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Brothers in Arms #3

Love's Strategy

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Brothers in Arms, Book Three.Valentine Westridge and Kurt Schillig are lovers, and have been since the Peninsular War when lonely young officer Valentine let himself be seduced by the equally lonely Kurt. Now they're back from the war and intent on beginning the future they dreamed of together, one that includes a quiet country estate, horses, dogs, children, and each other. Their plan, however, also requires a wife. At the suggestion of a mutual friend, Valentine and Kurt believe the financial security they can offer to impoverished widow Leah Marleston will help her accept the unusual sexual relationship they are suggesting.Leah is at her wit's end, creditors having taken everything she owns to pay off her late husband's gambling debts. She must find a way to support herself and her two children, or be forced to marry her abusive and obsessive brother-in-law. In Valentine's and Kurt's arms, Leah discovers a passion she never knew existed. Brought together by necessity, bonded by desire, these three lonely people find themselves fighting against all odds for a love that was never part of their plans.

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2007

44 people are currently reading
747 people want to read

About the author

Samantha Kane

54 books769 followers
Samantha Kane lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children, two boys and one girl. With a master’s degree in American history, she spent seven years as a high school history teacher before becoming a full-time writer and mom.

Series:
THE BIRMINGHAM REBELS
BROTHERS IN ARMS
THE SAINT'S DEVILS
THE 93RD HIGHLANDERS
MERCURY RISING

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5 stars
417 (31%)
4 stars
454 (34%)
3 stars
356 (27%)
2 stars
70 (5%)
1 star
15 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
Profile Image for Jamie.
1,114 reviews277 followers
November 27, 2016
I love this series!! I only wish it could've been longer
Profile Image for jenjn79.
723 reviews266 followers
February 25, 2009
This was a short novella (56 ebook pages), so my review will be on the short side. For a short story, though, this is still one hot book. It follows in the tradition of the previous two Brothers in Arms books with a bisexual m/f/m menage HEA.

Valentine and Kurt have been lovers since they turned to each other for comfort during the Peninsular War. Now they are looking toward their future and what is lacking in their lives...which is a wife to complete them, give them children, and just be a part of their lives. But finding someone who will accept their lifestyle hasn't been easy. So they turn to widowed Leah, who is destitute and in desperate need of protection. The ask her to marry them, to be both their lovers while they are lovers themselves, and offer her a stable financial future. Leah considers her options, which aren't good, so on that alone she may accept. What she hadn't counted on was her attraction to the two, or the wild passion the unleash within her.

Short, sweet, and super hot...this novella has quite a punch considering its length. Not all authors can write a good short story, but Kane does well with this one. It was a nice edition to the series. Good characters, an interesting (if abbreviated) storyline, and some smoking hot sex make it an easy book to read.

I still find it a little hard to suspend disbelief on historical accuracy while reading these Brothers in Arms books because of Kane's Utopian vision. I read something and think, okay, that would just NEVER happen so outwardly. But I keep trying to remind myself that Kane is purposely writing about a more accepting society that was real.

Regardless, this was an enjoyable novel. I love historical erotic romance and this was a pretty good one. For those of you who like historical erotic romances, or bisexual menage HEAs, then I'd recommend trying out this series.

WARNING, this book contains: explicit sex, explicit language, a bisexual m/f/m menage relationship...which means m/m sex, anal sex, oral sex, masturbation, and some light violence
Profile Image for Julie (jjmachshev).
1,069 reviews292 followers
March 6, 2009
"Love's Strategy" is Samantha Kane's 3rd story from her 'Brothers in Arms' series and is currently only available in e-book. It's a short story at only a little over 50 pages but contains all the heat I've come to expect from Kane's menage series.

Leah is a widow and at her wits end. After the suspicious death of her husband, her abusive brother-in-law stated she would be his wife and he would help 'train' her to his standards. She's managed to hold him off for three years, but the situation is becoming grimmer by the day. Now he's threatening to take her children. Then from nowhere, two gentlemen appear to ask for her hand in marriage. But she's not expected to choose between them, rather she's expected to marry BOTH of them!

Valentine and Kurt became lovers during the Peninsular wars and after returning to England have no plans other than to reside in comfort at a country estate. Then Kurt urges Valentine to marry as he knows Val wants the British country life with wife and children. Unfortunately, so far they haven't been able to find THE woman who can accept both of them and their love for each other. Then a friend gives them Leah's name and it doesn't take long for them to realize she's a woman they can both love.

Interesting premise set against a logical background, and addressing many of the stilted morals of Regency England. The overwhelming love and courage displayed by the three main characters is touching and the heat generated in the love scenes will leave readers mopping their brows. The short length of the tale means it moves at a rapid pace, but I still enjoyed it very much and look forward to the next full-length novel in this series. WARNING: Contains graphic descriptions of oral, anal, and vaginal sex with one, two and three participants including M/M and M/M/F, M/F/M.
Profile Image for Tara♥ .
1,707 reviews111 followers
May 29, 2017


Why is this only a novella?

