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Third Rail can be read as a standalone but chronologically takes place after Interborough in the Five Boroughs series.

Christopher Mendez has always known his sexual identity had a swerve. No straight guy would have low-key lusted after his childhood best friend, right? Unfortunately, a combination of insecurity and overall lack of game has prevented him from further exploring his sexuality. That changes once he agrees to participate in a photoshoot for a queer dating app and meets Jace Fairbairn.

Jace is beautiful, fey-like, and in an open polyamorous relationship with his gorgeous linebacker-looking husband Aiden. Once they set eyes on Chris, they’re instantly in lust and determined to broaden his sexual horizons. But what’s supposed to be a straight-forward sexual encounter gets complicated once a one-night-stand has repeat performances, and Jace and Aiden begin to fall in love.

This collection of shorts explores the start of a relationship that eventually blossoms into something the three men realize they cannot do without.

87 pages, ebook

First published October 25, 2017

76 people are currently reading
425 people want to read

About the author

Santino Hassell

36 books2,838 followers
Santino Hassell was raised by a conservative family but grew up to be a smart-mouthed, school cutting grunge kid, a transient twenty-something, and eventually transformed into a grumpy introvert and unlikely romance author with an affinity for baseball caps. His novels are heavily influenced by the gritty, urban landscape of New York City, and his desire to write relationships fueled by intensity and passion.

He’s been a finalist in both the Bisexual Book Awards and the EPIC Awards, and was nominated for a prestigious RITA award in 2017. His work has been featured in BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, Washington Post, RT Magazine, and Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Santino@santinohassell.com
www.santinohassell.com
http://santinohassell.com/newsletter/
amazon.com/author/santinohassell
https://www.facebook.com/groups/getha...
https://twitter.com/SantinoHassell
https://www.instagram.com/santinohass...
https://www.patreon.com/santinohassell

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5 stars
305 (40%)
4 stars
267 (35%)
3 stars
115 (15%)
2 stars
30 (3%)
1 star
36 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
Profile Image for Judith.
724 reviews2,940 followers
October 27, 2017
4.5 Stars.

Well,this is the one I've been waiting for.....





I've just been dying to get to know Jace better,ever since he was introduced in previous books.

This is a great introduction to not just Jace,Adien,and Chris's story but also glimpses into other characters who will feature in Citywide...and,hello...Clive,I'm a bit in love already!

I seriously can't fangirl enough about how much I love this Author and his characters.The way he's interwoven so many characters into each others lives,in this series,is just genius.


If you've read the previous books in this series I'm sure you're just a little bit fascinated by Aiden and Jace....I know I am.They're married but definitely don't have a conventional relationship.....they like to invite other men to play with but have rules between them,one of which is that they don't do repeats,

Until they meet Chris...

Are things about to get complicated??


Chris Mendez,

Doesn't define his sexuality with a label...he's only been intimate with women before but that hasn't stopped him from having some fantasies involving men over the years.....and some M/F/M action.

"Are you bi?"
"I dunno.I'm whatever,I guess."



I absolutely ADORED Jace,he's just the type of character that hits all my buttons,

Beautiful,
Sassy,
Deliciously flirtatious,
Definitely high maintenance....in an adorable way,
A bit insecure,
And of course....the long hair.



When Jace sees Chris taking part in the ad campaign photo shoot for the launch of the new dating app,QFindr,he can't take his eyes of him,


I’d eyefucked him nonstop and promptly demanded he take a selfie with me.


and wants him badly,


Good Jace was whispering at me to leave this poor hetero man alone. Evil Jace hissed: Must. Destroy. Decisions decisions.(...)



And then there's the threesome..


I've read it about six times.....

Enough said...

But how long until Chris stops running,

How long before sex isn't the only thing between these three men?


Read it,girls and boys,you'll love it!!


Cannot wait for Citywide.


coollogo_com-304632246 coollogo_com-9102879



This review has been posted on DirtyBooksObsession

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Profile Image for Rachel  L.
2,133 reviews2,515 followers
October 31, 2017
4.5 stars!

I love love love the five boroughs series by Santino Hassell! This threesome of characters, Jace, Chris and Aiden are among my favorites, I'll read anything about them. Honestly I wish there was like a 500 page book about them, but I'm just plain greedy. Third Rail is a collection of short stories about them in chronological order, because they get another story in Hassell's Citywide coming out November 2017.

