Vince and Pete are in a relationship and are considering adding a third. Enter Lee, a surly grump who is staying with the couple while he heals from a back injury. Both Vince and Pete want Lee but past heartbreak and betrayal have left Lee with little trust and faith to be spared.

This book is number 20 in the Bluewater Bay series and boy, do you ever sense that if you haven't read the others you are missing chunks of relevant information. I think I would have liked this book more if either the past was made more clear within this book or more focus was spent on the present story.

Overall, it's not bad! A bit confusing but not bad. Our trip has particular needs and they all balance themselves out well and, despite an overall lack of connection to them for me (possibly because of needing to read the previous books in the series), I did get invested enough to want to see how it all shook out. And it's good to see healthy depictions of BDSM. A decent story of three men coming together; 3.2 out of 5.

I'd never read this style of romance before so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying it. I would definitely read more from this author in the future

I love the Bluewater Bay series so much. I'm sad that it's ending! I was so happy to get this book and to read it. I enjoyed it just like all the rest of the ones before it. I really enjoy poly books and seeing how people navigate those relationships and the dynamics of those around them. Vince, Pete, and Lee are hot together and the chemistry is off the charts in this book. I loved their interactions together and seeing how each of them had to develop the relationship one on one and then as a whole threesome.

And of course I loved seeing Bluewater Bay as a town coming into play as a whole.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆
M/M/M Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

This was a hard book for me to follow. There was so much going on in terms of the different relationship dynamics, and the communication between the three characters was muddled a lot of the time.

Vince is used to Lee bossing him around in the office. Lee is trying to recover from a professional disappointment as well as a personal one. However, despite all of the hints about his personal issues, you are never truly given the layout of what actually happened to make him so skittish.

Then you have the established relationship between Vince and Pete. Pete likes to serve Vince while at home. It's a dynamic that you wouldn't suspect given Vince's office job. However, it works for them.

Vince and Pete have toyed with the idea of adding a third, because both believe that they aren't enough for each other – they are both looking for more, but what they have now is all each other can give. That's where Lee fits in. He can balance the needs of both Pete and Vince.

I think this story fell short because Lee pushed too hard to not be in a relationship and we only had truncated snippets of the relationship communication between everyone.


Sarah – ☆☆☆
Vince and Pete are an established couple who decide to add a third partner to their relationship. They are a persuasive duo and I’m still not sure if Lee ever really has a chance to say no to the arrangement.

This isn’t my favourite book in this series – or by this author. Some of my reservations are personal – I like my BDSM to stay in the bedroom or playroom and I struggle with lifestyle power exchange relationships. I found it impossible to reconcile the two sides of Pete in this story. At work, he’s a competent, confident director on a successful show. At home, he is almost infantilised with Vince struggling to care for his many ‘needs.’

There are also two sides to Vince. At work, he’s the office lackey. At home, he’s a controlling dom. Again, the two sides of this character don’t quite match up. And while I was attempting to get my head around this Jekyll/Hyde couple, Lee was thrust into the mix. And I don’t feel like we ever learn much of anything about him, his past, or even his desires for the future.

Ultimately, this didn’t feel much like a romance to me. Vince and Pete decide that Lee belongs with them. They tell him that he belongs with them. They chase him when he runs away and drag him back to them. There is a whole lotta angst between Vince and Pete as they discuss their hopes for Lee, but we see little emotional engagement between Vince/Pete and Lee himself. Found it all a bit odd – especially as Vince and Lee are coworkers.


Veronica – ☆☆☆
Vince brings work colleague Lee home after Lee has a fall and hurts his back. Both Pete and Vince and keen on Lee and would like him to join their relationship. But Lee is a very prickly customer and doesn't trust easily. Vince and Peter take care of Lee, and are patient and affectionate even when he is being difficult. For me their warmth and affection is the highlight of the story.

Lee starts to connect well with Pete but is scared of what Vince makes him feel. So when Pete isn't around as a buffer, things don't go so well. But when things are going well and the three of them are in sync, it is beautiful and very sexy.

While I did struggle early on with this story, mostly because I found Lee unlikeable, I ultimately really enjoyed reading Three Player Game. It left me feeling warm and fuzzy.

Reviews shared on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and V's Reads: https://vsreads.com/2017/10/18/smoothing-the-kinks-in-three-player-game-a-review/

Vince and Lee are co-workers for a newly-formed company that’s planning to make a videogame about Wolf’s Landing. The two of them came to work for Blaire Caruthers. Blaire’s father was an overbearing prick, and they are all glad to be rid of him. Plus, Vince is dating a director’s assistant on the set of Wolf’s Landing, Pete, who is willing to direct some scenes they can use in the rendering of the video game. It seems they have an inside track on this plan, and life is finally going well for Vince–and mostly Lee. Well, Lee suffers from a chronic back injury. He’s laid up in a Vancouver hotel with a flare-up, and being cared for by Vince when the book opens.

