Full Circle

Never Too Early #3

by Chris Owen, Tory Temple

In the final book of the Never Too Early series, cowboys Jake and Tor and firefighters Chance and Tucker have more on their plates than they bargained for. What started out as friendship has developed into strong feelings, and the couples continue to grow and learn about each other. However, adding two and two is more than a simple math problem. Words and emotions can be a dangerous mix, as the four men discover, and jealousy and miscommunication threaten what they've built together.

When two of the four unexpectedly connect, it sends all of them reeling. Pride is bruised and feelings are wounded, although they try desperately to hold themselves together in order to navigate this new territory. The physical distance between them all is both a blessing and a curse. When one of them reveals something that can't be taken back, it threatens the relationships of all four men. How do two separate couples blend themselves to become one unit? The doubts and fears threaten to overwhelm them all, and no one will emerge unscathed.

Genres: M M Romance, Westerns, M M M, M M M M, Menage, Firefighters, Erotica

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 25, 2015

About the author

I live and write in eastern Canada. I went to a bunch of schools, learned a lot of things, and now make stuff up because not to do so is unthinkable. I'm fond of fountain pens, Levenger's Circa system, and Steampunk fashions.
I'm inspired by the day to day minutia of life, and find beauty in the way words go together. I like texture and richness of experience. I'm not shy. I'm happy, I'm learning, I'm living.

Reviews

[Jewel · Rating 4 out of 5]

~BR with Renee, Ele and Karen. We're all nervous about this one... ~


Me and my fellow buddy readers were quite nervous about reading the conclusion to the Never Too Early series. We're all fans of Jake & Tor and of Chance & Tucker from their individual series and we were worried that mixing them would take away some of their magic.

For me, I am happy with the result! I found Never Too Early: Full Circle to be a strong finish for our four men and I'm happy with where they ended up.

Without giving too much away (I hope), the insecurities and doubts of one of our guys actually made the whole stronger, because it forced everyone to talk things out and be honest and open. Communication is key in any relationship and the more people you add, the more important it becomes. Jake and Tor know from experience that it is imperative to talk things out, so they were instrumental in keeping focus and keeping the lines of communication open for everyone.

Never Too Early: Full Circle just worked for me. It wasn't all about the sex (though, holy hell was it hot) and it did focus on the relationships as our men figured out this new dynamic.

So, I say, well done!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

We started this adventure together and with all of our fears and anxieties about how this would go we decided there was only one way to finish it...together. So with trembling hands and anxious hearts my wonderful friends Jewel, Ele and Renee joined me in reading the final book.

Never Too Early is a collaboration between the authors Tory Temple and Chris Owen. it's a melding of two of the main characters from Tory's Firefighters series (Chance and Tucker) and Chris's Bareback series (Jake and Tor). These two authors conceived an idea that had me and I'm sure more than a few other people saying "Oh hell NO!" and I know at times I was convinced it just couldn't be done in a way that readers would accept. I freely admit I was wrong. It was done and done well. I apologize for being vague here but this is a case of I refuse to spoil it for those who haven't read it and there is very little that I can say about the story that isn't at least a little spoilerish.

I had something else all set to type now but the more I thought about it the more I realized that the last comment I posted on Ele's review basically sums up my feelings right now...

Well that's it I'm done. I'm going to need to ponder this before doing my review though. I have to admit they surprised me and it was a really good story, but still I was left feeling...I'm not even sure what I'm feeling I know it was an HEA so I should have felt good about that and been happy. I've read ménage books and I've really liked them. I don't know this was just different for me and my brain said 'this is a good thing' and my heart hurts. Maybe once I've thought about it a little more my brain and my heart will be more in sync with each other. I have to agree with my fellow buddy readers it's worthy of 4 stars no problem. That the author's pulled this off deserves 4 stars in and of itself.

[Brenda Maldonado · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why did I read this book? It broke my heart and not in a good angsty way. Tor breaking promises again? Poor Jake!!! Chance reaching the point where he believes Jake is his heart? Poor Tucker! This was a nightmare! As far as I am concerned, there was no real HEA here, just a joke of an ending.

