This story was a miss for me this time around. I am a fan of the author and will continue to read her work in the future.

I voluntarily read an advanced reviewers copy of this book

You cant help but be fall in love with this series and all of its twists and turns in every book that you read. Tom, Danny and Carmina were a great couple. I loved how all of them were so imperfect with so many barriers in their way and it was really great to see them break all of those barriers down together.

Great job Samantha Kane a very good addition to the series.

I was excited to start this one and even though I find the premise really good I struggled a little bit with this one.Even though the sex was hot and intense there are some parts I didn't like 100% and the characters were simply ok for me.

3.5 stars I loved that this book showcased a female lead who was ex-military with PTSD. Carmina struggles were tangible as was her desire to push forward with her life.

Tom and Danny were both heroes who I enjoyed reading about; the connection between them and Carmina was tangible to the reader.

This menage worked for me, I genuinely believed these three belonged together.

I really liked that this relationship didn’t occur in a vacuum. All understood a menage relationship comes with a set of challenges layered by the fact that the two men are professional football players.

The sex in this book is hot, with all sorts of action (this is a m/m/f menage meaning the men touch). The sex added to the story and was used well to build emotions and connections between all three.

I loved how the men finally opened up to each other. This menage is complex, the author does a wonderful job at allowing the reader to feel each characters struggle. The way the three finally come together—well that I adored!

The supporting cast in the book—the other men on the team and football itself and its culture make this book feel like its own world—one that kept me reading the whole day while enjoying some summertime sunshine out by my pool.

It should noted that I didn’t read all the prior books in this series.

I didn't realize this was a series when I started reading it, but it was quickly apparent with the references to all the other couples already established on the Rebels team. This was a solid MFM romance novel, and Kane delivers giving the reader what they want. Highly recommend if your looking for something steamy that also makes the characters question their own motives as they come to terms with themselves and their own sexual identities.

Misconduct was an impulse acceptance. I don’t normally accept these types of books for review requests, because I always worry they will turn into “porn books”, with very little story but lots and lots of steamy sex. But while reading the description, I thought this one had a lot of story to give.
Unfortunately, I still think that it has story left to give, that is. Samantha Kane had a great story going, with great characters. But it ended far too prematurely. There were unresolved issues, ties left unlaced and emotions unaccounted for. Everything is not magically resolved because the characters finally gave in and got together …  the story isn’t over.
But it wasn’t.
Don’t get me wrong. I liked the story and the characters had so much promise – but there was a lot more development that could/should have happened with them. Carmina, though, suffered the most from this. She had a great story going – but her personality didn’t necessarily match her background for me. She has a traumatic brain injury from war, and I can understand how that would make a person anxious, meek, earning them a more mellow personality. But where is the fierceness? The courage and bravery? The brassiness from her time in war? She had to have been all that – and more – from her time in the war. I refuse to believe she was this anxious, submissive person prior to her injury. After her injury? More than understandable. Before? No freaking way. The person she now is wouldn’t have the gumption to enlist. But even after a traumatic brain injury, some of who she was must have leaked through to who she is. But no. She had so much more development opportunities, and I was disappointed that didn’t happen. And that’s only one example of possible development for this story.
But.
The sex – world class. While I don’t tend to gravitate towards books that feature sex quite so prevalently in the plotline, I must say that it worked for this book. In a major way.
Bottom line, this book may have had some very sexy times, but I still feel that the story had more to give, and was disappointed that it didn’t reach it’s full potential. However, you may find this the perfect quick, light, sexy read to accompany your afternoon tan. It is quite an entertaining – and steamy – read!
If you’re indecisive, Samantha Kane has written an exclusive scene – just for us – featuring a GQ Interview. I think you’ll very much like

Will never look at football players the same! Hot, dirty scenes, oh my!

Misconduct by author Samantha Kane is the fourth book in the Birmingham Rebels series. This is my first time reading this series and I was not lost at all.
I found this story to be well rounded, and the characters are likeable and relatable. I love stories where I can fall in love and this is that kind of story.

Carmina has PSTD. She has a therapy dog. She was in Afghanistan. She is trying very hard to get her life to a place of normal. I loved her strength. She has baby steps to go but she does it fearlessly.
She has a traumatic brain injury from an IUD. Her main goal right now is to find pleasure again in sex. Since the accident she has not.
Tom wants a committed relationship. He is bisexual. Fallen hard for his roommate Danny and is strongly attracted to Carmina.
Danny isn’t sure he can handle Carmina. Very deeply scarred character. Best friends with Tom.
Over all I loved how this story handles everything. There is a lot going on but it does not feel overwhelming. I loved the pace. I also loved the character connection. These people are meant to be together and I was happy at the end of the book. A must read for a romance lover.

