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Three to Get Ready

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Chicago cop Nick watches his roommate, best friend and secret crush Riley marry the intriguing Lily. He has no idea of Riley’s true feelings for him, or the fact that Lily knows and accepts them.

Dominant Lily wants to give her beloved everything he needs in bed and beyond, even if that means quiet and controlled Nick. Deep down, she suspects that equally dominant Nick is someone she may need as well. Lily pushes a physical encounter and no one is prepared for the intensity of their feelings and desire.

Sex—in every combination possible—is the easy part. The conflict comes when each panics over their increasing emotional connection in their own way. Lily needs control, Nick fears commitment and Riley doesn’t feel he deserves two amazing lovers. And when a stranger threatens their relationship, their careers—and lives—Riley, Lily and Nick will need to rely on each other like never before.

Kindle Edition

First published August 5, 2011

12 people are currently reading
199 people want to read

About the author

Tere Michaels

40 books1,026 followers
Tere Michaels unofficially began her writing career at the age of four when she learned that people got paid to write stories. It seemed the most perfect and logical job in the world and after that, her path was never in question. (The romance writer part was written in the stars—she was born on Valentine’s Day.)

It took thirty-six years of “research” and “life experience” and well… life… before her first book was published but there are no regrets (she doesn’t believe in them). Along the way, she had some interesting jobs in television, animation, arts education, PR, and a national magazine—but she never stopped believing she would eventually earn her living writing stories about love.

Her home base is a small town in New Jersey, very near NYC, a city she dearly loves. She shares her life with her husband, her son—who is also her personal trainer—and an exceedingly spoiled cat. Her spare time is spent watching way too much sports programming, going to the movies and for long walks/runs in the park, reading, and doing yoga.

Nothing makes her happier than knowing she made a reader laugh or smile or cry. It’s the purpose of sharing her work with people. She loves hearing from fans and fellow writers and is always available for speaking engagements, visits, and workshops. Send her a message through her contact page or connect with her on Instagram (@TereMichaels) and Facebook.

She teaches regularly at SavvyAuthors, as well as running a private consulting and developmental editing business.

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5 stars
45 (21%)
4 stars
70 (34%)
3 stars
65 (31%)
2 stars
17 (8%)
1 star
8 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for Nicci.
362 reviews15 followers
December 1, 2011
Rating 3.8

If you are familiar with Tere Michaels’ Faith and Fidelity series, just know Three To Get Ready is a complete departure of those books in structure and content. M/M Romance is part of the ongoing story, however, the m/m is mixed with a dominatrix female. The book falls into the in the Erotica M/F/M category.

Normally, I don’t read in this category. The too few books I’ve read just didn’t do it for me. The last book lacked good characterization and understanding of the protagonist.

Tere Michaels does a great job in convincing me a threesome could work even though this category will never be my favorite. Because I am a curious book reader, I will read similar books by authors I know, whom I trust their writing or from a recommendation.

Riley is totally in love with his wife, Lily. She is the other half of his soul. For the past five years, though, Riley lives with an intense desire for his former roommate, Nick. A secret, he tells his wife long before they married.

The reason why I think this threesome works lies with Lily who devotes herself to making Riley happy. The honesty between is somewhat unusual. I don’t know of anyone who can admit feelings to their other half for another person without suffering adverse reactions. I’m sure it happens in real life. After all, the world is made up of all kinds of people.

Sometimes honesty can be a double-edged sword. Knowing of Riley’s unrequited feeling for Nick gives Lily concerns. She fears her marriage will eventually suffer from Riley’s inability to act on the secret. And as a dominatrix, who controls Riley’s life, she can’t have this issue hanging over them like a rotten apple. Lily sets out to draw in Nick in her quest to keep her man happy.

Coming from two failed marriages, Nick just don’t do commitment and emotional entanglement. He keeps himself at a distance from his feelings, takes his sexual pleasure at a sex club two to three times a week. When Lily approach Nick with her idea, he is at first shocked, then he becomes fearful. He is amazed that Riley has had these feelings for him for a long time.

I enjoyed the struggle between these three as they go through the physical aspect of the relationship to reach for something deeper. Both wanting control, how will Riley handle being caught between a dominatrix and a master? The erotica is hot and well-written. I love how Lily, Riley, and Nick’s needs and wants are weaved into their togetherness.

