The Strength of Three

Finding Strength #2

by Annmarie McKenna

Never let it be said that ex-soldiers don’t know what to do with their hands… When it comes to men, Christina isn’t just gun shy, she’s downright terrified. Her abusive drunk of a father, plus bad experiences in high school and college, have cemented her belief that all men are the same—ruthless and violent at the slightest provocation. She tells herself she couldn’t care less about her lack of a love life. Yet lately she’s been having seriously erotic dreams about two of her bosses. And oddly, those dreams make her body tingle, not seize up in a panic attack. TJ and Jon have shared women since their military days. Somehow it makes them feel whole. From the first glance, Christina has been the object of their desire, but getting close to the prickly female hasn’t been easy—not when she holds men off with a psychological pitchfork. They’ve waited a long time to ease their way into her life. Time’s up. Unleashing her libido is magic made in the dark. But by the light of day, a face from her past threatens to destroy This title contains the Blindfolds and bondage and sex—oh my. Ooh, and let’s not forget about the m/f/m ménage and the graphic language.

Genres: Menage, Erotica, Romance, Erotic Romance, M F M, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary

103 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 28, 2007

About the author

Annmarie McKenna lives with her husband and five kids in the Midwest. Throw in a dog and a cat and she’s well over her limit for the average family. Luckily, writing fantasies has proven to be an excellent way to de-stress from her daily life of being a cleaning woman, chauffeur, cook and mom. Okay, cleaning woman—not so much. She leaves that to her hubby. Now if only she could figure out how to de-stress her kids, she’d be all set.

Reviews

[Sophia Triad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two very protective men, ex soldiers, understanding, affectionate, strong, sexy. The two of them are looking for the perfect woman to complete them.
One woman with a rough childhood with an alcoholic abusive father, a timid mother and a brother who has nasty habits and keeps bothering her to give him money.
The men of her family and her disastrous relationships of the past have given her every reason to avoid men.
When Christina gives TJ and Jon a chance, her life will change. She will change and become stronger and more demanding.
Their story is sweet and the subplot with Christina’s family issues will keep you interested. But I wish the characters were more developed, the dynamics of the relationship were clearer and there was more bonding between the characters.
I suppose a few pages more pages would have made a difference.
There is some light BDSM scenes, but nothing too much.

[Dina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Christina, TJ and Jon were introduced in Two Sighted. Since I really liked that story, I thought I´d give The Strength of Three a try, even though I knew it was a ménage story. Who knew, maybe I´d enjoy it... Well, I had to stop reading when the dynamic trio "hooked up" for the first time. Definitely, not my cuppa. :(

[Angela Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
If only in real life this can happen. 2 men helpless in love with 1 woman and willing to share...at THE SAME TIME.
Super hot scene for my first mènage a trois, tolerable anal play ;)

Thanks Suzanne!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Born and raised in by an abusive alcoholic, Christina Marshall has aversions to men and alcohol. Christina has resigned herself to bieng alone, even though Jonathan Winslow and TJ McFee provide powerful eye candy.

Jon and TJ have been waiting for a chance to show Christina that they would never do anything to hurt her and earn her trust. They knew long ago that they wanted a menage' relationship to feel complete, and Christina is the one to make it happen. They just have to find a way to break down her barriers and help her heal along the way.

The overall concept was compelling, it fell a little during the story because it kept shifting view points in the middle of the page and I had to reread to figure out if I had missed something.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it and just reread it 1 1/2 years later, but I found myself wishing the 2 men were developed a bit more. I liked the heroine and parts of this story were just lovely. It's a nicely done menage that could have been fabulous with a bit more development.

Annmarie must be doing something right as an author though as I keep reading her work even though I usually end up giving it 3 or 4 stars. I did like her 2 shifter stories better if you want to try something else that she writes.

[Ann has a dirty mouth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very sexy, but it had way too much soap operatic wacky sauce. I don't think stories this slight can have so much weight of family drama suicide and murder put on them without it coming across as very trite.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The guys in this book are so sweet when it comes to chris but strong and sexy at same time.

