soon develop feelings for each other they weren’t expecting. When Nicola sets herself up as an obvious target, danger becomes very real. And what will happen when the case is closed and Nick has to leave again?

Let me start with the things I really enjoyed in this book. I loved the idea of Satisfaction, Texas; a place where ménages are frequent and fully accepted. And I had great fun reading about Nicola’s journey into submission and the intricacies involved in a relationship between one sub and two Doms.

It was very nice to see Diane Leyne acknowledging other genre authors (Cherise Sinclair, Lexi Blake and Tymber Dalton) early on in this story. Naming those authors gave me a good idea of what Nicola’s level of (in)experience with BDSM was and made it easier to follow her thought processes.

And, finally, I really liked the idea behind the story. I loved that the person I thought was behind the attacks turned out to be innocent, although I wasn’t completely surprised by all the revelations when they came.

There were one or two things I was less happy about though. While I liked the idea behind the story I wasn’t completely happy with how it was executed. The writing felt choppy at times; the jumps from one scene to the next were occasionally too big and sudden. I would be fully engaged in the story only to be dragged out of it by a sudden change of scenery or perspective.

The erotic scenes between Nicola and her two men had the potential to be hot and fascinating but I couldn’t feel it. I read the descriptions but had a hard time engaging in what I was reading. In fact, I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters; they just never came completely alive for me.

To summarize I would say that this is a fun and borderline hot story. It was definitely a quick and easy read and a very pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It just didn’t quite live up to my hopes and expectations.

DIAL M FOR MENAGE

TITLE: DIAL M FOR MENAGE

AUTHOR: EMILY RYAN-DAVIS

Pages: 129

Date: 05/03/2014

Grade: 4+

Details: No. 2 Ménage on 34^th Street

             Received from Carina Press

             Through Love Romances and More

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

Katrina Holland began the New Year by waking up with two men in her bed. Introducing marine Hunter Croft into her marriage was passionate and explosive—for Katrina and her husband Liam. But now that the honeymoon period is over and they've returned to the real world, can this arrangement ever work?

Liam Holland thought he had it all—a beautiful wife, great home, and a solid career. Only one thing—one man—eluded him. When he saw an opportunity to grab Hunter, Liam reached out with both hands, determined not to let go. But as the first rush of passion fades, Liam must identify exactly how far he's willing to go to keep Hunter a part of their lives.

Hunter needs something only Liam and Kat can give him. But while he's willing to change some aspects of his life to be with the couple, he's a marine before all else. When a reassignment means relocation, he'll need to move on—with or without his two lovers.

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My thoughts:

Two months have passed since the events in ‘Ménage on 34^th Street’ that brought Katrina, Liam and Hunter together. Two months that brought them a level of happiness none of them thought achievable, but didn’t solve all the practical issues resulting from their unconventional relationship.

Hunter knows he is with the two people he wants to spend the rest of his life with but is also sure that this relationship will never be acceptable in the eyes of his superiors in the military. And his career is as important to him as Liam and Kat are.

Liam is still struggling with control issues. He can’t stop himself from keeping information that might distress or upset Kat and Hunter from them even while he knows that his secrets will cause trouble.

Kat can’t believe her luck now that she is with the two men who mean everything to her. She is all too aware of both Liam’s and Hunter’s issues though, and being the one in the middle, trying to hold it all together is emotionally draining.

Now that Hunter is about to receive his new posting it is time for this triad to put action to their words. Is Hunter really comfortable with having his two lovers close to his work environment and are Liam and Kat really prepared to leave their familiar surroundings behind in order to be with the man they have chosen as the one who completes them?  

I read ‘Ménage on 34^th Street’ in December and wrote the following words in my review:

“...by the time the story ends you know that these three people will be in a relationship that requires work and compromise on all sides, that things won’t always be easy or smooth for them...”

I also stated that I was delighted to see that a sequel was forthcoming and that I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next to these characters.

I was right on both fronts. This story deals with all the issues connected to making a triad work. Traditional relationships can be tricky at times. Throwing a third person into the equation, with their own ego, history, and hang-ups, creates a whole host of extra potential pitfalls. All three characters involved have their own doubts and insecurities. And because all of them deal differently it causes tension. Liam’s reluctance to share what bothers him until he thinks he’s found the perfect solution drives both Hunter and Katrina crazy. Hunter’s need to keep his emotional life completely disconnected from his professional one, creates frustration for all three of them. Katrina is, at times, stuck in the middle; trying to read both her men and defuse situations before they become too big.

The road Kat, Liam and Hunter need to travel to come to a place where their future seems secure is hard and at times filled with fear and confusion. It is the way in which they confront their problems and refuse to stop talking to each other that sees them through and made this book such a very satisfying read.

“This is where my military training is going to serve us (...). If I didn’t learn anything else, I learned how to move beyond being part of a whole, to seeing the whole as an entity bigger than its pieces. The three of us, we’re bigger together than as individuals. We’re bound together and we’re not coming apart now.” – Hunter.

As they go along Liam, Kat and Hunter learn to trust each other as well as themselves. They discover that while they may each have their own hang-ups and insecurities, they are in complete agreement when it comes to their need to be and stay together and that it is those differences between them that make them so much stronger together.

 “They were three separate people even when they were together, and being individuals meant they had different relationships with one another. Those one-on-one relationships made them a stronger whole.”

And it was that focus on the intricacies of the developing relationship that made this book so much more than ‘just’ another hot and fascinating read. Having said that, the story was most definitely hot and fascinating, especially Hunter’s slow but oh so sensual acceptance of his need for Liam.

“When Hunter drove into her and froze, shuddering first, then going pliant in her embrace while Liam raced to join them, it was not ordinary. It was perfect.”

This story ends in a most satisfying way. It was both the happy ending I was hoping for and completely credible. Of course that does leave me with one issue; it is quite possible that this is the last time I get to read about Liam, Kat and Hunter and that idea makes me a little bit sad.