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Starting Over #4
The Third Date
Their boyfriend is the only thing these two men have in common… Gabriel’s accident means he needs constant supervision while he recovers, and Aled can’t just quit his job. So when Gabriel refuses to stay in hospital any longer, Aled resorts to emotional blackmail and recruits Gabriel’s long-distance boyfriend, Chris Wheeler, to come and set up shop in their home as an all-in-one nurse, housekeeper and general distraction from the slow progress of recovery. But while Aled expected to have to get used to having Gabriel’s terminally shy boyfriend around the house, he didn’t expect the effect Chris has on Gabriel—and on Aled. Is this just two couples under one roof, or is there something bigger waiting to be discovered?
- GenresBDSMTransgender
230 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2020
About the author
Matthew J. Metzger
33 books352 followersMatthew is an asexual, transgender author from the wet and windy British Isles.
Matt writes LGBT novels, both adult and young adult, and particularly enjoys digging into the weird and wonderful diversity of people all across the sexuality and gender spectrums. When not writing, Matt is usually asleep, or crunching numbers at his day job. Free time is not really a concept here.
He is also owned by an enormous black cat. Approach with caution.
Matt writes LGBT novels, both adult and young adult, and particularly enjoys digging into the weird and wonderful diversity of people all across the sexuality and gender spectrums. When not writing, Matt is usually asleep, or crunching numbers at his day job. Free time is not really a concept here.
He is also owned by an enormous black cat. Approach with caution.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 10, 2020
A Joyfully Jay review.
4.5 stars
The Starting Over series is character driven and relationship driven and I’ve gotten attached to finding out what happens with Gabriel and Aled and now Chris. The heart of this relationship is Gabriel, since everyone else orbits around him in a way, but Aled has the strongest voice. Gabriel has strong needs that have been a focus throughout the entire series and Aled not only accepts all of Gabriel, but thrives when Gabriel is happy.
The end of the last book showed how deep the commitment went between Aled and Gabriel. This book is a little tamer as Gabriel is injured and since everything is a struggle, hard core play is completely off the schedule. Chris has been a subtle character who was slowly introduced. He lives a distance from Gabriel and the men don’t get to see each other often. Chris falls on the asexual spectrum and he doesn’t understand himself, loathes his physical needs, and has had no one to talk to about it. Gabriel, and then Aled not only accept him, but listen to him and want him to be comfortable in his own skin. There is a positive vibe that is woven through this series as while the men all have different needs and question themselves at time, everyone is fully accepted.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
4.5 stars
The Starting Over series is character driven and relationship driven and I’ve gotten attached to finding out what happens with Gabriel and Aled and now Chris. The heart of this relationship is Gabriel, since everyone else orbits around him in a way, but Aled has the strongest voice. Gabriel has strong needs that have been a focus throughout the entire series and Aled not only accepts all of Gabriel, but thrives when Gabriel is happy.
The end of the last book showed how deep the commitment went between Aled and Gabriel. This book is a little tamer as Gabriel is injured and since everything is a struggle, hard core play is completely off the schedule. Chris has been a subtle character who was slowly introduced. He lives a distance from Gabriel and the men don’t get to see each other often. Chris falls on the asexual spectrum and he doesn’t understand himself, loathes his physical needs, and has had no one to talk to about it. Gabriel, and then Aled not only accept him, but listen to him and want him to be comfortable in his own skin. There is a positive vibe that is woven through this series as while the men all have different needs and question themselves at time, everyone is fully accepted.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
July 17, 2020
This is a fourth book - MMM in a previously MM-open series - that begins with The Divorce and should be read in order, but I wanted to review it first, because it has one of the more interesting ace characters I've met in M/M - This book does an admirable and interesting job of fitting him into a relationship in ways that work for everyone involved. It also focuses on an unbalanced poly relationship where not all loves and bonds are equal - something common in real poly, but rare in M/M/M romance.
The series has some fairly tough BDSM, with the other MCs being a gay, transgender, submissive masochist who is poly, and a cis pansexual sadistic Dom who is open to being open. The author (who is also ace and trans) is good at getting me into the heads of people whose viewpoints are new to me, and I really enjoyed this series, even when some of the SM pushed my comfort level a bit.
That aspect is actually more muted here, as Gabriel starts the book with an injury that requires the prickly independent guy at the heart of the story to accept some caretaking, and a pause in most of the game playing. There was warmth and love and arguments and adjustments here - a journey I really enjoyed to the HFN but solid conclusion. (I will review the others soon.)
The series has some fairly tough BDSM, with the other MCs being a gay, transgender, submissive masochist who is poly, and a cis pansexual sadistic Dom who is open to being open. The author (who is also ace and trans) is good at getting me into the heads of people whose viewpoints are new to me, and I really enjoyed this series, even when some of the SM pushed my comfort level a bit.
