Menage Monday -- Bonds of Desire by Lynda Aicher

Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: Contemporary, BDSM

Series: Wicked Play #3
Published: 7/15/13
Reviewed by Kate

229 pages 

I have been reading menage and BDSM for a while now. When I run across a book that incorporates both I get a little excited. When I run across one that puts both the BDSM and the menage together like this one does, I walk around with a smile on my face for a week afterwards. Let's see, what can I tell you about this book without sounding too gushy?

First off, the initial chapter is dark and tense and will suck you in and not let you go (it's why I gave this book a high kink level). Tyler, a male escort, has been brought to the Den by a sadistic Dom. And when the scene goes wrong, Seth is the first one to rush to his side. Seth, a co-owner of the Den, has seen Tyler at the Den a few times before and always felt drawn to him. The Den calls Allie, a lawyer, in to council Tyler. Allie feels an immediate pull toward both Tyler and Seth. Allie and Seth take Tyler to the hospital and convince him to recover at Seth's place. Tyler agrees, but he'll only stay if Allie stays as well.

And so we have a set up that places Seth, Allie, and Tyler together in Seth's place. And then the story gets really good. Each of the trio is drawn to the other two. Seth is a Dom, through and through and has never entertained the thought of having 2 subs, until now. Tyler couldn't imagine wanting to be under another Dom after everything he's been through, but there's something so settling about being around Seth and Allie. Allie has been raised to think that anything outside of a vanilla mindset is wrong. So how can she be attracted to not only 2 men, but 2 men who are attracted to each other as well?

I have to say, Allie is the best heroine that I've run across in a long time. The inner turmoil she goes through is soooo realistic. Most of my notes were about agreeing with the feelings she was having. I could completely understand the doubts she had and I appreciated a heroine who was a bit reluctant without being tiresome, or annoying, or whiny.

I also love the relationship that develops during the course of the story. Despite being a co-owner of a BDSM club, Seth is not into pain at all. He doesn't even go for the titles of Master or Sir. Allie is definitely a sub. Tyler falls somewhere in the middle. He's a sub with Seth, but takes on more of a Dom role with Allie.

Perhaps I have been reading too much of the hardcore BDSM books out there right now. But I really enjoyed this more gentle look at a relationship that became more about the connections than the pain. The first two books in this series are more hardcore than this one. But this one could be read completely on it's own with no issues.

I've added an auto-read author to my relatively short list. Lynda Aicher continues to impress me with her characters and storytelling. I'm looking forward to catching up on her backlist and anxiously awaiting book 4 in this series.  I think it's become obvious that I enjoy both ménage and BDSM books.  And when they can be combined?  I'm in heaven  How about you?  Are there any sub-genres that you love to see together?  Cowboy sci-fi?  M/M historical?