Book Title: An Increasing Entanglement (An Unlikely Alliance, Book 2)
Author: Ellie Thomas
Publisher: JMS Books
Release Date: July 13, 2024
Genre: Historical (Regency) MMM Romance
Tropes: Threesome, Regency, Hurt/Comfort, Class Differences, Interracial, Opposites Attract
Themes: Kidnapping, Avenging Angel, Orphan, Redemption, Found Family
Length: 22 293 words
Heat Rating: 4 flames
It is book two in a series of three.
Book 1 (An Unlikely Alliance) is available for review
It does not end on a cliffhanger.
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Can Clem, Abe and Humphrey sustain their burgeoning romance from outside threats?
And might their connection blossom into lasting romance?
Blurb
In Regency London, during the Season, after a brief and steamy courtship, the relationship between threesome Clem, Abe and Humphrey holds much promise.
But their busy routines and different lifestyles, as a professional secretary, society gentleman and an official informant to the military, interfere with their burgeoning romance.
Then sinister forces reappear to threaten their connection and even the life of one of the trio.
Can these three band together to save the day and keep each other from peril? And given the chance, might they forge lasting happiness together?
Abe watched as his mum put the coffee pot on the stove, observing that her usually quick and graceful movements were slowed by tiredness.
“Go to bed, Mum,” he said. “I doubt if we’ll hear anything before daybreak. There’s no point in us all going without sleep.”
Lucy stifled a yawn. “As long as you don’t think I’m abandoning you.”
“Perish the thought,” Humphrey said, gallant even in the wee small hours of the morning.
Lucy lightly touched his shoulder and then approached Abe. She bent to kiss his cheek.
“I have to admit that I’m dead on my feet. I don’t have the energy of you youngsters.” She laid a hand on his arm. “Promise you’ll wake me if you have any news.”
Abe leaned into his mother, breathing in her familiar scent, redolent of unfailing love. He patted her hand.
“I promise. Now get some rest.”
“Good night, boys,” Lucy said wearily as she left the kitchen.
Abe mentally detailed what he had already done, and what was still required. His efforts seemed to be declining in ever-decreasing circles.
Abe had never felt helpless before. He’d always been self-reliant, one step ahead, keeping beyond his rivals and his enemies.
Love had made him vulnerable, left him wide open to crushing uncertainty.
What will I do if something happens to Clem?
It was ominous that there were no reports of Clem. Once he had exhausted his enquiries along the most likely routes, Abe had dropped into Clem’s old haunts. No one who Clem drank with or used to swive had seen hide nor hair of him.
If he had been fleeced by a stray footpad, he would have been found by now. A passerby would have sounded a cry beef to give the alarm.
As the night wore on, Abe became increasingly convinced that Clem had been snatched. In the general way, apart from those who cared for him, Clem was unimportant. Thus, he had no enemies.
The only reason for his abduction must be leverage with Abe. Guilt weighed heavily on Abe’s soul.
My lovely lad, he thought. Images of Clem filled his vision. The wary and sullen young man he had first met. The ecstatic look on Clem’s face the first time Abe had made him spend. Clem laughing at a shared joke, his sharp face softened, grey eyes lit with amusement.
Who could have taken him? It could be half of London.
Abe had either outlived or veered away from most of his contemporaries, but there were still plenty of people capable of holding a grudge. Where would I start?
Abe was shaken out of the doldrums by the scrape of a chair. Humphrey heaved himself to his feet. Wrapping a dishcloth around his hand, he picked up the hot coffee pot by its handle. He refilled Abe’s mug, his free hand stroking Abe’s loosened hair away from his face.
“We’ll find him,” Humphrey said with quiet conviction.
Abe pulled him down for a kiss. Humphrey’s warm lips connected with his, bolstering Abe’s quailing spirits.
“That we will,” he replied with equal certainty.
Ellie Thomas lives by the sea. She comes from a teaching background and goes for long seaside walks where she daydreams about history. She is a voracious reader, especially about anything historical. She mainly writes historical gay romance.
Ellie also writes historical erotic romance as L. E. Thomas.
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