Review: Love's Strategy by Samantha Kane

Love's Strategy
Samantha Kane
Series: Brothers in Arms #3
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Publish Date: May 2007
Kindle {p.56}
Source: Personal Library
Genre: Historical, Menage
Leah Marleston, Valentine Westridge, Kurt Shillig
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

Valentine Westridge and Kurt Schillig are lovers, and have been since the Peninsular War when lonely young officer Valentine let himself be seduced by the equally lonely Kurt. Now they're back from the war and intent on beginning the future they dreamed of together, one that includes a quiet country estate, horses, dogs, children, and each other. Their plan, however, also requires a wife. At the suggestion of a mutual friend, Valentine and Kurt believe the financial security they can offer to impoverished widow Leah Marleston will help her accept the unusual sexual relationship they are suggesting.

Leah is at her wit's end, creditors having taken everything she owns to pay off her late husband's gambling debts. She must find a way to support herself and her two children, or be forced to marry her abusive and obsessive brother-in-law. In Valentine's and Kurt's arms, Leah discovers a passion she never knew existed. Brought together by necessity, bonded by desire, these three lonely people find themselves fighting against all odds for a love that was never part of their plans.

The instant attraction among these three I believed, but the instant love, not so much. Kirk and Valentine have been in love for some time, so the thought that the minute they laid eyes on Leah they fell in love cheapened the love between Valentine and Kirk to me.

I am glad however that both Valentine and Kirk took an instant liking to Leah's children. That won them over with me. I would have liked to see the relationship between this trio grow, but with it being a very short read, that didn't happen.

Review: Love Under Siege by Samantha Kane

Title: Love Under Siege
Author: Samantha Kane
Series: Brothers in Arms, #2
Published: November 8, 2006
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Source: Personal Library
Format: Kindle
Genre: Erotica, Historical, LGBT
Characters: Maggie Trueheart, Phillip Neville, Jonathan Overton
My Rating:

Heat Level: 5/5
Synopsis:

Phillip Neville and Jonathan Overton have been best friends since childhood. When they return to England as veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, they enter the marriage market. It doesn't take long for them both to fall deeply in love with shy, awkward, beautiful Maggie Trueheart. Phillip and Maggie marry, but Phillip and Jonathan do not tell her about the menage a trois marriage the two men hope to have. When Maggie finds out, it takes the persuasive power of both men to convince her that this threesome was meant to be.

In the process of helping Maggie discover the sexually aggressive woman inside herself, Phillip and Jonathan realize their love for one another is more than friendship. Before the two men can consummate their relationship, however, a brutal attack on Maggie and Jonathan's self-recriminations drive the lovers apart. It will take all the love and determination the three possess to achieve their happily ever after.

"I've gone about it all wrong," Phillip Neville said in frustration as he ran his hand roughly through his burnished blond hair.

Phillip and Maggie have been living as husband and wife for a few short months before Jonathan arrives to live with them. Before Maggie and Phillip wed, she was unsure of which of the two men were courting her. Unbeknownst to Maggie, they both were.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that Maggie was hesitant to become involved in a menage relationship. She needs time to really think about it and the repercussions that the relationship could cause. In other menage stories, you don't tend to find that. Everyone involved tends to fall into a menage relationship as if it's a normal everyday occurrence.

The sex between these three was extremely hot. Although Phillip and Jonathan did not start out being intimate with each other, you could tell that they wanted to be. The author did a really great job expressing their sexual tension. The flow of the story was good, but it just didn't seem to hold my focus.

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