REVIEWED by Caroline and Jen B.

TITLE: Sound of Us

SERIES: Us #2

AUTHOR: A.M. Arthur

PUBLISHER: Briggs-King Books

LENGTH:  384 Pages

RELEASE DATE: April 21, 2017

BLURB: 

Jake Bowden didn’t expect to be settling into a strong, loving relationship with another guy at only twenty-three years old—never mind with two. His chemistry with Cris is as strong as ever, while things with Charles are more like a simmer than a heavy boil. Charles says he’s perfectly content to go at Jake’s pace, but Jake isn’t sure slow is what he wants anymore. And when Jake wants something, he isn’t shy about going after it.

Cris Sable is head-over-heels in love with the two men in his life, and he’s vowed to do everything he can to protect the fragile, three-way relationship they’re cultivating—even if it means lying about his past. A dark past that resurfaces in an unexpected way and forces Cris to make the difficult choice between shielding Jake and Charles from it, or trusting them enough to help him face it head-on.

Charles Greenwood had forgotten what it felt like to be loved, until a feisty go-go boy and an ex-porn star fell into his bed, and then stole his heart away. He loves both men equally, but differently, slowly stoking the fire of the chemistry he shares with Jake, while passionately pursuing Cris—both in and out of bed. Their lives are entwining in the very best way…until Cris starts to pull away, distancing himself from the loving support of their triad. And after Cris disappears one night on a drunken bender, Charles vows to do whatever it takes to prove to Cris that he can trust them with anything—mind, body and spirit.

Three separate hearts will finally beat as one.

 Sound Of Us picks up immediately where Here For Us left off which made perfect sense as Chet, Cris and Jake’s story was definitely left unfinished. At the start of this book they are certainly together but they are not completely settled and at least one of the new triad is hiding secrets.Jake is the youngest and the one that seems to be struggling the most. Chet is a bit of a mystery to him, he is fierce about becoming independent again which sees him living separately from his two men and he is still coming to terms with his recent diagnosis and subsequent reliance on medication. Although Chet and Cris have no problem living together or being intimate together without him there is a definite physical and mental gap where Jake should be.

Cris has secrets. They are long buried and really bare no relevance on who he is today – until they do and he finds himself lying by omission to the two most important people in his world. Not managing how this makes him feel causes a few problems between the three men but they show a maturity, and a little bit of kink, in sorting things out in a way that makes Cris feel cared for and protected.

Chet is the oldest of our three men but he has his own worries when it comes to the two men that have taken over his life and made him happy again. His relationship with Cris is easier as they have known and worked with each other for years and he became adept at hiding his feelings. His affection for Jake however seems to have taken him slightly by surprise and the intimacy between them is more difficult and certainly something that requires more work.

As in the first book this threesome works well mainly due to the communication between all the men. Although the sex is plentiful it’s not what drives them – they spend time talking, going out together and building their relationship with each other. Menage is a favourite of mine when done well – this one is done well.

Cris and Charles are predictably the stronger couple in this threesome having known each other for much longer than Jake, but Jake is no less important in the relationship scheme of things.  He is still recovering from learning to manage his Bipolar and while he is content enough with the relationship, his misgivings about his own self-worth aside, he feels he must prove to himself he can stand on his own.  Therefore, he moves back to his apartment with Benny.  Their staying with Charles was initially a temporary thing while Charles and Cris took care of Jake, but Cris decides to take Charles up on his offer to move in.  Neither are happy about Jake’s moving out, but they both understand the reasons.

The three continue to date and remain a throuple as their relationship grows and they are able to venture out in public a bit more.  Jake is still apprehensive about their unconventional relationship being out in the real world, but they take baby steps to ease the comfort level.  Jake does the most growing here, which is understandable seeing as he is the youngest.  After living in the moment for so long, happy being a dancer, he finds a new love with cooking after he and Charles make it their hobby as a couple.  He starts to see farther into the future, not only with his career but with Charles and Cris as well.

There is also growth in the sex department.  As Jake becomes more comfortable with Charles, he finally starts wanting more.  The biggest thing holding him back is the ED he is experiencing from his meds, and while the guys have both been very supportive about his issues, he really doesn’t want to be the odd man out, so to speak, when it comes to their sex.  I loved how, through everything, they took baby steps, going a little farther the more comfortable they all felt.

These three are a real joy to read about, as they provide support to each other as needed, whether it is with Jake through his medications/disorder/anxiety issues or for Cris when his past comes back to haunt him.  Each time one had an issue, it solidified the other two and brought them all together making their relationship that much stronger.  I can’t wait to see where the next story is going to take us, but I’m definitely looking to see more of these guys again.