Vince has long thought Lee was attractive, but he’s with Pete, and that’s totally cool. In fact, it’s a great partnership. Pete has a stress-filled job on the TV show set, and he struggles to relax in his off hours. Vince’s firm hand and creative loving calm Pete’s manic beast. That said, it’s a lot of stress on Vince, and he’s getting a bit worn from caring for Pete’s emotional and sexual needs. They are fully aware of this, and have been considering asking another man to join them; both Pete and Vince are attracted to Lee, but nervous about approaching him. Lee’s need for care as he recovers from his back troubles seems a perfect fit for their cozy cottage–and lifestyle. One huge snag, Lee’s back was originally injured by a careless Dom, and he wants no more kink in his life.

However, the longer Lee spends with Pete and Vince, the more he comes to realize how very lonely he is in Bluewater Bay. And how bonding with VInce and Pete, only to have them someday move on and leave him behind, could be too crushing to manage.

I liked this one. I’m a fan of poly relationships in fiction, and this one had an interesting spin, for me. The purported triad wasn’t necessarily all about attraction. Vince and Pete had deep needs in their relationship that weren’t being completely met. They are really invested in one another, and want to satisfy the other, too, but there are strains. Pete is a health-mind-body type of guy, and needs a place for balance. When his schedule is thrown off, it can take Vince hours and hours to calm him, and get him to re-center. He knows this is a challenge most men wouldn’t take on, and he loves Vince for all his care, which is by turns tender and kinky. Expect some bondage and light BDSM.

Lee is afraid to engage in kink, to be that vulnerable again, but Pete and Vince are excellent at caring for him. It’s unsettling how cherished they make him feel. Yet, he struggles with Vince, who was the previous office lackey, being dominant at home. Lee’s conflicts in the work place become petty, and illustrate how immature Lee has acted in relationships during adulthood. It’s only once he walks out that he recognizes all he’s given up–and wants back. The sexytimes aren’t burn the sheets up steamy, but they are engaging nonetheless. The power plays and dynamics of navigating a kink-laced, three-way love fest are always tricky. That said, these scenes add a lot of tender moments to a story line already brimming with compassion and self-sacrifice. I read a review copy provided by NetGalley.

I was really looking forward to this book but ultimately it disappointed me. I felt confused as to what was happening constantly. The beginning was weird and threw me off. The switching POVs really, really turned me off as well. Threesomes are ambitious to write about, it’s hard to get them right, a lot of the time they come off as unbelievable. This book fell prey to that. It was not a good representation of a threesome, in my opinion.

I think there were good parts to this book if you can suspend your disbelief and ignore the lack of information and the switching POVs.

However, this book did not resonate with me at all. I appreciate realism and this was just not that.

Pete and Vince have found a balance that mostly works for them, they both have tough jobs that are high stress. When Vince brings Lee home sparks start to fly, but Lee doesn't want any to feel anything, he also doesn't want to get between these two guys. It will take everything Vince and Pete have in them to make Lee realize that he is wanted not just with one of them but with both of them.

Another great book in the Bluewater Bay Series, I love being able to get flashes of character from other books and see how they are doing. I would love to see a book that is a check in of all the different couples, like a Christmas book.

Although I enjoyed the character development, the plot fell flat for me.

While I generally like the Bluewater Bay series, and even though I found the previous story that revolved around these characters (How the Cookie Crumbles, Bluewater Bay #12) to be sweet as well as charming, I was considerably more conflicted about Three Player Game. As intricately tied to its predecessor as it was, I ended up stopping to do a thorough reread—which I actually enjoyed very much—in order to fill in some blanks that came up early in this story. Despite that necessity, however, this resulted in a more severe comparison between the two, which might have done more harm overall.

Initially, I had a difficult time reconciling the Lee and Vince in Three Player Game with the conniving and “mousy” (respectively) personalities they exhibited in How the Cookie Crumbles. Early in Three Player Game, Vince claims that he’s more than what anyone else believes him to be, but, his saying so wasn’t enough to outweigh my doubts. It took a little while, but those misgivings were ultimately replaced by varying degrees of fondness for all three men, although Pete and Lee were my favorites.

Another problem that I never was able to see past was that both Vince and Pete seemed to view Lee as a target or acquisition—no matter how precious to them he might be. Having said that, the lack of pre-existing definitions, in conjunction with Pete’s raw earnestness, helped make the affection between Pete and Lee feel more honest and easy to me. In contrast, Vince deliberately—though not with any force—overstepped Lee’s boundaries more than once, which kept me from fully accepting their connection as an entirely healthy one. Regardless, the “means to an end” nature of their actions was uncomfortable at times, and affected the entire narrative for me, as a result.

