Book: Three Shots
Genre: MMF/ erotic romance (contemporary)
Self Published
Publishing date:January 31, 2017
Length: 94 pages
Reviewed by Meredith
Synopsis
Reeve Jenkins is an amateur musician
playing in a dive bar. Grant McGuire is a man drowning his sorrows in beer
after a painful breakup. When Reeve charms a reluctant Grant into coming home
with him, they begin a three-year friendship with some very nice benefits.
But when the two gorgeous men walk into
Hawk Point Tavern—the bar Rachael Bradford owns—one evening and greet each
other with a kiss, it sets off a chain of events that leads to a steamy night
and maybe something more for the trio.
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Excerpt
Rachael
sighed and took a seat at her desk, forcing Reeve and Grant from her mind. They
made for a fun fantasy, but had no place in real life. She had hours of work to
do, and not enough time to get it done in. Hawk Point Tavern didn’t run itself.
She
tackled the paychecks first. Her employees would want checks to cash soon, and
it couldn’t wait. Thankfully, she had few employees and it didn’t take overly
long to tally hours and make out the checks. She had moved on to sorting order
invoices for the month when she heard a soft knock on her partially open door.
Thinking it was Jenna or Tyler—the other bartender on tonight—she
absent-mindedly called out, “Come in.”
“Excuse
me,” a low, sexy voice replied.
Rachael’s
head shot up and she was startled to see Reeve peering in the door.
“I,
uh, hey. Um, hi Reeve,” She stuttered. She cleared her throat. “Come in.”
He
stepped into the room and pushed the door nearly closed. “Can I talk to you for
a sec?”
“Uh,
sure.” She frowned, puzzled by what he wanted, but not entirely displeased to
have him in her office either. She stood and walked around the desk—leaning
back against it and looking up to meet his gaze. “Is there a problem with your
bill? Or something else I can help you with?”
He
gave her a slow, sexy smirk. “I certainly hope so.”
Rachael
stared at him, waiting for him to continue, but he was silent. His gaze raked
over her body and she felt heat building between her legs at the slow, frank
perusal of her body. By the glittering, heated gaze of his eyes, Rachael could
see that he liked what he saw. Her jeans and t-shirt were hardly high fashion,
but Reeve didn’t appear to have any complaints. Besides, Rachael knew she had a
tight body and the jeans showed off her ass nicely.
“What
can I help you with?” she asked, her voice breathless.
“Well
you see, I came here looking to have a drink with a good friend, nothing more,
but I found something else I am interested in.”
‘I’m
… I’m sorry?”
Reeve
stepped closer until he was just a foot from her, and she felt her heart speed
up in her chest.
“What’s
that?” Rachael repeated when he didn’t reply immediately.
“You.”
The word was simple, but it did nothing to clear up her confusion.
“But
… but what about Grant?” she asked. “I mean, it looked like you two were
together, and I—I don’t want to cause any problems or get in the way of
anything.”
Reeve
moved so he was standing in front of her, booted feet on either side of her
crossed ones. He leaned in, breathing softly against her cheek and she wet her
lips reflexively.
“It’s
pretty simple actually,” Reeve purred in her ear. “Grant and I hook up
occasionally and we are both very attracted to you.” His lips brushed the
sensitive outer shell and she shivered.
Bi
then. Her experiences with Tom made her a little leery of bi guys, but it’s not
like she was going to get involved with them beyond a quick—or maybe not so
quick—roll in the sheets, she thought. This was a one-off. It wasn’t like she
was going to see them after tonight so she might as well enjoy it while she had
the opportunity.
“You
aren’t in a relationship with him?” she said aloud. The last thing she wanted
was to get involved with another cheater. Jonah had been more than enough, thankyouverymuch.
Reeve
shrugged. “We’ve been friends for a long time, but it’s nothing exclusive. We
keep things fluid.”
“So
how would this work?” Rachael asked, her voice going a little breathless as she
imagined what could play out if she said yes. “We’d have a threesome?”
“That
is entirely up to you. If you’re only attracted to one of us, the other will
step aside, although we’d both be very disappointed. And I somehow don’t think
that’s the case, is it?”
“No,
I’m definitely attracted to you both,” Rachael admitted. Reeve wrapped an arm
around her lower back and pulled her flush against his body.
“Then
how we fuck—” he skimmed a hand down her back to cup the lower curve of her ass
“—is up for negotiation. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Review
Reeve, Grant, and Rachel have a very rare meeting. There's an ease to their coming together. Not a lot of beating around the bush. They are a seamless trio, they just fit. They don't question it or focus on drama inducing situations. They are three consenting adults.
