I suppose I could wax poetically about the characters and the plot but mostly I wanted to say this book was excellent spank bank material.

My favorite and first book to read in true erotica genre was Menage by Emma Holly. I owe her so much! ;)

This story was a very emotional and sex driven ride. There was never really a dull moment. Every reaction and feeling was so real. Imagine this situation in your life, and then tell me that this is not the way it your dreams would play it. This is pure fantasy, your wildest dreams come true. There was really no bumps in the road, except for the minor one in the end. Sometimes it just seemed to good to be true.

It was hot. I liked the older woman, younger men. The thing I disliked the most was getting hung up on what's considered normal and traditional, feeling like that has to win out on some level. If it hadn't been for the ending, with the promise of more, I would have been ticked off.

This book is so hot I can't even read the title without blushing.

To read this review and others like it check out my site at www.homelovebooks.com

I was looking for a whole threesome relationship book, up until this point I think I had only heard of a couple of them and people seem to have very polarizing opinions of this theme. So of course, me being me, I had to check out a couple of books with this theme so I could have an opinion on it. This book kept coming up a lot in the forums and on social media for this theme, so I figured it was a good place to start.

I'm not sure if my expectations were too high, or what, but this book did not work for me, like on any level. I actually had no problem with the whole one woman being romantically involved with two men, who were also romantically involved together. Absolutely no problem. It was just the story of the whole thing that did not work for me in any way.

The beginning was okay, I liked how Kate finds Joe and Sean, and how their first intimate encounter as a threesome played out. I even liked some of one on one time that Kate spends with Sean and Joe. They really had a great kind of dynamic in the beginning of the book, and there was a little bit of conflict/things for them to figure out, and that was okay.

And then things kind of went off the rails for me. One of the males in the relationship is, well, kind of immature, and this becomes a big problem. He has this whole kind of mentality that he gets what he wants or he like boycotts everything, it was very two year old tantrum kind of thing. And then when everything comes to a head, he of course gets his way, in a way that almost feels like guilt and not love. I did not buy their love story in any way shape or form. I thought the back half of the book just did not read authentic and made me mad and annoyed. The characters that I liked in the beginning became something I couldn't even enjoy anymore. I also thought the erotic scenes started to get repetitive and didn't really add anything.

I know a lot of people love this book, but for me it just did not work. I could see where it would have its audience, but sadly it just wasn't for me.

It was pretty good. Very erotic. A lot of rear-door sexual activity.

Kate is a divorced landlady. Sean and Joe rent rooms from her. She walks in on them having sex and is invited to join them.

Sexual content: erotic. Setting: current day Philadelphia. Copyright: 1998. Genre: erotic contemporary romance.

For a listing of my reviews of other Emma Holly books, see my 2 star review of "Prince of Ice: A Tale of the Demon World" posted on 6/23/08.

Well, this certainly lives up to the "Black Lace" standard. PHEW! Sexy and hot!

The first chapters starts off with a threesome between and "older" woman (I think she is 33) and two younger gay men (23year olds I believe). I'm sure the rest of the book would have been just a sexy hot but I'm not in the mood at the moment. So I am leaving it at the sample. But if you are looking for a spicy read this one might just tick the boxes.

Maybe, I'll try it again later??

n  My body responded to the flying dildo with a rash-like prickle of heat.n



Menage is entertaining, while not the best erotica out there. The characters have personalities and get some development. However, the plot alternates between forgetting about characters entirely and trying too hard to wrap things up cutely. Surprise happy ending wedding anyone? It also has the honor of having some of the weirdest descriptions and imagery that I've encountered. I mean, I didn't know whether to laugh hysterically because it was just so fucking weird, or to congratulate author Emma Holly cause it sure kept me reading.

It would be criminal of me not to share these. Now presenting:

A Selection of Passages from Menage that made me Giggle, Cringe, and/or Shake my Head.

My sex melted like butter at the thought.

