Review of Sandpiper's Secrets by Jade Archer

Title of Book: Sandpiper’s Secrets
Author: Jade Archer
Publisher: Total-E-Bound
Length: 205 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Primary Relationship: M/M & M/M/M
Category/Genre: M/M Romance, Contemporary
Does this Review Contain Spoilers?: No
Book owned already? Yes

Review:

This the the first time I’d read anything by this author, and it is an interesting story. I picked it up because I was looking for something (anything) that wasn’t the typical mmf polyamory story. I think I succeeded in finding something great. I really enjoyed how easy all the characters were to connect to. One of my favorite things always is flawed “heroes”. Nothing turns me off more when the characters are all perfect. That is definitely not a problem in this book.

The story begins with down on his luck and desperate Brody looking for a job so that he can support himself and his brother. He ends up applying at the Sandpiper which is owned by longtime partners Zac and Lark. There is some pretty heavy lust going on, but Zac and Brody are relatively resistant to add/become a third. Lark, on the other hand, is content to try and push everyone together. I really enjoyed the build up. This isn’t a threesome that decides to jump into bed right after meeting each other. it takes many weeks of dancing around each other before they ever cross that line. I also liked the physical differences between the characters, Zac being larger and more muscular, Brody being of average body type, and Lark, being slender and dimunitive at 5’4”.

Each of the characters is hiding his own secrets, and it definitely puts a strain on the budding relationship. Resolving some of them are easy, and others, not so much. All the sex scenes, however are incredibly hot. I really liked the chemistry between all three characters, and totally felt like they each brought something important to the relationship besides sexual chemistry. Zac is the fixer, he wants to fix his lovers' problems, Lark is a fierce protector despite his small stature, and Brody is the glue that holds them all together. As the story progresses, all the secrets (as secrets are wont to do) start to unravel. As the secrets unravel, each man must decide what is worth holding on to, and whether their newfound relationship is worth it all. Each character is amazingly written, and you feel like you get to know them throughout this book. There was never really a point where I felt disconnected from them.

All in all this is a really enjoyable read despite a few questionable things concerning the relationship between Zac and Lark, however that was resolved throughout the course of the book. I don’t want to put it here in the review because it is a definite spoiler. There were also a few relatively minor proofreading errors throughout the novel. They were mostly minor though and not overly glaring to the average reader.

I must say that I was interested enough in this novel and the outcome to pick up the sequel, Raven’s Mark, which is just m/m not a menage story. I look forward to seeing more by this author, and I hope she writes more polyamory stories because this was hot as hell.

So if you are looking for a book that has sexy encounters, but a real story too, then I’d pick this one up.

Reviewed by Carrie Ann, obsessive reader of everything. I also review LGBTQ romance at Smoocher's Voice. (Blog | Twitter | Goodreads)