February 4, 2010 - 9:28 am
First thing, I’m going to admit that I’m not a big fan of menage. That doesn’t mean I think it shouldn’t be written, it means I don’t usually read it. I’m a flaming one man/one woman fan and for me, a work of menage is generally a big, fat, red stop sign. Why? The ick factor. While the concept of menage on paper is intriguing, not to mention stimulating, the reality can be somewhat less than scintillating. There are only so many things of so many sizes that can fit into so many orifices at one time and still be pleasure inducing. There…said it.
As a result, unless a friend writes a menage, I pass right on by without a second glance and yes, I know how popular menage is right now. That message has been drummed into me by many, many writers…editors…advisers.
However, author Mia Watts sends me sliding down that slippery slope toward M/M and Menage without even trying. Because the sex is so great? Well…yeah, that goes without saying, but more because her writing is so evanescent. She writes about love, whether it’s male-male or multiples, like her new work, F.U. I read it in one afternoon.
As I told her, it’s not your usual menage. Most menages that authors send me are about shifters and I rarely read them, other than Fran Lee’s Hallie’s Cats, which is a spicy little number. I skip most shifter menages because after reading a few, I began to feel like the cougar or were or bear should just pee on the woman’s leg and be done with it. The machismo and territory marking become almost comical. And…here’s where the ick factor comes in for me - sometimes the contortions these characters go through during sex are just god-awful unrealistic and flat out painful and I have to assume they are thrown in for shock value.
Here is why Mia’s F.U. multiple, cuz it ain’t menage, works for me.
The story is damn good. The writing, superb. The style, spare, clean and clear. Despite the fact that four men share one woman, there is a building love story between the guy I consider the alpha dog and the woman, who I consider his mate. When he shares her, he still directs all the action. It’s as if the secondary characters, who are drawn quite vividly, are an extension of the alpha dog’s own personality and soul. F.U. may be a multiple, but it’s overarching theme is that of soul mates - two sets of eyes meet across a room and you know to the depths of your soul he or she is the one and it scares the bejeezus out of you. Because there are four men involved, the story could easily have crossed the line into sleazedom, but thanks to the author’s skill at shaping characters and situations, it never does. The female character is an assertive, confident woman and the male characters not only want to fuck her…they respect, cherish and protect her. It’s actually pretty dang cool.
This is probably the only time I’ll ever post something remotely resembling a review because I believe - to each his own and I respect the time and effort writers put into their creations. In this case, I have to tip my hat to Mia Watts. She’s made a believer out of me.
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