“Their weakness.”

FINAL DECISION: A menage story, but more than that.  This is a great suspense story with some hot sexy moments with two brothers and their fellow agent thrown in.

THE STORY: After years of working as an agent, Summer has had enough.  But when her identity is revealed and an enemy intends to eliminate her, two men who worked closely with her for years come to help her.  Falcon and Raeg are half-brothers who share their work and their women.  Now they want to protect Summer and there is a strong attraction between them all.  But Falcon and Raeg have secrets of their own and it might mean that having summer will break the brothers apart.

OPINION:  This book is grounded in the suspense story of the man hunting Summer and also the secrets that Falcon and Raeg have. There are two dangerous stories at play here and plenty of action to satisfy readers.

Summer is a complex woman.  A longtime agent, she can take care of herself.  Yet Falcon and Raeg are surprised by the woman they see when she is with her family. She is sexually attracted to both men and willing to engage in a relationship that many would see as extreme and yet Summer is also entirely emotionally attached to these two men from the beginning.  She is hurt by the standoff nature of Raeg. She is also haunted by the necessity of her killing the woman she thought of as her best friend — even though the woman betrayed Summer and resulted in the enemy who is hunting Summer now.

Falcon is the most approachable of the brothers. Charming and easy going is what people see in him and yet he also possesses a dominant side which comes out with Summer.  I loved that Falcon likes brushing Summer’s hair.  That attribute is so sweet and yet so sexy. He is the more open of the brothers to Summer’s allure. Although he wants his brother as part of their relationship, he insists that Raeg be an equal partner and not absent himself emotionally from the relationship.

Raeg is especially haunted by the brothers past.  While Falcon can accept that they might not be able to hold Summer forever and yet wants what he can have today, Raeg is afraid of emotionally opening himself up.  He is the dark, brooding, jerky brother. His dominance is dark and especially strong. It is his emotional journey which makes up most of the romantic conflict in this story.

The relationship in this book is complex. The two brothers are different and each fulfills something different for Summer. Having a triangle romance emotionally is a difficult enterprise especially where there are secrets and difficulties that the brothers are not revealing. Half of this book is about the developing relationship between the three main characters and the remainder is the suspense story which keeps the plot moving quickly.

The one weakness of this story is that what happened with these characters before the beginning of this book appears central to the connection between these characters (working together and being “friends” for eight years) and yet that building of the relationship is completely absent.  Everything happens offstage and thus truly feeling the connection between these characters is more difficult to feel for the first half of the book.

Despite this, I enjoyed this book and it fits right in the Bound Hearts series.

WORTH MENTIONING:  This is a MMF romance with an emotional as well as a sexual relationship between each of the men and the woman.

CONNECTED BOOKS:  INTENSE PLEASURE is the fourteenth book in the Bound Hearts series, but this book can be read as a standalone.

STAR RATING:  I give this book 4 stars.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in order to provide a review.  I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions contained herein are my own.

FINAL DECISION:  Filled with angst and drama, this is my favorite of the series. Cam is a tormented man desperately trying to keep the woman he loves without revealing his pain and torment. Sexy and emotional, this is a well rounded book.

THE STORY: Jaci Wright has loved Cam Falladay since she was a child but for seven years she has been running from Cam and his twin brother Chase.  When she was twenty one she thought that she was finally going to get the night she wanted with Cam until she found out that Chase is part of the deal. Her current job for the Club (unknown to Jaci the Club is a menage club) brings her back into the Falladays sphere.

OPINION:  This book depicts a difficult relationship.  Cam and Jaci love one another from the start of this book but both have secrets. In Cam’s case, his secrets prevent him from having a normal relationship with Jaci. He cannot sleep with a woman, cannot hold and comfort her, and he needs to keep himself emotionally removed during sex. Despite this, Cam is a strong man. He has survived and managed to cope as well as he could.  Now Jaci is demanding more that survival from Cam and his coping mechanisms are crumbling.

The two have a very difficult relationship journey in this book. Abuse, pain, shame, despair, love, desperation, desire are all explored in this book.  Jaci is incredibly strong in this book.  It is her love, her devotion, her ability to love Cam even when he is acting like a jerk that centers this book. Her willingness to accept Cam’s limitations even for a short time and yet continue to push his boundaries makes this book.

The menage relationship is also more complicated here. Jaci and Chase are friends, and they both love Cam. The menage relationship is exciting for them but it is also a way for both of them to connect with Cam who keeps himself closed up most of the time. The menage is neither one where there is a romantic love between the woman and the two men nor one where the man is just a third functionary. Chase, Cam and Jaci have an emotional connection that goes beyond sex but doesn’t involve romantic love between Jaci and Chase. Leigh is pushing and exploring different versions of the menage relationship as the Bound Hearts series continues.

I enjoyed this book.  Sexy and hot, it also has a deep emotional core between the characters.

WORTH MENTIONING:  This book has a MMF menage within a MF relationship.

CONNECTED BOOKS:  WICKED PLEASURE is book 9 in the Bound Hearts series.  This book can be read on its own.  The series is connected only by the appearances of characters. The story is self contained.

STAR RATING:  I give this book 4.5 stars.