No Filter

No Shame #1

by Nora Phoenix, Kenneth Obi (Narrator)

Indy will do anything to prevent his mobster ex from finding him. Their last encounter left Indy recovering for months in the hospital, and ever since he’s become an expert at hiding in plain sight. Determined to stay under the radar, he takes on a new identity and moves from place to place. His life has no room for friendships, let alone love, so he keeps his heart firmly closed. After all, he has nothing to offer but a damaged body and a broken soul. Plus, he’s so done with men. Until he meets the man who breaks through all his defenses.

Former Army Medic Noah came back damaged from his last tour—in more than one way. Between supporting his best friend-with-benefits Josh who’s struggling with PTSD, dealing with his own issues, and the stress of his job as a physician assistant, rebuilding his life seems impossible. There's little time for what Noah needs, let alone for what he wants. When he meets Indy, Noah discovers what he wants more than anything: for Indy to stay. But how will a relationship with Indy work when Noah needs Josh as well?

Indy never expected the strong, confident Noah to be as damaged and broken as himself. But what will happen if he starts letting Noah in? Indy knows he should run to protect Noah and Josh.

Noah needs Indy to stay more than anything. But will what little he has to offer be enough to make Indy trust him and stay?

No Filter is a steamy M/M romance featuring an open relationship (no cheating!) that ends with a HFN, but with the promise of a HEA. It’s the first book in the No Shame Series, and is not a stand-alone novel. It contains hot sex, a hint of a ménage, lots of talk about hot sex, flashbacks of said hot sex, and…Oh well, you get the idea. Also: trigger warning for mentions of sexual abuse.

Listening Length: 9 hours and 34 minutes

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Military Fiction, M M M, Contemporary, Menage, Abuse

Audible Audio

First published October 26, 2017

About the author

Would you like the long or the short version of my bio?

The short? You got it.

I write steamy gay romance books and I love it. I also love reading books. Books are everything.

How was that?

A little more detail? Gotcha.

I started writing my first stories when I was a teen…on a freaking typewriter. I still have these, and they’re adorably romantic. And bad, haha. Fear of failing kept me from following my dream to become a romance author, so you can imagine how proud and ecstatic I am that I finally overcame my fears and self doubt and did it. I adore my genre because I love writing and reading about flawed, strong men who are just a tad broken..but find their happy ever after anyway.

My favorite books to read are pretty much all MM/gay romances as long as it has a happy end. Kink is a plus… Aside from that, I also read a lot of nonfiction and not just books on writing. Popular psychology is a favorite topic of mine and so are self help and sociology.

Hobbies? Ain’t nobody got time for that. Just kidding. I love traveling, spending time near the ocean, and hiking. But I love books more.

Come hang out with me in my Facebook Group Nora’s Nook where I share previews, sneak peeks, freebies, fun stuff, and much more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/noras...

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You can also stalk me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoraFromBHR
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On Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nora-...

Reviews

[Moony Eliver]

DNF @30%. I’m getting out while the getting’s good. I’m kind of curious about what seems to be an extensive backstory, but I can’t get past this writing, so my curiosity is waning. A whole lot of telling me about chemistry that I’m not feeling, instant emotional intimacy and trust (despite massive trust issues), and totally flat character non-building (the weak one, the strong one, blah blah blah).

No rating because I don't feel like I read far enough to understand whether it should be 1 star or 1.5. 🙄

[Cadiva · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plus points: This is well edited and isn't plagued with poor punctuation and grammar as can sometimes be the case with, as I understand it, a debut novel.

Another plus point is the loyalty and friendship of Noah and his best friend Josh. Also a plus point is the scene setting and world building.

Sex is hot too and here's where the first minus appears. The oddness of this possible menage a trois because it never really seems sure where it wants to go. There's no real attempt at either making this a story about two men accepting a third to complete their own relationship or to just have the sexual encounters be threesome.

Instead it diverts off into two different storylines with yet another bloke introduced whose obviously the love interest for Josh in book two and a narrative about Indy's dangerous background and him and Noah getting it on.