I fingered the sweat-dampened cotton. The mouth of my sex gave a little gasp and a trickle of warmth ran out.

Awash in cream, my clit beat a frantic tattoo against the seam of my jeans.

His cock jerked an instant before Sean moaned like a foghorn...

Inside, my body twitched and flamed. I thought my bottom had grown a second heart, the pounding there was so intense.

...made my hot little snatch quiver like a rabbit.

Their cocks stood like crimson lances poised for battle.

He ran his fingers over Sean's thick, ruby crested erection like a man reading braille.

And finally:

I wanted his tender, forceful presence in my bowels.


So, I have no idea if Menage was truly good, but it was weird and entertaining as fuck. For all its detriments, it gets points from me just for making me laugh like a loon.

n  This review contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!!!n
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The Plot

God, the plot really went somewhere stupid. The sub turns dom, the sweet man turns into an arrogant big shot actor, the m/m relationship ends up a m/f relationship.

Ménage started of as a book that felt no need to portray the 'typical' relationship. It was all about raw sexuality; about giving in to desire without feeling the need to define or limit oneself. And then, the plot (what little there was of it anyway) was twisted just enough to make sure the story ended as straight as possible with a marriage between a man and woman. It felt kind of like... straightwashing. I can't commit to that statement fully because there was a possibility of the other man joining them, but it still felt problematic to me.

The start was very erotic but I completely lost interest at 65%. It took several tries to finish the book, and now that I have, I realize the difficulty was largely because the last 35% or so was like a rush job to make sure Joe and Kate ended up together. It doesn't help that it generally read like a bad Wattpad fan fiction, especially near the end (no insult intended to Wattpad, it's just not what I expected here). And why wouldn't the author make quiet Joe super famous at the end? Oh yeah, because it was stupid.

The Characrers

Kate - Loves to talk about how fit she is. Her traits are being super sexy, horny, and having trust issues due to a cheating ex-husband.

Joe - Is described as a "lovesick puppy" at the start of the book. He's portrayed as an affectionate, submissive type for the majority of the book but somehow ends up being arrogant as f***. His character development makes absolutely zero sense and he is, of course, also super sexy.

Sean - Deserves better. He's dominant in every way except emotionally. Turns out he's also very smart. And guess what? He's super sexy.

Marian - Just a bitchy character used as a plot device. She basically is the plot, and she's only in a few chapters so that says a lot.

I don't remember any other characters.

Other than that, I don't have anything to say. There isn't even enough substance to comment on.

well written and even somewhat believable plot wise. these characters didn't get together i the middle of saving the world, r running for their lives. they were friends and room mates for awhile. things had a more natural progression to them than most menage books. the sex scenes were pretty amazing. ok pretty amazing is an understatement. they were down right delicious.

the story kind of irked me in spots. the games sean played seemed just out and out mean at times. yes, yes, that is part of his tortured appeal but they were just a little too hurtful. watching joe follow suit was pretty heartbreaking as well. i get the point of it, i just don't like how it came about.

this was also one of those times where at the end of the book i was looking for more. the ending did not make me a happy kitty. i needed a little bit more follow up. i was dying to know how it all ends up. no such luck. it was well implied, but still.

Menage is a story about three flat mates-Kate, Joe, and Sean. When Kate catches the two men in bed together, she can't suppress the flare of desire that the vision evokes. When the three embark on a whirlwind adventure, Kate fights to protect the boys from getting hurt and also her heart. Can she learn to open her damaged heart to one or both of the boys? Will one or both of them return her feelings?

This was the first book I read by Emma Holly. I was very excited to read this one; The summary of the story sounded very intriguing and different. Unfortunately, after actually reading it, I wasn't very impressed with the story. Towards the end of the book, I was just waiting for the story to be over. Some of the language used seemed off, and the story seemed jumbled in spots. On the other hand, if you are looking for a book full of hot sex, and threesomes, this book is full of that-the story on the other hand, I felt was slightly lacking.