Five Shooting Stars

I was excited to read Misconduct for a couple of reasons. A) I read Jacked Up and really liked it and B) I love MMF stories, good ones, that is. Unfortunately, Misconduct let me down in pretty much every aspect there is. It's humdrum and draggy. Nothing is resolved until almost the end. Carmina and Danny spend far too much time in their own heads trying to figure out their own s***. The connection between the three characters isn't believable. The steamy scenes aren't very appealing. The sports aspect isn't really a big part of it. I just didn't connect with it or any of the characters.

Carmina is a Puerto Rican woman who lives with the effects of a TBI (traumatic brain injury). It's years after she and her team were injured in the Middle East during a mission. She still has problems speaking sometimes, which is hard enough on her. But the hardest thing she has to deal with now is that she hasn't had an orgasm in 3 years. She's not sure why, her doctors say there's nothing wrong with her and that she should be able to resume normal sexual activities and enjoy them. She's attracted to both Tom and Danny, teammates for the Birmingham Rebels. Tom and Danny are best friends who have a simmering sexual tension. When she gets involved with Tom, they're both hoping he'll be the one to give her a much needed O, but alas, no, it's Danny who gives it to her one morning while she's using the shower at his and Tom's apartment. And then comes the confusing, much dragged out journey the three of them take from just friends to lovers in a MMF triad relationship.

There are all kinds of things going on in Misconduct. There's the emotional baggage Carmina has from her time in the military and her resulting TBI. There's her close friendship with Sam (Jacked Up). There's her distance with her family, who are too overprotective and suffocating. And then there's Danny's issues. He's got a lot, even more than Carmina. He's angry because years ago when he played in college, his close friend Marian (now owner of the Birmingham Rebels) was almost raped and Danny and Marian were threatened by her father (Danny and Marian's then boyfriend's coach) to not tell or he'd ruin their lives. He also has guilty, shameful feelings that awhile ago he was involved in a scene where he, Marian and a bunch of other guys all had sex. Danny had his first MM experience and it freaked him out. And that brings up the light BDSM feel that also pervades Misconduct. Apparently Danny likes being held down while he's having sex and it makes him feel ashamed. It also makes him feel ashamed that he is attracted to guys, specifically to Tom, his best friend. Sigh...all these things happening, but nothing really happened in Misconduct until almost the end when they played their game against Marian's ex almost rapist's team.

Misconduct is just a mishmash of a bunch of different tropes and nothing is cohesive. The three main characters' connection isn't strong or believable. The three of them don't get their s*** together and decide to be in a relationship until the end. There's too much ruminating about what to do and what not to do. There's too much bulls***. There's too much boring stuff and not enough good stuff. Misconduct is just a failure all around. And that is a damn shame because I was really looking forward to it.

Misconduct is a okay M/F/M read. The characters were good. I liked the family feel.


I rdceived this from Netgalley.

Having survived a roadside bombing in Afghanistan, Carmina moved to Birmingham to be close to her best friend (and only other survivor) and to get away from her overprotective family. Now that she’s gotten on her own two feet, Carmina is ready to try dating, and sex, again. Rebels’ rookie, Tom, is the perfect man for the job, but she also can’t stop thinking about Tom’s best friend and roommate, Danny. Not sure how to proceed, Carmina rely’s on Tom’s help to move forward.

After nearly giving up on this series after the second title, I have to say I have rather enjoyed the last two books. Misconduct explores the aspects of a ménage within the confines of a safe and mostly accepting community. While it’s the fourth such book in the series, the story of Carmina, Danny, and Tom’s relationship is its own. With Tom as the only one ready to explore his deepest fantasies, it takes a while for the trio to form. I like that Ms. Kane allows both Carmina and Danny to express their reluctance and fears over a non-traditional relationship, with Danny agitated and angry over unwanted advances. There is no sudden “flipping the switch,” making everything all good. It takes time. It gives the entire situation a realness that wasn’t present in the first two books of the series.

