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Scientific Method Universe #4
Breaking Down
After two years of dating, Will and Molly know what they’re about: awesome sex, open communication, and hey, what was that about super-hot sex? They spend most of the year apart, and their reunions are legendary. Not this time.
Bad things happen, but you never think that the bad thing is going to happen to you. By the time Molly gets home, a few months after being assaulted, she’s not really interested in processing it further. She’s done processing. But Will? Yeah, Will’s gonna need a minute. A week. Possibly a year. Molly gives him two days before calling for reinforcements: Will’s therapist boyfriends.
All the processing in the world can’t save what was already on its way out. As much as Molly hates to admit it, breaking up with Will has nothing to do with being raped by some asshole whose name she never even knew. That was a horrible, terrible night. But sleeping beside someone she loves but doesn’t want to be with anymore? Hurts like it’ll never stop.
Will spins out, breaks down, and takes his rage, his fear, his grief out on the boyfriends. They reel him back in, like always, with the usual menu of submission and laughter, but it’s not the same as being with Molly. He’s not sure anything will ever be as good as it was with Molly.
When does a relationship really end? When you start questioning it? When you finally say it’s over? And what does it mean if you can’t stop thinking about the person months later?
Warnings: Breaking Down contains non-graphic mentions of sexual assault and an unholy amount of angst. (Mostly Will’s.) There’s a fair amount of kink and very little sex. Does not contain flashbacks, nightmares, or PTSD. Also, there’s a dance club.
Bad things happen, but you never think that the bad thing is going to happen to you. By the time Molly gets home, a few months after being assaulted, she’s not really interested in processing it further. She’s done processing. But Will? Yeah, Will’s gonna need a minute. A week. Possibly a year. Molly gives him two days before calling for reinforcements: Will’s therapist boyfriends.
All the processing in the world can’t save what was already on its way out. As much as Molly hates to admit it, breaking up with Will has nothing to do with being raped by some asshole whose name she never even knew. That was a horrible, terrible night. But sleeping beside someone she loves but doesn’t want to be with anymore? Hurts like it’ll never stop.
Will spins out, breaks down, and takes his rage, his fear, his grief out on the boyfriends. They reel him back in, like always, with the usual menu of submission and laughter, but it’s not the same as being with Molly. He’s not sure anything will ever be as good as it was with Molly.
When does a relationship really end? When you start questioning it? When you finally say it’s over? And what does it mean if you can’t stop thinking about the person months later?
Warnings: Breaking Down contains non-graphic mentions of sexual assault and an unholy amount of angst. (Mostly Will’s.) There’s a fair amount of kink and very little sex. Does not contain flashbacks, nightmares, or PTSD. Also, there’s a dance club.
110 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 3, 2014
5 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Kris Ripper
89 books404 followersKris Ripper lives in the great state of California and zir pronouns are ze/zir. Kris shares a converted garage with a kid, can do two pull-ups in a row, and can write backwards. (No, really.) Ze has been writing fiction since ze learned how to write, and boring zir stuffed animals with stories long before that.
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June 21, 2022
Re-read for the umpteenth time, May 2022
This is both a book 4 review and a series review.
SMU is one of my forever series. I love it so much. Will and Hugh and Truman and their wonderful, weird extended family have given me so much joy and feels and frustration and absorption and empathy and understanding and (I realize this sounds strange) sense of community, even though I'm always just reading these books on my lonesome, oblivious to the world outside.
Usually when I read long series, even when I'm thoroughly enjoying them, I try to pace myself: 3 books at a time, then stop. I find that there is a law of diminishing returns -- too much of a good thing and I can't enjoy it properly anymore. Not SMU. I devoured the whole 9 books, one after the other, inserting the New Year's books and freebie stories from Kris Ripper's website as I went. I was greedy and insatiable and very over-invested, and I enjoyed every minute of it. (There is an SMU chronology with shorts, crossovers, deleted scenes and other goodies here.)
Nine books (plus plus) of one triad trying to figure out their shit -- though "triad" is jumping the gun, as the naming of what Will, Hugh, and Truman are to each other is itself a thread that stretches over the entire series -- you would think it would get stale after a while. But the places Kris Ripper takes us with these characters: no, there is no boredom, no staleness. Not really much in the way of plots, either: these books are entirely character and relationship-driven, mostly concerned with the mundane routines that shape and structure our lives and relationships, finding the intimacy in the everyday. Even the books focused on named events (the wedding, the honeymoon) are more about the lead-up, the anticipation, and the relationship effects of the events than the events themselves.
