Raising the Bar

Wicked Warrens #3

by Marie Harte

Three is the magic number. Who knew that swapping places with his twin would lead to love? A sexy, standalone mmf romance from NYT bestseller Marie Harte. Dr. Dylan Warren is too old to be swapping places with his twin, but to help his brother, he plays his part. He hadn’t counted on getting caught or to find and fall hard for Mr. Perfect. Dylan has never made any bones about being bi, but he’s never shared his bed with two lovers at the same time. Between the beautiful woman who enthralls him and the man he can’t stay away from, Dylan finds himself in that most uncomfortable of places—falling in love and not sure what to do about it…with two people. A steamy mmf romance. WICKED WARRENS Enjoying the Show Closing the Deal Raising the Bar Making the Grade Bending the Rules

Genres: Romance, Menage, Erotica, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, BDSM, M M Romance

179 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2013

About the author

Important:: Marie Harte is NOT active on GoodReads, so to contact her, please use her website at marieharte.com.

Caffeine addict, boy referee, and romance aficionado, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Marie Harte has over 100 books published with more constantly on the way. She’s a confessed bibliophile and devotee of action movies. Whether hiking in Central Oregon, biking around town, or hanging at the local tea shop, she’s constantly plotting to give everyone a happily ever after. Visit http://marieharte.com and fall in love.

Reviews

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars! Not bad, but not great. I wish the author would have 'raised the bar' for herself and hurdled over it, but she never really got off the ground with this book.

I had such high hopes for Dylan's book, and being that he was bi-sexual, I so wanted to see him in an exclusive polyamorous relationship, a permanent threesome. Well in that respect the author did not disappoint, Dylan finds himself involved with Harper, a burly construction worker and Freddy, a petite, sprite-like club owner, who also tends bar. However, we were told how all these characters felt about each other, but as a reader I never quite bought into it. I would have enjoyed seeing them interact with each other outside the bedroom. Oh don't get me wrong, this was the hottest and naughtiest book in the series, but the sex was all very mechanical, no passion...stick slot A into Slot B and then put Slot C into the back of Slot A...I'm sure you get the picture. That's when the dreaded skimming began *cringe*.

What I've always enjoyed about this series is the family dynamic among the Warren brothers, Gage, Derrick, Dylan and their mother Barbara. This is where the author did not disappoint. The morning breakfast gathering, where they discuss anything and everything, is really a tell-all about how much they love and support one another. Brothers being brothers in every respect, and a mom who listens, understands and loves unconditionally. I was happy to see her find love too.

Although this didn't work for me like I hoped it would, I still recommend this to fans of this series, you might find that you really enjoy it.

[Awilk -never sleeps- · Rating 3 out of 5]

I looked forward to reading about this brother from the first book. The author did not disappoint. Dylan was bisexual, and the story had him finding both a female and male lover. The attraction between all three of them was very fast, but this is a short story so that was to be expected.

I have always liked how the Warren family loves and respects each other, and we again saw that dynamic in this story. As an added bonus, we also had the chance to see the mother find love as well.

The three story's in this series were all short, and steamy, and I enjoyed them all, but this was my favourite.

[Night Runner · Rating 2 out of 5]

The focus of the m/m relationship was a bit much for me and the book was essentially a PSA for mainstreaming menage relationships. The author was honest in pointing out that most fail as jealousy tends to rear its ugly head. I am sure that some are successful.

The mom is a trip and you will find out how she always pops in at the right time to catch the boys at their worst! 😉

The drama point was weird between the H and his mother and almost appeared incestuous. As always, there is an HEA!

Definitely quite a bit of erotica moments but authors please understand that 99.999% of men, especially older than 30,cannot have sex, finish, then immediately have sex again, then within a few minutes, start warming up again!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raising the Bar
3 Stars

After losing a bet to his twin, Dylan Warren agrees to cover for him at a city planner's meeting. There he meets sexy, local contractor, Harper Reynolds, who immediately notices the switch and blackmails Dylan into dinner at a local club that meets its patrons' every need. Dylan soon realizes that Harper's plans include the gorgeous female bartender, Freddy Thompson. Although not in the closet, Dylan does not advertise his bi-sexuality. Will he be able to reconcile his feelings for both of his new lovers?

Dylan, Harper and Freddy are all engaging characters, and each has tremendous potential for development. Unfortunately, the short novella format does not allow for much more than superficial characterization and an insta-love romance.

Once again, the highlight is the interactions between the Warren siblings and their mother. I particularly enjoy how open, honest and accepting they all are. In this particular installment, Dylan must come to terms with some changes in the family dynamics as Barbara Warren reveals her relationship with her partner, James Kendrick. These sections are well-written and add depth to the story. Harte obviously has talent as a writer, but the stories really need to be fleshed out more.

This brings to an end the arc focusing on the Warren brothers. The next books shift to secondary characters and the next installment features Freddy's brother, Brian Goode, and Hayley's friend, Faith Sumner.

[Monique Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having quite a few friends now in polyamorous relationships this didn't weird me out as it could have a year ago. It's not my thing, but the boy on boy action really did it for me. Freddy seemed spunky enough to handle the both of them. It was sexy and just the right length for me. Even though I see so many poly relationships work just fine it isn't even intriguing to me. I do think Dylan was excluding his partners in all his thinking time and even monogamous relationships don't handle silence well. I'm not sure how well that would have played out in real life especially since communication is the key to successful poly relationships. Honestly would have liked this better about just Dylan and Harper. The idea that being bisexual means you aren't complete without one of each is not correctly representing the lifestyle.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** 2.5 ⭐️ ***

Dylan has hangups about his mother’s new relationship, his brothers’ relationships, and relationships in general, and he doesn’t know why… then he meets Harper and Freddy.