[Kim Lowery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a standalone. Never really know what the heroes do for a living to have a private jet. They were in the military and the company seems to be her best friend’s fiancee’s. So that’s a hole.

Heroine is unrelatable. She’s afraid of all me. Because her father drank in private and beat up her mom. Unclear whether he ever beat her, but seems to be no. So all men must get violent when they drink. Thus explains her fear of all men. Naturally the heroes declining to drink around her bc they noticed it makes her uncomfortable results in her overcoming this psychotic fear so she jumps into be bed with both of them. Cue the instalove.

I suppose a lot of this was in the first book but I didn’t read the first book. I read this book. And now I know why I started it seven months ago and put it down.

No difference between the heroes. No character development. The most interesting part wasn’t the sex, which I skipped bc I didn’t connect to any of them, was the story about her family. But even that was rushed and hollow.

[Jamoz23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable story with likeable main characters and supporting friends Aislinn and Kyle from book 1.
Poor Christine has had a horrible childhood living in an abusive household.
I love how this plays out with TJ and Jon pursuing Christine at long last. How they support her with what happens with her family.
The only thing I am not sure of is if these two have been celibate since deciding Christine was their third as this is not what comes across in book one.
Had read and reviewed this book and book 1 many years ago. My reviews have disappeared but it is no hardship to reread.

[H J H…c · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book I read over a decade ago and just now reread.

A good second book for the Finding Strength series… if you can call two books a series lol.

It is a short story, so it hits hard and ends quick. The fact that all three characters were in the first book as supporting characters helps flesh it out some.

[CB · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had these books but lost them when Borders went out of business. For some reason Kobo didn't keep them.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read. Loved it!

[Hayley Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down, an amazing story of a different kind of love.

[marlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

christina grew up in a house with an abusive drunk father. he beat her mother and her mother always took him back. christina's brother decided to follow in his father's footsteps so christina left that situation entirely. now she has issues trusting men in general.

christina works with TJ and Jon. two close friends who live together and share their women. with a little shove from her friend christina decides she is going to let go a bit and let the boys take her home. after a night with the men christina gets some bad news concerning her family that brings her back to her home town. TJ and Jon were with her every step of the way. being back home among her father and brother turns explosive. tj and jon fly her out of there as fast as possible, but trouble follows her home.

this story was so well put together that i wish there was more to it. this was one of those cases where an extra 100 pages or so would have went a long way. i would have liked to see the danger aspects drawn out a little more and the relationship between the three of the leads grow a bit more.

it was quick and to the point, which there is nothing wrong with, but i liked this one too much. more would have been better.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris was tired of men. Coming from an abusive home where her father constantly beat her mother and her when he would drink too much, she had all she could take and left. Leaving not only her father and mother but her brother who was also turning out to be a lot like their father.

Her best friend Aislinn is determined to get Chris out of her rut and she knows just the guys to do it! TJ Mcfee and Jonathan Winslow. Known for their "double-teaming", and their smoking hot bodies.

They have been waiting for Chris to come around to their wicked ways, and with a little push from Aislinn she stumbles right into their arms. She can't believe how wonerful she feels with these two men loving her in ways she knew knew possible.

But her life comes crashing down when she receives a call that her mother has died. And worse, found dead at the bottom of the stairs of her home. Chris knows it wasn't an accident. And now she must go home to face her abusive father and brother.

This is a great book. I only wish it could have been a little bit longer and with more suspense. I would recommend it!

4 stars

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this book to say the least. All I have heard about this book since before I purchased it was how great it is, how hot it is, blah blah blah. I was very disappointed. I didn't connect with any of the three characters at all. Chris seemed just way too skittish and in need of therapy. The guys? Way, WAY too bossy and pushy for my taste...and I like alpha males! I don't know. It just felt like she resigned herself to a threesome with TJ and Jon instead of dying for it, which was just...yuck...and there was just too much wishy-washiness going on throughout the book and not enough bonding. *shrug* Maybe I'll give it another try in the future, but it just felt like it was missing a lot.