What Kris Ripper gives us in this series, then, is just life, observed. Carefully, compellingly, unflinchingly, compassionately. SMU is an empathetic, tender, funny, sometimes frustratingly obtuse (HUGH!!) exploration of love in so many of its infinite forms; of intimacy, queerness, polyamory, friendship, family born and made, caregiving, service, vulnerability, gender, sex, kink, power, submission, bravery, fear, processing (HUGH!!), nakedness, shame, pride, and staking one's place in the world. There is heaviness, there is humor, there is generosity, and there is so much love among all these beautiful, flawed, strange, brave people finding their way even (especially) when this breaks with "the" way we're all told is the acceptable one. And sometimes making asses of themselves. And (lots of times) getting in their own way. And crying, and laughing, and having lots of hot, kinky sex. Um, did I bury the lede there?
This is more a series review than a book 4 review, and it's fitting because most of my re-reads are from book 4 on. Book 1 is probably the book I've read the least, at least in whole, because it's . . . actually incredibly painful. Where Will starts out. And his leaving. And Truman coming in -- Truman, who we quickly come to love, but whose initial appearance is resented (by me if no one else) because he cannot help but be an impostor into Will and Hugh's self-enclosed world that we (um, I) am already deeply invested in.* Book 2 is a short, fun interlude, introducing us properly to Molly; book 3 is also a hard'un, as we are confronted for the first time with Hugh's depression and Truman's family of origin and their awfulness and the legacy of shame and self-hatred they inflicted on Truman through their highly conditional love and unabashed homophobia.
Don't get me wrong: all of these books are great. But book 4 feels like a watershed. While Hugh and Truman had their (separate) crises in Take Three Breaths, this time it's Will's turn. And while Will's crisis stems most directly from the breakdown of his relationship with Molly, it is magnified a thousandfold by Will's feelings of betrayal by Hugh -- Hugh, who (with the exception of Adam) is the person Will trusts most in the world. This is seismic. Outside of a scene, Will and Hugh have hardly had so much as a disagreement, much less a rupture. Suddenly they realize that their profound, taken-for-granted connection can, in fact, be severed. It is enormously distressing and dislocating for them both; and it forces Truman for the first time into the role of go-between and conciliator, inserting him directly into the Will-Hugh dynamic in an entirely new way. And Truman, wonderful Truman, comes through: he listens, comforts and, by "taking care of my men," provides a path forward.
Breaking Down, then, inches us even further towards getting a handle on how the relationship(s) between Will, Hugh, and Truman intersect and interact and feed each other, even as -- by taking Molly out of the picture (at least temporarily) -- it also fundamentally changes the contours of this relationship. It is messy, painful, emotional, bang-your-head-against-the-wall (HUGH!!!!), and ultimately so fitting, if also melancholy and (for a while) unfixable. It's recognizing that sometimes you just need to sit in pain and sadness, but that making space for it doesn't mean never moving on from it. And -- to lighten things up a bit -- this is also the book where we realize that, in the SMU, the distinction between "I love you" and "I am in love with you" looms very large, indeed. This is not just semantics! In short -- book 4 is the hinge that pivots us into the next, more intense, more oh-my-god-this-is-happening** phase of the W-H-T relationship. And . . . just read it. Please. Starting with book 1 though. Trust me. You need this in your life.
I guess I should note that this series is not for people who don't like reading about pain play (or kink more generally). And obviously you have to be down with polyam. But I can say that I had not read much of either before starting this, and I was initially skeptical as to whether my emotional range stretched to poly. Needless to say, it does.
So go! Read SMU! I'll see you on the other side!
* After writing this review, I did a full proper re-read of book 1 and holy smokes, I really got something different out of it this time around than the first time around. That review is here.
** I like to think that Kris Ripper would enjoy this OFMD reference. Because reading book 4 makes me feel like Lucius did on that field trip. And once Lucius got invested, he GOT INVESTED!
CWs for book 4: sexual assault (off-page but its ramifications for Molly and Will are the focus of the first half of the book); reference to past sexual assaults against Hugh
Overarching CWs for the series: cancer -- Hugh's entire immediate family died of cancer within a relatively short time span in his late teens/ early 20s; residual grief; reference to abusive relationship in Hugh's past; homophobic family of origin (Truman)
This is both a book 4 review and a series review.
SMU is one of my forever series. I love it so much. Will and Hugh and Truman and their wonderful, weird extended family have given me so much joy and feels and frustration and absorption and empathy and understanding and (I realize this sounds strange) sense of community, even though I'm always just reading these books on my lonesome, oblivious to the world outside.
Usually when I read long series, even when I'm thoroughly enjoying them, I try to pace myself: 3 books at a time, then stop. I find that there is a law of diminishing returns -- too much of a good thing and I can't enjoy it properly anymore. Not SMU. I devoured the whole 9 books, one after the other, inserting the New Year's books and freebie stories from Kris Ripper's website as I went. I was greedy and insatiable and very over-invested, and I enjoyed every minute of it. (There is an SMU chronology with shorts, crossovers, deleted scenes and other goodies here.)