This should have been much longer with much more Kurt. Much more!!

Far too short. I'm not impressed.

What I am most enjoying about this series is that I really like all the characters. Leah was particularly level headed and didn't have a shit fit like I'd imagine 99% of other women would have if propositioned the way she was. Lord the boys were really not into sugar coating! Just right out with it.

Have I mentioned that this series is ridiculous?

Because it is.

But I am absolutely addicted. I can't put it down. I don't want to put it down. I want to know everything!
Profile Image for Katrina Passick Lumsden.
1,782 reviews12.9k followers
December 15, 2014
Valentine and Kurt are so cool together. I mean, just suave and adorable, Throw in beautiful, practical Leah and you've got a recipe for a heartwarming menage scenario, which hardly seems possible. I liked all three characters, especially Leah, who'd been through enough to not faint at the idea of two men being lovers, and who actually recognized the advantages of the situation Valentine and Kurt were presenting to her.

This isn't Pulitzer Prize winning stuff. This is erotic fiction. So if you're in the mood for something worthy of a Pulitzer, look elsewhere. If you are, however, in the mood to read a dirty story about a hot threesome with likable characters and an engaging plot, you can't really go wrong with this one. So much erotica is focused solely on the sex, and I won't lie and say this book doesn't contain a lot of sex, but what sets Kane's work apart from some others I've read is her ability to actually give her characters personality, and to actually weave a story in between the steamy stuff. I liked this first book quite a bit, but there are a few in the series I will probably be rating higher simply because I liked the storyline and/or the characters a little more.

Contains m/m and m/m/f sex scenes with an insanely high steam factor, so if you're a pearl clutcher, don't bother.
Profile Image for Aղցela W..
4,526 reviews322 followers
January 14, 2015
Although this book was shorter than the rest it was good. Leah Marleston is widowed with two kids and a lot of debt due to her late husbands gambling problem. Valentine Westridge and Kurt Schillig are lovers, and looking for a wife, at a suggestion of from a friend they are led to Leah. This was a short quick read that I wished was longer it was well written like the rest of the books in this series. Leah has a lot of baggage with her husbands debt she has an overbearing abusive brother in law who will stop at nothing to have her. I love this series and I can't wait to start the next book.
Profile Image for SJ.
2,020 reviews33 followers
July 6, 2024
3.5 The writing of the relationship and rapport between Valentine and Kurt was superb! I liked the two men better together than with Leah.
The one MM scene was so good because of the intimacy of the long time lovers. If the story was longer would it have addressed Kurt and Valentine having their own times together? With the shorter length of the story it felt like their duo relationship was permanently over.
The drama was overwrought, too, even though I could see that happening with the children and the horrible uncle.
Good writing by this prolific author.
Profile Image for BellaGBear.
676 reviews51 followers
September 8, 2018
Very good one for it's genre! If you like erotica, this is a recommendation. One of the best things in this book is that there is no hint of non-concensual sex. In some erotica I've read it's considered sexy to force a woman into the steamy sex scenes and that always reads wrong to me. Nothing like that here though. Just a lot of people dtf, which is as it should be.
Profile Image for Steph.
88 reviews23 followers
April 27, 2012
2.75 Stars

Oh Novellas. I can never seem to give them great ratings because they almost always leave me wanting. I actually quite enjoyed this one but at the same time I wish the story had been further developed. And it’s stories like these where I do think there is room to round out characters and add a little meat to the story, that I ask why an author decides to only give you what felt like at times to be the Coles Notes version of the story?

Book 3 of the Brothers in Arms series (a regency ménage series MMF) sees Valentine and Kurt return from the war, not only as lovers, but determined to start a life together that includes finding a wife for both of them, having some kids, and living happily ever after. In this particular installment Valentine and Kurt are recommended a potential bride when the few women they initially seek out do not react well to Kurt and Valentine’s lover status as well as the fact they’d be entering a relationship as a threesome. They need to find someone who will accept both Kurt and Valentine. Enter their potential bride Leah: widow of a gambler that left her with serious debts to pay and few ways to pay it, mother of two children, and woman who’s dealt with a whole lot of shit because of her dead husband and her even MORE awful brother-in-law who actually wants to marry her. She’s on the brink of giving into this horrible man, when Valentine and Kurt come to the rescue in the nick of time. It’s definitely not smooth sailing initially, especially with said awful brother-in-law continuing to try to get his way, but if the three of them can make it through these initial struggles and obstacles then they can make it through anything.

So with that kind of storyline, and less than 100 ebook pages, you barely scratch the surface on the individual characters, their lives leading up to the trio’s first meeting, the development of their relationship (including their sex scenes together), their struggles, and on top of it all the ending to me felt a little abrupt. Like I said, it is good, but if this story had been fleshed out more, it would have been great!
Profile Image for Jill.
349 reviews15 followers
October 11, 2015
This is a novella and it just didn't deliver. The story felt rushed, the romantic connection between the 3 lacked substance. The two men were very much in love and for them to instantaneously become emotionally attached to a woman they new nothing about was unbelievable. And with her very sheltered life, I also couldn't accept that she was so readily comfortable with the sexual relationship between the two men (especially knowing that it was a hanging offense.) Since the menage is really the meat and potatoes of the story, and it being so unrealistic (even within the fictional realm,) the story really didn't ignite. Honestly, I felt the two men were really gay not bi but even if they were she didn't feel like a good fit.
Profile Image for Kathryn.
2,912 reviews90 followers
June 27, 2015
The author took a sidestep and leaned deeper into her characters in this 3rd in the series. The characters as just as great, but she taught us there is more in these relationships she's building than just the hot sex. Love, companionship, trust and family all come to play here. The vileness of someone who thought they deserved shows up, and again, love will conquer, and this family will become stronger for it.
Profile Image for Ivy Deluca.
2,382 reviews330 followers
January 2, 2015
Histo-erotica MMF menage series. This is what happens when I'm stuck in the house for a week because of snowstorms.

The Bottom Line
description
Profile Image for SamJ ★Needs a HEA★.
622 reviews896 followers
January 9, 2023
★Book Basics★

Genre : - Historical MMF Romance
Series : - 3rd in the series
Love triangle? -
Cheating? -
HEA? -
Would I read more by this author/or in this series? - Yes
Rating - 3.5 ★

★Review★

Nice change from first 2 books as the male couple are already an established couple - however felt very much like a filler book and the connection between Male MCs and female MC felt very rushed and shallow. Also book seemed to end abruptly.
Profile Image for Maureen Feeney.
171 reviews15 followers
Want to read
May 22, 2010
Taken from book description

Valentine Westridge and Kurt Schillig are lovers, and have been since the Peninsular War when lonely young officer Valentine let himself be seduced by the equally lonely Kurt. Now they're back from the war and intent on beginning the future they dreamed of together, one that includes a quiet country estate, horses, dogs, children, and each other. Their plan, however, also requires a wife. At the suggestion of a mutual friend, Valentine and Kurt believe the financial security they can offer to impoverished widow Leah Marleston will help her accept the unusual sexual relationship they are suggesting.

Leah is at her wit's end, creditors having taken everything she owns to pay off her late husband's gambling debts. She must find a way to support herself and her two children, or be forced to marry her abusive and obsessive brother-in-law. In Valentine's and Kurt's arms, Leah discovers a passion she never knew existed. Brought together by necessity, bonded by desire, these three lonely people find themselves fighting against all odds for a love that was never part of their plans.

Short ebook, but it didn't feel short. I loved it. I can honestly say I dont remember Valentine and Kurt from the first 2 books?. The sex as usual is extra hot and this series is getting better and better.
Profile Image for Judith.
1,226 reviews
June 21, 2010
It is fascinating to be reminded, as a contemporary woman, that women and their children were often pawns in the hands of unprincipled men. Leah was just such a woman who was constantly beaten and threatened by her brother-in-law, even while still married to her husband, a man who was far to self-absorbed and totally unfeeling about the abuse heaped on his loyal wife. Now as a widow she is being blackmailed into marriage with this same brother-in-law until she is presented with a proposal by Westridge & Shilling. Again Samantha Kane has taken her considerable writing talent and used it to develope an unusual tale of love and caring amidst the restraints and social repression of the post-Napoleonic War. It is a good story and not an extensive read, being somewhat shorter than Kane's other works. However, the story gets told well and readers will not be disappointed. There is MM sexuality and Menage sizzle, but all in the context of relationships that fulfill and complete the main characters.
Profile Image for July.
675 reviews2 followers
February 4, 2013
A short story for the third installation of this series of Brother in Arms. Valentine and Kurt have been lovers since the war now it is time for them to take a wife. A mutual friend has suggested Leah a widow who has two children and the men decide to offer marriage to her not knowing what her answer would be.
Leah has had a tough time with creditors and a abusive brother in law who also wants to marry her. Leah's mother has been living with her and the children doing her best to keep Leah out of the abusive brother in law. Now Valentine and Kurt propose marriage, but it is a unusual marriage. Leah likes the two men right away and they treat her and the children well so that means alot to her. She decides to go to dinner with the gentlemen and see where her feelings are after dinner. Dinner turns into quite a sexual eye opener for her.
Profile Image for Mike.
1,174 reviews30 followers
March 21, 2018
Best relationship set-up of the series, decent MMF sizzle, but quick/short-shrifted romance/relationship/plot