There's not cheating in the traditional sense though, each of the three men is fully aware of what's going on and there are reasons given for why each one behaves as they do.

Ultimately though it turned into a bit of an accidental sex-fest (as I don't think that's what the author's narrative probably meant to be) and lost the impetus somewhat and it was left on a HFN with possible threat on the horizon.

I probably would read book two though to see if Josh and Connor work it out and because Connor's real name is Ignatius ;)

#ARC received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.

[Trio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so impressed. I had heard this author is amazing, and that's no lie. The vast scope of the story, the complex characters, the dirty and raunchy sex scenes... everything was just beautifully done.

This is a continuing story, so not a cliff hanger, but the plot grows and develops with the next book and I can't wait to start it.

Even better, one of my new favorite narrators, Kenneth Obi, does this series. I fell in love with him when I listened to M.A. Innes' Strength series - he infuses all his characters with so much emotion, it's always a pleasure to listen to him read me a story. His Bostonian accent will make some of us from the North East chuckle, but Indy is such an adorable character that it fits.

I love a dark story so I'm good with everything that goes down in No Filter, but if I was writing this review for the blog, my list of tags and CW's would be mighty long *wink*.

Highly recommend, and if you're a fans of audiobooks this one is a huge win!

[Jenny (Nyxie) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the sweetest magic dick book I think I've ever read. Lots of trauma and healing, fun relationship dynamics, but ultimately some serious magic dick. And it worked! Like the magical system was detailed and extremely well thought out.

Note on the relationship: This is technically a MM novel with some poly dynamics. Indy and Noah are the "main" relationship pairing in this book, but there is a lot of sex with Noah's live in non romantic best friend Josh. Very cute cuddle puddles.

I loved the caretaking and careful acknowledgement and respect between the MC's of each other's triggers and past abuse. It was very lovingly done.

Tags: Open relationship, partner sharing, mind the CW's - past sexual abuse detailed on page, rape, PTSD. One MC disguises himself as a woman at the start, but is not trans and while there wasn't any overt transphobia, there was some discussion about how MC (Indy) had a penis so he assumed the other MC's knew he was a man pretending to be a woman. Later, the other MC did ask him if he was trans / if he identified as a woman, so I think it was more awkward phrasing / the MC being afraid of being caught out in his disguise.

[L Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 80% 🫤🫤🫤

[Saimi Vasquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Indy esta huyendo, por eso vive en su carro, se viste de mujer para pasar desapersibido e intenta ir a los lugares mas solitarios que puede. Pero todo eso termina cuando una noche en un pequeno supermercado presencia un robo, y lo peor no es eso, es que tiene que detener un ataque de PTSD del otro cliente del supermercado antes de que le disparon. Quizas fue buena suerte que el estuviera ahi, quiza no tanto, pero el haber salvado a ese hombre lo llego a conocer a otro y verse dentro de una pequena familia donde lo quieren y lo protegen. Pero sera capaz de dejarlos si los que lo persiguen lo encuentran? o el afecto que ahora siente por la pareja sera mas fuerte que todo lo demas?

En este libro se supone que vemos la relacion de una pareja de ex-militares, que no son pareja, con un joven que esta escapando de la mafia, pero no me convencio del todo lo facil que resulto para Indy confiar en esos dos, si ya lleva tanto tiempo huyendo, asi como tampoco me convencio como sale a la calle tranquilo vestido de hombre si se supone que se esta escondiendo.
Me gusto la relacion de dependencia de Josh-Noah, se siente que realmente se aman, pero eso de que cada uno le busque una pareja al otro, no se. Yo esperaba ver un trio, no solo sexualmente sino tambien emocionalmente, y lo senti mas como 3 amigos que se juntan para tener sexo y sentirse parte de una familia.
En fin, no fue uno de los libros mas interesantes del genero que he leido, pero tengo curiosidad de saber como van a terminar estos 3 y que va a pasar cuando descubran a Indy, asi que voy a continuar con la serie.

[JenMcJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I get that it won't be for everyone. I'm pretty hard on the realism in my romance books and I gotta say, that this felt like real people making the best out of shitty life lemons and doing it out of love and devotion and need and desperation. I really bought it all.

