Samhain Publishing, $3.50, ISBN 1-60504-251-X
Contemporary Erotica, 2008
Jayne Rylon is an author who is new to me since I have not read her Cobblestone Press debut. Nice and Naughty is part of the Ménage & More series so as usual, two guys and one woman will assume the position. Which reminds me: a friend wondered aloud the other day whether it could be considered a threesome if we have, say, two guys and a blow-up doll. Hmm. If you have an aversion to the idea of two twin brothers getting naked in the same room – without making any sexual contact with each other, of course – you may want to take a deep breath before plunging into this one, though, because our heroine Alexa Jones is going to make your eyes pop out when she takes on those twin brothers at once.
Alexa likes her cars fast and her men even faster, so one fine day, she decompresses by speeding on the road and meeting a biker guy that turns her on so much that she ends up examining his piston cylinders up close. If you have read enough of these stories, you know he’s going to show up as her boss, right? Well, somewhat. The problem is, she encounters Jason Winston when it’s actually Justin Winston that she got an oil change with.
Nice and Naughty could have been an interesting ménage à trois story if the author has removed the plot about someone wanting to see the Winston brothers go down (in a non-sexual way, of course). I don’t know if the author is operating under the assumption that such a plot will prevent her story from being considered “smut”, but the plot is a bad idea when it gives rise to bizarre scenes like Jason encouraging Justin to seduce Alexa in front of him while Jason gives first aid treatment on an injured Alexa because apparently the anesthesia he has used on Alexa is not potent enough or something. The sad thing is, that scene gives this story a cartoon “porn movie plot” feel even more than if the author has focused solely on the three characters’ relationship.
Alexa, Jason, and Justin are well-drawn characters for a story this short with the two brothers actually having deeper traits that go beyond the superficial “carefree twin/proper twin” stereotype. This is why it frustrates me when the author attempts to create a suspense plot for the story only to end up making the story come off more like a cartoon porn movie rather than an erotic threesome romance. The plot, I feel, is really a mistake since it has the author creating hard-to-believe scenes for the main characters to get naked and busy. The characters deserve better.