This book was HOT. I mean, Santino's books always are. But an MMM threesome? Yeah. Enough said.

I believe this can be read as a standalone, other characters are mentioned but it's not confusing. This book should also be free, so grab it while you can!

An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review
Profile Image for Shile (Hazard's Version) on-hiatus.
1,120 reviews1,059 followers
Read
March 10, 2018
Rating Removed

*********************************************************************

This is so hot! Way hotter second time round. These three got chemistry that jumps off the pages.

I enjoy Santino's writing, and this series has become one of my favorite mm series.

Chris

description

Aiden

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Jace

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“Suck his dick, baby.” Aiden roughly grabbed a handful of my hair, yanking my chin up so my mouth was level with Chris. “Slick it up and get him ready for his turn.”

description

****************************************************************************
5++++++++++hot stars

That was so hot. There is no doubt that Santino writes some of the best sex scenes i have ever read.
For a short book the chemistry between Aiden, Jace and Chris was there from the beginning.

Good Jace was whispering at me to leave this poor hetero manalone.
Evil Jace hissed: Must. Destroy.
Decisions decisions. I texted Aiden.
Jace: Do you want a threeway with a cute boy?
Aiden: The photographer, makeup artist, and stylist are all on QFindr payroll.


Like i said so Hot!

It was great reading about the rest of the gang, i just hope Clive will get his HEA too.

And Ray *sighs*

Raymond was too busy watching the stylist poke and prod his hair into a slightly neater version of the messy manbun he almost always wore.

OK Raymond + Manbun Me:

description

Read this series people! READ!
Profile Image for Dia.
534 reviews149 followers
November 23, 2017
I absolutely ADORED this book!!! It was extremely HOT and I missed Santino's writing SO much!

I loved everything about it: the chemistry, the writing, the sex scenes, the humor... I've savored each and every word and was left wanting MORE!
I'm sorry for those who had to wait for Citywide :) This short story ends with a cliffhanger and you're left dying to read more.

I am not really a fan of MMM, but I've read a few. Well now Aiden, Jace and Chris are my favorite MMM couple!!!

I've finished this book pretty late last night, and I swear I had to force myself to go to sleep and not dive right into Citywide. That's how crazy Santino's writing is making me!! I have such vivid images in my head for these hot men and ohhh I am really looking forward to continuing their story!

This isn't really a standalone, as these characters are presented in all the previous Five Boroughs books. I can understand why it might get frustrating for those who don't get their background, friendships, ex lovers, family bonds.

But this is definitely a MUST READ for all Santino's fans.
Profile Image for Nichole (DirrtyH).
822 reviews125 followers
October 25, 2017
So like... I have a complicated relationship with Santino Hassell. (Well...I have a complicated relationship with his writing. I have no relationship with him as a person at all. Just want you to know that I understand that and am not crazy.)

A lot of times I just think his writing isn't for me, which is fine. Not everything is for everybody. But then sometimes I fracking LOVE his stuff. It makes it hard for me to know what to try and what not to. I can't swear off him entirely, but I also can't auto-buy everything like a squeeing fangirl. It's complicated see?

So anyway, I had read the description for Citywide and decided that one probably wasn't for me. Great. No harm, no foul.

But then this came along, dammit. And it was all the things. ALL THE THINGS!

So now I have to read Citywide, just to finish out Jace/Aiden/Chris's story because I can't not know how that ends. Even though I'm not really interested in the other two stories. I really wish he'd gone full length novel for these three 'cause I think they deserve it, but whatevs.

Anyway, go read this! It's free!
Profile Image for Izengabe.
276 reviews
Read
March 8, 2018
Profile Image for Apolishedreader.
338 reviews45 followers
Read
March 12, 2018
Compilation of shorts to prep us for Chris, Jace and Aiden's story in Citywide!!
If you are on Patreon, you have probably read all of these already.
If you get his newsletter, then you probably have read the Chris Sandwich (uh, with a hotness factor of 100).
What makes this compilation so great? Is having it all in one place on my device. Always mine. Forever.