Nine books (plus plus) of one triad trying to figure out their shit -- though "triad" is jumping the gun, as the naming of what Will, Hugh, and Truman are to each other is itself a thread that stretches over the entire series -- you would think it would get stale after a while. But the places Kris Ripper takes us with these characters: no, there is no boredom, no staleness. Not really much in the way of plots, either: these books are entirely character and relationship-driven, mostly concerned with the mundane routines that shape and structure our lives and relationships, finding the intimacy in the everyday. Even the books focused on named events (the wedding, the honeymoon) are more about the lead-up, the anticipation, and the relationship effects of the events than the events themselves.
What Kris Ripper gives us in this series, then, is just life, observed. Carefully, compellingly, unflinchingly, compassionately. SMU is an empathetic, tender, funny, sometimes frustratingly obtuse (HUGH!!) exploration of love in so many of its infinite forms; of intimacy, queerness, polyamory, friendship, family born and made, caregiving, service, vulnerability, gender, sex, kink, power, submission, bravery, fear, processing (HUGH!!), nakedness, shame, pride, and staking one's place in the world. There is heaviness, there is humor, there is generosity, and there is so much love among all these beautiful, flawed, strange, brave people finding their way even (especially) when this breaks with "the" way we're all told is the acceptable one. And sometimes making asses of themselves. And (lots of times) getting in their own way. And crying, and laughing, and having lots of hot, kinky sex. Um, did I bury the lede there?
This is more a series review than a book 4 review, and it's fitting because most of my re-reads are from book 4 on. Book 1 is probably the book I've read the least, at least in whole, because it's . . . actually incredibly painful. Where Will starts out. And his leaving. And Truman coming in -- Truman, who we quickly come to love, but whose initial appearance is resented (by me if no one else) because he cannot help but be an impostor into Will and Hugh's self-enclosed world that we (um, I) am already deeply invested in.* Book 2 is a short, fun interlude, introducing us properly to Molly; book 3 is also a hard'un, as we are confronted for the first time with Hugh's depression and Truman's family of origin and their awfulness and the legacy of shame and self-hatred they inflicted on Truman through their highly conditional love and unabashed homophobia.
Don't get me wrong: all of these books are great. But book 4 feels like a watershed. While Hugh and Truman had their (separate) crises in Take Three Breaths, this time it's Will's turn. And while Will's crisis stems most directly from the breakdown of his relationship with Molly, it is magnified a thousandfold by Will's feelings of betrayal by Hugh -- Hugh, who (with the exception of Adam) is the person Will trusts most in the world. This is seismic. Outside of a scene, Will and Hugh have hardly had so much as a disagreement, much less a rupture. Suddenly they realize that their profound, taken-for-granted connection can, in fact, be severed. It is enormously distressing and dislocating for them both; and it forces Truman for the first time into the role of go-between and conciliator, inserting him directly into the Will-Hugh dynamic in an entirely new way. And Truman, wonderful Truman, comes through: he listens, comforts and, by "taking care of my men," provides a path forward.
Breaking Down, then, inches us even further towards getting a handle on how the relationship(s) between Will, Hugh, and Truman intersect and interact and feed each other, even as -- by taking Molly out of the picture (at least temporarily) -- it also fundamentally changes the contours of this relationship. It is messy, painful, emotional, bang-your-head-against-the-wall (HUGH!!!!), and ultimately so fitting, if also melancholy and (for a while) unfixable. It's recognizing that sometimes you just need to sit in pain and sadness, but that making space for it doesn't mean never moving on from it. And -- to lighten things up a bit -- this is also the book where we realize that, in the SMU, the distinction between "I love you" and "I am in love with you" looms very large, indeed. This is not just semantics! In short -- book 4 is the hinge that pivots us into the next, more intense, more oh-my-god-this-is-happening** phase of the W-H-T relationship. And . . . just read it. Please. Starting with book 1 though. Trust me. You need this in your life.
I guess I should note that this series is not for people who don't like reading about pain play (or kink more generally). And obviously you have to be down with polyam. But I can say that I had not read much of either before starting this, and I was initially skeptical as to whether my emotional range stretched to poly. Needless to say, it does.
So go! Read SMU! I'll see you on the other side!
* After writing this review, I did a full proper re-read of book 1 and holy smokes, I really got something different out of it this time around than the first time around. That review is here.
** I like to think that Kris Ripper would enjoy this OFMD reference. Because reading book 4 makes me feel like Lucius did on that field trip. And once Lucius got invested, he GOT INVESTED!
CWs for book 4: sexual assault (off-page but its ramifications for Molly and Will are the focus of the first half of the book); reference to past sexual assaults against Hugh
Overarching CWs for the series: cancer -- Hugh's entire immediate family died of cancer within a relatively short time span in his late teens/ early 20s; residual grief; reference to abusive relationship in Hugh's past; homophobic family of origin (Truman)
October 14, 2020
god this series breaks my heart apart and then puts it back together
May 22, 2023
4.5 stars
CW: discussion of sexual assault (not on page)
Ah, I see that I did not review this yet!
This series is just so freaking good. In this one we see Will and Molly in a bad place, where Molly has realized that Will isn't quite giving her what she needs. This leads to Will feeling betrayed by Hugh (who Molly spoke to) and to their first real anything in this series. It was tough to read, because Will and Hugh always seem so solid, and have right from the start.
I really liked seeing how Hugh and Truman worked together to help Will, and that Hugh cares enough for Will to realize that he needs help from Truman, and then trusts what Truman suggests they do. And then the end of chapter 8, which is the last chapter that we see Will, Hugh, and Truman in, is just perfect. I think that what Hugh and Truman did was the exact right thing to help Will, especially where he is so hung up on sharing a bed with them.
At the end we check back in with Molly and I thought that was great. It shows that she's doing well but still struggling.
Now that I've killed my eyeballs reading these first 4 books on my phone, I'm impatiently waiting for the physical books to arrive in my mailbox so I can continue reading!
CW: discussion of sexual assault (not on page)
Ah, I see that I did not review this yet!
This series is just so freaking good. In this one we see Will and Molly in a bad place, where Molly has realized that Will isn't quite giving her what she needs. This leads to Will feeling betrayed by Hugh (who Molly spoke to) and to their first real anything in this series. It was tough to read, because Will and Hugh always seem so solid, and have right from the start.
I really liked seeing how Hugh and Truman worked together to help Will, and that Hugh cares enough for Will to realize that he needs help from Truman, and then trusts what Truman suggests they do. And then the end of chapter 8, which is the last chapter that we see Will, Hugh, and Truman in, is just perfect. I think that what Hugh and Truman did was the exact right thing to help Will, especially where he is so hung up on sharing a bed with them.
At the end we check back in with Molly and I thought that was great. It shows that she's doing well but still struggling.
Now that I've killed my eyeballs reading these first 4 books on my phone, I'm impatiently waiting for the physical books to arrive in my mailbox so I can continue reading!
February 5, 2023
4.5***** stars
Here we go again! I could love this part again. A heavy topic, a hard decision to make, deep feelings and the boyfriends always being there for Will. And even for Molly. That’s how great they are.
*************
Scientific Method Universe Series:
Book 1 - Catalyst - 4.5 stars
Book 2 - Unexpected Gifts - 3.25 stars
Book 3 - Take Three Breaths - 4 stars
Book 4 - Breaking Down - 4.5 stars
Book 5 - Roller Coasters - 3.25 stars
Book 6 - The Boyfriends Tie the Knot - currently reading
Book 7 - The Honeymoon
Book 8 - Extremes
Book 9 - Untrue
Here we go again! I could love this part again. A heavy topic, a hard decision to make, deep feelings and the boyfriends always being there for Will. And even for Molly. That’s how great they are.
*************
Scientific Method Universe Series:
Book 1 - Catalyst - 4.5 stars
Book 2 - Unexpected Gifts - 3.25 stars
Book 3 - Take Three Breaths - 4 stars
Book 4 - Breaking Down - 4.5 stars
Book 5 - Roller Coasters - 3.25 stars
Book 6 - The Boyfriends Tie the Knot - currently reading
Book 7 - The Honeymoon
Book 8 - Extremes
Book 9 - Untrue
June 12, 2016
Review in book #1
June 1, 2015
All good things come to an end, or do they? Molly seems perfect for Will, and even he thinks so. But things happen and must be worked out and consequences dealt with. I absolutely love how the relationship with Will, Hugh and Truman has grown and what they each do for the other. Some strong issues here, but most of the recollection is off page or in the past. The true joy for me is watching Will and the guys get through things together. Can't read these fast enough, but I'm already getting sad I'm nearing the end.
November 20, 2017
I like that Kris said RIGHT IN THE FRONT OF THE BOOK that there is much angst and kink but not a lot of sex, so at least I knew what I was getting into. That being said, it didn't feel as HEAVY as the last one somehow, even though by all rights it should have. As always, the growth and communication between characters is really my favorite part, so the lack of as many sexy times as usual didn't bother me too much.
I also love that somehow Will manages to be the catalyst for realizations and conversations between the boyfriends. It's really interesting to me that he somehow makes THEIR relationship better.
Pretty sure I've said this before, but though I'm usually all about monogamous, committed relationships in books, the way this author handles open relationships doesn't trigger my usual jealousy/possessiveness on behalf of characters. They make SENSE for the people in them, and nobody is getting cheated on or lied to (well, any more than anyone ever is lied to). It's very eyeopening for me all around.
I also love that somehow Will manages to be the catalyst for realizations and conversations between the boyfriends. It's really interesting to me that he somehow makes THEIR relationship better.
Pretty sure I've said this before, but though I'm usually all about monogamous, committed relationships in books, the way this author handles open relationships doesn't trigger my usual jealousy/possessiveness on behalf of characters. They make SENSE for the people in them, and nobody is getting cheated on or lied to (well, any more than anyone ever is lied to). It's very eyeopening for me all around.
