Thi is Not the End by Sidney Bell
Contemporary Romance/Menage/Polyamory
January 11, 2021, by Carina Press
I am always looking for more polyam books, especially ones with heat and emotion. This one delivers on both sides. Anya and Zac are married and have a son, and what works for them in their marriage is for them to have sex – together – with other men. Other people may not understand this but it works for them. Zac’s bandmate, Cal, definitely cannot understand this but both the emotion and the heat kick into high gear when all 3 realize there is some major attraction happening amongst them.
I just loved the balance between these three so much. Anya has a knack for drawing Cal out of his shell and making both men realize their feelings for each other. And the banter between all of them in their tender moments and not-so-tender moments cracked me up to no end. The emotion and angst between the two men, in particular, made me just melt though. I love Bell’s voice and can’t wait for more from her.
CW: Alcoholism
Grade: A
How to be Good by Chace Verity
LGBT Contemporary Romance
February 2, 2021 Self Published
This is a seemingly lighthearted read with a bit more going on beneath the surface, which I appreciated. I love Chace’s writing, but with this one, I just don’t think I connected so much to Rian, the protagonist who is a talk show host. And I think that says more about me than about Chace’s writing. I found it difficult to connect to someone so outgoing as a talk show host, all I could think of was…*gestures wildly at the current talk show hosts*. He was described as someone who would do anything for a laugh and…that type of character is just hard for me.
I did love Darrell Stanly, but really, he’s an English teacher who wears a lot of sweaters. That was a natural fit for me. I also liked the secondary character of Mari and enjoyed her storyline. But there were a few times I kept thinking is this weird that a teenager is befriending an adult man and that no one is concerned? The ending felt weird for me with her storyline too…although I could really see this ending happening IRL with Ellen’s talk show. I don’t know, this felt like very much it’s a me thing and not this book thing. I feel like this book will work for many readers, the couple’s dynamics worked well together and I thought their arc was believable, it’s just that YMMV.
Grade: B-
I have Bell’s book on my TBR. I’m glad to hear you liked it, I will bump it up.
If you like ménage/polyam romance, I strongly recommend Ainsley Booth’s FULL MOUNTIE and Zoe York’s ALL THAT THEY DESIRE. Booth and York are the same person, but the books published as Booth are erotic romances, whereas the York books are “small-town sexy.” Both books feature MMF pairings and both are good & angsty, but I give the edge to FULL MOUNTIE. ALL THAT THEY DESIRE is about three people deciding they want to be together; FULL MOUNTIE is about what happens once the decision has been made.
Ooh, I’ve read Full Mountie but not the other, putting it on the list – thanks!
@Melinda, I’ve been hearing excellent things about This is Not the End; it’s definitely on my list! Thank you also, @DDD, for your suggestions.
I hope you love it too! Her RS series was one of my favorites so I highly rec that as well if you like that genre.