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Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey #0.5
O Christmas Three
Garrett and Brianna Zane have the perfect marriage on the surface. They share everything from love to their wildest sexual desires with ease. So when Brianna confesses she wants a threesome with his best friend Leobardo Vasquez, it awakens feelings Garrett has long tried to forget.
But the smoldering attraction between Leo and Brianna is hard to deny and even harder to dismiss when it’s all he can think about, especially when the three are trapped together in Leo’s cabin during a snowstorm. Seducing Leo will test their relationship, reveal old secrets, and maybe tear them apart. While there may be room for Leo in bed, there may not be room for a third in their marriage.
But the smoldering attraction between Leo and Brianna is hard to deny and even harder to dismiss when it’s all he can think about, especially when the three are trapped together in Leo’s cabin during a snowstorm. Seducing Leo will test their relationship, reveal old secrets, and maybe tear them apart. While there may be room for Leo in bed, there may not be room for a third in their marriage.
124 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 7, 2023
Reviewed for THC Reviews
O Christmas Three is, as the title suggests, a holiday-themed, erotic romance novella about a threesome. It apparently used to be considered a prequel to Suzan Butler’s Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey series. However, it no longer seems to be available for purchase anywhere and isn’t even mentioned on the author’s website. Leo, one of the two heroes, is a player for the ice hockey team. He and the other hero, Garrett, have been best friends forever and used to be lovers, as well, until Leo, worried about what people would think if they found out a public figure like him was bisexual and in a same-sex relationship, got cold feet. Leo and Garrett have remained friends but cooled their romantic relationship. Then Garrett met and fell in love with Brianna, to whom he’s been married for the past ten years. Recently Garrett confessed to Bri that he and Leo used to engage in threesomes, which piqued her interest. The couple are scheduled to spend the Christmas holiday at Leo’s remote mountain cabin, so they’ve formed a plan to seduce him into a little menage action. At first Leo is a bit resistant to the idea, but eventually he can’t say no to his two best friends. But when Bri decides she’d like them all to become a permanent threesome, she and Garrett will have their work cut out for them convincing Leo that they’re all prefect together.
To be honest, the characterizations in this novella are pretty weak and I didn’t come away from reading it with a great sense of who Garrett, Brianna, and Leo are as individuals or what really drives their decision-making. Garrett apparently repairs computers for a living, but it barely gets a mention. I got no real sense of who Brianna is at all beyond the fact that she apparently carries a suitcase full of moisturizers and beauty products with her when she travels, which made her seem a little shallow. Out of the three Leo might be the best developed. He loved Garrett once upon a time, but as an ice hockey player and public figure, he was worried that the media would have a field day if they discovered his bisexuality, which could also lead to backlash from fans and the team’s owners. When Garrett and Brianna start trying to seduce him into a menage, he’s a little resistant at first, concerned that he would simply be a third wheel in their well-established relationship. However, while Leo does angst for a while, his objections are ultimately overcome fairly easily, and quite frankly, I felt like his concerns about the nature of their threesome becoming public were largely swept under the rug. I just really wanted to know more about these three characters. There isn’t even any information on how Garrett and Leo met and became lovers or how they got started engaging in menages. All three of them are supposedly already in love with one another, and while I can see how Garrett and Leo might still be holding a torch for each other given their shared past, I have no idea when Bri fell for Leo. For his part, Leo is simply said to have fallen for her pretty much from the moment he met her, which isn’t very satisfying. I just didn’t end up feeling very connected to the characters, because there isn’t much there for me to relate to.