[Deb · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like ménage stories, and am agnostic on dominance games so that isn't why I am giving this one star. I am giving it one star because it is boring and offensive. Christina is afraid of men due to her abusive father and brother. The solution to her problem is to be dominated by two hot ex-military pals who share a common trait, zero personality. Perhaps in the hands of a more competent and sensitive writer, a women learning to overcome her fears by realizing she is the one really in control would work. But as a mediocre erotic short, it just came across as bizarre. One moment she is being reassured by the guys that would never hurt her and the next minute they are tying her up and spanking her. I couldn't manage to finish this one.

[Maria FantastikaRomance · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was all to short, that´s way I only gave it 3 stars. I loved the characters and I wanted to know more about them. The story could have been deepened with the tragic story about the heroines family and the suspense could have been build more with her evil brother.
And Ms McKenna sure can write hot sex scenes. I like menage-books and I wouldn't have minded a bit more physical contact between Jon and JT but in my dirty fantasy they will soon.

[Nikki Wilde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this one. It wasn't all about the sexy times together. It was really more of a story, which I enjoyed.

Christina doesn't trust men. Her father is an abusive alcoholic and her brother turned out exactly the same. So, she left but it's left her scarred. She wished more than anything her mother would leave, and can't understand why she doesn't. You sort of knew what was going to happen but it was a bit more surprising than that.

I liked it. It was sexy, sweet, and enjoyable.

[Margie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well I was sort of lost at the start, the heroine seems tries to portray herself as scared of men yet within the blink of an eye she is 'creaming' (her word not mine!) for not one but two guys.
There is not enough plot development for any of the background story to be remotely engaging but if you're after a short hot read then this could be what you are after. The guys are sweet and hot and there is plenty of sex!

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christina, TJ and Jon, loved it. I would have liked to see more background to Christina and her abusive drunk of a father. The picture was painted but I didn’t get enough of why she turned out the way she did, with her issues.
The sex was hot.
But, all in all I would say a 3.5 but because we don’t do .5 stars, I’ll go for 4.

[Brooke · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was shit. There was no character development, there was no plot. There was pretty much nothing happening at all except sex. And the sex was gross. Words like "sopping" and "puffy" are not sexy. I thought some of the positions described could have been hot but this book lacked the details and the build up to pull it off. It sucked. Pure and simple.

[T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to give McKenna another try, regardless of my disappointment with Two Sighted. Main reasons, I loved the characters of Jon and TJ from the first book, and, of course, the menage angle is pretty intriguing. I enjoyed the story for this book a lot more than the first. The characters were not as strong as I normally prefer, but the book was a good read and I'm glad I picked it up.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Needed to read some more by Annmarie. The men, T.J. and Jon are so freaking amazing, that I simply couldn't help but enjoy every minute of this book. Why can’t things like this happen in real life? Probably because real life would have WAY too much drama and in book life you can make whatever dream you want to come true some dream away with this book.

[Peace Love and Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

A heroine - Christina, who sworn off men because of his drunk and wife beater of a father and a druggie of a brother, suddenly got entangled (literally) with two hot ex-marine co-worker Jon and TJ over one weekend. Sexy and hot but not too hot like what I was expecting it to be.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

there was a lot of story in this one, but for a woman with major trust issues to basically move in with her coworkers that quickly seem unbelievable to me. they're relationship was great, just too fast.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the abused heroine trope, though less so the menage one. At the start of this novel (a sequel to Two Sighted), the heroine and hero(s) have already been pining (ie. lusting) after each other for some time, so this book was more about overcoming fears (and hot sex) than a romance.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I liked watching Chris learn to trust her men. I liked watching their relationship grow. There was also enough suspense to keep things very interesting. This book was so good I'm going to be checking out more of Annmarie's books.

[Devin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much too short, so there wasn't much emotional depth, nor any build up to the violence. However, it was easy to sympathize Chris' traumatic past. Mrs. McKenna did a good job of not rushing the relationship-y bits, despite the EXTREME shortness of the story.

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. I liked the fact that the guys were patient and recognized her feelings and tried to make her totally comfortable. I also liked how they stood buy her through all the family drama, it was really good, just a little short.