I also appreciate that the focus of Misconduct is the budding relationship and connections between Carmina, Danny, and Tom. Yes, this is a football book, and the author puts her characters in the game. However, while football is the setting for the book, it isn’t a guiding force over the romance, as it was in the first two titles. Sharing the interpersonal impacts of the ménage, rather than the impact to the team, creates a more heartfelt story.

I like that the romance and sex scenes are driven by the characters and their desires, rather than the other way around. This is more of a “slow burn” romance, in that it takes some time for the trio to work out. However, it is still smoking hot - just give it time.

It could have been just another ménage story with lots of sex, but Misconduct is so much more. The author take time to develop solid characters who dictate the storyline. Outside the fame and football, Danny, Tom, and Carmina are real people, fearful of opening up and accepting something outside the norm.

My Rating: B, Liked It

4 1\2 Stars

Misconduct is the fourth book in the Birmingham Rebels series by Samantha Kane. I haven't read the first two books yet, but Jacked Up was great.

Misconduct is a romance between Carmina, Tom and Danny. It is a full on MMF romance, so that's a big warning for anyone that does not care for two males together.

Carmina de la Cruz is an Army vet, having served and been wounded in Afghanistan. She was in the same military transport as Sam Taylor, whose story is told in Jacked Up, that drove over an IED and she was knocked out, receiving a Traumatic Brain Injury. Three years later, she's just becoming comfortable having full conversations with people she close to, so really just Sam and maybe his boyfriend King and girlfriend Jane. There are a few more people that she can talk with if her therapy dog is there with her to help her get over her anxiety. One of those people is Tom Kelly, the rookie running back for the Rebels. His roommate, Danny Smith, makes Carmina so tongue-tied that she usually relies on nonverbal communication for him, or at least that's how she feels at the beginning of the book!!

Throughout the book, there are misunderstandings and jealousy with both of the men, but not anymore than has happened in the other Rebels' books. There is a HEA, but quite a bit of confusion to keep the action going. Carmina has PTSD, which also keeps things interesting, as she tries to explain to her men what exactly happened to her in the desert. Though I don't believe this brings up an trigger issues, at least what's happened to Carmina, there's always a chance it could if a person has triggers related to combat and IEDs.

Also a possible trigger, the problems Danny had with his college teammates and coach, and what they tried to do to Danny's best friend, Marian, could be a huge rape and assault trigger. But if you are trigger-free, this book is pretty great, as was the last Rebels book I read. Each of the personal demons that each character has, are described to the other two in the triad. It keeps the story moving as the problem is told by the person that has it, then all three come up with a way to deal with it as best as they can. Obviously PTSD isn't something they can throw a bandaid on, but they discuss ways to get Carmina to appointments, to help Carmina if she wakes from a nightmare, etc.

I would recommend this book to any football fans, that also love romance novels of course. I would actually rate this as an erotica romance, meaning it's extra steamy!! And of course, this, like most Birmingham Rebels books, has a three person relationship, rather than a two person couple. This means there is some m\m action. If that bothers you, skip this book, because I'd hate to see it got negative reviews even though there's warnings everywhere.

I was given an ARC in exchange for a honest review by NetGalley and Loveswept.
Tom Kelly, Carmina de la Cruz, and Danny Smith sizzle the pages right off.
There is passion and more.

I have become a fan of the Birmingham Rebels football team and this book didn’t let me down. Carmina is trying to deal with everything that happened to her in Afghanistan, and Tom and Danny are roommates who both have eyes on Carmina. Well, Tom and eyes for Danny too (even if Danny doesn’t know it). You’ll have to read it to find out if any of them ever get the HEA they should have.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for a free and honest review.

Sigh.

I really should have known that this book and I would not work. Firstly this is my Second Samantha Kane novel and I truly do not like her style of writing and really didnt like how she displayed the bisexual angle in this one.

So DNF

There’s hot, there’s scorching and then there’s Samantha Kane…

I’m a huge fan of this author’s historical romance. Her Brothers in Arms series, set in merry old England, is one of my all-time favorites. Ever. Love is love and whether there are two or three in the relationship this author conveys the complex relationships – and the emotions that go with it – with heart and honesty. Throw in great storytelling and I’m all in! Translating that ability to a modern-day ménage seemed effortless… This is the fourth in this football-themed series and Tom, Carmina and Danny are going to come together in a huddle that is blistering in its intensity and rife with angst and even some confusion.