Oh, and I think this is being marketed as a stand alone around places? If you plan to read Citywide then reading this is probably beneficial. It is fine for the sex as a stand alone, but otherwise if you haven't read the other stories in the series then you probably won't have the emotional connection to these guys and their story won't mean as much.
Profile Image for CrabbyPatty.
1,712 reviews194 followers
December 30, 2017
Holy Hannah, this story is seriously cross-my-heart-on-a-kama-sutra hot. Jace and Aiden, the married couple from Liberty X (First and First) meet Chris, Raymond's friend and one of the Queens crew, and have a series of encounters in the course of this short novella. Chris is heteroflexible and not found of labels while Jace and Aiden think that Chris may be what they are missing in their open marriage.
Profile Image for Maygirl7.
824 reviews58 followers
October 25, 2017
All the stars! All the stars!

The perfect prequel to get me in the mood for Citywide ( for some reason the insert book/author isn't working right now on my iPad). To the point that I'm drooling for it.

Chris is awesome. Sweet and kind and insecure and open-minded and desperate for loving. Aiden is fully-fleshed out as a character, but Jace is still less than fully realized to me. Though I hope that will change once Citywide is released.

Smexxy and full of feelz this is an amazing gift from Hassell to help all his Interborough fans through the wait for our next fix.
Profile Image for Debra ~~ seriously slacking on her reviews ~~.
2,221 reviews260 followers
Read
March 11, 2018
Rating removed. I am keeping my review under a spoiler tag for my personal record.

Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews120 followers
Want to read
March 3, 2018
💝 FREE on Amazon today (1/3/2018)!💝

Blurb:
Christopher Mendez has always known his sexual identity had a swerve. No straight guy would have low-key lusted after his childhood best friend, right? Unfortunately, a combination of insecurity and overall lack of game has prevented him from further exploring his sexuality. That changes once he agrees to participate in a photoshoot for a queer dating app and meets Jace Fairbairn.

Jace is beautiful, fey-like, and in an open polyamorous relationship with his gorgeous linebacker-looking husband Aiden. Once they set eyes on Chris, they’re instantly in lust and determined to broaden his sexual horizons. But what’s supposed to be a straight-forward sexual encounter gets complicated once a one-night-stand has repeat performances, and Jace and Aiden begin to fall in love.


This collection of shorts explores the start of a relationship that eventually blossoms into something the three men realize they cannot do without.
Profile Image for Eugenia.
1,891 reviews319 followers
Read
March 16, 2018
Rating removed due to the following: http://riptidepublishing.com/a-statem...

Original review:

4.5 Blow your mind MMM HOTNESS! Hassell is one of my favorite MM writers for several reasons. One is the rawness or grittiness of his characters and their lives, another is the dialogue, and lastly is the way he can write the hell out of a sex scene! I have found one of my top favorite sex scenes in this short. Coincidentally, another one of my favorites of his is also MMM.

It's bee a while since I’d read the last book in this series, so I was a little slow on the uptake with names and situations. Basically, this one parallels First and First, Interborough, and Concourse since we see Chris, Jace, and Aiden over the course of months in this short story.

It’s hot, but don’t expect an HEA here. Santino Hassell gives it to them in Citywide, which I now have to read. I might have to re-read the scene in here again because it was seriously panty-changing material.
Profile Image for Lisazj1.
2,072 reviews193 followers
October 30, 2017
4.5 stars. I generally don't read novellas that go with a series until it's over and I can know all the things. Novellas, as a rule, drive me crazy. So it did here. I loved getting to see what was happening between Jace, Chris and Aiden but now I'm left hanging to find out what's wrong with Chris, and that is not ok. Makes me want to hug him. Thank goodness I don't have long to wait for Citywide.

Undeniably scorching hot, and as pointed out, definitely not a standalone, and way waaayyyy too short, this is still as captivating as everything Santino writes.
860 reviews108 followers
October 26, 2017
ARC from the author

It's true that I'm a sucker for anything Five Boroughs. And so, it would seem, is Santino Hassell, as he can't stop writing these characters. For which I am so grateful! I'm pretty sure he could focus on this group of characters forever, and still I wouldn't tire of them. It never ceases to amaze me how rock solid the characterization in this series is. I've said it before, but my biggest fear when reading more books about characters I love is that the characterization will fall apart; the Five Boroughs crew never wavers. And we're getting a lot from our past characters every time we pick up a new installment.

