Misfits by Garrett Leigh
Released: March 16, 2015
M/M/M Romance
Riptide
Reviewed by Mandi
I haven’t read a good male/male and oh yeah – one more male book in a while. I like this author’s voice – there is a decent amount of sex and it kind of follows the predictable pattern of two of the guys hitting it off, then the third guy comes in, and then all three have hot sex. But there is more than sex to this story and I believed in the three-way HEA at the end.
Tom and Cass (psst – Cass is a dude, for some reason Cass=female for me and for an entire chapter I thought Cass was a girl.) Anyway! Tom and Cass have been partners in love and business for many years. Owning several restaurants, Tom runs the business side of things, with input from Cass, and Cass lives in the kitchen as a chef. They own a flat together and a house in the country. They work a lot, so they don’t go home together every night, but their relationship works for them. Tom is more of the OCD business guy and Cass is a little more free-spirited with a rougher background. Also part of their relationship is sleeping with other men. They each take the occasional guy home once in a while, and their open relationship has always worked for them.
One day, Tom meets a waiter named Jared – and unfortunately, Jared has a bad day at being a waiter and gets fired. Jared suffers from Tourette’s syndrome, so he has uncontrolled tics and outbursts. Tom and Jared end up running into a bar later that day and hitting it off, so much in fact, that they sleep together that night. These two start to take a liking to each other, much more than just having sex. Cass is totally cool with this, but doesn’t know Jared as well as Tom because he works too much. When he tried to meet Jared, Jared got too nervous and Cass doesn’t want to put that pressure on him. But over time, Jared and Cass become friends, as Jared’s affections increase for Tom, and eventually come to include Cass as well.
I like how everything plays out in this book. Tom and Cass have a very solid relationship going, but it’s not perfect. They both work too much and don’t always put the effort into romance. Cass keeps things inside of him and lets things fester. They bicker, but they do truly love each other. When Jared enters the picture, Cass and Tom still remain strong. Their love never came into question and I liked that. It’s more how Jared fits with Tom while Cass doesn’t know him that well. Jared has a lot of insecurities due to his Tourette Syndrome. It’s hard for him to keep a job or to go out in public when he is tired or nervous. Tom and Cass both come to help him accept who he is and give him confidence.
As I mentioned, the sex is a little predictable – first it’s Tom and Jared. Then Jared and Cass exchange lots of texts and start to become friends. Then they start to hook up and then one drunken night the three of them go all together. So it’s how I expected it to happen, but it’s hot nonetheless.
There is a little drama with Cass and some secrets from his past that come up at the end, but I appreciated that there was no forced conflict between the three of them. They built a mature relationship and it held strong.
Fun and sexy, I’ll read this author again.
Grade: B
I’m always on the lookout for a good m/m or m/m/m romance. Finding one that’s more than just strung together smexy times is not easy, tracking down one that puts the emotional relationship at the forefront is like going on a scavenger hunt blindfolded, frustrating and often futile. Thanks to your review I purchased this book and luuuuuuved it! I’d give it a solid A, there were a couple things that I wish the author had addressed earlier in the story, such as Cass’s past and have the drama/resolution sooner and seen more interaction/support with Tom and Jared. The ending felt a smidge rushed to me and some things left unanswered like what’s the meaning with the dragonfly? I did like seeing the whole restaurant/food chain behind the scenes vibe that the author had going on. I’m hoping to see more from this trio and am for sure going to get other books from this author.
So glad you enjoyed! It’s so hard to find a solid m/m/m – and this one truly was believable. I agree, the restaurant scene was nicely done too. I need to go through her back list – Helyce who reviews here has really enjoyed her stuff.