The Hand He Dealt

by Tanith Davenport

Nobody can beat Astra Scott in playing the hand she’s dealt.

Astra Scott likes to live life to the full. A sorority girl and Gaming Management student, she spends her days studying and practising guitar, and her nights partying or working at the Fountain Casino, where she has an internship as part of her final semester. The only blot on her landscape is Ash Drake, her best friend Sasha’s boyfriend. Arrogant, physical and blond, Ash has never forgiven Astra for her rejection months earlier and enjoys annoying her at every turn.

But when Astra’s boyfriend Harry reveals a shocking secret, Astra responds in the only way she can think of: by finding a way to take on a more attractive, masculine role in the relationship. Her experimentation with sex toys finds a surprising outlet in Sasha, but when Ash discovers their secret and wants to get involved, Astra finds herself torn between dislike and desire…and as their undercover relationship grows, Astra finds herself falling in love, a path she feels can only end in heartbreak. For Ash may be the only man whose own fantasies are a match for hers, but can she knowingly steal his affections from her best friend?


Reader Advisory: This book contains one scene of pegging/strap-on penetration and scenes of ménage and FF intimacy.

Genres: Menage, Erotica, BDSM

231 pages, ebook

First published June 13, 2011

About the author

I first started writing seriously when my tutor on a creative writing course pointed me towards the Romantic Novelists' Association and their New Writers' Scheme. Thanks to them, my debut novel "The Hand He Dealt" was accepted by Total-e-Bound in 2011 and was nominated for the Joan Hessayon Award for 2012. I haven't stopped writing since.

This year I'm working on my new series “Rock My World” plus the upcoming release of my back collection as audiobooks. My novella “The Start of Something” came out on 27th December 2022 and “I’m With The Band” will be out in May 2023.

When I'm not writing, I love to read historical fiction and non-fiction as well as anything paranormal. I love to sing, watch horror movies and go to rock concerts. I also have two cats who like to hide all day and then destroy the house at night.

Reviews

[SATIN SUE · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts off with Astra and her friend Sasha both good friends, both seem to have normal boy friends, but unknown to the girls both men have a secret. Sasha's bf Ash's secret is that he has a thing for Astra. But Astra's bf's secret is a little bit more shocking. One day when Astra is walking home, from her job in the casino, Astra seen her bf coming out of a club, Astra thought he was just at a normal club. But later down the line she finds out its a gay club, I was reading this and I found my self talking to the book, lol.. I was like NOOO!!!!!!. lol. So This leaves us with Astra stuggleing with her feelings over this, not know how to deal with what she has learned. is he gay or bisexual, do other people know. it all got to much for her, and pushes her towards Ash (sasha's bf). finding out just how deep his feelings go for her. Astra then turns to her best friend and realises she is starting to get feelings for her and wonders about her own sexuality.

After leaveing the casino where she worked one night Astra found her self being followed. as she pulls out the pepper spray and takes a run for it, she runs smack bang into harry comeing out of a pub and with a man and going rght into the next alley with him, she see's tham kissing (hot) and makes a break for it. once home she fights for control while she explains everthing that has happened. This night ends with sasha and Astra in bed together. Iv never thought about woman/woman much, but after reading this book, I find my self thinking how hot it really is.

Speaking of hot, the book goes on and the 4 of them end up at a party, now this happens to be one of the sexiest seance's iv ever read. both girls decide to wind the boys up. danceing close together and rubbing up against one another. every man in the room could not take there eyes off the pair. they danced very seductivly and very flirty till there wasnt a man in the room who didnt stand proud. now as I say im not gay, but if this book was to carry on like this id really think about changing. lmao. wow is so not the word. it was so hot that harry had to leave the party and wait out side for Astra, by the time she joins him he is so worked up he pushes her up against the wall and takes her.

Right i know your all going to hate me for this but i feel like im telling you to much of the story, I really think you should buy this book and read it. WOW is so not the word. there is plots and twists in this book that you wouldnt even think of. , I really enjoyed it. as I said earlier im not gay, but this book did give me some ideas. Tanith you did a really good job with this book, it kept me interested all the way through, im so hoping I get the chance to review any other book you have out or are bringing out, thats how much I loved it.
thank you for a really wonderful sexy read.

[Heather in FL · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was totally different than I was expecting. Based on the blurb, I thought it was going to be much more explicit than it actually was. Or maybe I'm becoming desensitized, lol, because there was f/f and f/f/m and m/m as well as the "regular" m/f. Oh and there were toys. :-) But something about how it was done was almost fade-to-black. There were some parts that were explicit, but really, it was almost like it was the first instance for each grouping was described, and then you were just told they were going to do it again.

But what I found so interesting is that, while I thought it would be more explicit, I honestly didn't mind because I was so wrapped up in the story. And it was such an interesting story. At some point, I sort of guessed at the direction it was going to go, but how it happened wasn't rushed or unnatural. Feelings grew (or faded) slowly. Relationships were interrupted or created in such a natural way, given the circumstances. I think Astra was incredibly "forgiving", but given the circumstances, I could understand both her and Harry's actions.

Now I say I thought it would be more explicit, but like I said, there were some scenes that were described in detail, and some where I felt the urgency of the feelings of the people involved, so the author did a good job with the scenes that were explicit. And the author did a good job of turning around my initial distaste for one character, turning him into such a sweet, vulnerable, lovable character.