I enjoy reading poly: 911, Jarheads, Deviations, Soulmates... Need I say more? I just can't see this specific poly relationship being appropriate or successful in the context of the pre existing relationships. This series destroyed four beloved characters.

Too bad the term wall banger means nothing in the age of Kindle. I desperately wanted to throw this book against the wall.

#ThisIsBullcrap #HopeTheMoneyWasWorthIt #AbominationWasRight

[Rosie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was going to write a long review giving extracts and quotes to more fully explain my thoughts, but in the end I just couldn't be bothered. Unless I'm choosing to read a fantasy novel, I prefer to have some semblance of reality in the romances I read - but sadly I couldn't find any in this. To me it was just far fetched and ridiculous. Every one of these four were not only lucky enough in life to have already met and fallen into mutual love with their soul mate in their original pairings... but they were then even luckier to find that yes! they had more than one soul mate... AND.... (oh luck of luck) their two (new) soul mates.... were also... each others soul mates too and not only in a relationship...but prepared to share! Sound likely...? No I didn't think so either. It was just ridiculous. All this grand passion and 'hotness' left me stone cold I'm afraid.

I felt that Jake and Tor whom I'd loved in the previous Bareback books turned into cardboard cut out characters of their previous selves - and I resented being constantly hit on the head by pages and pages of characters droning on, and on...and on... trying to make a totally unbelievable (to me) situation seem like it could be plausible or even a desirable life choice if only we were all as enlightened as these four. The amount of philosophizing about there being 'enough love to go around' became nauseating to me in the end. I 'felt' no passion at all between the original couples.

The epilogue (imo) was so bad it made me literally cringe, and any love I had for these characters previously had just completely died by the end of this book. All of which would have been bad enough on it's own, but the final insult was...I found the book to be very boring anyway. A lot of sex, sex, and more sex... then a lot of harping on about how in love everyone was, how hot everyone was, how much everyone wanted everyone else..how no one was upset or angry...and that's about it. Dull, dull, dull. I couldn't have hated it more.

[Ele · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Four was more than just two plus two. Four was right."

Well, it turns out that four is right, after all.

I really don't want to give anything away. I'll just say that I enjoyed the relationship dynamics among the four men. These dynamics, naturally, kept changing throughout the story; the original couples felt safe and familiar and then there was the thrill of new bonds forming. I liked that Chance who was always cool and collected, lost a little bit of his control with Tor. And I liked that Tucker, who was usually so restless and passionate, was gentle and tender with Jake.

The sex scenes were smoking hot but quite challenging because um....four dicks and four pair of hands, you know? But despite having to read sex scenes twice (it was a hardship, I know), they were very well done.

Honestly, I'm not sure this is where I wanted to see Jake and Tor after their hard gained HEA in Bareback. Sometimes, part of me wanted to pretend that this was about different couples, new ones, that have nothing to do with the original characters.

But I liked it for what it is, a polyamorous romance with MCs that we have loved in the past. I was pleasantly surprised that the authors managed to actually pull it off.

Thank you for the BR, ladies;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~BR with Renee, Jewel and Karen. No way I'm reading this alone~

Should these authors have left well enough alone? Or will we love these four men even more than we loved their HEAs apart?

[Renée · Rating 4 out of 5]

BR with Ele, Jewel, and Karen. The final chapter to see if this was all worth it. We're a bit nervous. May need a few cocktails to prepare.



I am still a bit unsure. I think the authors pulled it off, but I could also say the couples were fine on their own, too. Either way, I enjoyed the journey. See my girls' reviews because they perfectly show how all-over-the-place my feelings are on the subject.

Ele's review

Jewel's review

Karen's review

[Monica Vidal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok. Jake and Tor now have new boyfriends. Right. Because that's what I was hoping for them. Not happy here. Not happy at all.

[Duck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not writing a review for this. There are other reviewers that were much more invested than me and they wrote great reviews.

See: Jewel's Review

Ele's Review

Karen's Review

I had no plan to touch this series. But not for the same reason as most reviewers. Most of the negative reviews are by reviewers that loved the original books/couples and they feel this series ruined their HEAs.