In addition to the lacking characterizations, the plot was pretty thin, too. Without really getting any background information on the characters, we dive right in to see Garrett and Bri on their way to Leo’s cabin, having already agreed to try to draw him into a threesome. However, their communication is terrible. At one point, Garrett says that he and Bri were honest with each other about their respective sexual histories early on, but that isn’t really true. Garrett never told Bri about his sexual relationship with Leo and only recently revealed that the two of them engaged in menages before he met her. Apparently from the moment Garrett told her, Bri has had a fantasy of having their threesome (that hasn’t even materialized yet) become permanent, but she never told Garrett. Neither of them really let Leo in on their plan, and instead immediately start trying to seduce him. There were times when I felt like they were trying to railroad Leo into the three-way relationship rather than genuinely taking the time to listen to him and try to understand his concerns. It was almost like they were telling him that they all belonged together and he just needed to get with the program.
Despite my concerns, I’ve read more frustrating stories. The love scenes were decent, although not phenomenal. There could have been a better emotional connection. There also were sometimes inconsistent details, such as one of the guys removing a condom that was never put on, and there was also sometimes a lack of details that made it difficult to envision the scene. There was also a brief moment where Leo gives Garrett oral right after Garrett had… ahem… been inside him without any washing taking place, which grossed me out. There were also a lot of little things with regards to the editing such as typos and incorrect or missing words that could be a bit distracting. Then there was the conflict, which mostly consisted of Leo’s internal disharmony, which became a little repetitive. There was no forward motion in his thought processes, and as I mentioned before Garrett and Bri simply kept pushing him to give in, with Leo’s concerns being easily overcome. Even though I’ve had a lot of criticisms, O Christmas Three wasn’t a bad read, but I think it would have been much better if it had been lengthened and the characters and story fleshed out a lot more. As is, it’s mostly just a series of steamy love scenes loosely held together by Leo’s angst. I liked the characters for as well as I got to know them, and I genuinely would have liked to know them better. Without that, the ending felt more HFN than HEA because there was no solid resolution to Leo’s issues. So ultimately this was just an OK read for me. The jury is still out on whether I’ll give the other books in the series a try.
Note: This book contains explicit language and sexual content, including anal sex, within M/F, M/M, M/F/M and M/M/F combinations, that could be objectionable to sensitive readers.
O Christmas Three is, as the title suggests, a holiday-themed, erotic romance novella about a threesome. It apparently used to be considered a prequel to Suzan Butler’s Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey series. However, it no longer seems to be available for purchase anywhere and isn’t even mentioned on the author’s website. Leo, one of the two heroes, is a player for the ice hockey team. He and the other hero, Garrett, have been best friends forever and used to be lovers, as well, until Leo, worried about what people would think if they found out a public figure like him was bisexual and in a same-sex relationship, got cold feet. Leo and Garrett have remained friends but cooled their romantic relationship. Then Garrett met and fell in love with Brianna, to whom he’s been married for the past ten years. Recently Garrett confessed to Bri that he and Leo used to engage in threesomes, which piqued her interest. The couple are scheduled to spend the Christmas holiday at Leo’s remote mountain cabin, so they’ve formed a plan to seduce him into a little menage action. At first Leo is a bit resistant to the idea, but eventually he can’t say no to his two best friends. But when Bri decides she’d like them all to become a permanent threesome, she and Garrett will have their work cut out for them convincing Leo that they’re all prefect together.
To be honest, the characterizations in this novella are pretty weak and I didn’t come away from reading it with a great sense of who Garrett, Brianna, and Leo are as individuals or what really drives their decision-making. Garrett apparently repairs computers for a living, but it barely gets a mention. I got no real sense of who Brianna is at all beyond the fact that she apparently carries a suitcase full of moisturizers and beauty products with her when she travels, which made her seem a little shallow. Out of the three Leo might be the best developed. He loved Garrett once upon a time, but as an ice hockey player and public figure, he was worried that the media would have a field day if they discovered his bisexuality, which could also lead to backlash from fans and the team’s owners. When Garrett and Brianna start trying to seduce him into a menage, he’s a little resistant at first, concerned that he would simply be a third wheel in their well-established relationship. However, while Leo does angst for a while, his objections are ultimately overcome fairly easily, and quite frankly, I felt like his concerns about the nature of their threesome becoming public were largely swept under the rug. I just really wanted to know more about these three characters. There isn’t even any information on how Garrett and Leo met and became lovers or how they got started engaging in menages. All three of them are supposedly already in love with one another, and while I can see how Garrett and Leo might still be holding a torch for each other given their shared past, I have no idea when Bri fell for Leo. For his part, Leo is simply said to have fallen for her pretty much from the moment he met her, which isn’t very satisfying. I just didn’t end up feeling very connected to the characters, because there isn’t much there for me to relate to.