Are the relationships all healthy? No, for sure, they aren't. Are they toxic though? No, not even a little bit. They are codependent and they will have to find their way into a more healthy headspace and heartspace for all of them but that's what these books seem to be all about which I can buy into.

My biggest issue is that this is a cliffhanger ending. If that bugs you wait for the second or third book to be released so you can read one after the other. Because the other books in the series are named and listed in the series, I thought when I picked it up that they were already released. They are not as of 11/23/17. Be warned.

For a debut, I think this is an effort on par with many of our experienced authors in m/m and I can only imagine she'll get better as she goes. Editing was up to speed as well.

[peach]

DNF @ 32% because I'm bored and don't care enough about these characters to keep reading.

Mild spoilers ahead for some notes on gender stuff at the start of this book:

Indy is male but presents female as a disguise. When he is taken to the hospital where Noah works, Josh tells Noah to "Protect her gender" and Indy asks Noah to mark him down as female on his chart when Noah treats Indy. Despite never getting any information about Indy identifying as a man, Noah starts to use male pronouns once they're out of the hospital (even while thinking that "He might be transgender, gender neutral, or just enjoy cross dressing"). Indy is not actually misgendered here, but Noah does ignore all given information about how Indy wanted to be identified and instead makes an assumption based solely on biology. Even though it works out fine in the story I felt weird about this, especially since it could have so easily been cleared up by Indy saying that he identifies as a man before Noah starts using male pronouns.

[Lori¸¸¸.•*❀Ɍɛɑɗs̱LɪƙɛIʈs̱H̱ɛɍJɔɓ 유❤유 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I went into this book with the knowledge of how the three main characters would end up. Their dynamic is pretty fucked up and I am glad I knew about it before hand because it would have pissed me off to no end. Since I did know I was only irritated. You might wonder why I would read a book that I know might piss me off. Well I think being pissed in a fantasy world is better than being pissed in the real world. But back to the book... It was an original story for me so that's good and the writing was not bad either. I don't have too much else to say about it though except I am going to read the next one.

[Antisocial Recluse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I hoped for. Sort of ménage but sort of not. Using sex for pain relief? Sexual trauma cure by a magic peen, or two. No resolution, other than sort of establishing a relationship with the two.

*An ARC was received from the author in exchange for a review*

[Bo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really strange read for me. There were parts I liked but for the most part weird. The story of two best friends with codependent benefits, who love each other, but are not in love? Then a third comes into the mix, and just complicates everything. They all share sexy times, but it's weird (at least to me). I probably will not read the rest of this series. I'm just kinda stumped as to why this story bothered me so much. Huh? 😕

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I actually enjoyed many elements to this book. While there were parts that pushed the reality line a little I liked the development of the characters and their relationship dynamic. Admittedly Noah being - not gay LOL - but banging his best friend Josh was hilarious but I’m glad he worked it out with Indy. I thought this would take an MMM path but I was surprised by the outcome ...I’m in for book 2

[Kaity · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

An okay start to a series but I wanted more of Indy’s past to either catch up to him or something…

But I am excited to see how Josh and Conners book goes since Noah and Josh had pretty much an open relationship so it’ll be interesting to see how the four of them figure out the relationships.

[~nikki the recovering book addict · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Hmm... this was different in that the three of them have an unconventional relationship. It wasn’t strictly a threesome. It felt more like 2 + 1 and you’d need to read this book and the next to understand. But I liked that this was out of the norm.

The pacing though was a little slow and then the last few chapters things sort of went by so quickly it kinda left me in the dust for a bit. Also, while I enjoyed the three of them getting to know each other, it also felt a bit like instalove between Indy and Noah.

But! I am intrigued enough to continue to the next book since the author sort of left the story hanging in the air at the end there. Can’t fault an author for having the skills to hook a reader!