That aspect is actually more muted here, as Gabriel starts the book with an injury that requires the prickly independent guy at the heart of the story to accept some caretaking, and a pause in most of the game playing. There was warmth and love and arguments and adjustments here - a journey I really enjoyed to the HFN but solid conclusion. (I will review the others soon.)
May 11, 2020
Arrrgh, not gonna lie, that ending felt a little bit like a tease!!! Even though it's very clear where these guys are headed, I still wanted more! A five-years-later epilogue checking in with Chris and Aled chatting on the couch would have made me very happy :)
Chris and Aled's dynamic was not what I was expecting from that blurb, but I really liked how this played out. This is not a dynamic I've read about before, so it was interesting to see how that could work for Gabriel's two romantic relationships.
I really liked this series, which I would give 4.5 stars as a whole. Most of Gabriel's kinks are not my favorite to read about, so there were a few times in the middle books that I could have done with fewer kink scenes, but they didn't feel gratuitous. It's a big part of who these characters are and felt true to their stories.
Gabriel's societal obstacles as a trans man especially hit home in this book with his experiences in the hospital. I can't even imagine having to deal with that on top of a medical crisis. I would want to burn that hospital DOWN.
We also get a little bit of Chris's POV in this final installment, which added a nice element with his attempts to figure out his asexuality. Metzger is just so very good at creating characters who demonstrate that there are as many different ways of experiencing the world as there are people living in it, while still feeling real and flawed and familiar, and that's definitely the strength of this series. I highly recommend it.
Chris and Aled's dynamic was not what I was expecting from that blurb, but I really liked how this played out. This is not a dynamic I've read about before, so it was interesting to see how that could work for Gabriel's two romantic relationships.
I really liked this series, which I would give 4.5 stars as a whole. Most of Gabriel's kinks are not my favorite to read about, so there were a few times in the middle books that I could have done with fewer kink scenes, but they didn't feel gratuitous. It's a big part of who these characters are and felt true to their stories.
Gabriel's societal obstacles as a trans man especially hit home in this book with his experiences in the hospital. I can't even imagine having to deal with that on top of a medical crisis. I would want to burn that hospital DOWN.
We also get a little bit of Chris's POV in this final installment, which added a nice element with his attempts to figure out his asexuality. Metzger is just so very good at creating characters who demonstrate that there are as many different ways of experiencing the world as there are people living in it, while still feeling real and flawed and familiar, and that's definitely the strength of this series. I highly recommend it.
January 18, 2022
Wow, this series has me hooked. I'm just loving this story.
Gabriel's accident means he needs constant supervision if he is to go home and Aled has no one else to turn to so he asks Chris, Gabriel's other boyfriend to come out and help till Gabriel gets better. Soon, it is Gabriel, Chris and Aled living together in a house and before long the relationships they share with each other starts to evolve.
This book was amazing. The books in this series treat their characters with such care, like every book uncovers another chapter in the lives of our protagonists - Aled, Chris and Gabriel and it's fascinating to read about. All three of these characters are now navigating a whole new dynamic and it's fascinating to see it all evolve.
The sex scenes in this book are presented in their entirety which was my major crib from the previous book and I loved the fact that this book improved on that aspect. Though I still find myself shocked at exactly how brutally kinky the characters in this series are but I'm loving it.
I also like what the story is doing with Chris, Aled and Gabriel and that isn't simply devolving them into a threesome because especially with these three characters it truly is a bit more complicated than that and I like that they weren't any easy answers but I am really looking forward to the conclusion to this series in the next book.
Gabriel's accident means he needs constant supervision if he is to go home and Aled has no one else to turn to so he asks Chris, Gabriel's other boyfriend to come out and help till Gabriel gets better. Soon, it is Gabriel, Chris and Aled living together in a house and before long the relationships they share with each other starts to evolve.
This book was amazing. The books in this series treat their characters with such care, like every book uncovers another chapter in the lives of our protagonists - Aled, Chris and Gabriel and it's fascinating to read about. All three of these characters are now navigating a whole new dynamic and it's fascinating to see it all evolve.
The sex scenes in this book are presented in their entirety which was my major crib from the previous book and I loved the fact that this book improved on that aspect. Though I still find myself shocked at exactly how brutally kinky the characters in this series are but I'm loving it.
I also like what the story is doing with Chris, Aled and Gabriel and that isn't simply devolving them into a threesome because especially with these three characters it truly is a bit more complicated than that and I like that they weren't any easy answers but I am really looking forward to the conclusion to this series in the next book.
April 16, 2024
3.5 Chris feels a bit meh, want more scenes with Kevin
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews