Max and Shaw were always fond of Keri, but the stunning woman strutting back into their lives is a far cry from the serious, studious teen they remember. She wants to take a walk on the racy side—with both of them—and the cowboys are only too happy to oblige. As they suspected, the sex is explosive, though Max and Shaw aren’t sure Keri can really handle everything they have to give.
Nor do they know if she can handle the sexy secret they’ve yet to divulge.
From Ellora’s Cave comes another fine novella bearing the unmistakable stamp of Mari Carr’s writing expertise. Filled with erotic love and telling the story of three people who are looking for that elusive “something” to make their lives complete, Keri, Shaw & Max find themselves once again within hugging distance.
Mari Carr has written a number of novellas involving menage and this one has the added component of a m/m relationship between Max and Shaw. These two successful cowboys had become best friends when Shaw came to Max’s home as a foster child and had experienced the unconditional love of parents that wanted his happiness above all else. Max had always been the dominant personality–he needed to control his life, his environment, his future–and Shaw was happy to follow Max’s lead. Because of that, Shaw had graduated from high school with honors just like Max, and when Max went to work on the Mockingbird Ranch, it seemed like a good idea for to Shaw to follow him there, too. So it was that they had met the owner’s niece, Keri, a young pre-teen when they first knew her, who had been taken in by her Uncle Brody because he parents had, for all intent, abandoned her. They had watched her grow up and known she was very special, but when she went away to college and stayed away for 8 years, they thought she was well and truly out of their lives. Now she was back and their feelings for her were stronger than ever.
But these two strong and caring cowboys had a secret–one they were reluctant, or perhaps fearful of sharing with Keri, especially if their intentions for her played out as they hoped. Their attraction for one another had finally surfaced some years previously when the woman they had shared left and they remained locked in each other’s arms. It was a closely guarded secret but they suspected that Keri’s uncle knew about their relationship. That became evident when Uncle Brody insisted they be honest with Keri as they were preparing to spend their first night with her. But Max was too afraid of losing her before they had her, and Shaw agreed to wait. It was a mistake and one that almost cost them the best thing that had happend to them.
This novella is about finally finding the person that would complete them–not only for Shaw and Max, but would finally heal Keri’s heart and fill the holes that had been left by her parents’ abandonment and the heartbreak she had suffered by the break-up with her boyfriend of 4 years during her sojourn in New York. It was also about Max and Shaw who needed to recognize some home truths about their own relationship before they could appreciate and fully let Keri into their lives and their hearts. Was there really room for all three of them in this relationshi?.
Carr has a wonderful ability to flesh out characters even in a limited number of pages and while I have long wanted her to give us a full length novel, she has always written stories that open up her characters fully and allow the reader to understand what was going on with each of them. It is so in this novella. This is erotica, pure and simple. But it is about generosity and the willingness to give and receive love on many levels, accepting people as they are and celebrating them for who they are. In doing so, each character is allowed to grow beyond their own dreams and hopes–all of them become more open and generous then ever they thought possible.
This is a quick read but one that can be enjoyed when there isn’t time for a full-length novel. And this author has set a high standard for all who wish to write in the novella form.
I give this work a rating of 4 out of 5.
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I had not heard about this book yet, but your terrific review has had me add Inflamed to my TBB/TBR list; it sounds like a really good read!