Review: Steamy & Emotionally Engaging, But a Bit Draggy at the Start....
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 19, 2014
As the third book in the Isthmus Alliance series many of the relationships and interconnections are already underway.  That's definitely the case for the ménage relationship between Mary, Jeff, and Zeke.  Until now, they saw their relationship as merely fun.  But when Mary is severely injured in an accident things change for all of them and what they have can no longer be thought of as just friends with benefits.  They realize how important they are to each other and decide to fully commit to what they have, which leads to a lot of heartache along the way from those outside their relationship and the adjustments they have to make within their relationship so everyone feels equal.With many of the book series I read the books can be read as a standalone, and for the most part that's the case here.  However, the early parts of the book rely heavily on events that took place in previous installments.  A lot of time is spent with secondary characters trying to help them reach their HEA that it became a bit frustrating.  I wanted to have the ménage relationship the focus and felt a lot of time was spent elsewhere that dragged this book out unnecessarily.  Seeing previous characters isn't completely bad though as it now makes me want to go back and read the other books in this series.Mary is a strong-willed woman who's been in a ménage before that ended badly.  She doesn't want the same mistakes to happen again and sets forth a plan to make sure they all find time to strengthen their individual connections as well as the whole.  She deals with their relationship in a believable way pointing out things that we readers wonder about in real life.  She's a good balance to the boys as she's cheery and forthcoming in her feelings as opposed to their seriousness and fears of coming out to the world.  I see her as the glue in their ménage and quite liked her protective nature in defense of them both throughout the story.  Jeff is a very serious-minded, buttoned-up man, and the one who likes to talk things out.  He hides tats under his dress shirts though and is clearly a Dom having no problem showing his aggressive side in many sensual situations.  He doesn't believe in love or commitment though after seeing his parent's marriage implode over alcohol which causes a rift late in the story between him and Zeke.  Getting him to admit his love is difficult but richly rewarding when it finally happens.  Zeke is the bad boy with his piercings, t-shirts, and biker boots but has a surprisingly sweet side that has him playing the caretaker role beautifully.  He tends to speak before he thinks, but in this case he's having difficulty telling his overly religious family about his new relationship.  The author does an admirable job using bible verses to contradict the often venomous speeches heard today to again put a believable spin on ménage relationships in a seamless way that's not at all preachy and I give her big kudos for her handling of this issue.  Seeing the differences between these three characters shows how perfectly they blend with each one bringing something unique to their relationship.  You can clearly see why they're only complete when together and this fact adds to the already steamy scenes.  Both together and in individual couplings there's a sense of rightness and a give and take that's apparent in both the sweetly sensual interludes as well as the aggressive BDSM encounters.From start to finish Ms. Johnson has crafted a story that presents ménage relationships in a believable way, using arguments and actions that show them to be just as loving and committed as other relationships.  There's a time to cheer when they stand together against the world united in their love.  Though there were a few distractions courtesy of secondary characters I still found myself fully immersed in this relationship and rooting for their HEA.  I enjoyed Ms. Johnson's balancing of steamy interludes and emotionally intense character development and interactions and recommend her to those looking for an erotic read with both style and substance!