The tension heightens when someone from Nick’s all too recent past begins to stalk him. I initially thought the stalker scenes were unnecessary to tell the story. I then realize, oh yes, the events actually deepen the characterization of the threesome. The antagonism from the stalker reveals interesting questions on the dynamics of a dominatrix, a master, and a submissive.

Originally Posted at http://twlibreviews.com/2011/11/revie...
Profile Image for Leah.
335 reviews
February 7, 2015
Initial read 1/16/12
Reread 2/6/15

It's been almost three years since I first read Three to Get Ready. I have decided to increase my rating for several reasons. Firstly I like Michaels' characterization of Lily. I don't know about you but I'm fucking sick and tired of reading MM fiction written by people who ostensibly hate women. Too often in this genre the mothers, sisters, friends and ex-wives are depicted as bitches, neglectful, hateful, cold or unidimensional. WTF!

People gravitate toward MM for a variety of reasons. As a pansexual woman I'm attracted to people--period. I don't really care about the sex, gender, gender identity and/or orientation of my partner. I enjoy MM mostly because I can vicariously get my rocks off to stories and sexual situations that I would LOVE to participate in if I were not in a monogamous relationship. I don't deny my lady parts. I don't dream about growing a penis and I most definitely do not suffer with any form of gender dysphoria so I am not squicked about het sex or poly sex in MM.

TMI I know...but I said all of that to say the low ratings of this book trouble me. Lily is an aggressive Domme who pegs her husband and ultimately joins him in a polyamorous 'ship with his best friend. She is strong, embraces her unconventional perspective on relationships and sex....Shouldn't this largely female audience love her???


Ms. Michaels kudos to you. You are so freaking BRAVE. I suspect TTGR was not as financially successful as the Faith & Fidelity series but I wanted you to know that this reader thinks/thought it was and is FUCKING FANTASTIC!
Profile Image for Rustye.
185 reviews
September 2, 2011
This is my first book by Tere Michaels and I thoroughly enjoyed it. She presents a different take on establishing a permanent menage, making the relationships of the three characters the primary focus of the book. Nick is a cop secretly in love with his best friend, Riley. Riley is strong but gentle and in love with Lily and secretly in love with Nick. The story revolves around Lily and how she orchestrates the coming together of Riley and Nick with unexpected consequences for them all. The story is well-written and had me engaged from beginning to end so that I read it in one sitting. There is just enough hot, smexy stuff for everyone but it does not detract - only enhances the story being told. I tend to skim the hot parts if there is too much. This book is perfect.
Profile Image for Tamye Whitener.
850 reviews22 followers
February 14, 2021
Erotic Romance with a touch of suspense.

This is more a story about Riley, Nick, and Lily. The book starts out with Riley marrying the love-of-his-life, Lily. Which is great, but he also loves and desires his best friend and former roommate, Nick. So where does Lily fit into this picture? Smack dab in the middle. She loves Riley and wants him to have what he desires.

This book is character-driven, easy to read, and full of lusty, erotic scenes. But it's not just about the sex. It's about feelings, emotions, commitment. It also addresses a stalker who is making Nick's and therefore the trio's life uncomfortable. I'm not going to say anymore since I don't want to leave spoilers. But I will state that I was thoroughly captivated from beginning to end. It was an excellent read and the characters were engaging.

I highly recommend this book. It's MMF, with lots of sex, some dominance, and a heck of a lot of love.
615 reviews2 followers
January 1, 2022
The things that I enjoyed the most about the book are the friendships. Nick, Riley, and Lily accept each other for who they are. They are there for each other. Lily realizes that Nick and Riley have feelings for each other but won't admit it.

