I Never

Naughty Games #2

by Lena Matthews

Naughty Games, Book Two.

Thanks to his friend's thirtieth birthday, Tripp Kowlaski is forced to face the two people he's been avoiding for the last year — Skylar Daveigh and Gideon Foley. At one time the three of them had been part of a close-knit group of friends, but that all changed thanks to one game of I Never.

Some things can't be forgiven or forgotten. Unfortunately for Tripp, Gideon isn't in the mood to do either. He and Skylar are happy now together. The last thing either of them needs is to be reminded of what they can't have.

Skylar is conflicted. She's in love with two men who can't move past their anger or fear to admit their love for one another. All she wants is the three of them to be happy, together, but some wishes aren't meant to come true. The birthday surprise is on them though, because they're receiving a gift none of them will ever forget. The only question is, will they make the same mistake the second time around?

Genre : Menage a trois or More / Gay / Contemporary

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

Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2008

About the author

Lena Matthews spends her days dreaming about handsome heroes and her nights with her own personal hero. Married to her college sweetheart, she is the proud mother of two children, three evil dogs, and a mess of ants that she can't seem to get rid of.

When not writing she can be found reading, watching movies, lifting up the cushions on the couch to look for batteries for the remote control and plotting different ways to bring Buffy back on the air.

Reviews

[Heather in FL · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second in the series. We start off the story with the same scenario as the first book -- the group of friends from college getting together to celebrate one of the boys' birthdays. There are three relationships within the group, but they're all broken. The birthday boy has taken it upon himself to sort of prod everyone into fixing what's wrong. This story focuses on Skylar, Tripp, and Gideon. Tripp is a professional hockey player. Gideon is a poet as well as running his father's construction company. Skylar... I can't remember what she does, lol. She's sort of the Barbie doll with the huge heart, though I'm sure she had an actual job.

Throughout college, they all dated lots of other people, but Skylar always flirted with both Tripp and Gideon. A year ago, she finally made the decision to go for what she wanted -- both Tripp and Gideon in her bed. Upon finding Skylar had dumped her boyfriend, Tripp and Gideon argued over who would go after her and who would step aside, but neither wanted to yield. The three of them play a game of I Never. Skylar thinks she needs some liquid courage to tell them what she wants. Near the end of the game, it's discovered that Gideon has had fantasies about both Tripp and Skylar, which Tripp sort of wants nothing to do with. He's a professional hockey player, after all. It wouldn't be good for his image.

In going to make up a guest room for Skylar, Tripp passes out in his bed. When Skylar and Gideon find him, they just lay down with him. Or pass out, really. And in the middle of the night, they all get busy. All of them. Including a super hot scene with Tripp and Gideon. And then the boom lowers in the morning and Tripp says something he can't take back and Gideon can't forgive him for.

So now, at the party, Tripp has been miserable for the past year. Gideon and Skylar have been a couple. Tripp wants another chance, and this is his one and only opportunity.

I could totally understand why Gideon felt the way he did. My heart broke for Gideon especially in that "morning after" argument. I think Skylar was a little quick to let Tripp back in, though I don't think she did it with her full trust. And I liked how Tripp didn't really go full-force aggressive to get what he wanted. He knew he needed to play it cool but without just rolling over and accepting Gideon's resistance.

I was happy to see this end in an HEA, though I suppose I shouldn't have worried, lol. It's always HOW it will be an HEA as opposed to WHETHER. I do have to say that the sex after they got back together wasn't nearly as hot as that one scene with Tripp and Gideon. But it was still enjoyable.

[Camy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's repetition and horrible head-hopping but that first scene really did it for me :-D

[Miss D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. A well-written menage story with engaging characters and genuine emotional conflict, though I thought the main love story in the book was between Tripp and Gideon. While Sklyar is a major factor in the love story, I felt the focus was actually on the two men's feelings and acceptance of each other.

This novel is mostly Tripp's journey and I enjoyed watching him deal with his sexuality as well as his love for Gideon. I'm glad that Lena Matthews chose again to include a sex scene between the men (somewhat similar to "Georgia Peach") as I feel that adds more to the story to have all 3 emotionally and sexually engaged with each other.

I hope to see another story similar to this from her. So far she's the only romance author I've come across who has the men interact sexually with one another and I find I like to sometimes read a menage book that isn't solely about how several men feel about one woman but also has that bond between the men.

Totally recommend this book.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking through the blurbs of the other books of the series, and I remember thinking "why does everything have almost exactly the same plot, the only difference being the game they played?" Then after really thinking about it, I realized that they all came from the same circle of friends and Shane was the one who shoved them into doing the do-over...I'm slow, I know. *laughs*

I guess I enjoyed reading the books well enough. There were some errors on the technical aspect that couldn't go overlooked by me, but I did my best to do so because I liked the plot.

To be quite honest, I'm not one for the guy on guy thing, but for books similar to this, I'll make an exception. *wink wink*

[Llwells · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great story brought down a star by three typo/editing issues and an abrupt ending. I loved the conflicts brought up in the characters story, they seemed real life, and this is what I look for in a CONTEMPORARY romance be it erotic or not. I just felt that when the end came, it came, and it was kinda like hitting a wall while driving along at a nice steady pace.

Also a bit too much repeated from the first book, for the price of the ebook, with this story being much shorter than I expected for a novel.

[Jackie (Literary Escapism)]

The Naughty Games series by Lena Matthews was definitely what my erotica romance mood needed. Not only did I get some great characters, but their stories were really engrossing despite having a very obvious plot. Once I started both Seven Minutes in Heaven and I Never, I couldn't put them down.

To read my full review, click here.

[Sasha Devlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My fave of these. The angst was well balanced w/ all the sexiness

[Gale · Rating 3 out of 5]

MxM, Read in 2011

[Marianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too short for the price...too much recycled from the first book

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole series were a nice read

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Mimi Lovingbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

well done menage.