Loving You Easy by Roni Loren
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
As far as ménage romances in the Loving on the Edge series, I think Roni Loren has written better stories with more substance and higher quality erotic couplings. This is like a soft core spinoff of Loving on the Edge. There are for instance no scenes at the BDSM ranch. The male characters’ back stories are all told in dialogue, which makes it feel more like exposition and less emotional.
The narrative also glosses over the cyber sex and tones it down, it is not really sexually explicit and the scenes (DS) aren’t fully explored or shown. This is more about a woman who isn’t very aware of her sexual agency and who is sexually awakened and liberated in a polyamorous relationship with two bisexual men, who are far better lovers than her previous hookup/boyfriend. Her geekiness is sexy however, and is the best thing I like about her. Unfortunately that I can’t remember her name is not a good indicator of the quality of this book.
I also didn’t like that Ren’s Japanese heritage was merely indicated by the fact that his aunt owned a Japanese restaurant and his looks. And I have no idea how a person can tell right off the bat what ethic Asian group he comes from. It irks me when POC in commercial fiction seem to have no ties to their communities and the characters themselves have nothing else to tell the reader about their cultural heritage except for the food he eats. To be sure, not all POC will have strong ties with their communities and some may only have white friends. Ren however was my favorite character in this short, dissatisfying novel.
As far as the other male in this ménage (I can’t remember his name either), I couldn’t stand his back story. He spent a few years in jail because he was accused of aggravated sexual assault though he was innocent. I didn’t like this narrative because it is so hard for rape victims to be believed in the first place, which discourages rape victims from coming forward. There is such a stigma about it that women are often scared to go to the police and afraid that they will be shamed. I wish that he had been accused of a different crime instead.
The side plot wasn’t very complicated or surprising. I skimmed a lot of this book just to know what was going to happen next. I didn’t get all the feels I want in a romance novel. I didn’t find this novel to be very original or exciting, and most definitely not as hot as the Loving on the Edge trio Evan, Jace, and Andre, which is my favorite relationship in the series. Jace and Andre have some of the hottest M/M scenes in the series.
*ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