[Debra ~~ seriously slacking on her reviews ~~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Coming off the high of binge reading the author's Irresistible Omegas series, this book was a bit uneven for me. I had a tough time really figuring out the dynamics of all the relationships until the last part of the book. Noah and Josh are codependent friends with benefits. Definitely not a healthy relationship as far as the sex and the emotional entanglement (for Josh anyway) goes, but the men are longtime friends and would do anything for each other. When Indy enters their lives things become even more complicated and the story got a bit scattered for me.

There is a lot going on in the background as all of the men have serious issues including PTSD, past sexual abuse, physical abuse and other issues that are only alluded to. There is also the ongoing storyline of Indy hiding from the men that are hunting him down.

The story picked up for me about halfway through and I'm invested enough in the characters to see what happens next. The relationship between the three didn't go as I expected (there is also A LOT of sex in the book and I did skim some of that) and there are storylines that haven't fully played out. There are also some elements that really didn't sit well with me, but I'm hoping that more of it will play out in the next book and that things will be a bit more focused.

[Olivia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh no! I pretty much hated this story and I can't find any saving grace for it. Even a narration was poorly made and annoying for me.
Starting with the poor respect for gender.
MC's are presented as understanding and respectful of Indy presenting as a female, but they are instantly presuming he identifies as male and call him 'he' when they are alone? Why? Do they have a crystal ball or something?
Next we have something that seems to be nice and loving sex scene between established couple, only to find out that the heat was a result of one of them lusting over Indy? Disgusting.
The story progress to unravel that the established couple is not really a couple... but they love each other... and they have sex... and they are jealous... whatever.
Also, I cannot understand how it is that Indy has brown Jiu-Jitsu belt. He basically was a slave since he was 14 and yet he learned Jiu-Jitsu to defend himself. How? When? Who paid for it?
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation has a minimum time requirement for brown belt of 4.5 years. I find it unbelievable that he found the time and money to put into necessary training.
Also, an open non-relationship yet everyone is going without condoms because 'I trust you'... It is a code for 'I'm a moron'?
The cherry on top is obviously the sex that heals all the trauma.
Praise the penis almighty.

[Courtney Bassett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a pleasure to read, though I'll admit that I was thrown for a loop at the beginning, trying to figure out the dynamics between Indy, Noah, and Josh. The focus is on Indy and Noah, but Josh plays a big part in the story, too, and there were definitely clues hinting at a future love interest for him. How that will all play out, I don't know, but can't wait to see.

This is not your conventional menage or triad, but it's also not cheating. I only WISH there was communication in most books like these guys have. They are open, they talk about things, and they build trust and friendship that is beautiful to see. And did I mention that this is SMOKING HOT!?!?! Phew!

[NeRdyWYRM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eww... the cover. It's oddly creepy.

Unfortunate, that. Three stars is my baseline, middle ground starting point. So that's what this gets for now since Kindle makes me rate it. I'll update that later, if necessary, when I've finished teading it. Reviews upcoming for books three and four for sure. I might do the first two (including this one) as well. We'll see.

[AussieMum]

DNF 39%

I love stories about confusing and messed up relationships. Ménage? polyamory? Well that's a bonus. Sign me up. But this...this, I can't.

2 things. OTT acting and Magic Penis Alert!!!

[cass · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf @ 29%. Fuck this transphobic bullshit.

I really thought “huh the trans incompetence really reads like an old school MM romance from 15 years ago, maybe this is an older book” NOPE it’s from the year of our lord 2020. Nora Phoenix has no excuse for this rotten, ignorant transphobia when everything you need to be aware of how to talk about gender is a 10 minute YouTube video away. People really think they can just waltz into queer fiction with no knowledge or understanding of queer people and just write whatever they want. If you’re gonna have your male character disguise himself as a woman, you had better do the most cursory research on how to handle that in a way that isn’t insulting and invalidating to thousands of people.

But no, Nora Phoenix couldn’t be fucking bothered.