In addition to the lacking characterizations, the plot was pretty thin, too. Without really getting any background information on the characters, we dive right in to see Garrett and Bri on their way to Leo’s cabin, having already agreed to try to draw him into a threesome. However, their communication is terrible. At one point, Garrett says that he and Bri were honest with each other about their respective sexual histories early on, but that isn’t really true. Garrett never told Bri about his sexual relationship with Leo and only recently revealed that the two of them engaged in menages before he met her. Apparently from the moment Garrett told her, Bri has had a fantasy of having their threesome (that hasn’t even materialized yet) become permanent, but she never told Garrett. Neither of them really let Leo in on their plan, and instead immediately start trying to seduce him. There were times when I felt like they were trying to railroad Leo into the three-way relationship rather than genuinely taking the time to listen to him and try to understand his concerns. It was almost like they were telling him that they all belonged together and he just needed to get with the program.
Despite my concerns, I’ve read more frustrating stories. The love scenes were decent, although not phenomenal. There could have been a better emotional connection. There also were sometimes inconsistent details, such as one of the guys removing a condom that was never put on, and there was also sometimes a lack of details that made it difficult to envision the scene. There was also a brief moment where Leo gives Garrett oral right after Garrett had… ahem… been inside him without any washing taking place, which grossed me out. There were also a lot of little things with regards to the editing such as typos and incorrect or missing words that could be a bit distracting. Then there was the conflict, which mostly consisted of Leo’s internal disharmony, which became a little repetitive. There was no forward motion in his thought processes, and as I mentioned before Garrett and Bri simply kept pushing him to give in, with Leo’s concerns being easily overcome. Even though I’ve had a lot of criticisms, O Christmas Three wasn’t a bad read, but I think it would have been much better if it had been lengthened and the characters and story fleshed out a lot more. As is, it’s mostly just a series of steamy love scenes loosely held together by Leo’s angst. I liked the characters for as well as I got to know them, and I genuinely would have liked to know them better. Without that, the ending felt more HFN than HEA because there was no solid resolution to Leo’s issues. So ultimately this was just an OK read for me. The jury is still out on whether I’ll give the other books in the series a try.
Note: This book contains explicit language and sexual content, including anal sex, within M/F, M/M, M/F/M and M/M/F combinations, that could be objectionable to sensitive readers.
December 5, 2016
2 Stars
So much about this bothered me from the stilted, repetitive writing to the awkward phrasing and irritating generalizations/stereotypes/misconceptions...like, remarking on the guys' "bisexual tendencies," the FMC asking why couldn't she have become a lesbian (uh, because she wasn't born that way?) and the hockey player MC saying that since he was a public figure it wouldn't be possible to be seen as gay. If he'd worried about it in some sort of dilemma over a morality clause, losing his sponsors or risking a trade then okay, I can see that; but none of these consequences were mentioned. Instead, it read like an embarrassing secret he couldn't risk exposing. No, that would be the menage relationship (which he did fret over, but it felt more like a fear he'd ruin their marriage than exposure to public scrutiny).
So, yeah.
And the sex wasn't even all that hot. It could have been the sex scenes from any generic MF title...and even the MM was boring. I skimmed the DP scene since there was nothing hot, inventive, or even remotely romantic about it to grab my interest. Plus there was some weird pregnancy sub-plot that was mentioned twice in reference to condom-usage. (Okay, makes sense when it comes to the third since he's not all up for that, but why does the married couple keep using them? Well, except for The Big Sex Scene where no one does, for anything.) By the end I couldn't even care whether they made their menage a permanent arrangement.