Now a couple of things seemed sort of "unfinished". The whole bike accident thing... is it realistic that just by walking out the side door of a building, someone could hit her that hard with a bike? And the biker just didn't stop? It made it sound much more sneaky or sinister, like it was planned (maybe by Ally?), but nothing really came of that. And the House Mother knocking on Astra's door? Where was the House Mother when Sasha's other neighbor was complaining Sasha and Ash were too loud earlier in the story? Or the times when Harry stayed over? The house meeting notification seemed ominous because of its timing, but nothing else was mentioned about it.

But overall, I really enjoyed the story. Not what I expected, but very enjoyable.

[Annette M Guerriero Nishimoto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today's review is on The Hand He Dealt by Tanith Davenport

This is definitely a book for ADULTS as it shows both hetero and homosexual content.

I began to read The Hand He Dealt yesterday, and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.
Hot, steamy,and sexy, even if it were 10below in my room, I would have had to turn on the AC to cool off.

Astra is in college and working in the gaming industry. Young and in love with Harry everything seems fine until she sees him coming out of PINK, what she thinks is a strip club. When Harry tells her it was actually a gay bar and that he is just experimenting things begin to change, giving Astra freedom to experiment too.

Astra begins a casual relationship with her best friend Sasha and then begins having a threesome as Sasha's boyfriend Ash comes into the fold. Ash secretly has a major crush on Astra and becomes very protective of her. Sasha knows that she and Ash are not in love, and also knows how Ash feels about Astra and knows that eventually the two of them will be together.

Through the drama of her and Harry's relationship Astra finds her own inner strength and true love with Ash. While Harry comes to terms with his own homosexuality.

Yes, the plot is a little lacking, but as I read I found myself laughing out loud making for a very pleasurable read.

4 of 5 stars

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

I really liked this book. So much going on and the MC's didn't have that insta-love thing so many books do now-a-days. The f/f interaction was very tasteful. I also enjoyed the confusion Harry had and seeing Astra and Harry's relationship too. I look forward to more work from this author.

******
If you liked this book you may enjoy the following groups:
Erotic Enchants Group
Menage Readers Group

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hand He Dealt was an erotic foray into absolute bliss as far as writig erotic romance goes. Ms. Davenport's tale of lust, love, excitement and experimentation combined with suspense of what was to come next had this reader not wanting to put the book down and looking forward to each new turn of the page. A definate recommendation from this picky reader. The writing itself and the storyline were exqusite, yet due to multiple editing errors I found myself sadly distracted during some of the key scenes, so unfotunately I'm compelled to only give it the 4 star rating. I look forward to more from this author!

[Jody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Astra Scott's life seems to be going perfectly. A great internship with the promise of career advancement, great friends, and a seemingly solid relationship with her boyfriend. But everything changes when she sees her boyfriend Harry coming out of a club that she assumes is a strip club. When she discovers differently, her life suddenly changes as does her view of sexuality. From there on the reader is treated to one super steamy read where happiness is possible for those willing to accept the truth about themselves.

Astra starts off the story secure in her beliefs about sexuality until the night she sees her boyfriend Harry coming out of a bar that she believes is a strip bar, but is actually a gay bar. He assures her he's just experimenting and not doing anything serious. At this phase in the story Astra is very naive about sexuality in my opinion. She believes what Harry tells her and keeps dating him. Even presented with the truth about his sexuality she remains his girlfriend in all ways. I was very disappointed in her for not accepting the truth right away and I became very irritated with her for staying in a relationship that had no future. By the way she talked I think she felt so desperate to be in a relationship like everyone around her that this made her stay with Harry. Harry too was irritating by begging Astra at every turn to stay his girlfriend. He truly believed that as long as he had a girlfriend no one could say he was gay. I had no respect for him until the very end of the story and by then I was happy to see him go.

Astra further complicates her life by having a sexual relationship with her best friend Sasha who already has a boyfriend of her own who is constantly giving Astra difficulties. This relationship seemed to come out of the blue and even though Astra says she'd be angry if Harry cheated on her she has no problem being with Sasha. The sex doesn't stop with Sasha though. Soon Astra is sharing herself with both Sasha and Ash and for someone who seemed naive at first when it came to sex now seems to have no restraint.

Ash is an interesting character with a personality that for most of the story is very unlikable. He treats Astra like garbage for the first part of the story so his latter declarations of love don't feel very believable. He too supposedly carries a secret that invaded many of his sexual encounters but I didn't find the secret to be that big of a deal. What I did find invasive was his chronic need to be reassured in the bedroom. It made him sound needy and was a bit distracting during the sexual interludes.

Of the sexual interludes there were many. There were m/f, f/f, m/f/f, and m/m. They were varied and plentiful and were a main part of the story. The scenes were sexy and, no matter the coupling, were nicely written. Ms. Davenport definitely knows how to write fiery sex scenes but I do think that a few could have been excised to tighten the story up a bit. Another aspect of the story that was unnecessary were the attacks against Astra from an unknown person. The actual criminal came way out of nowhere and seemed to me to live up to some very negative stereotypes. This plotline felt needless and was purely a way to make Harry look like an even worse boyfriend and make Ash a more likable character.

By the end of the book the story finally felt right to me. People that were good together finally ended up together and others finally accepted the truths about themselves. It's a true HEA with a very intense sexual journey taken to get there. If you like your stories long on sex and a bit short on a satisfying plot then you'll definitely want to put this on your reading list.

[Louise Whittaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book to read...enjoyed it very much

Enjoyed this book a lot and had me wanting ti keep reading and not put down. Would recommend. Good writing