This is the 4th book in the Bluewater Bay series.  This book can be read as a standalone novel.  For reader understanding, and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this series in order.

Anthony is close to losing it over writing the next book in the series he has sold so well.  It's fame is up there with some of the biggest names, and has everyone nipping at his heels for the next installment.  Then someone unexpected saved the day....

Samir is already half in love with the incredible author of the series.  Then he meets him for real and he loves his fan work.  Can he be the missing piece for this incredible authors' puzzle?

This story was a definite slow sizzle.  What I loved the most was the real feelings and very much life like turns of events.  These characters know what they want and go after it.  I truly enjoyed every page.  I give this book  4/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

***This early work was given in exchange for an honest review only.

Buck Ellis’s future seems pretty damn bright. With a full college scholarship in hand, he’s going to ditch Bluewater Bay and pave the way for his kid brother Charlie to do the same. The only fly in Buck’s ointment is his ten-year addiction to his best friend since second grade, his true love, and his Achilles heel: Ari Valentine, Mr. Least Likely to Succeed.

But then Buck’s mother dies, changing everything, and five years later, his future is still on hold. It’s a struggle to keep food on the table, a roof over their heads, and Charlie on the straight and narrow. Buck can’t afford any temptation, especially in the form of the newly returned, super hot, super confident, super successful television star Ari Valentine.

ADHD poster-child Ari Valentine left for Hollywood and lost everything, including his bad reputation. Then the breakthrough role of his skyrocketing career lands him back in Bluewater Bay, to the stunned disbelief of, well, everyone. But there’s only one person Ari longs to impress — the only person who ever really mattered to him, the person he left behind: Buck Ellis.

Review

I was really enjoying this book and then when the best part was coming when they were really really going to talk and be together, it ended. Bah. I hate that.

Buck is gruff, socially awkward, uncommunicative. LOL and yet protective and lovable

Ari left him at the worst possible moment because of his own crap. They were young and a mess and this all makes sense.

Now, Ari is back. He want Buck. Buck is being difficult.

The best scenes for me are the ones from their childhood friendship. I want this closeness after they get together for real and well more hot sexy times.

Gregg can really write but I want fully finished stories.

Lucas Wilder’s best friend is a traitor. First, Audrey moved back to their hick-infested hometown, Bluewater Bay, and now she’s marrying a local. His own brother, in fact. And as her man of honor, Lucas gets coerced into returning for an extended stay. Although, between his unfaithful ex-boyfriend and his artist’s block, going home isn’t the worst thing that could happen. Even if the best man is Gabriel Savage, Lucas’s first crush, first hookup, and first heartbreak.

The only reason Gabe hasn’t been waiting for Lucas to return to Bluewater Bay is because he never thought it’d happen. Not that it matters now that Lucas is back—Gabe’s still a logger who’s never been anywhere (Canada doesn’t count), and Lucas is now a famous sculptor who’s been everywhere twice. Plus, there’s that shared past.

When Audrey asks Lucas to make her wedding favors, the only place to set up a kiln is at Gabe’s tree farm. Soon, they pick up where they left off twelve years before, then blow past it, discovering why neither of them forgot the other. Now they have to choose how much of their history they’ll repeat, and what future they’ll make together.

Review

I wanted to read about Gabe and Lucas because of reading Seth's romance in a later book in the series. 

Seth is Gabe's hook up here. Gabe treats him pretty badly in this book. 

While the sex scene are hot here and I like the professions of the two heros as well as the settings and side characters, I never really like them. 

They didn't communicate well with each other or themselves in the past and they don't know.

It is irrupting. LOL. And they are still fairly not great with other people. Lucas is a bit socially awkward and internal but Ternino doesn't quite pull off these character traits for me to make up for when he is a jerk and Gabe is callous about everyone but Lucas and then thinks he knows what is best for everyone. Not attractive. 

The parts of the book where Gabe and Lucas are attuned (in bed mostly) are great but the rest is neh to grrrr,

'Three Player Game' is a menage story that starts with an established couple who have always wanted a third person in their relationship and they've also known for a while who they wanted that third person to be...the problem here is that maybe he doesn't want to be that person or maybe he's just afraid to allow himself to be 'that person'.

Vince and Pete have been a couple for a while now and having a third person in their relationship has pretty much always been a part of their plan. Vince wants that third person to be Lee, a man he has a work history with and while Pete's not as sure as Vince initially that he wants it to be Lee, he's leaning towards 'yes' on the issue and definitely willing to give the man strong consideration.  Lee's the holdout. He's given his trust before it left him hurt both physically and emotionally to the point where he's spent the ensuing years closing himself off from the world believing that he'll only be safe if he's on his own. Vince and Lee have some walls to break down if they plan on making their duo a trio permanently.

There's definitely some history here both between Vince and Pete as I said they come into the story as an established couple and between Vince and Lee on a working level only. As well both Vince and Lee have a connection to their boss, Blair Carruthers, whose story is told in Bluewater Bay #12 How the Cookie Crumbles. Which I admit I haven't read yet, however, I didn't have a problem parsing out the connections pre-Bluewater Bay as the author provides the background as the story goes along.

I didn't even really have a problem with the fact that this story has a menage grouping...my concern was with the fact that it was an established couple adding to their dynamic. This is probably one of my least favorite scenarios. So I have to admit I waffled on this one for a long time before I finally decided I was going to bite the bullet and read the book. Initially I was a little hesitant but things ultimately clicked into place for me and I ended up really enjoying this one.

There were a number of factors that helped to make it work...the first one being the author, I really like Jaime Samms. She's the author of one of my favorite menage books 'The Foster Family' and it's based on the same premise of an established couple adding a third to their relationship. So having already experienced this dynamic with her, I had faith. The fact that in general I've really enjoyed the Bluewater Bay books that I've read so far also added to my faith that this would work. Ultimately though it came down to the story and luckily for me there were a lot of little things that I liked about this one.

I was good with the fact that the story started with Vince and Pete already established as a couple since it would have probably made for an overly long story that would have lost my interest if it had gotten bogged down with their beginnings as well

For Vince and Pete adding Lee to the dynamics wasn't an easy feat to say the least. Lee was more than a little resistant and there were times that Vince and Pete had their reservations as well, which made sense...since the consequences of adding another person to your relationship is far more life altering than buying a new set of dishes especially when that person 'seems' to be resistant to the idea.  I'd be doing a lot more soul searching and second guessing myself than they did if it was me...just sayin'. 

I really liked all three of these men...Vince, whose work and home personas were essentially polar opposites. At work he was the gopher, that Lee bossed around,  he was calm, efficient, organized and incredibly observant, taking orders without hesitation but at home he was the one giving the orders and while he was still all those other things they were expressed differently and utilized to provide the care that his partners needed.

Pete like Vince had polar opposite work and home personas only at work he was the one organizing and ordering people around, making sure things got done how and when they needed to be. But at home he was the one who wanted to give up control to let someone else be in charge and care for him but Pete was also a nurturer and caregiver. Pete was also high maintenance and while Vince loved him tremendously taking care of Pete's needs also drained him. A reality that was apparent to both Vince and Pete and one of the contributing factors to their desire to add a third person to the relationship.

While Lee was prickly and obstinate hiding his gentler more caring side and his need to give up control and trust someone else to provide him with what he needed and wanted. For Vince meeting Pete's needs was like dealing with a force of nature, Lee's needs meshed more with Vince's and allowed him to restore some of his own balance at the same time.

Sexually the dynamics were different between each of these men as a pair and somehow things came together to fill the missing spaces in Pete and Vince's relationship creating a place for each of them that was unique. 

Making their relationship work turned out to be a learning experience for all three of these men.  Vince had to learn to trust in himself when it came to Lee. That he would be able to make things work without Pete as their buffer. Pete had to learn to step back and allow Vince and Lee find their own way to each other and Lee...well, Lee had the most to learn. He had to learn to trust not just Vince and Pete but himself...that he could make choices that weren't always going to get him hurt and to trust that he was not only worth being loved and cared for but he deserved it.

There was a bit of a BDSM flavor to this one and I am admittedly not an expert on this lifestyle by any means based on other stories that I've read I'd say it was more like an appetizer than the entree which I have to admit works just fine for me.  

This one worked for me and while I can't define one major reason. I would have to say that it was more a case of a bunch of little things coming together to take me back to Bluewater Bay for yet another enjoyable reading experience.

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A copy of 'Three Player Game' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When you take a chance on a new-to-me author and it pays off; isn't that one of the most satisfying feelings ever?

I have never read any of G.B. Gordon's books before. I honestly didn't know what make me pick up this book in the first place. Most probably it was the blurb, which I kept seeing when I followed the blog tour. It mentions an autistic character, and that just intrigued me.

I loved the three characters... The adorable bumbling Jack Daley, his sister's keeper, who protects their secret of the past that drive them through Bluewater Bay in the first place. Mark Keao, the costume designer with autism who captures Jack's eyes. As well as Margaret, Jack's autistic younger sister, who doesn't really function as better as Mark, but still has a significant role of pushing Jack and Mark together. I thought they all shone with their own characteristics, complimented one another and made up for a very compelling story.

I loved Gordon's exploration towards Mark's and Margaret's autism ... though Mark has more spotlight than Margaret. It is understandable since he's Jack love interest and has his own chapters, while I only knew of Margaret from Jack and Mark's perspective. I thought Jack and Margaret's past were a bit dramatic but not truly over-the-top. It could happen; what with so many [disgusting people out there, trying to take advantage of a disabled person (hide spoiler)].

Jack and Mark's romance also developed well ... I liked the fact that Mark's autism brought something to the table and added a flavor to the relationship. I mean, Mark didn't like being touched, but both men found a way to work around it. Which shows that people who truly love each other can work together albeit their differences.

And last ... I LOVED Gordon's writing. There's a lyrical quality to it that just clicked with me right from the very first chapter. Gordon writes this book using two different point of views. Jack's chapters all using third person narrative. While Mark's is in first person narrative.

I admit that sometimes, I had trouble switching from Mark's chapters to Jack's. Probably because Mark's first person narrative made me feel like I was deeply rooted in his thoughts, so I felt being yanked out suddenly when the chapter switched to Jack's third person. Like there was a sudden distance between myself and the story. However, it didn't annoy me too much to reduce the solid 4-stars I am giving this story.

Now I really want to read Gordon's previous novel in this Bluewater Bay universe *sigh*.