This is an erotic romance MMF.
Profile Image for Melinda.
213 reviews4 followers
January 29, 2020
Three to Get Ready by Tere Michaels is a very hot and steamy read. Nick and Riley are best friends who have secret feelings for one another but neither thinks the other would be interested. Riley also loves his wife a very dominate female, Lily. This M/F/M story is a good read and although the story line between the main characters is a good erotic read, I was more drawn to the secondary story of the possessive ex partner who is determined to have Nick or out his secret. I wish there was more focus on that through the whole story and not just at the end. You do catch glimpses of it in the first part but the focus is mainly on the 3 admitting and accepting the relationship that is the elephant in the room.
Profile Image for Shelby P.
1,320 reviews33 followers
April 3, 2019
I can definitely tell this was one of Tere Michaels' earlier works. This really bored me to tears and I didn't care anything about the characters. The ending was rushed. On to better things, hopefully.
Profile Image for Grete.
133 reviews13 followers
January 25, 2012

Review originally published at http://www.bookthing.co.uk

After loving her Faith, Love & Devotion series, I noticed Tere Michaels had released a new ebook. A bit of a sidestep from the MM romance genre, as I believe this falls into the category of Menage or MMF.

While the mere mention of the categories probably conjurs up interesting and gratuitous images, what attracts me most about Michaels’ writing is her characterisations. I love that she can create three very diverse and interesting characters, bring them to life and then set them into a story that not only makes sense but is also compelling.

While the story is obviously very adult and erotic, it’s also very well written and the love scenes well envisioned and tasteful.

Lily is a sheer force of nature. Dominant to her husband Riley, her love, compassion and awareness of her husband’s needs is amazing, as well as her understanding of his attraction to his best friend Nick. She is the one that realises the attraction is reciprocated and also the one that makes it possible. She does make mistakes which makes her all the more human but she is truly a brilliant character. I loved Riley and his sense of humour; being submissive doesn’t mean he’s a walkover and is the perfect foil between his wife and his best friend. Nick is very different, more serious and has his feelings for Riley well locked up. It was great seeing him unfold, learning to hope and trust. The three share so much and the relationship just made perfect sense to me.

It’s a very simple story but one full of emotion, passion and love.

As I’ve said before and will probably say again, I’m of the opinion that love comes in many forms and isn’t or shouldn’t be defined by social norms. I think that message is what I love most about Tere Michaels’ work.
Profile Image for Stevie Seber.
54 reviews
September 29, 2015
Three to Get Ready was a really good read; I found myself falling in love with Riley, Lily and Nick; Nick harbors a secret that eats away at him and nearly costs him the people he loves.

I found myself devouring the pages hungrily and loving every minute of it. I found myself laughing with them during good times, wishing to comfort them during times of stress and weeping with them during times of sorrow. Three to Get Ready is going to be a book I read often; I imagine I'll be revisiting Riley, Lily and Nick again before too long.

I couldn't find anything in this story that I didn't enjoy, from the three main character interactions between each other to their interactions with secondary characters, it was a very nice read and if this ever becomes part of a series, I imagine I'll do my best to read the entire series.
Profile Image for Anna.
1,078 reviews14 followers
August 9, 2012
I love the set up and characters in Tere Michaels books; the situations seem natural and possible, the people are wonderful and well put together. A handsome and closeted submissive, Riley is a children's advocate in the courts of Chicago. He meets and falls hard for Lily, an attorney he works with often. Nick, a hard-boiled Chicago cop and Domme, has been Riley's platonic room-mate and support for years. When Riley and Lily marry, she lets Nick know that he is more than welcome to finally share his feelings and desires for Riley. They do finally come together, after outside danger and internal conflicts are addressed. VERY good read, wonderful sex :)
469 reviews7 followers
September 17, 2019
I like the story. I found the sex scenes to be overly descrpitive. But I was reading it for the poly relationship and not the poly sex. I may have to read this again later for the sex, because they were well written (and kinda hot), just not what I wanted right now.
Profile Image for Lirajean.
355 reviews15 followers
December 5, 2012
This book was not much more than a crazy sexual romp but I liked it. TM put the effort into 'fleshing' out the characters. She also did an excellent job of ramping up the tension. Some parts were combustible, not just the sex, but the emotion. Usually this kind of book is just a recitation of one sexual encounter after another. This was more. It had real people. It had feeling. And TM gave us her usual: thoughtful and emotional. Thanks!
Profile Image for Tina.
322 reviews14 followers
October 20, 2015
4.5 stars

This was an emotional journey. Best friends who hide their feelings for each other. A woman who knows what she wants and goes after it. I loved Lily's straight-forward personality and the way that she wanted to give Riley everything that he needed.
Nick took a bit to admit/acknowledge his emotions.
Riley and Nick were complex characters, but in some ways, "typical" men.
It was an enjoyable story.