Although I had a difficult time with several elements of Three Player Game, there were quite a few things that I liked, as well. One of the most important, I believe, is that the narrative doesn’t gloss over the complexities a polyamorous relationship likely entails. I felt that, while the issues these characters face are worthy of serious consideration, the author didn’t insinuate that they are applicable to everyone. I also appreciated that, while the three men eventually form a cohesive unit, the individual relationships in play within it are unique and must be treated as such by all involved if they have any hope of succeeding.

I found it similarly promising that Lee, Pete, and Vince each acknowledge their respective weaknesses, without succumbing to them. Outside of the insistent nature of the pursuit itself, all three men also have moments where they are exactly what the other(s) need. There are several very sweet moments—usually involving Pete—that I was able to enjoy quite a bit, as well. Eventually, they all learn to share both the burdens and the pleasures while avoiding losing fundamental pieces of their individual personalities.

Like the other stories in the Bluewater Bay series, Three Player Game can be read as a standalone. And, even though it underscored the discrepancies in some of the characters’ past vs. present selves, I strongly recommend reading How the Cookie Crumbles first, especially since there is so much overlap in characters and backstory. Three Player Game is an ambitious undertaking, and I wasn’t surprised to encounter a few complications as I read. I do feel, however, that the things that discomfited me the most could have been avoided in several cases. Still, details that were irresponsibly overlooked in other stories received a lot of much-needed attention here, and that’s something I’ll remember, too.

I wasnt sure about this book going in. I requested it because I enjoy the Bluewater Bay series, but I was a bit hesitant due to the threesome element. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find that I very much enjoyed it, and even sought out some other stories with a polyamorous love story. MY one complaint is that apparently, its very hard to find a love story featuring polyamory without some sort of BDSM element. Ive expressed in previous reviews the way in which I feel like BDSM is overdone in literature lately and how its something I'm frankly sick of seeing, and I feel like this would have been a better story without it. It's not like it's some kind of contest to see just how far out of the box you can push it. By my understanding, polyamory is just a lifestyle, not a kink, but by pairing it with other unconventional sexual behavior I feel like it reduces it down to a sex game. I'm not a member of either community so it's very likely that I'm wrong, but that's my impression on the matter.
Overall, however, the unnecessary BDSM element aside, it was a good book, and I don't regret reading it.

This book interested me due to the previous one in the series that I read. Not the same author, but set in the same town and scene.

This one is a MMM, with two main character's (Vince and Pete) being in a relationship, but seeking out more. They find that in Lee, the grumpy, stand offish Lee who needs some TLC after hurting his back and thinking he can take care of himself alone.

The tension in this book leading up to the culmination of the relationship was somewhat angsty. I was not the biggest fan of the two men being alone with Lee, outside of their relationship, as I was afraid that would take away from their relationship with each other. However, these two were secure enough in their relationship with each other that the extra attention to Lee and Lee to them did not break them apart.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read in this series.

I enjoyed Three Player Game overall, but it took a really long time for me to warm to the characters. Had I not been reading this an an ARC and wanting to finish it to write a well put together review, I might not have gotten back into it. While it's good, I just couldn't find any kind of connection to the three men. If you aren't already invested int he Bluewater Bay series, I don't see much of a reason for anyone to pick this up unless they were specifically looking for a menage with some BDSM elements.

3.5 stars

If you've been here before, you know that BDSM is not my go-to when it comes to contemporary romance. However, I haven't skipped a book in the Bluewater Bay series yet and I really liked the last book that Jaime Samms wrote in the series (How the Cookie Crumbles), so there was no reason to skip this one. As a matter of fact, I will probably go back and read that book again, because it was 8 books ago and I need a little bit of a refresher, especially since the main character in Three Player Game all got their start in How the Cookie Crumbles. ;)

As for Three Player Game? It's complicated. I really liked Pete, Vince and Lee individually... together? Let's just say that their dynamic bugged me a little. Oddly enough, it had nothing to do with the BDSM, mainly because it was mainly a mental Dom/Sub situation, not really physical. At least not on the page. The awkward part for me was the menage situation. Not in general. I've read quite a few books that centered around a menage relationship that worked... The relationship between Pete, Vince and Lee... I just didn't get, or at least I couldn't wrap my head around why it worked.

