Reviewed by Donna

TITLE: The Foster Family

AUTHOR: Jaime Samms

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 330 Pages

BLURB: Growing up in foster care has left Kerry Grey with little self-esteem or hope for his future. A college dropout, Kerry scrapes by on a part-time job at a garden nursery. His friendship with his boss and working with the plants are the only high points in Kerry’s life. He’s been dating the man who bullied him at school, but when his boyfriend abandons him at a party, Kerry wanders down the beach to drown his sorrows in a bottle of scotch.

Malcolm Holmes and Charlie Stone have been together for fifteen years. Despite Charlie’s willingness to accept Malcolm’s unspoken domination in bed,something is missing from their relationship. Early one morning, they rescue a passed out Kerry from being washed away by the tide and Charlie immediately senses a kindred spirit in the lost younger man. When Kerry’s roommate kicks him out, Malcolm and Charlie invite him into their home. As Charlie and Kerry bond over Charlie’s garden, Malcolm sees Kerry may be just who they have been looking for to complete their lives. All they have to do is show Kerry, and each other, that Kerry’s submissive tendencies will fit their dynamic.

But someone is sabotaging Kerry at every turn. As he struggles to discover the culprit, he fears for the safety of his new friends. If Malcolm and Charlie cannot help, their lifelong search for their perfect third may not end with the happily ever after they imagined.

REVIEW: Whatever you’re expecting to read when you start this book is not what you’re going to get. I should probably start out by saying that I really enjoyed reading this because I have a feeling this review is going to head in a negative sounding direction. That’s not because I didn’t like it but lately I’ve been burying myself in sweet, low angst reads and I feel like Foster Family just dumped a load of emotional upset on my unprepared head.

I would hesitate to call this story a romance, and though I will reassure you that the three men do get their HEA together, I would also hesitate to call this story a ménage. I know, sounds confusing but to be honest, this book confused the heck out of me. I always hesitate to say- ‘this book is confusing’, because it could just be that I’m not understanding what’s going on but everyone else gets it just fine. However, this story lost me so many times I think it’s safe to use those words.

Perhaps the problem was all the secrets the characters had. Sometimes it felt as though I was trying to decipher riddles when the characters would speak to each other. A few times one of the characters would think to themselves, ‘now I understand’, but I would just shake my head and think right back that I don’t understand whatever it is you just understood. Did you manage to follow that?

The characters themselves made me so angry and also sad. Allow me to clarify.

Mal and Charlie have been together for fifteen years. They are totally in love but each feels they can’t give the other what he needs to keep their relationship working. So for years they’ve been “trying out” men to be the perfect third they think they require to bridge the gap between them. When they discover Kerry passed out on the beach they decide they want to keep him.

At this point it seemed like a pretty standard ménage storyline to me but then it got…different. And this is where the anger and tears came into it. (My tears BTW)

This next bit contains a few **SPOILERS** people so do be aware of that going in.

My poor little Kerry, shuffled between foster homes as a child, rejected by his asshole boyfriend, evicted from his shared apartment and suddenly homeless. For his whole life he has been bullied and rejected and he believes he’s not good enough for men like Mal and Charlie. Mal, who also spent his childhood being shunted from one foster home to another, says he understands Kerry and thinks he can help him. The two men invite Kerry into their home and into their relationship. But Kerry is not allowed to sleep in their room with them. He is given his own room, the room their “boys” always use for as long as they’re with them. They won’t have sex with him but continue to have sex with each other and the one time Charlie does end up in bed with Kerry, it’s treated like he’s cheated on Mal. How does Mal think this is going to help Kerry feel secure? Why do Mal and Charlie not realize that perhaps this treatment is why none of the other men stayed with them permanently? Kerry is one of those sad, lost characters that just break your heart. I swear my chest was aching for most of this book and when Kerry has thoughts like this, that was it, the tears would start. “What was home, anyway? A couch in Lissa’s great room? Or a spare room with a hook in the ceiling and a locked toy cabinet in the corner? I was an employee. A plaything.”

Okay people, **END SPOILERS**

There was very little on page sex in this story, another way it differs from most ménages. There wasn’t any sex between all three main characters until the end of the book and even then we don’t get to ever read all of them having sex together, we just know it happens. So if you’re buying this for some kinky three-way sex, you’ll be disappointed.

Some people are going to call this BDSM. There’s little of the physical aspect of that but Mal is referred to as Charlie’s Dom and Charlie and Kerry are both made to live by Mal’s rules. I don’t think it’s enough to turn any BDSM haters away from the book but just beware, Mal is a very bossy bastard.

Like I already said, the three of them do end up together but the way it happens feels wrong to me. I seems like it’s more one man has a relationship with both of the other men, while those two don’t have much of a connection at all.

I’d love if there was a sequel to this so we could see more of all three men actually being together. Because despite all the tears, Kerry’s and mine, this was a good story and I really have a need to see Kerry finally happy, not just assume he is.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner