Emily Rath

This book should actually be three books. It was very nearly brought down by its excess. It is like when you eat a hot Krispy Kreme and it is magical, nearly orgasmic. Then you reason that they won't be as good when they are no longer hot, and after all they are light as air and not terribly substantial, so you eat a second one. And then you tear off a little piece of the third and suddenly you are rocketed from delicious decadence to nausea and encroaching headache (not that such a thing has ever happened to me.) If this were two books, or better yet three books, I think we would have a 5-star on our hands, but as it is it is a 3.5 rounded up.

Briefly, this is the story of Rachel, a newly minted sports medicine doctor who is also the daughter of one of the most famous rock stars in the world (because of course she is) who earns a fellowship working with a team in the NHL. By-the-bye you meet her friends and family and her three lovers, two of whom are players on this team. There is a lot of sex, there are some hurdles, there is a tiny bit of eating and sleeping, there are injuries and interactions with team members, and did I mention a lot of sex? The story such as it is revolves around the burgeoning relationships (which are surprisingly sweet) and the struggle to build a life as a nontraditional family unit. When my son was in 3rd and 4th grade he had a classmate whose parents were a thruple of sorts (they were actually 2 couples with one shared partner and the other partners appeared to really kind of hate one another.) I am not gonna lie, it was a very liberal school with a number of kids with parents in relationships with same-sex partners and at least two parents who identified as trans, but all the other parents talked about the throuple A LOT. I mention this because it is indeed hard out there for a quadrouple, and that struggle provides a pretty sold narrative arc on its own. There are also subplots about the parties adjusting to sharing their love, athletes hiding injuries and living after injury derails a career you have worked for your whole life, floating under the radar when you have famous parents, and a few other things. I never felt bored, and I never felt like it was only about sex even though there is no question that there is really truly a lot of sex.

Lest you think I am overdramatizing the problem with the length of this book, I listened to the audio and it is 25-hours-long. Yes, 25! For comparison, Great Expectations is 18,5 hours. 25 hours of 3-ways and then 4-ways is just a lot. It is numbing. It starts to feel a little A Clockwork Orange. On the flipside, this is well written, it is funny and emotionally affecting, and within the world of erotica it has unusually good character development. Oh, and the sex is surprisingly sexy and sweet and unsurprisingly it is often absolutely filthy (in a good way.) Rath is perhaps a bit too much of a size queen, but for the most part the sexy times are fun (and frequent.) I really liked that there are defined one-on-one relationships in addition to each group member's relationship with the group as a whole and that it is not all about each man's relationships with Rachel, but also their sexual and nonsexual relationships with one another. Rath makes polyamory seem fun, if really truly exhausting.

I don't want to beat a dead horse with respect to the length of the book, but I took a break in the middle to read a more traditional romance, and I do not think I have ever taken a break from a romance to read another romance. One of the fun things about reading romance is that immersive feeling, but I lost that here because I was immersed too long and it started to feel like drowning. And there are some natural breaking points here to turn this into three books (there is the development of the thruple, the introduction of a fourth partner and further development of a M-M romance, and then the coming out as poly.) I will definitely read book 2 in the series, but not right away. In fact, I think I need a break from hockey romance for a bit (a genre that, perhaps surprisingly, I really like.)

I do truly recommend this, but maybe plan to spread out the read -- one sec, that sounds dirty -- plan to dip in and out -- one sec, that sounds dirty too -- just read the thing in parts and I expect you will have some fun… (més)

This is small vignettes of Rachel, Jake, Caleb, and Ilmari. I laughed so hard I had tears streaming down my face. Jake is using his superpower to pick out ice cream. They fight over who is their emergency contacts wondering why he or she isn't anothers. Rachel is pregnant and it's funny what happens with each pregnancy.

These shorts are funny and hot! I particularly liked the Emergency Contact story as it finally brings out what Caleb means to them all. The other one I liked was IKEA for Ilmari's birthday party. I about died reading that one I laughed so hard. These four have built a strong family together. It may be unconventional, but it works. When they bring babies into it, you just fall in love all over again with the Prices.

Now on to the next book. I can't wait!… (més)

Rachel takes the place of the person who was to go to the Jacksonville Rays hockey team for the Barkley Fellowship as he was injured. Having problems with her airline reservations, she finally makes it to Tampa where she is met by Caleb, an equipment manager for the team. Her checked-in luggage is lost, and when she finally meets Caleb, her carry-on luggage falls apart embarrassing her with its contents. He delivers her to her apartment which is next door to his. She manages to lock herself out of her apartment on the balcony her first night there and needs Caleb to help her. When she finally begins her job the next day, she runs into Jake, but he doesn't seem to remember her from Seattle. When he does, they get involved in the parking lot, but they also have an argument. Rachel meets the others she will be working with. She brings Ilmari, the goalie, out of his shell. Now who will she choose?

I loved this book. It was hot and heavy and graphic. It is a long book, but I totally get why it is long. It has to be for the character development and plot development and all the loving. There is some angst as Rachel is always worried about the press catching her doing anything wrong as she is the daughter of a rock star and had addiction issues in the past along with the bad press to go with it. She is also attracted to three men with the team. There is a no fraternization clause in all their contracts, so they keep everything on the down low. Rachel and Jake pick up where they left off in Seattle. Caleb comes out of his shell for Rachel but also lets Jake know what he means to him. Ilmari seems like the odd one out in this mix, but he and Rachel share a bond. She becomes his good luck charm as she is trying to get him to admit his groin injury may be something other than a pull. It is her job to keep all the players in good physical condition.

Eventually their secrets come out, and Rachel bears the brunt of it. The guys come up with a plan.
I loved when Rachel had to meet with the General Manager. I laughed when the GM shows her the folder he has on her and tells her how hard she is making his job. I liked that her family supported her through it all. I liked that the rest of the team supported her, Jake, Ilmari, and Caleb.

I laughed throughout this book. It is such a feel-good book. I just had so much fun reading it. I liked that Rachel has a different relationship with each man. That they were able to build a family together without jealousy coming between them. I loved that each man brought something different to the relationship and that each one got something from the others. They build a strong cohesive unit. It truly is a all for one and one for all.

I look forward to more of this series.… (més)

Rachel is in Seattle for her twin brother's wedding. She receives word the next morning that she did not get the Barkley Fellowship she had been working towards. She leaves the family's brunch and goes to the hotel bar where she is hit on by a guy who is egged on by his friends. She is trying to be nice, but she's fed up. Jake sees her predicament and comes up pretending she is his sister. His twin sister's flight has been cancelled leaving him alone for the vacation the two were planning on. As Jake and Rachel talk, they are attracted to each other. Will they act on that attraction?

Boy, do they act on that attraction! I loved it! It is just the two of them, but it is a night of no names, no questions, no stories. Rachel's plane is leaving the next morning. Jake wants her to stay. Rachel sneaks out the next morning before Jake can wake up. He is her Mystery Boy. She is his Seattle Girl.

This was hot! Just the way I like my romances. It's down and dirty and graphic. It doesn't get any better.

I look forward to the series.… (més)