September 7, 2023
CW: past rape
It pains me that another Molly story hasn’t worked as well as I hoped—although 4 stars means I still really liked it. It's not her fault! The novellas in this series that include her aren’t as strong as the books/novellas that don’t. I have some theories as to why but first, let’s get into the strengths because there was so much that was handled well.
People respond to sexual assault in any number of ways. Molly wants to believe it hasn’t changed her, so much that she waits three months to tell Will it even happened. Will is more upset than she is (at least on the surface) and this is infuriating to Molly. Her anger and projection are visceral. She wants to use sex to prove she’s fine but Will is processing and not in the mood. Thus, Molly calls in the boyfriends and Truman and Hugh come visit for the weekend. This illustrates one of the benefits of polyamory. Sometimes one of your partners has exactly what you need; Hugh and Will have a way of getting to the core of each other that Molly and Truman can’t. This a strength but as the novella illustrates after Molly breaks up with Will, it can be an unhealthy pattern too and sometimes breaking that cycle is more helpful. (Truman is a genius.)
I found this interesting on so many levels. First, there’s the response to the rape, which gives us an insight to Molly’s psyche and how isolated she’s become, in part because her work takes her back and forth to Amsterdam and in part because of how enmeshed her friend group is with Will. Second, Molly realizes she wants to break up with Will and it really has nothing to do with her sexual assault. If anything, that sped up the timeline. I loved how Hugh emphasized that breaking up doesn’t mean it was a bad relationship or that it failed, just that it’s no longer serving them. It’s going to take Will much longer to realize or accept that but it’s just what Molly needed to hear.
In many ways, this was strong across the board but…I can’t stop thinking about the optics of what happens to Molly.
This is a small cast but an overwhelmingly white one. Molly is Black and the only other prominent character of color is Lucy, who does not get all that much page time and never appears in this installment. Molly doesn’t seem to have any connections to the Black community; I don’t know where her family is in all this but she never thinks about them when she’s in need of support. And so I have to wonder about the choice for Molly to be the one who experienced sexual assault. Now, as the story unfolds, we learn about Hugh’s assaults when he was an escort and about Will’s two cousins, all of whom are presumably white. Sexual assault is a big issue and it disproportionately affects POC and sex workers. It’s an important topic to raise. I’m just not sure that it was necessary for Molly to have gone through that, particularly if she was already in the process of thinking about breaking up with Will.
This series is ultimately working toward a triad relationship between Will, Truman, and Hugh so things were probably going to end between Will and Molly at some point. Frankly, I’m happy we got to see Will have another relationship, even if it’s not as on page as I’d prefer. We barely get to see Will and Molly’s sex scenes and the ones we do see, almost always involve Hugh and Truman. (I really hope that was for authorial reasons and not fear of how many cis women who read MM have internalized misogyny when it comes to female characters showing up.) I wanted a better sense of what Will and Molly’s relationship was like aside from the boyfriends and her trauma. This series is very interior, which I love, but it’s also insular with barely a glimpse at what these characters do at work or outside friends and interests. That can be okay but this is one installment where more grounding would have gone a long way.
Characters: Will is a 25 year old white submissive who works at a radio station and a pub. Molly is a 26 year old Black woman and a Domme doing some kind of research. Will and Molly been together for 2 years. Hugh is a 33 year old gay white therapist, switch, and former escort who wears glasses. Truman is a 37 year old gay white therapist. Hugh and Truman have been together three years. Will and Hugh have known each other 4 years. All are polyamorous. This is set in Santa Barbara and Oakland, CA.
Content notes: past sexual assault (barely any details and no flashbacks, ), past suicidal ideation (Will), biphobia, past death of Hugh’s mom, diet culture, safeword use, on page sex, D/s, impact play, mild age play, voyeurism, MMM menage, biting, alcohol, inebriation, gendered pejoratives, ableist language
It pains me that another Molly story hasn’t worked as well as I hoped—although 4 stars means I still really liked it. It's not her fault! The novellas in this series that include her aren’t as strong as the books/novellas that don’t. I have some theories as to why but first, let’s get into the strengths because there was so much that was handled well.
People respond to sexual assault in any number of ways. Molly wants to believe it hasn’t changed her, so much that she waits three months to tell Will it even happened. Will is more upset than she is (at least on the surface) and this is infuriating to Molly. Her anger and projection are visceral. She wants to use sex to prove she’s fine but Will is processing and not in the mood. Thus, Molly calls in the boyfriends and Truman and Hugh come visit for the weekend. This illustrates one of the benefits of polyamory. Sometimes one of your partners has exactly what you need; Hugh and Will have a way of getting to the core of each other that Molly and Truman can’t. This a strength but as the novella illustrates after Molly breaks up with Will, it can be an unhealthy pattern too and sometimes breaking that cycle is more helpful. (Truman is a genius.)