Menage is one of my most favorite tropes. It's also the one trope I am very picky on. Now, in Three Shots the only thing missing for me here was the in depth psychology of this. But, I easily was able to accept that because it was a novella and this isn't a story that focuses on backstory much. Kind of a chance and it's success.
This is super steamy. The sex is quite engaging and the characters are all likeable. Rachel is a strong woman which I love! This is 100% angst free. Seriously, it's a fun, relaxing, hot story that is just so welcoming. I smiled pretty much through the entire book.
Bisexuality
and Representation
I
wrote a good chunk of this novella several years ago. At the time, I didn’t
think a lot about portrayals of bi characters. When I pulled it out and read it
again, with the idea of re-working it, I realized I’d done a pretty good job.
(If I do say so myself!)
I
liked that I hadn’t made a huge issue about Reeve or Grant’s bisexuality. Their
sexual orientation was no big deal to either of them. I have read some amazing
stories about bi characters exploring their sexuality and discovering their
identity. I’ve written stories with characters doing that. But in this case, it
didn’t feel right for Reeve and Grant.
Both
of them are comfortable with who they are, and I thought it was a good
opportunity to show characters who are already past that conflict. In fact,
Reeve never felt ANY major struggle with his identity. I really liked the idea
of having a broad spectrum of characters represented.
Rachael,
on the other hand, is a little bit hesitant about getting involved with the
guys because of her past experiences.
Her ex realized he was bi (while they were in a relationship) and she
got her heart broken.
When
I expanded the story, I considered the idea of making Reeve and Grant’s
sexuality a bigger issue with Rachael. I thought maybe that’s where the bulk of
the conflict would come in, but after thinking about it for a while, I decided
against it.
I
didn’t want to make Rachael dead-set against bi guys. For one, it didn’t fit
with the character I’d written thus far. She’s too open-minded of a person to
hold onto those prejudices in the face of facts.
For
example, after Reeve and Grant suggest she take a few days and think about what
level of involvement she wants with them, she sits down with her best friend,
Jenna, and talks it through.
Jenna frowned at
her. “You’re usually way more decisive, lady. This isn’t like you at all.
What’s up?”
Rachael chewed at
her lip. “Maybe I’m kinda leery because of the bi thing and my history with
Tom. And Jonah.”
“Well, I don’t
think you can really equate the two. Jonah was a cheating asshole. And Tom just
didn’t know he liked pussy and dick.”
Rachael snorted.
“I know. But it makes me kinda wary about getting involved with two bi guys.”
“I don’t see why.
Reeve and Grant are clearly totally comfortable with their sexuality. They’ve
already figured it out. That should actually be a selling point in their
favor.”
Rachael considered
that. “Fair point.”
“And as for Jonah,
yeah, he was a liar and a cheater. Do your guys seem untrustworthy?”
Her
guys? Hardly. But maybe a part of her wanted them to be. “No. They were nothing but trustworthy last night and this morning,”
she admitted. “And they’ve been really open about things. Grant was totally
upfront about not being monogamous.”
Rachael’s
like any other decent human being. She has a few flaws. A few prejudices. But
she’s open to admitting she’s wrong. When Jenna points out that Reeve and Grant
are actually less likely to break her
heart because they’ve already explored their sexuality and are very comfortable
with it, Rachael is able to take her advice and let go of that prejudice.
My
goal for my writing is always to make it as realistic as possible. As a
bisexual woman, I have some experience with the prejudices many people have
about bi people. I could have really focused on that, but I also liked the idea
of making it subtle and a bit more nuanced in this story.
Why
do most of us hesitate to start a relationship? We’re scared. Our past
experiences and relationships have made us wary. I wanted the story to reflect that and that’s
what I chose to focus on for the conflict.
About Brigham Vaughn
Brigham
Vaughn is starting the adventure of a lifetime as a full-time writer. She
devours books at an alarming rate and hasn’t let her short arms and long torso
stop her from doing yoga. She makes a
killer key lime pie, hates green peppers, and loves wine tasting tours. A
collector of vintage Nancy Drew books and green glassware, she enjoys poking
around in antique shops and refinishing thrift store furniture. An avid
photographer, she dreams of traveling the world and she can’t wait to discover
everything else life has to offer her.
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Giveaway
Brigham is offering one winner any ebook choice from her backlist!!
Please enter the rafflecopter below.
Contest ends February 9th!
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
Not entering the giveaway but did want to say how much I agreed with the review and how much I appreciated and enjoyed the guest post :)
ReplyDeletecongrats Brigham on the new release
ReplyDeleteHey! Congrats on the new release & thanks for the great post. I agree so much on why people hesitate to form relationships. Fear of getting hurt is such a huge motivations to hold back. It's really hard to let go of the fear.
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