Emma Holly has a way of writing characters that seem so real, it's hard not to believe they're not people she's known. Each individual was unique and all too human. I love that about her writing, how she can make an erotica in something character-driven rather than sex-driven. Which brings me to...the sex scenes! This is primarily an erotica, but with satisfying romance thrown in. And as an erotica, I wouldn't suggest reading it in public. I blushed, but more importantly, I just wished, multiple times, that I had someone nearby to pounce on!

When I first read the sypnosis to Ménage more than a year ago, it sounded like something I could only read for the sex. Kate sounded like an older woman getting involved in a remote sexual relationship, but that's not how it was at all. She, Joe, and Sean were all genuinely emotionally involved with each other, as friends and lovers. Neither was Joe a small, shy young man that I first thought. While I expected Sean to steal the show, being the bad boy, he didn't. Joe was utterly captivating, and the book had a realistic, and amusing, HEA. Nothing was what I expected it to be. Ménage surprised me at every turn, and I'd suggest it for anyone really wanting an extraordinary erotica that isn't just about hot sex.

Reviewer's Note: Ménage, beside the average adventures expected of a threesome, also had some mild BDSM, very slight f/f petting, voyeurism, and exhibitionism (all in one scene), and role-playing here and there throughout the book.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Explicit

Reviewer: Tara Black
September 24, 2004