Read my reviews of the previous books in the Trouble With Triads series:
- Spare Room (#1)
- Spare Parts (#2)
Disclaimer: I received an advanced electronic review copy of this book from the author.
Denning saved the best for last in her trio of unique poly romances. Once again, she also presents a new arc within the context of this trope. This time, Ethan, Lucas, and Connor have never met each other before the events of this story, which means that each of them starts on equal footing as their relationships develop. None of them are looking for a boyfriend but are up for different levels of fun, so it’s fitting that love sneaks up on all three, and they end up with two boyfriends for the price of one.
One of my favorite elements of this book is that no time is spent on any angst or drama about the poly nature of their relationship, either internally or with any of the secondary characters. Denning also does an excellent job of balancing the conflict within each character’s life (especially for Lucas and Ethan) so that the seriousness is not brushed off, but the overall story doesn’t drown in angst. I actually got a kick out of how the youngest of the three, Connor, is the one whose life is the most “sorted” as Lucas deals with work issues and Ethan works his way through the aftermath of two unhealthy relationships.
I usually hate complaining that a book needs to be longer, but in this particular case, my only minor quibble is that I never had a good sense of the time progression between scenes (whether days or weeks). Denning likely wanted to keep the story focus on the triad, but I would have appreciated more context to see the three individual relationships between the men develop.
Overall, I had an excellent time with the individual stand-alone stories in this trilogy. Denning is always an author to turn to when you’re in the mood for nontraditional character dynamics and a delicious combination of heat and feels.
Rating: 4.5 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.