Thank fuck the husband cleared up the incorrect "isosceles triangle" term usage, though. OMG I wanted to stab a spork in my eye every time the wife said that in reference to a triangle with equal sides and angles.
So much about this bothered me from the stilted, repetitive writing to the awkward phrasing and irritating generalizations/stereotypes/misconceptions...like, remarking on the guys' "bisexual tendencies," the FMC asking why couldn't she have become a lesbian (uh, because she wasn't born that way?) and the hockey player MC saying that since he was a public figure it wouldn't be possible to be seen as gay. If he'd worried about it in some sort of dilemma over a morality clause, losing his sponsors or risking a trade then okay, I can see that; but none of these consequences were mentioned. Instead, it read like an embarrassing secret he couldn't risk exposing. No, that would be the menage relationship (which he did fret over, but it felt more like a fear he'd ruin their marriage than exposure to public scrutiny).
So, yeah.
And the sex wasn't even all that hot. It could have been the sex scenes from any generic MF title...and even the MM was boring. I skimmed the DP scene since there was nothing hot, inventive, or even remotely romantic about it to grab my interest. Plus there was some weird pregnancy sub-plot that was mentioned twice in reference to condom-usage. (Okay, makes sense when it comes to the third since he's not all up for that, but why does the married couple keep using them? Well, except for The Big Sex Scene where no one does, for anything.) By the end I couldn't even care whether they made their menage a permanent arrangement.
Thank fuck the husband cleared up the incorrect "isosceles triangle" term usage, though. OMG I wanted to stab a spork in my eye every time the wife said that in reference to a triangle with equal sides and angles.
December 16, 2012
This book was so good! A+ all the way. My full review will be up on the 16th.
My Review:
This book was so good. I promise you that I will be re-reading it before the Christmas season was over...yes, it was that good! I feel like the book description above is a tiny bit misleading. Brianna and Garrett have been married for ten years and they have a great marriage. There are NO issues between them, but some late night fantasy talk and some observances by Brianna of her husband with his best friend Leo have led them to this holiday. They are headed to Leo's cabin in the woods to seduce him into participating in a threesome with them.
Brianna suspects that there is more between these two guys...she just has no idea what all that involved before her husband met her. But then Garrett met her and Leo was drafted into the NHL and that relationship was gone. There was never a hint of it again. Brianna thinks it needs to be revived...for her husband...and for her...and for the guy that they both care so much about.
There's a LOT of emotion to this book. Everyone skirts around the issues for a while, just trying to feel it all out, but it's there and the tension is incredible. For Leo, he knows this is only for a few days and then his heart is going to be shattered. There's no doubt that Garrett and Brianna are a unit and he's the one on the outside looking in. I liked the way that Brianna and Garrett worked together to get through to him. I love that even when there are niggles of doubt for both of them, their commitment to each other is never in question. The best scenes in this book are most definitely when there are only two in it at a time whether it was Leo and Garrett, Leo and Brianna, or Brianna and Garrett. All three of these people love each other desperately and that comes across the page so gorgeously.
Everything about it was just perfect and it's definitely at the top of my holiday reading this year. If you like erotica, if you like menage, if you like m/m, if you like holiday books....you NEED to pick up this book! I LOVED IT! I really would love it if there was a follow-up book to this one. I'd love to see the three of them later in life, especially knowing that there were talks about a baby in the future.
I
My Review:
This book was so good. I promise you that I will be re-reading it before the Christmas season was over...yes, it was that good! I feel like the book description above is a tiny bit misleading. Brianna and Garrett have been married for ten years and they have a great marriage. There are NO issues between them, but some late night fantasy talk and some observances by Brianna of her husband with his best friend Leo have led them to this holiday. They are headed to Leo's cabin in the woods to seduce him into participating in a threesome with them.