Indy “disguises” himself as a woman to hide from someone (some grim dark mobster abusive ex, of course) and is very concerned about everyone else “finding out,” which is understandable to an extent and also something plenty of women worry about. While he is making out with a stranger on the floor of a convenience store during an armed robbery (no, it didn’t make much sense in context either), he feels like he is “discovered” when he starts grinding his erection on the other guy. He’s convinced the other guy “knows” now. “Okay,” I’m thinking, “this could be fine. We haven’t run into too much blatant transphobia, just a lot of assuming that the other characters are transphobic. Which is a fair assumption of a total stranger who you’re sucking face with in upstate NY. I’ll give Nora Phoenix time to convince me that *she* doesn’t believe that dick = man.”

And the suck-face-stranger (MC2) seems to be doing a good job! He consistently “she”’s Indy and calls him “female”. Keep in mind Indy has introduced himself as a woman, has a license with his girl name and an “F” on it… like, he has made it abundantly and unequivocally clear that he’s a woman and no one has any non-transphobic reason to believe that Indy is not a woman at this point.

And then Indy is in the hospital and meets McDreamy (MC3 ofc) and is again very worried about being “found out”. At this point the lack of awareness of how a trans woman might feel in this situation is really starting to bother me. But I had to find out if the other characters were good about Indy’s gender! Like, it could be a fun twist if they truly are like “I mean yeah obviously Indy’s a girl” this whole time and Indy has to like, un-come-out. I assumed through much of the doctor examination scene that our McDreamy was being really careful and conscientious of Indy because he understood the difficult and precarious position of being a trans woman needing emergency medical care.

Welp.

Suck-face and McDreamy take Indy to their home when he’s released from the hospital (cuz that makes any sense) and *immediately* start he/him-ing Indy.

Now I’m fucking pissed. At *NO POINT* has Indy mentioned that actually he’s a dude disguising himself as a woman. All he’s done so far is get an erection, revealed he has a stuffed bra, use his deeper voice, and say “un-ladylike” things like “fuck” *massive eyeroll* .. oh yeah and mentioned enjoying football. NONE OF THESE THINGS MAKE YOU A MAN. Plenty of women get erections. Lots of women have low/deep/resonant voices. Many women have to stuff their bras. I have never met a women who didn’t say “fuck” and they can certainly enjoy football for FUCKS SAKE.
You had BEST NOT bring a random and intensely traumatized woman home from the hospital and immediately start calling her a “guy” and “he”. Wtf???!!!

I gave Ms Phoenix a little more time to make it up to me and prove that she has any trans competence.

It was a waste.

To start, she committed the unfortunately common and no less infuriating transphobic error of equating having a penis with being a man. MC3 mentions that MC2, although soft and feminine looking, had a big gorgeous dingaling that “proved beyond a doubt that he was a man”. FUCK ALL THE WAY OFF now you’ve insulted every trans person on the planet. Having a dick *does not make you a man*. People of many genders have dicks — including lots of women — and plenty of men don’t have dicks.

To make it worse, MC3 also briefly wondered about Indy’s gender. “What the hell was going on in Indy’s life that he felt the need to hide his gender and identity? It could be that he was transgender, gender neutral, or simply enjoyed cross-dressing”…. Um, Indy actually was *quite clear* about his gender this whole time, and as far as you know isn’t hiding *anything*. He has consistently referred to himself as a woman, and showed you his goddamned *license* ffs. There’s no reason to think he’s hiding anything! He’s been very clear to you from the start that he’s a woman!! Also referring to a human as “gender neutral” just feels like the ignorant topping on a this transphobic cake.

I’m out of here. I was hoping for some kind of discussion moment where Indy was like “I know u thought I was a woman but actually I’m in disguise” and everyone is like “oh wow yeah you told us u were a girl so I thought you were a girl” (cuz that’s actually how gender works, people!!!) but honestly I’m only likely to get the worst version of that convo, where they’re like “yeah I felt ur big hard dong and knew immediately that you were pretending to be a girl when really ur a guy.” THINK ABOUT HOW FUCKING BAD THAT SOUNDS, NORA PHOENIX, FOR ONE FUCKING SECOND, BEFORE YOU WRITE A WHOLE BOOK ABOUT IT. What the fuck are ignorant transphobic authors doing writing queer romance?? *looks around at the rampant transphobia in mm romance* sigh. Why do I even bother?