I get that. I would normally be right there with the other "reviewers scorned". In this case I'm one of the very few readers preferred this "alternate ending" for two reasons.

One: I didn't read the Firefighters series so I had nothing invested in Chance and Tucker as a couple.

Two: I hated Tor. HATED Tor for what he did in Bareback. I know that most readers could forgive him for his douchebaggery. I couldn't. He hurt Jake too badly and his reasons were never fully explained. Most readers felt like he was remorseful and he was, but it wasn't enough for me. (I reread Bareback a few months ago and I need to go back and edit that review since I feel a bit less hateful towards Tor now.) I look at cheating like this: cheaters decide to cheat. Sure you can blame the person they cheated with, but ultimately the cheater makes the decision to either actively do it or they allow it to happen. I don't blame the person they cheat with because that person owes no loyalty - they made no promises. It is the cheater that owes loyalty to the relationship, the cheater breaks promises. I don't care if Travis came on to Tor and Tor never sought Travis out. He allowed it to happen and to continue happening so Tor was at fault. Jake should not feel guilt for the distance Tor felt because Tor could have talked to Jake about it.

Just when I was getting to the point of liking Tor again, he and Chance have their thing on the living room floor. He breaks Jake's trust again. Jake isn't as upset as he might have been because his feelings are now divided and I was GLAD he felt so strongly about Chance.

I liked this series and I liked how it ended.

[Daphne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread 6/18

3.5 stars.

Concluding the Never too Early series, Full Circle takes place after the 2+2 became 2+2+2+2, but as it's morphing into 4. In this installment, Tucker and Chance and Tor and Jake work out what their new relationships mean to themselves and each other. I'm not sure that I totally bought the 4 at the end, I need another book to solidify all of them together. And we need that book to have situations (rather than just words) showing the men loving each other and being committed.

Communication is the name of the game apparently and this book is all about communicating. So much communicating. Too much communicating? Maybe a little bit. Maybe because the earlier books were so in depth, by the time everyone started talking about their feelings, it was "duh, yes you love him. And?"

What I liked was seeing these guys configure into couples that fed different parts of their personalities. What I didn't love was that there wasn't a lot of action (not a euphemism for sex), not a lot of angst or anything really to make this story arc somehow. Tucker struggled with how to make this work and what it meant. I would have loved some more detail about what he didn't share with people (there were many references to his childhood and its secrets). If there isn't another book after this one, that will seem unfinished. Also, Chris, the coworker, he seems like a red herring if there isn't another book.

I am not troubled by the old couples forming into something new. I just want to see some umph. Jake and Tor were freakier with the people at their picnic when they were dating a year but they are a four-uple and no group action? C'mon.

[Indus · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is porn, pure and simple, but is written by two people who seem to know nothing about love, or at least can't write it well. At the end of it, you end up with people who have a lot of sex but no real emotional connections. This cheapens the separate love stories, and makes them meaningless. It completely undoes the entire point of Bareback and makes it look like Tor is in fact incapable of monogamy. Which is fine, but that negates everything about the first and second book. And then comes out of left field for the second couple. Honestly, I'd have liked it better if Jake and Chance had just broken up with their respective partners and gotten together, and let them get together. It feels like those relationships actually mattered.

[Tory Temple]

Coming November 25! Hope you're ready for the final chapter of the Never Too Early series. Jake, Tor, Chance, and Tucker are back again, and this time, they're more involved than ever. Unexpected circumstances lead to unexpected emotions, and not always good ones.

Chris and I made this last book a true labor of love. It's our hope that readers will join us for the emotional journey. Thanks to those who have followed with us this far!

[Susan65 · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a complete and total mind fuck this series, and especially this book, was for me. I loved the story, the hurt feelings, the confusion and mixed emotions, and especially the fact that it was Tor and Jake, and Chance and Tucker; four of my all-time favorite characters from other books. It was everything I loved in my MM romance novels, but yet it still bothered me so much that I tried to think of them as different people, especially Jake and Tor. I needed to do this so that my heart could remain protected and Jake and Tor could stay locked up at their monogamous ranch in Arkansas. Realistic? No, but I just couldn’t help it. And that, my friends, is the sign of amazing storytellers who have me so completely vested in these characters that I felt the need to protect them at all costs and couldn’t stand the idea of them getting hurt.

I wondered how I would feel if Jake and Tor were not two of the main characters, and if I would have felt completely different had the couple been someone else. I think the answer to that is, yes. I struggled heavily with these guys being in an open or polyamory relationship because of their history. Maybe that history is why the authors chose them? I don’t know, but I will say that I actually spoke to friends of mine who are a committed couple in an open relationship and I was told that yes, what I read is completely possible and that they knew others who were living it. Maybe it’s a gay thing, or maybe my tiny brain is just too completely biased, but even after that enlightening conversation, I still struggled with the idea of being in love with two people at the same time.

So, I guess if you are reading this then you have already read the first two books, and you know what’s going on. We left book two with Jake and Chance getting a lot closer and we knew things were going to change permanently in this last installment. And they do, and I am still not sure how I feel about that. I completely understand Tucker’s misgivings because I am right there with him. This book, this series ends here and it ends where it began (hence the title), but I am still floating out of my mind trying to accept this new reality. It was a happy ending and all of our boys are in a good place, so I will have to put my own issues aside and pretend it ended as an elaborate and sexy dream with Jake and Tor home in Arkansas, and Chance and Tucker putting out fires in California. No, lol, I’m just kidding..sort of….but, if the guys are happy than I am happy and will just have to get over myself.

[Tea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the three books in one sitting. As always, a Chris Owen and Tory Temple combination is spectacular -- love the writing and the pacing.
[ETA: I just read a New York Times article on Modern Love that sort of threw some light on how this, maybe, is supposed to be. It's called Platonic, Until Death Do Us Part.]

I have to say, I have mixed feelings for this. I was so happy to find that I could read more about Jake-and-Tor, and Chance-and-Tucker, that I bought the books at one shot. Whilst I'm heavily invested in them as separate couples, thanks to the Bareback and Heat books, I objectively acknowledged that in the realm of possibilities, two couples can meld into one loving foursome. I wondered how it could be executed and I looked forward to gaining that understanding. I'm still trying to understand. I thought things over last night in bed, every time I got up in the middle of the night, and this morning I woke up early, still turning over events in my head.

Here come the spoilers, I'm afraid.

As I read through Finding Their Way, I felt more and more that Beginnings had just not fleshed out the plot enough. Whilst the texting did build communications between the pairs and set the stage, I didn't feel at that point that Chance meant so much to Jake that in Finding Their Way, Jake needed to hold Chance's hand and Tor's hand at the same time, whilst lying in the hospital. So I was left with the image that Jake viewed Chance and Tor with equal importance in his life, and he then loved them both equally. It was hard to accept, because it was just too fast. I don't mean that they had to fall slowly; falling fast is always a possibility, but we're talking about Chance being put on par with Tor in the context of the Bareback books. It was hard to understand. I never thought Jake would do that sort of thing easily, no matter how addled he is with pain and injuries. So he must have loved Chance and Tor, equally. At least it felt that way. And Tucker, who clearly has no romantic feelings for Jake, is fine with Jake holding Chance's hand. He accepted that Jake needed that. He may not have realised the magnitude of Jake's gesture as he didn't have the benefit of the Bareback books. Or I could just be reading a lot more into things than I should be...

I still wonder what Chance and Tucker thought of each other at that point, when Tor's phone call came. All I got was that they respectively thought of Jake and Tor, maybe to the point of excluding Chance-and-Tucker. Chance's look of fear, Tucker's stomach hurting when he saw that fear, Tucker's harshness when he snapped that it was Tor on the phone... I lost Chance-and-Tucker then, and more so once the hand-holding by Jake came in. I wasn't sure what I was going to get in return.

After the hand-holding scene, Finding Their Way then spent time on Jake and Chance slowly falling deeper in love, Tucker and Tor happily in lusty love... the development of the relationships was better in this second book, compared to Beginnings. The similarities between Jake and Chance, and between Tucker and Tor, were emphasised repeatedly. The stark differences between our Bareback and Heat couples were also held up to the light over and over. I knew those differences were there and had been since the Bareback and Heat books. But the differences now had other standards to be compared against in the Never Too Early books, and I got to thinking that Tor wouldn't have stood a chance if Jake and Chance had met first, and that Chance would have had no way if Tucker and Tor had met first. Maybe Jake would have loved Tor, but Chance wouldn't; and Tor would have loved Jake, but Tucker wouldn't.

Finding Their Way was good, but Full Circle was also very good. It had powerful discussions between the characters that were very well-written, and I held my breath as I read. But I still feel that the discussions were an expository analysis of their feelings, which was very strange to read because it felt like they were trying to explain to the reader to help the reader understand. I didn't quite feel they were talking to each other. I can't explain why I thought that way. I felt sorry for Tucker, because the other three had successfully psychoanalysed their feelings and accepted everything -- and he was left bewildered, still trying to figure it out and bring it to a conclusion that he was comfortable with. He did manage to bridge it according to their last analysis of their feelings, so there is an HEA for them all. Two couples melded into one foursome.

Yet I am not able to believe in that HEA. It's like a Venn diagram of couples - Jake and Tor, Jake and Chance, Tor and Tucker, Chance and Tucker... but somehow it doesn't feel like they coincide the way a Venn diagram should, in the middle where everything is supposed to meet so that the separated sectors fall away. I don't see anything between Tucker and Jake, nor between Chance and Tor (heated PDA scene does not constitute love). I also think it's telling, what Tucker apologises to Chance for, near the end of Full Circle. It was only supposed to be him and Chance. But now Tor's just as important. Fortunately, Chance understands because Jake is just as important to him as Tucker, and rather propitiously, Jake is Tor's other half.

In Never Too Early, the changes only garner certain types of negative reactions from the couples involved. I cannot remember any negative emotion involved for Chance or Jake when Tucker and Tor draw close; none for Tucker or Tor when Chance and Jake fall. But Tucker gets a little grumpy when Jake is insistent about soup when Chance is sick. Tor's grumpy when Chance exhibits first-aid concern over Jake. That's not much. These are teeny things, not really negative. I got the overall feeling of everyone being super-supportive and all positive. It's a little unreal.

Sometimes, it's called a change of heart; sometimes it's called a heart wide enough to give and receive love. Either way, it's a change in human circumstances. At the end of the day, I still prefer Bareback and Heat as separate couples, because they made me believe. Never Too Early injected a strong dose of cynicism into that belief, because I am not sufficiently certain that they'd survive as a foursome. But now that they are a foursome, I do not think that they would even survive a split back into the same couples. Maybe they'd be new couples and the lines drawn anew. It's a possibility. Or maybe they do survive as a foursome, hale and whole. That's another possibility too. I don't know. I knew, or I thought I knew, at the end of the Bareback and Heat books. I believed. But for Never Too Early, I do not know. Still waiting for Jake and Tucker, and for Tor and Chance. I might believe then.

[The Novel Approach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Way back when, I read a book called Bareback, by Chris Owen, which totally blew me away. Up until then I’d never heard of playing with other couples, or a daisy chain, and the ending…omg…haunted me for several days afterwards. Jake and Tor won me over. Then there was this other book called Fireline, by Tory Temple. Not as controversial, but the main characters, Chance and Tucker, were just as endearing with what they had to go through to get their HEA. These two books are in a place of honor in my library as all-time faves, and are rereads for those times when I’m stuck on what to read next.

Now, Chris Owen and Tory Temple decided to combine their characters from Bareback and Fireline into a three-part series, and being that I love these guys, I just had to read what the two authors had cooked up for them. The first novel, Never Too Early: The Beginning, introduces the two established couples at the race track, where they start to become really good friends. The book ends with a cliffhanger. The second book, Never Too Early: Finding Their Way, introduces a polyamorous relationship between Jake and Chance and Tor and Tucker, as well as the added bonus of learning a little more about Jake in his early years. In this final novel, Never Too Early: Full Circle, the authors deal with how this is all going to work.

I had my doubts how Full Circle was going to turn out. In Bareback, Jake and Tor swore off any more playing around with others, and in Fireline, Chance and Tucker never played with other couples before. I’ve read a few stories that involved more than two people in a sexual relationship together, and I always felt that the third person involved was more of an extra wheel. In this case, Jake and Tucker and Tor and Chance are the “extra wheels” together.

I’ve got to say that all the communication that Jake and Tor learned about came in handy because there were problems that arose, and they dealt with them pretty effectively—for a couple of rednecks—and all four of the men fit together without me feeling that something was left out. I even had a few moments that I laughed/giggled at some of the stuffed that went on between all of them.

This was a 5 star read for me, and I would love for this series to be released in paperback so I can put it in a place of honor in my library.

Reviewed by Kim for The Novel Approach
http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.co...

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4.5 stars

I wish I could say that everyone should just read this book right away, but you have to have followed this crossover series and having the history on one or both couples from their own books is definitely helpful as well. While reading this book, I alternated between wanting to slow it down to savor the ride and wanting to flip to the last screen to finally see how it would all end (I did resist on flipping to the last screen ahead of time).

The frustration is high with the distance between the couples, as can be seen from the opening line in the book, “You are fucking kidding me!” The guys manage to stay in touch via skype and text and sometimes the distance is exactly what is needed and other times, not so much. This book is highly character driven and the authors are able to get us inside all of the characters’ heads to see their jealousies, insecurities, and loyalties to each other. We are able to clearly see all their emotional struggles and perhaps the realization that adding isn’t subtracting from what they already have.

Their relationships evolved from a strong friendship, with Tucker developing a physical relationship with Tor, and Chance with Jake, but spending all that time together has other feelings opening up. The men have yet to have a discussion of what exactly is going on and part of it is because no one really has any answers. Tucker seems to be the one that is most affected by it, as he never thought he would be in this position, always thought it would just be him and Chance forever, and can’t even get his thoughts straight in his own head let alone vocalize them to the others.

Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars :)

[Beckybex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joined GR just to rate this one. Most satisfying ending to a series I've read in a long, long while!

[Mea · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[E. B.]

I was very disappointed after enjoying these characters in the other series. I am sorry, but this book was extremely lackluster.

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. M/M/M/M romance. Book 3/3.
Maybe I just don’t understand how foursomes work and maybe this is normal but I was frustrated that despite transitioning into a ‘four’, it really still felt like 4 different couples/relationships complete with big pronouncements.

It probably just me since I had very different expectations based on Bareback.

[lori forsyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOT awesome story/series

I love all these books & for me that includes the original two Natural Disaster & Bareback there last 3 books help bring everything "full circle" I love Jake & Tor and have read & re-read these books dozens of times since getting them!!!
Thanks so much Lori

[Love Bytes Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Heart Review by Roberta

So, this is the final story in the Never Too Early series and I have to admit, I was really excited to see how things would unfold. I was intrigued at the end of Finding Their Way to see how the authors would pull this story together and how our hero’s will fair.

This story was way more on the feels than the other two books. This book gave us more insight into Tucker and Tor’s POV. I was really hoping we would as the last book was really focused on Chance and Jake.

Tucker’s feelings play heavily into the story this go round. After and event that involved Tor and Chance, Tucker’s feelings are in turmoil and he’s unsure of his place in this growing relationship. I liked seeing Tucker as the more than a cocky guy. Here, we get to see the more sensitive side that he hides behind his fun-loving nature. Tucker brings about questions that he has regarding his own worth as well as places each man things they have and where they actually stand.

Tor’s involvement in this story is a bigger part as well. I liked seeing Tor as more than the cocky, brash guy that he can come across as well. Tor does something that he didn’t think had any repercussion and when it does, it shocks him. I liked that we see that Tor has this really sweet and tender side that we don’t get to see often. I really liked how Tor just became this man that I didn’t even realize he could and did become. I fell more in love with him while reading this story.