Tom and Danny were best friends. Carmina was a teammate’s ‘little sister’. As they came together the attraction between all, and I do mean all, was explosive even as it was marked by doubt and even resistance. They are pushing, pulling, and denying as they explore their sexuality, trying to figure out what their relationship really is. Do they even have one? Or do they have many? Or… Yup, there is angst galore and I couldn’t help but be enthralled by it.

Same-sex relationships. Ménage. It is not for everyone and at times I even questioned if the characters were as open, and eventually as comfortable, with it as they seemed to be. Not everyone is on the same page at the same time (I mean REALLY not on the same page). While I believed that the feelings between them were genuine, early on some of the dialogue and inner monologues seemed to fly in the face of that acceptance.

It took a lot of conversations and honesty to get there as they each struggled with their own personal issues – whether emotional, psychological or physical - within a not so private setting. A complicated journey with angst galore, this emotional story sparked many questions about acceptance and love. I hope there will be more!

This was my first taste of the Birmingham Rebels and it was definitely not lacking. Carmina, Danny and Tom came a long way during the book and while I liked all three of the characters, Tom was probably the first one of the three I fell in love with. Carmina's past was emotional and deep. Overall well developed characters and a well written story.

5 out of 5 stars!!!!!!!!!

Ms Kane has a crazy good way with words and drafting stories that suck me and won't let me go. I enjoyed this book from the very first page. It doesn't hurt that Carmina intrigued me in Jacked Up (the previous book for the Birmingham Rebels), but getting to know Tom and Danny and watching the three of them navigate life that wasn't easy was a wonderful experience. I only wish there was more....there's never enough in the best books. <3

I read all of S. Kane's Brother's In Arm series and this one is the first one I'd read in this series, I dont like to read out of order but this one didnt matter. All I'll say if these unlikely trio will come together to heal and love one another.

Reviews shared on Goodreads, Amazon, B & N and V's Reads: https://vsreads.com/2017/08/08/itching-to-commit-misconduct-a-review/

MISCONDUCT is the fourth book in the Birmingham Rebels series and yet I had not one trouble enjoying it as a standalone. The series features the pro football Birmingham Rebels team, and the lusty shenanigans that ensue… This book features a recovering combat veteran and two pals on the gridiron. Yum!

Carmina is a combat veteran from Afghanistan. More than three years ago she suffered a brain injury that still affects her balance and memory, but she’s worked through therapy enough that she only suffers anxiety and a speech impediment. Pretty much, she struggles to initiate words, and sometimes inadvertently switches between English and her native Spanish. It’s embarrassing and she self-isolates so she doesn’t feel humiliated. She has a dedicated dog for comfort, too.

Since her injury, Carmina hasn’t had an orgasm–not by herself, and not with another, not that she’s had sex in three years; she hasn’t. But being around all the sexy Birmingham Rebels is turning her head in two directions: at Tom and Danny, two players who couldn’t be more different.

Tom is the quintessential Nebraska farm boy with All-American good looks and a charm that would woo a man or woman. Which is good, because he openly plays for both teams. His roommate and closest friend on the team is Danny, a brooding black man with a bad history. Danny’s really close with one of the coaches, Marion, and he’s got a hidden spark for Tom because of, well, an orgy they participated in recently to, uh, help Marion get over a gang rape she’d experienced way back in college. (That was all part of a previous book…)

Okay, so Carmina wants Tom and Danny. Tom wants Carmina and Danny. Danny doesn’t want to admit he wants Tom, and doesn’t want the baggage of seriously dating anyone–which is what he thinks he’d have to do with Carmina. And, there’s the question of the elusive Big O. Tom volunteers to be Carmina’s sex coach, but it’s Danny who gets her off. And there’s jealousy. And boosy, bossy Tom who recognizes that Danny wants him, but only when he’s dominated.

I liked this story because it had a bunch of things going on in addition to the menage dynamics. Tom and Danny have an on-field nemesis that had hurt Marion way back when, and the team he plays for is the last on their schedule. Will there be retribution? Players get injured and the Rebels’ playoff dreams are in jeopardy. Further, Carmina has to learn to stand on her own feet, even when it shuts down the “help” of some of her closest pals. It’s still a sensual book, with MF, MM, and MFM activities, and the trio is engaging. I wanted all of them to find comfort in one another. So glad they did! Readers of the series will be happy to get some closure on earlier plot threads, as we have lots and lot of menage couples who peek into the book here and there. I’m looking forward to more sexy tales in this series, for sure. I received a review copy via NetGalley.