Review: The Hot Floor by Josephine Myles


Note: This ARC was provided by the author via Signal Boost Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Stories involving threesomes are a hit-or-miss with me. It takes a lot to convince me that there isn't one particular pair within the trio that has a tighter bond and that they don't love each other more than they do the poor sap who's more like the third wheel. But The Hot Floor came highly recommended and I've read Josephine Myles's work in the past, so I was willing to give her trio of twenty-four-year-old glassblower Josh Carpenter and the already established couple of petite twenty-five-year-old academic and power bottom Rai Nakamura and thirty-four-year-old plumber and bear-like top Evan Truman a whirl. Am I glad that I did? Yes, indeedy. This was a hot read but it was also one that was thankfully light on the angst and heavy on that British humor that I'm so addicted to.

It's been six months since Josh Carpenter was dumped by his boyfriend who called him a boring lay, and from the sounds coming from his downstairs neighbors, Rai Nakamura and Evan Truman, it appears that his sex life was, indeed, nothing to write home about (not that he would actually tell his father what kind of sex he'd been having previously). Rai and Evan are fun and flirty whenever Josh is around, but they have a rule in place when it comes to threesomes, fearful that getting involved with a neighbor and friend would mar their friendships. There's also the whole jealousy thing that Rai can't quite deal with. When Josh literally falls into their lives, the attraction that's been simmering between the three boils over. But Josh knows this is only a temporary fling among the three men. He knows he has nothing to offer this already committed couple. But there's no harm in hoping for more...right?

Josh was shy and hesitant, Rai exuberant and filter-less, and Evan contemplative and considerate. They're three very different guys, but somehow, I believed in their connection. Now, Rai and Evan had already been in a relationship for several years when Josh came into the picture, so clearly, the love and everything else was already existent for them and indeed, there were moments that Josh was like an outsider, someone watching the other two have that kind of connection that comes from time spent together, trust earned, and love that's grown. My heart actually squeezed in empathy for him during those times, but I don't think that Rai and Evan meant anything bad about being affectionate and amorous in front of Josh. He had his share of insecurities courtesy of his less than stellar dating life, so I understood why he didn't consider himself much of a catch to a couple such as Evan and Rai.

I liked reading about how the relationship Josh had with both men developed. and I'm not just talking about Evan and Rai as a couple. Josh had individual non-sexual relationships with both Evan and Rai, and that helped in making me believe that this wasn't merely about sex for any of them, that it went beyond the kinky nature of what happened within the walls of Evan and Rai's flat. Josh's insecurities and hesitations--those doubts lingering in his head--were also one of my favorite things about this book because it proved that entering in a three-sided relationship is quite complex and that he had more to lose than Evan and Rai combined. The story was a fun read, and that short story at the end was a fab bonus. The Hot Floor is my favorite Josephine Myles read so far. 4.5 stars. ♥

Date Read: 13 May 2017

Learn more about Josephine Myles.

Purchase The Hot Floor on Amazon.

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