Review: 5+ Stars for Heat - 4 Stars altogether
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 3, 2014
Friends with Benefits is the first book of Anne Lange’s The Vault series. And – wow! – it is a hell of a sexy ménage love story! It might not be a book for everyone, but it definitely is for me. I think I might have burned my fingers holding my Kindle while reading – yes, it is THAT hot!Angela und Tyler O’Neil have been happily married for a while. Although their love for each other is truly visible, with hitting the seven-year itch, Tyler wants to spice up their love life a bit by fulfilling his wife’s secret fantasies – even if that means bringing another man into their bedroom. The man he has in mind for his plan is no other than Tyler’s best friend since college – Connor Jones. They have been sharing women in the past, so Tyler figures he is the perfect – and only – man for this “job”. Angela has never met Connor before – a little detail Tyler intends to take advantage of to fulfill the first of his wife’s secret desires – one that does not even involve himself. But this is only the beginning. Angela is about to experience lust and passion that offers unequaled opportunities; feelings that only two gorgeous and sensitive men can give her.And so their adventurous summer fling starts – will it tear apart Angela’s and Tyler’s marriage or could it possibly lead to something more?There was one aspect about this book that kept me wondering:How come Angela does not know the so-called best friend of her own husband of seven years? In fact, she even does not know his real name? Additionally, of course some couples need more time than other to open up and confess their sexual fantasies to one another  – but, then again, seven years of vanilla only? Just seems a bit too long and too boring. So, yes, the set time frame seemed arguable to me.With that said, there was one issue that made the story special – realistic and honest: While most ménage books skip the difficulty of leaving one’s own four walls and being in public as a threesome, not so this book: For the most part Angela was treated depreciatory and was called names for being with two men at the same time.By the time that happened Connor already felt so much for Angela to be willing to let her go – only to save her and his best friend’s reputation. This made me appreciate his character very much. To be honest, he was the one I connected to best.I liked Angela because she had compunction about acting on her fantasies and probably risking her marriage for just a few nights of fun and because she felt guilty for falling for another man. But other than that, I was not really warming up to her.Oh – then there is Tyler, the mastermind behind it all. The guy who pulled the strings in the whole scenario. Despite the not so small chance that it all could fail and he could lose it all – his wife and his best friend –, he still decided to take the risk and go for it. But for whose benefit did he do it at all? With being fully straight, he surely was not the one who derived advantage from teaming up with another man on Angela. Actually, his ultimate fantasy is more about satisfying his wife than himself. I mean, let’s face it, which woman would not love a man like Tyler for herself? But it / he is just too good to be true – too good to appear in real life.Although I couldn’t fully connect to all of the characters, I enjoyed this book pretty much – and not for the well-described sizzling hot and kinky sex scenes alone:* I did not have the feeling anyone was cheating which is an absolute no-go for me – no matter how kinky a book is.* The relationship between the three of them develops slowly and without a rush, and with that remains believable.* Most important in my opinion: Anne Lange also shows the difficulties of this kind of lifestyle and lets her characters deal with real-life issues.All these things add up to a realistic and natural-felt ménage story.I am really curious where Anne Lange will take us next with The Vault – a sex club the threesome is introduced to later in the story – as this club opens up a new world of possibilities. If you’re into the kinkier side of love stories, this is definitely a series to keep track of!