Brianna suspects that there is more between these two guys...she just has no idea what all that involved before her husband met her. But then Garrett met her and Leo was drafted into the NHL and that relationship was gone. There was never a hint of it again. Brianna thinks it needs to be revived...for her husband...and for her...and for the guy that they both care so much about.
There's a LOT of emotion to this book. Everyone skirts around the issues for a while, just trying to feel it all out, but it's there and the tension is incredible. For Leo, he knows this is only for a few days and then his heart is going to be shattered. There's no doubt that Garrett and Brianna are a unit and he's the one on the outside looking in. I liked the way that Brianna and Garrett worked together to get through to him. I love that even when there are niggles of doubt for both of them, their commitment to each other is never in question. The best scenes in this book are most definitely when there are only two in it at a time whether it was Leo and Garrett, Leo and Brianna, or Brianna and Garrett. All three of these people love each other desperately and that comes across the page so gorgeously.
Everything about it was just perfect and it's definitely at the top of my holiday reading this year. If you like erotica, if you like menage, if you like m/m, if you like holiday books....you NEED to pick up this book! I LOVED IT! I really would love it if there was a follow-up book to this one. I'd love to see the three of them later in life, especially knowing that there were talks about a baby in the future.
I
December 16, 2012
Ménage stories are always a bit hard to believe with three people coming together and not having jealousy issues. Ms. Butler addresses those very real issues and creates a sense of believability to make this an immensely satisfying story featuring three very likable people.
Hockey player Leo and Garrett used to share women, and each other, over ten years ago until Leo's worry over the world finding out about his love for Garrett had him leaving. Garrett moved on with Brianna but after ten years of marriage both realize that there's something missing. A Christmas vacation with Leo leads to emotional truths that no one can hide behind any longer where each participant has to put aside worries about what others think and accept that nothing is more important than love in whatever form it occurs.
Ms. Butler created a super steamy story that flowed along nicely giving equal time to each person and each of their sexual encounters. The encounters between Leo and Garrett were just as loving and combustible as those between Bri and Garrett and Bri and Leo. These scenes were sweat-inducing and had this reader reaching for water. While these scenes took up a large part of the story there was still ample time spent on addressing and resolving feelings of jealousy each partner felt at one point or another throughout the story. The resolution of these feelings seemed simplistic and occurred late in the story so felt a bit rushed but was no less satisfying.
Those who enjoy f/m stories as well as m/m stories will find this short story to be everything they're looking for. There's good character interaction and sweaty and erotic sexual encounters that put an interesting spin on the Christmas carol this story is named after and will leave you with many naughty dreams just in time for Christmas.
Hockey player Leo and Garrett used to share women, and each other, over ten years ago until Leo's worry over the world finding out about his love for Garrett had him leaving. Garrett moved on with Brianna but after ten years of marriage both realize that there's something missing. A Christmas vacation with Leo leads to emotional truths that no one can hide behind any longer where each participant has to put aside worries about what others think and accept that nothing is more important than love in whatever form it occurs.
Ms. Butler created a super steamy story that flowed along nicely giving equal time to each person and each of their sexual encounters. The encounters between Leo and Garrett were just as loving and combustible as those between Bri and Garrett and Bri and Leo. These scenes were sweat-inducing and had this reader reaching for water. While these scenes took up a large part of the story there was still ample time spent on addressing and resolving feelings of jealousy each partner felt at one point or another throughout the story. The resolution of these feelings seemed simplistic and occurred late in the story so felt a bit rushed but was no less satisfying.
Those who enjoy f/m stories as well as m/m stories will find this short story to be everything they're looking for. There's good character interaction and sweaty and erotic sexual encounters that put an interesting spin on the Christmas carol this story is named after and will leave you with many naughty dreams just in time for Christmas.