I found this interesting on so many levels. First, there’s the response to the rape, which gives us an insight to Molly’s psyche and how isolated she’s become, in part because her work takes her back and forth to Amsterdam and in part because of how enmeshed her friend group is with Will. Second, Molly realizes she wants to break up with Will and it really has nothing to do with her sexual assault. If anything, that sped up the timeline. I loved how Hugh emphasized that breaking up doesn’t mean it was a bad relationship or that it failed, just that it’s no longer serving them. It’s going to take Will much longer to realize or accept that but it’s just what Molly needed to hear.
In many ways, this was strong across the board but…I can’t stop thinking about the optics of what happens to Molly.
This is a small cast but an overwhelmingly white one. Molly is Black and the only other prominent character of color is Lucy, who does not get all that much page time and never appears in this installment. Molly doesn’t seem to have any connections to the Black community; I don’t know where her family is in all this but she never thinks about them when she’s in need of support. And so I have to wonder about the choice for Molly to be the one who experienced sexual assault. Now, as the story unfolds, we learn about Hugh’s assaults when he was an escort and about Will’s two cousins, all of whom are presumably white. Sexual assault is a big issue and it disproportionately affects POC and sex workers. It’s an important topic to raise. I’m just not sure that it was necessary for Molly to have gone through that, particularly if she was already in the process of thinking about breaking up with Will.
This series is ultimately working toward a triad relationship between Will, Truman, and Hugh so things were probably going to end between Will and Molly at some point. Frankly, I’m happy we got to see Will have another relationship, even if it’s not as on page as I’d prefer. We barely get to see Will and Molly’s sex scenes and the ones we do see, almost always involve Hugh and Truman. (I really hope that was for authorial reasons and not fear of how many cis women who read MM have internalized misogyny when it comes to female characters showing up.) I wanted a better sense of what Will and Molly’s relationship was like aside from the boyfriends and her trauma. This series is very interior, which I love, but it’s also insular with barely a glimpse at what these characters do at work or outside friends and interests. That can be okay but this is one installment where more grounding would have gone a long way.
Characters: Will is a 25 year old white submissive who works at a radio station and a pub. Molly is a 26 year old Black woman and a Domme doing some kind of research. Will and Molly been together for 2 years. Hugh is a 33 year old gay white therapist, switch, and former escort who wears glasses. Truman is a 37 year old gay white therapist. Hugh and Truman have been together three years. Will and Hugh have known each other 4 years. All are polyamorous. This is set in Santa Barbara and Oakland, CA.
Content notes: past sexual assault (barely any details and no flashbacks, ), past suicidal ideation (Will), biphobia, past death of Hugh’s mom, diet culture, safeword use, on page sex, D/s, impact play, mild age play, voyeurism, MMM menage, biting, alcohol, inebriation, gendered pejoratives, ableist language
August 4, 2017
Ripper once again puts zir characters through the emotional ringer.
This time we get the aftermath of an offscreen sexual assault and a breakup that's painful for everyone involved.
One of the things I love about this series is that the focus isn't on emotionally charged happenings, but on the aftermaths. The real story is in the emotional reactions and conversations and reevaluation of relationships that come next.
I expected this book to be mostly about Will and Molly, and the disintegration of their relationship, and it is. But there's also a lot in here about Hugh and Truman and Hugh's failure to deal with his own emotional reactions and entanglements.
I spend a lot of this series going, "damn it Hugh! You're so good at other people, why are you so shit at recognizing what's going on in YOUR head.
This time we get the aftermath of an offscreen sexual assault and a breakup that's painful for everyone involved.
One of the things I love about this series is that the focus isn't on emotionally charged happenings, but on the aftermaths. The real story is in the emotional reactions and conversations and reevaluation of relationships that come next.
I expected this book to be mostly about Will and Molly, and the disintegration of their relationship, and it is. But there's also a lot in here about Hugh and Truman and Hugh's failure to deal with his own emotional reactions and entanglements.
I spend a lot of this series going, "damn it Hugh! You're so good at other people, why are you so shit at recognizing what's going on in YOUR head.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2023
Oh poor Will, heck poor Molly too for that matter. So been there. Just wish I'd had a Truman and Hugh to turn to at that time...
Interesting developments in Truman and Hugh's relationship as well. Nicely done!
Interesting developments in Truman and Hugh's relationship as well. Nicely done!
January 9, 2022
Well, hello darkness and oh my goodness. This novella-length story contains: discussions of sexual assault (not in detail, and the assaults happen off-page), crying, sort of cheating? but it's hot? shopping, clubbing and ultimately, reassurance that our "core four" of Will, Molly, Hugh and Truman are gonna be okay. This was a very "it's darkest before dawn" reading experience.