3.5 stars - read for the MMF heat and/or the interesting (but too quick) "two heroes to the (polyamorous) rescue" story

All of the books in this series about two male lovers pursuing polyamorous, threeway marriage in Regency England have plenty of very heated MMF sizzle, heightened by Regency romance settings, characters, and plots. This third installment has perhaps the most interesting setting and character/relationship set-up, but is the weakest so far on delivering a compelling story to heighten the heat. There are a couple of explicitly smutty scenes, and the character/relationship set-up adds a little to the sizzle, but despite its potential, it does not deliver on the romance/relationship end as much as the earlier books in the series.
Profile Image for Kay.
1,937 reviews124 followers
February 25, 2012
4 Stars! ~ This one is shorter in length than the previous two stories, and thus I found the characters didn’t seem as developed. Leah is desperate when Valentine and Kurt make their proposal, and yet, it’s not just her dire situation that prompts her to accept; she is truly enchanted with the men. I liked how Leah embraces her sensuality. In this one, the villain is Leah’s former brother-in-law who had lusted after her even while she was married to his brother. Valentine and Kurt prove to be wonderful champions. We don’t have that dawning awareness as was in the previous books since the heroes are already lovers, so I would have liked more background for these two. Again, Ms Kane teases us with characters eager for their own stories
Profile Image for Vins.
319 reviews56 followers
April 8, 2014
This is a 4 Star read for me . An extra 1 star for its scorching hot sex. Valentine and Kurt have good chemistry. Add Leah to the mix, it gets better i guess. I was not happy about adding leah personally, but whom am i to say No when kurt and valentine wanted it. The emotions between the two H's real and i believe they were in love. But Leah not so much. I still doubt they really loved her. Its a short story. The reason i rated it 5 stars is because i thoroughly enjoyed reading this hot sexy book.
Profile Image for Billi Jean.
Author 36 books57 followers
January 7, 2011
I read the first three of the Brother's in Arms stories one after another on a wintery weekend last year and became an immediate fan and admirer of Kane's story telling abilities. She can really tell a story, so much that you loose yourself in the book and can't put it down. I wished, when I was done with this one, that there had been MORE. :) And I am still waiting for more from this series. Might have to stalk her for some soon..... :)
Profile Image for Esra.
Author 50 books86 followers
October 26, 2014
Serinin üçüncü kitabı olan Love's Strategy bir novella... Daha önceki kitaplarda karşımıza çıkmayan ama Jason ve Tony'nin arkadaşlarından olan Valentine ve Kurt'un hikayesi...
Diğerlerinden farklı olarak Valentine ve Kurt savaştan beri sevgililer... Birbirlerine karşı hissettiklerini saklamamışlar...
Üçüncüleri ise Leah isimli, çocukları olan bir dul...
Vee tabi ki tanıdık isimler de vardı... Freddy ve Brett gibi :) Freddy'i gitgide daha çok seviyor ve hikayesini merak ediyorum...
Profile Image for Mom23greatboys.
120 reviews11 followers
August 7, 2017
Wow, quite frankly one of the best romances I've read of this length. While I'd love if it was longer, it was also very welled developed for a book of this length. It had great characters, a plot that was interesting and in the context of the ménage storyline believable. It is not necessary to have read the other books in the series first to be able to enjoy it but I'd recommend the other books as well- though personally book 2 was my least favorite.
1,687 reviews
July 20, 2011
This seemed to be about half the length of the others in the series. Consequently the plot was pretty basic. It had a lot of promise - it was nice to have a story that included children but underdeveloped.

Well written, as usual from Ms Kane, but the villain was too much of a 2D stereotype. A pleasant couple off hours relaxing read though.
Profile Image for Maura.
373 reviews10 followers
November 9, 2012
Valentine and Kurt seduce Leah because they want a family together. My least favorite story in the series. It felt like it wasn't quite complete. It could be because it was so short. This is a guilty pleasure. I found this author and particular genre by accident because of time period and it was free and I bought 2-7! What more can I say...
Profile Image for starsaga.
772 reviews8 followers
January 28, 2014
2.5 stars, the entire book was an afterthought it seems,
I did not care too much for this story...it has been a while since I have visited this world of Samantha Kane and I remember the rest of the books being of so much better quality. Even though the erotic romance makes up a large part of these book, SK was able to draw me in, not with this one though, it was a disappointment.
Profile Image for Lenna  Wright.
3,405 reviews36 followers
February 8, 2015
Loved it, just a bit short and a few jumps but overall its still the blood pumping steamy war lovers looking for a wife and children. Freddy and Bret make an appearance to help out a few of this old friends to get their happy ever after while doing what he has to do.
42 reviews
May 2, 2011
Excellent, as always from the wonderful Samantha Kane
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews

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