This story was very spicy, insta-lovey, and u-haulish. The heart-to-heart conversations between Dylan and his mother were a little cringey as well, so I’d have to say this was not my favorite book of the series.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know what happened here... but there was a sex club at a plantation (one dude says to the other something about being his sex slave... read the room) and then repeated use of the word “uppity.” All characters are white, but why that word? Stoppit.

Okay, beyond this stuff, it takes the first half of the book until we get to any actual relationship development. It starts with the two men banging, then they decide they have to have the woman to glue their relationship together and then all three of them bang. Now we’re at some sort of weird HFN... but they have to actually get to know each other. There’s no tension, no buildup, none of the spark Harte’s books usually have. It’s like the choreography and meet-not-cutes take up all the space that the emotional development should be taking. This was unsuccessful for me.

[Christine D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love family of characters Marie Harte creates. Kinky menage is not typically something I read but this was done really well. I am continuing to devour this series and want to read the rest!

[A Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, Love, Love the Menage... I think it's awesome when a person is truly in love and not afraid to show it no matter what the dynamic is. This one is the best book of the series yet.

[Butterbean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on Audible. The narrator, Emma Wilder, did a fantastic job! As for the story, I enjoyed how this trio met each other and I appreciate that I got to see them take this relationship public, introduce themselves to their families, and make their plans for the future. The few menage/poly romance novels Id read so far would only relay their relationships to people who they are cool with, or no one at all, and then the book ends. I also appreciate that this book did not throw in a ton of characters from the other books for me to juggle and keep up with, like some serial novels tend to do. I did find it strange that instead of the trio running into conflict with people who would find their unconventional relationship offensive, this book's main conflict is Dylan struggling to accept his mother's relationship with a friendly younger man who they all knew for years. I thought it was a missed opportunity for some realistic angst.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jumping into the third book of this series without reading the other two books and I didn't feel that I missed anything. This was a quick read that had a nice flow. I thought there would be a slow burn, but it went straight into wham, bam, thank you Sam territory. I liked the family dynamics of the Warrens and the other characters were fleshed out with no one being a one-dimensional caricature. I know the characters are not new to sex, but it would have nice to see a more fleshed out encounter between Dylan, Freddy, and Harper with the three of them figuring out what their new lovers enjoy, what they don't and things to be tried later.

I would recommend this book on the quick read factor and if you enjoy a little hot MFM action.

[Kierstin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started much faster than anticipated and there was no easing in. (Not complaining, just surprised. Also not so sure the characters would have actually gone so fast had they not been forced to by the length of the book.) Loved Harper and pretty much everything that came out of his mouth. Wasn't a fan of Freddy though. Not sure if it is just my usual aversion to female characters, or if she actually wasn't super likable. Dylan was delightful as always.

[Kim Lowery]

Strange characterization. Didn’t like how Dylan gets blackmailed to go on date with Harper. Who then takes him right off to a sex club. Where the third is a blank slate character of a bartender. Harper is described at least to the point I stopped reading. Even though it’s short it was just too blah and inconsistent to continue. Meh. DNF.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obvious that this was an earlier Marie Harte book. The characters and plot aren't fully fleshed out. There's a lot of redundancy in their thoughts and internal dialogue. I liked that it was set in Augusta, GA.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skimmed much of this short read. Couldn't really get a handle on the menage characters. Perhaps, it was character development wasn't complete. The Warren family maintained their love and acceptability for each other. This is nice to see in a series.

[Donna G. Frew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable!

I’ve now read 3 of the author’s books and enjoyed every one of them thoroughly. I believe this one was my favorite. Perfect blend of family, angst, and steam. The Warren family is fabulous and at times hilarious. Try it you won’t regret it !

[Heidi Dover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Likeable characters, a little breezy in voice in that I really didn't get a great in depth feel for the characters or their situation, or the kinda instant attraction that involved a new to most of them alternate lifestyle, but overall light fun read.

[Talia Grocott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Warren Brothers, and can't wait to read what happens next, the surrounding characters are small details but enough to keep them in mind, and hope to find more out about them as the series continues

Whether you're a single lady, married, raising kids, or if you like me, are stuck at home caring for kids with covid this week, Marie Harte's books are a great way to escape reality for a little while and not too long so you can get through the series quite quickly, and onto a new one.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dylan, Harper and Freddy

[Elci · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like when the guys in the mfm sandwich are into each other too.

[Gowri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice angst

[Michelle the Romance Witch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy hell... That was seriously hot for a short read. I'd have loved that to be fleshed out into a full length novel but it lived up to the Warren name for sure. 4.5 stars.

[Seeshel kettler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

[Amy Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hot menage. Sex club. Great series.

[Hijinx Abound · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay ménage story. Really quick story and instalove.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

So hot

Well written, quirky, funny and extremely sexy that you just want to keep reading. I love this author and she brings these characters to life in such a good way, recommend.

[Gussy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea but well written. I might not have read this one if I wasn't invested in the series as menages are not my thing but it was done well.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite in the series. Was going with a 5 rating until the last 2 chapters and the story got a little corny for me.

[Sherry Sanderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome book! lots of twist in the book

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not handle the book. Did not finish