Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Audio Rating: 4 stars
Narrator: Z.A. Martin
Length: 7 hours, 4 minutes
Audiobook Buy Links: Amazon/Audible | iBooks
Book Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks
Justin and Micah have been together for six years and are now married. Their marriage was second only to their collaring ceremony, where Justin gave Micah a new collar in front of all their friends. They are extremely happy and Micah trusts Justin to be the Dom to his submissive and their relationship is solid.
Keith is new to their world as he fled an abusive situation and is trying to start over. He and Micah take an instant liking to each other and Justin hesitantly opens their relationship up to include Keith. Keith never thought he could be in a situation as good as what he has with Justin and Micah and Keith wants to be the partner both men deserve. Justin’s first priority has always been to Micah and he will do anything to protect Micah’s heart and so he takes things slowly with Keith. Justin didn’t want to be right, but when Keith vanishes without a word, Justin has to console Micah and he is naturally cautious when Keith returns.
The desire for more is high between all three men and while Justin was cautious at first, he knows that including Keith in their lives will make them better and stronger and the men find the perfect fit together. But Keith’s past has no intention of letting him go and their foundation may crumble as violence comes calling.
Justin and Micah were introduced in the first book in the Giving Consent series, Worth the Risk, and we have seen them throughout the series as they make up part of the core group of friends. We have also seen Keith in previous books, as the timeline for this series overlaps, which is one of the things I enjoy about the style of the series.
Justin and Micah’s relationship with Keith started in a previous book and he returns here as the men see if it’s possible to move forward. The D/s and kink dynamic is a major part of this book and this series, and Keith is finding his way as he wants to submit to Justin, but he may also want other things as well. Micah is more emotionally invested in Keith than Justin is and at first it seems like Justin is doing this to keep Micah happy, but then he develops true feelings for Keith on his own as the three form their own new relationship.
The book is heavy on the sex, as every interaction with the men has them in a new scene exploring their relationship. The setup of their sex lives is the main focus here and there is a lot of exploration of their dynamics as it relates to the bedroom. Even when Keith decides he may need more than what he first thought he did, the men don’t talk and instead move to another intimate scene. I did need a little more story here with relationship development, as well as character development. We don’t know much about Justin and Micah’s early days, and while the men say they care for and love Keith, I could have used a little more on page to illustrate that rather than just being told it was so. And, even though by the end Justin states that they will be on equal footing, I again needed to be shown that a little more.
Rapture, the club owned by Landon and Verity, is a meeting place for the group and several key incidents take place at the club, but I didn’t understand that there was seemingly no security at all at this club. I do like the characters in this series and a lot of overall story lines, as well as the group of friends in this series and how close they all are and how they look out for one another, but there are still spaces with not enough information filled in for me.
Verity’s story is the next book and they have been a character that has intrigued me from the start of this series and I look forward to finding out more.
This book is once again narrated by Z.A. Martin and he keeps the flow of the series going nicely. All of the voices are distinct and the voices of characters from the previous books remain intact. He has good presence and timing for the series and makes his way effortlessly through many intimate scenes. The “bad guy” did sound like a caricature to me, but his part was small. Martin’s performance kept me engaged with this book, as well as the entire series, and I would easily listen to more from him.
