By Surprise by Alyssa Turner
March 2, 2012
M/M/F Contemporary
Etopia Press

Reviewed by Mandi

Paxton and Nicholas have been in a committed relationship for six years, and legally married for two. They have a very strong relationship, Paxton always knowing exactly what Nicholas needs and vice versa. Nicholas knows Paxton used to date women and considers himself bi-sexual but in the years he has been with him, the issue of women has never come up. That is until Nicholas finds a box of cheerleader porn stashed away. Nicholas doesn’t feel threatened by this, rather he wants Paxton to explore whatever sexual desires he has. If that means bringing a woman into the mix for a threesome, than so be it and Nicholas hopes to find someone for Paxton’s birthday next month.

By chance, Paxton runs into his childhood best friend, Jodi at the store. Jodi ran off with who she thought was the man of her dreams, but he turned out to be an abusive jerk. Now divorced, she is back in her hometown ready to start her life over. Nicholas has recently been laid off, and Jodi is very short on money herself. Since Nicholas and Paxton live in a large Victorian house, after some discussion they invite Jodi to become their roommate for awhile until everyone’s money issues can be dealt with. This also gives Jodi and Paxton a chance to catch up…and well, we all know what this leads to.

As I read this book I felt like everything was not fleshed out as well as it could be and the events are very predictable. Paxton and Nicholas have a very nice relationship and I liked reading about them. I think my issues come into play when Jodi enters the picture. I think adding a woman to a very established gay relationship would have a lot of issues..or a lot of bumps along the way. And while there is some brief conflict, it all works out very methodically. Jodi runs into Paxton. Then she moves in. Then she gets turned on when she hears the two of them having sex. Then she becomes closer with Nicholas (who she didn’t know previously). Then there is a small fight, and then they all have sex and live happily ever after. We never dive into the nitty gritty of literally adding someone else to a marriage, which is a very big deal. The outline of a good story is here, but I needed more depth.

Rating: C

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