Ok - time to focus on  Third Rail specifically. This book was a hot little number, let me tell you. Whatever you think you know about Aiden and Jace's sex life - tip of the iceberg! I swear they must have a fire extinguisher in their bedroom. It's sparks galore when these two men come together, and adding Chris into the mix makes it even steamier. And that's really what this book is all about; pulling Chris into the mix. Aiden and Jace's dynamic has always fascinated me, especially with Aiden's comment in First and First about being jealous all the time, especially when men get infatuated with Jace. But there really is something so special about the love they have for each other. Even in this mostly erotic book, it felt like the pages weren't big enough to contain their love. It made it so easy to see how they could invite a third person into their relationship and make it work. They just have so much love to give! And I love that they've chosen to give it to Chris. Overall, I thought Third Rail was a wonderful peek between Aiden, Jace, and Chris's sheets, and into their hearts. Fans of Five Boroughs - this is one story you aren't going to want to miss out on!

This review was originally posted on Books & Beauty Are My Bag.
Profile Image for Cadiva.
3,977 reviews433 followers
Read
March 7, 2018
Rating and review removed.
Profile Image for RentasticReads.
699 reviews185 followers
December 29, 2017
Sweet Jesus, someone douse me with an ice cold bucket of water because This. Book. Was. ON. FIRE! I freaking loved it. Every single bit of it. I don’t think I’ve ever read an M/M/M three-way before, so I was a tiny bit anxious—but this is the addictively unputdownable Five Boroughs series and Santino Hassell we’re talking about here after all. He nothing but slayed this threesome. SLAYED! I just wanted it to last forever. I wanted so much more of these three. I was already curious about Jace and Aiden Fairbairn’s open marriage, to be honest. But add in my sweet, adorable Chris to the equation? Him being their third was just a match made in pure trifecta heaven.

I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of Christopher Mendez and his cute, charming, funny and insecure self. There’s just something about him that’s so special—so likable and lovable. If anyone needs a crap ton of attention and affection in the Queens crew, it’s most definitely this guy. And he couldn’t have had better lovers than the cuddly pixie Jace and Aiden the ginger dude with a body of a linebacker, in my opinion. Because these two—they could really be the most generous and attentive lovers if they wanted to be. And man, did they love Chris. They welcomed him into the fold without making him even more freaked out than he already was about his own sexuality. Chris just completed their blazing little threesome. He was like the missing puzzle piece they’ve been looking for who’d truly fit the kind of relationship they have—not only sexually, but in terms of personality and attitude as well. They all just clicked together and it was beautiful.

If you’re looking for a quick, yet very risqué romance read that dances over the edge of unconventional and blistering hot... One that will make you sweat a little, have goosebumps and butterflies in your tummy, and squirm a handful of times all throughout the read... One that will also make you snort with laughter and giggle with all the cuteness overload going on... Then this one’s for you. And while Third Rail qualifies as a standalone, take note that there is quite a little cliffy by the end there. So just a fair warning. But it’s not confusing at all if you haven’t read the other books in the series. Though I’d highly suggest that you do since this series is THE BOMB. We get the continuation and their HEA in the next book of the series, Citywide .


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Profile Image for Sanaa .
1,219 reviews180 followers
Read
October 26, 2017
on hold @ 30%

I'm super confused with the characters. I might have to go back, read the books in the series and come back to this. As much as it says it's a standalone, I feel like you have to read the other ones to know everything.
Profile Image for Nile Princess.
1,562 reviews174 followers
Read
March 12, 2018
*** Due to recent revelations, I will no longer be reading/reviewing/rating this author.***

I will, however, leave my reviews up because I took a long time writing them!

-----------------


Really, Goodreads? So you're just going to eat my review like it never happened? Anyhoo, as I said before, this was HAWT. Can't wait to read more about this triad in Citywide. Why this author insists on sticking David into every damn thing is beyond me, (and I read he has semi-major parts in Citywide as well. PORQUE??!!) but Raymond is a beast, as usual. I love him SO.DAMN.HARD. Everyone needs a friend like him, and I'm glad he is there looking out for Chris. Looking forward to Aidan, Jace and Chris getting their HEA. 4 stars
Profile Image for Debi.
654 reviews
November 23, 2017
Damn but these boys are HOT together!! They melt the pages and I can't wait until they find their HEA in Citywide. A definite read for all 5 Boroughs fans. Don't miss where it all began!!

Re-read in prep for Citywide. Awesome to revisit these guys!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews

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