Romance & Menage
Last week I talked about erotic romance, a subgenre I’m becoming more familiar with. A typical erotic romance has explicit language and frequent sex scenes between a loving, monogamous couple. Multiple partners and same-sex pairings are also common, however.
Although m/m/f (two men + female) isn’t my “thing,” I decided to try Lauren Dane’s Laid Bare. Dane is a favorite among romance bloggers for good reason. She’s an excellent writer. The sex scenes in this book are sizzling, the characters are great, and the emotional quotient is very high. I really enjoyed the relationship between Erin and Todd. These reunited lovers definitely work out their kinks!
My problems were as follows:
Erin’s back story was too painful for me to read. I can’t say it wasn’t handled well, just that I felt so uncomfortable I had to skip over it.
Ben didn’t add much to the relationship. Todd and Erin are great together, and just learning to please each other. While I enjoyed the voyeurism, I wasn’t on board when Ben joined in. Todd and Ben also share a few intimacies, not my fantasy.
Erin says the two men look “pretty together” or something like that. When the three of them negotiate the sexual relationship, Erin warns (twice, I think) that the men can have her, and each other, but no other women. These details bothered me in a small, unexplainable way.
If you’re okay with m/m/f, I think you’ll like this book. My nitpicks are mostly due to my disinterest in this type of ménage.
Moving on to a ménage that worked a little better for me: Kirsten Saell’s Bound by Steel. I’m much more into f/f/m. I’ve posted a few guest reviews on LVLM, a site dedicated to girl-on-girl romance and erotica. Saell is a frequent visitor there.
When I bought this ebook, I didn’t realize it wasn’t the first in the series. I wish I’d started with Crossing Swords, because I felt like I missed out on the introduction to these characters. In Bound by Steel, the heroine and hero are already together, living on a rural farm with a scarred female servant. Kaela is recovering from a brutal attack several months prior. She hears the couple in bed one night and peeks in, wondering how any woman could enjoy intercourse.
The hero is a former assassin and his wife, Lianon, is some kind of ex-warrior. These two hooked up in Crossing Swords, after Lianon’s female lover was murdered. Lianon is attracted to men and women equally. In Bound by Steel, she wants to give Kaela some sexual healing.
Confused? I hope not, because it’s all pretty clear, despite my not having read the previous book. It’s interesting to note that Gil, the hero, is reluctant to bring Kaela into their bed. He’s madly in love with Lianon and doesn’t want to lose her. After assuring Gil she could never love him less, Lianon begins a gentle seduction of Kaela.
The scenes between Kaela and Lianon are hot. Gil doesn’t join in right away, but when he does, OMG. This is very steamy stuff, and Saell handles the emotional connections with skill. A later encounter between Gil and Kaela—without Lianon—is incredibly tender. I felt totally invested in the threesome relationship, even when only two of the three were together.
In Laid Bare, I wasn’t sure what Ben added to the relationship. The triad in Bound by Steel was more convincing for me. Kaela warms to a woman’s touch because she’s been harmed by men. Lianon is happy with Gil, but she needs Kaela also. And Gil, who hesitates at first, relishes his new role as their lover, and steps up to the plate in every way. If you think you might like f/f/m, I highly recommend this author.
Have you ever read a ménage romance? Did you like it? Why or why not?