We open with Molly in a rage - and surprisingly, reaching out to Truman. Turns out Will is not reacting well to Molly sharing the news that she was sexually assaulted while in Amsterdam, and Molly and Will end up using Truman and Hugh, respectively, to air out their complicated feelings. This leads to an in-person visit, which of course leads to a scene, and HOO BOY, that is your nadir of difficulty if you're keeping track at home kids.
It's cathartic, but holds a couple of interesting moments for Hugh and Will: both the beginning and end involves some secret-keeping on their part from the others. One aspect of that is okay, but the other is destined to come out - which it does after some time passes and Molly and Will's relationship faces another challenge and Will (of course) runs to the boyfriends for support. Now they have to navigate the ripple in the waters between the three of them caused by the reveal of that secret. It changes the dynamic again, BUT I PROMISE! In a good way.
It's so hard to review these stories without giving all the emotional beats away. I will say the one right up front - dealing with Molly's sexual assault - is handled super well and nuanced in a way you don't often see. I love that Will's relationship to it and even Hugh's is investigated. I love that it presented a major challenge for Molly and Will to navigate, but it wasn't even the most dire thing for them to face.
I am starting to like Truman more and more in this series. I love that he takes Will and Hugh on a shopping trip. I love that he takes them to a dance club. I love that Hugh finds a way to bring Truman even closer in to the dynamic he has with Will, when things very much could have gone the other way in this story. Damn!!! Am I saying too much?! I hope not. Because despite the difficult content in this one, I think it's another super-strong entry into the development of the relationships between all these people (but especially Will, Hugh and Truman).
I can't say I'm glad Ripper took us here, but the path ze wrote through it led to believable leveling-up from the characters all around. I'm already onto reading the next entry.
We open with Molly in a rage - and surprisingly, reaching out to Truman. Turns out Will is not reacting well to Molly sharing the news that she was sexually assaulted while in Amsterdam, and Molly and Will end up using Truman and Hugh, respectively, to air out their complicated feelings. This leads to an in-person visit, which of course leads to a scene, and HOO BOY, that is your nadir of difficulty if you're keeping track at home kids.
It's cathartic, but holds a couple of interesting moments for Hugh and Will: both the beginning and end involves some secret-keeping on their part from the others. One aspect of that is okay, but the other is destined to come out - which it does after some time passes and Molly and Will's relationship faces another challenge and Will (of course) runs to the boyfriends for support. Now they have to navigate the ripple in the waters between the three of them caused by the reveal of that secret. It changes the dynamic again, BUT I PROMISE! In a good way.
It's so hard to review these stories without giving all the emotional beats away. I will say the one right up front - dealing with Molly's sexual assault - is handled super well and nuanced in a way you don't often see. I love that Will's relationship to it and even Hugh's is investigated. I love that it presented a major challenge for Molly and Will to navigate, but it wasn't even the most dire thing for them to face.
I am starting to like Truman more and more in this series. I love that he takes Will and Hugh on a shopping trip. I love that he takes them to a dance club. I love that Hugh finds a way to bring Truman even closer in to the dynamic he has with Will, when things very much could have gone the other way in this story. Damn!!! Am I saying too much?! I hope not. Because despite the difficult content in this one, I think it's another super-strong entry into the development of the relationships between all these people (but especially Will, Hugh and Truman).
I can't say I'm glad Ripper took us here, but the path ze wrote through it led to believable leveling-up from the characters all around. I'm already onto reading the next entry.
March 12, 2024
If Sadie Sins is the Queen of Dub Con and Misha Horne of Spanking, Kris Ripper takes the crown with their build up-skills in this book.
The anticipation, the tightening and slowly rising suspense before a scene or sex is just toe curlingly good here. Sometimes so much so that the actual sex isn’t even that important anymore or glossed over and that usually gets on my nerves, but… the lead to it is so fucking stupid hot here it made me wanna scream.
There are so many sexy one liners in this book that just zinged straight through my whole body and made my skin tingle. Excellent, like Hugh would say.
I love this series so much at this point.
It’s so freaking good I do not understand why there aren’t thousands of glowing reviews. I guess it’s because the first book is not… well it’s kinda hard to read at times….? Maybe? I have to admit I wasn’t all too sure about continuing the series, too, after the first book, but I’m so glad I did.
I cannot believe my luck that this is only the fourth book with five ones yet to come and what feels like hundreds of little stories in between on Kris Rippers homepage.
I am completely lost in this universe and never want to come up for air.
The anticipation, the tightening and slowly rising suspense before a scene or sex is just toe curlingly good here. Sometimes so much so that the actual sex isn’t even that important anymore or glossed over and that usually gets on my nerves, but… the lead to it is so fucking stupid hot here it made me wanna scream.
There are so many sexy one liners in this book that just zinged straight through my whole body and made my skin tingle. Excellent, like Hugh would say.
I love this series so much at this point.
It’s so freaking good I do not understand why there aren’t thousands of glowing reviews. I guess it’s because the first book is not… well it’s kinda hard to read at times….? Maybe? I have to admit I wasn’t all too sure about continuing the series, too, after the first book, but I’m so glad I did.
I cannot believe my luck that this is only the fourth book with five ones yet to come and what feels like hundreds of little stories in between on Kris Rippers homepage.
I am completely lost in this universe and never want to come up for air.
January 2, 2024
Oof. Honestly? A really powerful and real take on not only breaking up with someone you still love but can’t be what you need, and also, what a way to help move along the main series relationship (Will, Hugh, Truman). I still kind of feel like it’s the Will and Hugh show with Truman as a kind of buffer, so any Hugh and Truman moments tend to feel forced and weird to me, even though they’re the only official couple. Idk if there was a way for the author to approach this that wouldn’t cause discomfort there, and I also kind of think discomfort is the point? I’m not sure yet, but glimmers of what may happen in the future cause me to believe this might just be, overall, a brilliant and brutally real story about intimacy and relationships and discovery. Like, it’s painful and confusing, but I’m constantly thinking about it, and that kind of emotional depth is exactly what I’m hoping for? Hard to rate. But. I’m going to keep going.
July 24, 2019
4.5 stars. This may be one of the few books I’ve read in which a crushing breakup is so well explained from all sides. Usually one ex is the villain or dead. These two love each other but can no longer maintain the relationship. I can’t wait to get Will’s next chapter. Perhaps I love these books because I see myself somewhere in the characters. I wish for communication like this, I wish to be seen like this, I wish I could be fixed like this....
March 10, 2024
KR navigates complex emotions so deftly. Like I knew ze could do it but this is a whole new level. I am in awe. This story focuses more on Molly so I didn't love this story as much as the others but dang watching Hugh and Truman doing their part by "shrinking" away was beautiful. I felt very validated by the way that KR dealt with the sexual assault part of the story.
December 26, 2024
So much angst and heartbreak in this one. Molly and Will analyze their relationship, with the help of Truman and Hugh. Thank goodness Truman and Hugh were there to help Will process it all.
Truman and Hugh also had some eye-opening developments in their own relationship. I think this ends with everyone in a pretty good place.
Read December 25, 2024
Truman and Hugh also had some eye-opening developments in their own relationship. I think this ends with everyone in a pretty good place.
Read December 25, 2024
October 31, 2017
These are SO consistently good, on so many levels. I'm often disappointed in shorter works because there just isn't enough there to satisfy me. But these are brilliant. Such great characters. Such nuanced relationships. Love them. Glad I already have the next one!
January 28, 2018
Another great installment in Scientific Method
I really enjoyed (cried through) this installment wherein Molly and Will are the stars, and their relationship takes the stage with Will, Hugh and Truman. I do love this series.
I really enjoyed (cried through) this installment wherein Molly and Will are the stars, and their relationship takes the stage with Will, Hugh and Truman. I do love this series.
February 2, 2018
Wait. What?
I’ve become so invested in this series that leaving reviews is difficult without spoilers. So I’ll just say, the human insight machine of the author hasn’t ceased to reel me in.
I’ve become so invested in this series that leaving reviews is difficult without spoilers. So I’ll just say, the human insight machine of the author hasn’t ceased to reel me in.
April 22, 2020
It just gets better
This series is amazing, each one better than the last. They handled the heavy subject material maturely. It’s different for everyone but I loved the navigation of it within these characters. I’m diving right into the next one
This series is amazing, each one better than the last. They handled the heavy subject material maturely. It’s different for everyone but I loved the navigation of it within these characters. I’m diving right into the next one
January 25, 2022
Content notes from Kris Ripper's website:
March 10, 2023
This largely revolves around a heavy topic, but it didn't feel super depressing, and I think overall it was handled well. Will threw a bit of a tantrum at one point and I didn't feel like that was satisfactorily addressed, but it wasn't disappointing enough to turn me off the book.
Read
June 29, 2024**Re-read June 2024**
Note to self/cw: This is the one with the aftermath of Molly’s SA. I find this one difficult, and while I’m glad I’ve read it more than once now because of its significance in the series, it’s not one I’m likely to revisit often.
Note to self/cw: This is the one with the aftermath of Molly’s SA. I find this one difficult, and while I’m glad I’ve read it more than once now because of its significance in the series, it’s not one I’m likely to revisit often.
January 23, 2019
The sheer honesty in here can be exhausting, but in the best of ways.
June 20, 2019
Very enjoyable!
August 19, 2021
4.5/5
This volume broke my heart and healed it. I love these characters so much.
This volume broke my heart and healed it. I love these characters so much.
August 26, 2021
This one has some serious content to it: Molly was assaulted and Will reacts badly. A nice exploration of relationships.
February 27, 2022
aww man this one really hurt
April 10, 2022
Fantastic book. Dealt with some incredibly heavy topics in the usual caring style I've come to expect in this series. Bittersweet ending for sure.
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