I liked that this book had way more communication in it. I always figured having more than two people in a relationship would require it and in the first couple of books, the two couples had that for themselves without really going into what this relationship would actually mean to them all. I liked that there are growing pains with adding more people into a relationships and that these guys are actually willing to communicate with each other to make that happen. These guys want this to work and Dammit, if they didn’t all put in the work. I loved watching these men do whatever they felt needed to be done in order for their relationship to work. I really liked the fact that these men had careers that didn’t allow them to see each other as often as they’d like, but they were willing to make it work and do what they could. I liked that the hard work paid off for them. I really liked that it wasn’t a pat HEA, it was a HFN and that actually worked for me. Life is ever changing and you never know what can or will happen, but these guys are in it for the long haul and THAT…made the story for me.

[AussieMum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a beautiful and emotional book. So much love. So much trust. Made me tear up toward the end. This definitely had a HEA forever feel.

Again, I'm glad I'd never read about these 2 couples before because I may have had a different experience.

The one thing about this whole series is that it genuinely felt like this is how it could/would work in real life. These guys have flaws and fears and distance between them but love trumps them all enough for them to keep working it out. I was totally drawn in by the complex romance. It never felt unrealistic and was never all about sex (which was hot/beautiful). These men had real emotions and hearts on the line and they all knew it.

The epilogue was sweet and real. Definitely not overly dramatic or unbelievable. I wished that it had explored 5 or 10 years down the road so we got to see them living together but in the end I think it really suited the story. These men fell in love with each other and were constantly making the effort to make it work.

This is a series I'll happily re-read.

[Morgan Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third in the series and you not only have to have read these books but also the books that lead up to this.

What an undertaking! I really admire the authors, taking two sets of lovers – beloved lovers! – and introducing them and then integrating them into the others’ lives. From a writing standpoint – how fun! – and from a reader’s viewpoint as well.

It was harder, though, as a reader, to see the stress that the new “love” caused the couples. Sure – in the end it served like any other hurdle – but somehow I was a bit more “hurt” for the guys because I wanted the new relationship to work but I also really felt for the guys not involved, too.

In the end, I highly recommend this to fans of the series because if you’re like me you just had to see how these authors made this work out!

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Overall I did enjoy reading the series but I never really fell in love with the idea of the couples falling in love with each other. I was okay with Chance and Tucker finding love outside of their relationship but I had a hard time with Jake and Tor doing the same. Bareback is one of my favorite M/M stories and I really felt Jake's pain when Tor cheated. It was heartbreaking but they got through it so these new relationships were hard for me to really accept. All three stories are well written, I like the MCs and of course the sex was pretty darn hot but I just wasn't really happy with them.

[Bb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the best of the three. The series was okay- Jake and Tor are one of my all time favorite couples. Bareback is one of the best M/M books ever written. I liked Chance and Tucker a lot too. Together was kind of odd. It really bothered me that for a long time they just split into different couples. In the end they all came together, but I would not recommend this series if you have not read the other books. In hindsight I wish I had not read this series, but I couldn't resist because I loved these guys. Of course, once I started I had to finish the series. Not bad, just not as great as their own stories were.

[Chancey "Does not give out 5's like candy" Knowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel it was much better than the 2nd. I actually felt like their character personalities were more present than in the 2nd. I could recognize them again and they felt familiar like in the first book. I thought it was a nice tie up of loose ends mostly. I think I'm all reviewed out on the first two books. If you made it through the first two and at least liked them, then this one will be fine too.

[DeeNeez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! The pages were going up in flames it was so hot. What could be hotter than 2 cowboys and 2 fireman?! This story was about trust, communication, and having more than enough love share. Two established couples learned in a previous book to share in their relationship, exchanging partners. This book was taking it a step farther in becoming a full foursome. All four sharing in a committed loving relationship.

[Linda Bohannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed

This series .... I was disappointed. I really like Jake and Tor as a single couple. They had a great love story, and don't feel the authors needed to bring in Chance and Tucker to make it a foursome. Good friends maybe with a bit of playing. And the vows thing ... When they pledged their love .... Was it Jake that said Chance was his heart? That was just wrong.

[Shiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still don't like the twist and would have liked it better for each couple to stay with their original partner without this series even starting, but it was an ok ending for this series, redemed book 2 that left me with a very bad taste in my mouth..