Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: Four Letter Word
SERIES: Love Logic
AUTHOR: K.M. Neuhold
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
RELEASE DATE: March 20, 2020
LENGTH: 454 pages
BLURB:
Relationships are hard enough between two people…can the four of us make it work? Or is love nothing more than a four letter word?
Polyamory…the first time Riot says the word, it feels like everything slots into place. Maybe I’m not greedy for loving both of my best friends at once…
For most of my life I didn’t think I could ever have the kind of love I’ve been dreaming of, but somehow a sexy bartender with a major sweet tooth is making it all seem possible.
Maybe Riot is right, our capacity for love is bigger than most people let themselves see. But will Leo and Hudson feel the same? Will they be willing to try to build this beautiful, complicated life with me?
If I can keep them from ripping each other’s heads off that is…
REVIEW:
As a human being, I honestly think we are all capable of loving more than one person at a time. And I am not talking about family and friends. Our capacity to love is so much that we can love a partner/partners and our whole family all at the same time. Although with regards to family and friends, the levels of affection may vary. But for partners, especially where you have more than one, the level of intensity can be the same. Especially nowadays where we tend to be in a group or community who are like-minded.
Polyamory is not a new concept, it literally means “many loves.” It may not be as popular as monogamy, platonic, open or even arranged marriages, but it is starting to be known/discovered in a much-modern or even in remote societies. Just like any relationships, there are limits or boundaries, rules to follow in order for the relationship to bloom and grow. And especially when you have multiple partners to give attention to and care for, these boundaries and limitations are very important.
Bishop, Leo and Hudson have been friends since they were very young. They have a lot of history together, but along the way (specifically during their Senior High School years) something very significant happened between Hudson and Leo that changed the dynamic of their friendship for more than a decade. When they graduated, Leo left California for New York where he finished college and started a career as a lawyer. Meanwhile both Bishop and Hudson stayed in California and continues to see each other until one night when they were both drunk, they hooked-up. This hook-up became a friends-with-benefits arrangement. They hook-up when they want to, otherwise they can see other people.
Bishop has been in love with both his best friends since he was fourteen/sixteen. But just the thought of loving two men (with the same intensity) seems impossible and a recipe for disaster written all over it, so he buried these feelings deep inside himself.
Riot works as a Bartender in the club that Bishop and his friends frequent, the Twisted Cherry. He and Bishop have been eyeing each other for a few months but they didn’t get the chance to talk to each other until one night when Bishop sat at the bar and they started talking. This then led to a sweet (but meaningful and they both know it) hook-up. Both realized that they are very attracted to each other. And now Bishop is more confused. How can he be attracted to another man when he is already in love with his two best friends? Isn’t it too much?
After more than a decade, Leo has decided to finally come home. The loneliness he feels while he was living in New York dissipates when he sees Bishop’s face on his phone or when they chat online. He is not really sure what will happen when he goes back, but he is willing to go through it just to be with Bishop again.
Hudson works for his father’s company. It was always planned that way. His family had money, and he was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps. He knows that he can be cocky and over-confident sometimes, but deep down, it is his way of protecting himself from getting hurt. He has feelings for his best friend Bishop but he doesn’t know if the feelings are mutual so he hooks-up with other men from time to time.
Leo stays with Bishop upon arriving, and it is inevitable that he and Hudson would see each other again. They are both in love with their best friend, Bishop, after all. And along the way, they meet Riot who has enlightened Bishop to the idea of Polyamory, unbeknownst to both Leo and Hudson. Riot asks Bishop for a date. Leo also asks Bishop for a date. After being told that they cannot hook-up anymore (or not yet anyway), Hudson wants to spend time with Bishop, even just as friends.
Through all this events and misunderstandings, Riot is the person responsible for making these three friends see the reality and possibility of being together as in, in-love-with-each-other together and have a life. Not only the three best friends but with Riot in there too.
The story may sound long but actually it is not, the length is necessary to get all these beautiful men’s stories out. I love how Riot became the catalyst that glued everyone together (although Bishop is the center of all their affection), it makes his part in the relationship almost equal to the history among the three friends. I also love the fact that Ms. Neuhold made his character seem low key when in fact he is not. He is a famous writer, for God’s sake! You will fall in love with these men, love them for who they are, perfectly imperfect!
RATING:
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