Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Before There Were Three: Ethan & Rhett
SERIES: The Distance Between Us #0.5
AUTHOR: L.A. Witt
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 148 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 6, 2016
BLURB:
Before Kieran…
Seattle, 2000 – Ethan Mallory is counting down the days until he moves back to Toronto. He loves Seattle, but it’s time to go home.
So it’s just his luck that, with a month to go, he meets Rhett Solomon. Their chemistry is off the charts, and in bed, Rhett is everything Ethan’s been craving. He’s witty and charming outside the bedroom too.
Ethan’s not about to change his plans for a man he’s just met, but… what could this become if they had a little more time? Is this just a sizzling hot last hurrah before he returns to Canada? Or is leaving Rhett behind a huge mistake?
Before There Were Three is a series of prequels to ménage stories written by L.A. Witt or Lauren Gallagher. Ethan & Rhett is the prequel to The Distance Between Us.
REVIEW:
Some authors rely on sex scenes to move their stories from one page to the next, from one conflict to another. Sometimes sex scenes feel indulgent, unnecessary, or even silly. This little story is very heavy on the love scenes, but instead of getting in the way, Ethan and Rhett’s sexual chemistry shows how their relationship starts with fire and moves steadily towards softer steam. They never cool down—instead, their love scenes serve as moments of communication, trust, and affection between two men who have always been better at keeping their lovers at arm’s length.
This is a super readable story. I had to double-check that this is a standard short romance length of 150 pages, because it felt so much faster and shorter. Witt is a seasoned romance writer who knows what she’s doing, and her experience shows. She doesn’t mince words with silly subplots or unnecessary twists. It’s just a story about two men tried really hard not to fall in love and failed miserably. It takes place in 2000, and the time feels pretty accurate. They still have to be careful in public, and technology (including online dating) is pretty limited. Towards the end, Ethan’s rumination on their relationship gets a little repetitive, and I just wanted him to come to his senses already. But I suppose that only proves Witt’s capabilities—she knows how to move a story along, so I get impatient easily when it slows.
While this is a short prequel to a longer M/M/M romance, The Distance Between Us, it works pretty well as its own story (the audiobook version of this next story was reviewed here on Love Bytes in May). I actually haven’t read the rest of the series, but I’m definitely looking forward to them, especially with the addition of another romantic partner. This is a well-written story, but so far, we’ve barely scratched the surface of Ethan and Rhett’s relationship. It sure is a nice start!
RATING: 
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