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.5 stars

No Filter is the first book in Nora Phoenix’s No Shame series and directly leads in to the second book, No Limits. It doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, and there is a definite HFN for Indy and Noah. But there is a lot open ended in terms of things with Josh and particularly with regard to the bad guys who are still after Indy. So while there is resolution here for the main couple, this book definitely connects with No Limits, which has already been released.

I found this story overall both interesting and frustrating. As the story opens, I was drawn in as Indy gets caught in the convenience story robbery. Phoenix had my attention right away as I tried to figure out why Indy is disguised as a woman, what is going on with Josh, and what their stories were. Between Josh, Noah, and Indy, there is a lot of backstory and a lot of history they need to work through, and I found myself definitely curious to learn more about what was going on with all of them. The details are revealed throughout the book, and at times I felt like it took a little too long to learn about Indy’s past, but I think Phoenix creates some interesting characters here (FWIW, we don’t learn many details about Josh’s background and I assume they come in the second book where his story is featured).

I also liked that this book has a somewhat different relationship style to most traditional romances in terms of the connection between Josh and Noah, and ultimately among all three men. We learn quickly that while Noah and Josh present outwardly as boyfriends to others, as well as sleep together regularly, they are really best friends with benefits. There is clearly love between them, but it is friendship love rather than romantic. While neither of them seems to have dated others since they moved in together after their military service ended, they do have an open relationship and both men sleep with Indy at various points in the story. So I did appreciate that Phoenix gives us a more nontraditional relationship here and it creates an interesting dynamic among the three men.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not good but I'm still reading it. So I started the series because they make a cameo in one of my favorite Nora Phoenix's books healing hand. I wanted to see what their relationship was all about and everything but y'all, I cannot. This series is basically gay trauma porn and I am a little bit disappointed that this is what Nora Phoenix early books look like. This is rough. Like all of our characters have huge massive trauma that they all deal with by having sex. I wish I was kidding. They legitimately use sex as a pain reliever and I would go back and figure out what percentage of this book is sex, but that sounds exhausting and I'm just going to estimate like 60%, maybe more honestly. It's a lot. Now if that's your thing, awesome.

Have I already read the second book in the series? Yes. Am I going to continue reading the series? Also yes. It's like a train wreck. Like you know that it's absolutely horrible but can't stop watching and you feel a little guilty for it. That's where I'm at right now with these.

[Pickety Psyclon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, this one wasn't for me..
It started really good and promising, but then kind of flatlined. The characters talk a lot. And this doesn't necessarily have to be bad, but in this case it is. They talk so much that the things they say become repetitive, and because they are all like that, it becomes annoying too. In addition to that, the way they talk doesn't feel natural at all. I can't for the life of me imagine real people having conversations like that.
I feel like this book could have been a lot better if most of what they talk about would be in the non-spoken text, as a observation or description instead.
Also, if they don't talk, they have Sex. A lot. Which also doesn't have to be a bad thing, but every single little Sex scene is written down, and like a Porno too. It was just too much, I am surprised I could even finish the book. Sorry, but this was a miss for me..

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hm .... not sure if 3,5 or 4 stars.
Don't get me wrong: I liked the story but it seemed all a bit quick.
I was not sure if that will be a threesome ... which would have fit the story ... or not.
This version is very interesting. Josh's take on the situation was very realistic
I liked Indy and Josh but had some troubles connecting with Noah at the end ...
But I will definitely read the next one

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fantastic beginning to a series. All three of these guys were an f'd up mess. No, really, a big ole giant mess of PTSD, abuse, physical pain and unhealthy dependence. Noah and Josh's relationship was both extremely heartwarming and very unhealthy. They use each other to cope with their issues without trying to actually fix anything. I get why some people wouldn't like the dynamic featured in the book but I understood where everyone was coming from and I really enjoyed it. I can't wait for Josh to find his person so I'll have to read the next one ASAP.

[Love Is All Around · Rating 3 out of 5]

RECENSIONE A CURA DI EVELYNE
Venite a leggerla sul nostro blog!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indy lebt ein Leben in Angst und auf der Flucht. Auf der Flucht vor seinem Ex, dessen mafiöser Organisation und vor den Behörden. Er ist klug genug sich unsichtbar zu machen, seine Identität und auch sein Geschlecht zu verschleiern. Da gerät er in einen Überfall und rettet dabei einem Mann das Leben. Plötzlich nimmt sein eigenes Leben eine unerwartete Wendung und bringt ihn zu Noah und Josh, den er gerettet hat.

Noah und Josh sind seit ihrer Jugend Freunde, waren gemeinsam in der Armee und leben nun zusammen. Der Krieg und das Leben allgemein haben Narben hinterlassen. Während Noah in einem Einsatz ein Bein verloren hat, leidet Josh an einem PTSD. Sie sind eine Einheit, Freunde und inzwischen auch Freunde mit besonderen Vorzügen. Dabei ist nur Josh tatsächlich schwul und Noah sieht sich eher als schwul für Josh. Doch diese Sichtweise wird in Frage gestellt, als er Indy begegnet.

Noah wirkt im ersten Moment, trotz der körperlichen Behinderung, als stark und mitten im Leben stehend. Nicht scheint ihn zu erschüttern. Doch die Sorge um Josh treibt ihn um, seine eigene Gesundheit leidet und eigentlich macht er einen Job, der nicht wirklich seine Wahl war. Zudem hat ein Problem mit seinem Temperament und oft gerät sein Ärger außer Kontrolle.

hingegen hat Traumatisches durchgemacht und ist nicht fähig einem Job nachzugehen. Tatsächlich geht er auch kaum aus dem Haus und ist zufrieden für Noah den Hausmann zu geben. Und er schafft es Noah bei seinem Schmerzattacken zu helfen. Als nun jedoch Indy in ihr Leben tritt, ändert sich die Dynamik zwischen den zwei Männern. Allerdings ist Indy kein Störfaktor, sondern schafft es die Spannungen zwischen Josh und Noah auszugleichen.

Es ist keine Menage-Geschichte im herkömmlichen Sinn. Man muss sich auf viel Sex einstellen, doch da ist Nora Phoenix wirklich sehr kreativ. Es gibt natürlich auch noch eine Geschichte hinter dem vielen Sex und auch sehr ernste, aber auch kritische Momente. Josh, Noah und Indy sind alle irgendwie beschädigt und hadern mit unterschiedlichen Problemen. Sie gehen sehr unterschiedlich mit diesen Schwierigkeiten um. Und sie nähern sich auch sehr unterschiedlich an die Probleme der anderen Männer an.

Das macht diese Geschichte sehr interessant, aber auch intensiv und oft auch bedrückend. Vor allem Josh und Indy haben in der Vergangenheit sehr viel mitgemacht und die Erinnerung quält sie immer noch. Diese Bücher kann man nicht als Stand Alone lesen und die Einhaltung der Reihenfolge ist unbedingt nötig. Sonst geht einfach zu viel verloren und die Folgegeschichten bauen immer auf den vorhergehenden Teilen auf.

Mir gefiel die Dynamik der Beziehungen sehr gut. Die Helden sind keine Helden und sehr menschlich. Auch das hat sie mir nahe gebracht. Etwas weniger Sex wäre besser gewesen, auch wenn er gut und prickelnd geschrieben wurde. Insgesamt jedoch konnte mit die Geschichte mitnehmen und auch fesseln - auch wenn ich kein Fan von diesen fortlaufenden Geschichten bin.

[Sandi ♥'s way too many M/M books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, I love broken men. Yea I'm crazy. And these men are all broken. And it was so nice to see them work through things together. It was a crazy ride. It's a menage.. but not, if you have a problem with multi partners this might not be for you. There are more books to come, so little cliffy too . The only thing that kinda made me crazy was the overuse of the word wicked. Sorry just one of those things that stuck out. I can't wait for the next one.

[Kim Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read and enjoyed this author’s work before. This is a mm contemporary story. First book is the series. All damaged characters in a triangle but no cheating. I loved the way this author created the story with three main characters.