Warning: contains m/m/f, m/m, anal, spanking, etc.
Profile Image for Debbie.
16 reviews20 followers
October 30, 2014
I picked up Tere Michaels at a book signing. I'm an e-reader girl,but I thought the book sounded good and I'd try a new author. Boy am I glad I did. If you want a menage where the men are bi this is your book. Great story.
Profile Image for kasjo_peja.
459 reviews4 followers
September 30, 2014
DNF. During the 30% I read the action was focused solely on sex. Not even on sex acts itself, but on obsessing about sex, denying the attraction, avoiding the supposedly uninterested person.
Profile Image for Sue Holston.
Author 4 books16 followers
August 24, 2011
I normally love Tere Michael's books, but this one just did not hook me like her Faith and Fidelity series.
Profile Image for Toby Gradkowski.
9 reviews2 followers
August 24, 2011
OMG!!! I never read the book and probably never will -- but 5 STARS for the cover alone!
Profile Image for Jess Candela.
624 reviews37 followers
August 30, 2011
I liked it, but kinda kept looking/hoping for characters from the earlier books. Somehow, it didn't quite live up to the standard I'd come to expect.
Profile Image for Lisa.
61 reviews9 followers
October 19, 2012
This was my first Tere Michaels read and I loved it! Very hot and steamy! :)
Profile Image for Piper.
620 reviews
August 11, 2016
This was such an enjoyable book! It flowed so well and at no time did the relationship between Lily, Riley and Nick seem awkward.
349 reviews9 followers
August 11, 2015
Happily ever after

Nice story with good characters. Plot line was good, if a bit predictable. Riley's whining gets to be a bit much but he comes through when needed.
Profile Image for Kristy Johnston.
1,221 reviews58 followers
May 3, 2017
I picked up this book because I previously read another book by this author (Faith & Fidelity), which I will be giving 5 stars when I write up my review. I want to read it again first!

The main problem I have with ménage novels is that the majority of the storylines involve a pre-established couple finding a third partner. This skips a fundamental step for me, the first impression. That first impression is probably the single most thing that attracts me to the romance genre. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it. I just need it. If you're okay with the pre-established relationship thing then ignore most of my critique because I thought the novel had a good story to tell.

That said, from page one I felt like I was thrown in at the deep end of the pool not knowing how to swim. All three main characters had pre-established relationships that I was stuck reading narrative or flashbacks to fill in the blanks before I could figure out how to swim enough to make it to the shallow end.

Once I made it through the weeds, the actual story at hand was really good. I enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good ménage romance. I just wish that the romance part of it between the pairs had started earlier in the timeline, that I actually got to experience first-hand the meeting of Nick and Riley and how they became best friends and how their relationship evolved and changed over the years; that I actually experienced Riley meeting Lily and all the push/pull angst of their falling in love. Narratives telling me that they how they met and it was insta-soulmates, insta-love, just isn’t enough for me to feel invested in their relationship before they take on the huge challenge of becoming a ménage.

One nit-picky thing that I had with one of the characters was with the Nick and Steven storyline. I liked the way this story developed with the exception of one issue I had with Nick’s approach to brushing Steven off. Hello, you’re a DOM, not a timid guy afraid to hurt someone you don’t even like’s feelings. I understand that Steven is probably one of those guys that would not take no for an answer but at least just have Nick the Dom say no instead of making stupid excuses like work is busy while he’s clearly coming home from work and standing in front of his mailbox.

This next part in no way impacted the number of stars that I gave the book as it was probably not the author’s fault but should be addressed. The main problem I had with this book was with the formatting and I’ll probably contact Amazon about this. I noticed that it was a recent Kindle release and there were some serious issues, mainly with the dialogue from different speakers being on the same lines. It was hard to distinguish who was speaking and I often had to go back and re-read entire pages due to the fact that I had the identity of the speaker wrong and it changed the meaning of the scene or made no sense. There were also some weird returns in the middle of sentences, which while annoying could be glossed over. After about a half dozen or more exclamations from me that I had the dialogue speaker wrong again, my husband finally told me to find a new book but I was too involved in the story at that point to stop. So beware the new kindle edition.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews

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