April 21, 2014
Garrett and Brianna Zane are celebrating their ten year marriage anniversary with a threesome.
Unconventional at the very least, but clearly they both have been thinking about it for some time.
I wasn't sold on the plot of this erotica story about a loving married couple and the husband's best friend (and ex-lover) as believable, but then I had to remind myself that this is romance which is no always based on reality.
Brianna is smart and fills in the blanks quickly once she figures out that there is something more then friendship between her husband, Garrett and his best friend Leobardo Vasquez 'Leo' who is a pro-hockey player. Leo has to consider the social and work ramifications of living in a threesome longterm and it didn't seem to affect Garrett or Brianna in the same way so of course the dude is more then a little reticent! This all goes down during the week around Christmas.
Lots of sexy time of every sort if you want to read about that sort of thing, not much plot nor mystery which I prefer in my reading so I can't give this more then 2 stars.
124 pages and kindle freebie
2 stars
Unconventional at the very least, but clearly they both have been thinking about it for some time.
I wasn't sold on the plot of this erotica story about a loving married couple and the husband's best friend (and ex-lover) as believable, but then I had to remind myself that this is romance which is no always based on reality.
Brianna is smart and fills in the blanks quickly once she figures out that there is something more then friendship between her husband, Garrett and his best friend Leobardo Vasquez 'Leo' who is a pro-hockey player. Leo has to consider the social and work ramifications of living in a threesome longterm and it didn't seem to affect Garrett or Brianna in the same way so of course the dude is more then a little reticent! This all goes down during the week around Christmas.
Lots of sexy time of every sort if you want to read about that sort of thing, not much plot nor mystery which I prefer in my reading so I can't give this more then 2 stars.
124 pages and kindle freebie
2 stars
October 7, 2015
This steamy menage story tells of the romance between Garrett, Brianna and Leo. Garrett and Brianna have been married 10 years and want to bring Leo into their relationship, if he'll have them. On the surface this is a story of a married couple wanting a bit of play with a friend, but it quickly becomes evident that there is a tangled web of secrets and emotions that underscores their interactions. I liked how all points of view were explored and while there is no doubt it's a steamy read, there is a three way romance that is at the heart of the story. 4 stars!
January 15, 2013
This was cracktastic. I wish there was more dialogue because I loved her characters and their story. The sex was great, I admit. I wish we got to read more about how everything developed. There were points missed in the relationship discussion, but I was happy with how it went for being a short, erotic story.
January 30, 2018
It was good, but not really have a HEA unless do I have to read about them in the other parts of the series? Sex was hot (m/f, m/f/m, m/m/f, m/m) but the appearing of condoms after the fact was never ‘put on’ before hand, weird! There were very touching heartfelt moments.
January 2, 2013
Great read! Pacing was wonderful as was delving into the emotions that any type of relationship will have.
Also, tons of snow and multi-colored lights equal bonus points!
Also, tons of snow and multi-colored lights equal bonus points!
December 12, 2013
Really good story need to check out more of her books
September 12, 2016
Hot Hot Hot. Wasn't sure if I would enjoy this book and I was pleasantly surprised. Good gread.
June 7, 2014
This book was a yummy treat. It had a good storyline and was seriously HOT. I would have given it five stars if there was an epilogue like maybe a year later would have been great.
April 3, 2014
two hot guys and one very lucky lady...
that was one hot, sexy triangle...I love the fact they were friends and in love with each other....sounds like a dream come true!!!
that was one hot, sexy triangle...I love the fact they were friends and in love with each other....sounds like a dream come true!!!
December 3, 2014
i don't often give up on a book but i just can't finish this it did not grab me at all not my cup of tea. I like a plot with my erotica this was lacking in so many ways
December 21, 2014
This was a steamy triangle. I liked that there wasn't a lot of drama and moved at a good pace. This is my first book by this author but will be reading more!
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