I think the main reason that I had issues with their relationship was the fact that Lee was broken and both Vince and Pete both sensed it. The issues that Lee had were barely touched on and to this reader, they were really important if they wanted to help Lee get to where he needed to be. Other than that, I think that Pete and Vince could be good for Lee... there was just something missing. *sigh*

This book is one in a series of books by different authors set in the town of Bluewater Bay. Characters surround the filming of a television series. I have read one previous book in the series that was defiitely a stand alone. I did not feel that was the case here. Pete and Vince are in a relationship and considering the addition of a third- Lee. Both men need different things from each other and each also needs something the other can't give. Thanks to a back injury, Lee is put in close quarters to find out if he is a fit. Lee has trust issues and no clue that the men "want to keep him." The characters were likable. Pete is a big puppy dog. Vince is a complex mix of dominance at home and laid back at work. Lee has a gruff exterior that is off putting so no one looks behind the facade. I di have problems connecting with the story. It felt like I walked into the middle of the story in regard to the relationship between Pete and Vince. There wasn't enough summary given for me to really understand their dynamic and more importantly their commitment. It made it hard to invest in them. The pacing was slightly slow . There was definite chemistry between the characters but just not enough of the realtionship for the investment. It was an ok read. I just really think you need to read some of the previous books to have the background of the characters.

Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference....

'Three Player Game' is a menage story that starts with an established couple who have always wanted a third person in their relationship and they've also known for a while who they wanted that third person to be...the problem here is that maybe he doesn't want to be that person or maybe he's just afraid to allow himself to be 'that person'.

Vince and Pete have been a couple for a while now and having a third person in their relationship has pretty much always been a part of their plan. Vince wants that third person to be Lee, a man he has a work history with and while Pete's not as sure as Vince initially that he wants it to be Lee, he's leaning towards 'yes' on the issue and definitely willing to give the man strong consideration. Lee's the holdout. He's given his trust before it left him hurt both physically and emotionally to the point where he's spent the ensuing years closing himself off from the world believing that he'll only be safe if he's on his own. Vince and Lee have some walls to break down if they plan on making their duo a trio permanently.

There's definitely some history here both between Vince and Pete as I said they come into the story as an established couple and between Vince and Lee on a working level only. As well both Vince and Lee have a connection to their boss, Blair Carruthers, whose story is told in Bluewater Bay #12 How the Cookie Crumbles. Which I admit I haven't read yet, however, I didn't have a problem parsing out the connections pre-Bluewater Bay as the author provides the background as the story goes along.

I didn't even really have a problem with the fact that this story has a menage grouping...my concern was with the fact that it was an established couple adding to their dynamic. This is probably one of my least favorite scenarios. So I have to admit I waffled on this one for a long time before I finally decided I was going to bite the bullet and read the book. Initially I was a little hesitant but things ultimately clicked into place for me and I ended up really enjoying this one.

There were a number of factors that helped to make it work...the first one being the author, I really like Jaime Samms. She's the author of one of my favorite menage books 'The Foster Family' and it's based on the same premise of an established couple adding a third to their relationship. So having already experienced this dynamic with her, I had faith. The fact that in general I've really enjoyed the Bluewater Bay books that I've read so far also added to my faith that this would work. Ultimately though it came down to the story and luckily for me there were a lot of little things that I liked about this one.

I was good with the fact that the story started with Vince and Pete already established as a couple since it would have probably made for an overly long story that would have lost my interest if it had gotten bogged down with their beginnings as well

For Vince and Pete adding Lee to the dynamics wasn't an easy feat to say the least. Lee was more than a little resistant and there were times that Vince and Pete had their reservations as well, which made sense...since the consequences of adding another person to your relationship is far more life altering than buying a new set of dishes especially when that person 'seems' to be resistant to the idea. I'd be doing a lot more soul searching and second guessing myself than they did if it was me...just sayin'.

I really liked all three of these men...Vince, whose work and home personas were essentially polar opposites. At work he was the gopher, that Lee bossed around, he was calm, efficient, organized and incredibly observant, taking orders without hesitation but at home he was the one giving the orders and while he was still all those other things they were expressed differently and utilized to provide the care that his partners needed.

Pete like Vince had polar opposite work and home personas only at work he was the one organizing and ordering people around, making sure things got done how and when they needed to be. But at home he was the one who wanted to give up control to let someone else be in charge and care for him but Pete was also a nurturer and caregiver. Pete was also high maintenance and while Vince loved him tremendously taking care of Pete's needs also drained him. A reality that was apparent to both Vince and Pete and one of the contributing factors to their desire to add a third person to the relationship.

While Lee was prickly and obstinate hiding his gentler more caring side and his need to give up control and trust someone else to provide him with what he needed and wanted. While meeting Pete's needs was like dealing with a force of nature, Lee's needs meshed more with Vince's and allowed him to restore some of his own balance at the same time.

Sexually the dynamics were different between each of these men as a pair and somehow things came together to fill the missing spaces in Pete and Vince's relationship creating a place for each of them that was unique.

Making their relationship work turned out to be a learning experience for all three of these men. Vince had to learn to trust in himself when it came to Lee. That he would be able to make things work without Pete as their buffer. Pete had to learn to step back and allow Vince and Lee find their own way to each other and Lee...well, Lee had the most to learn. He had to learn to trust not just Vince and Pete but himself...that he could make choices that weren't always going to get him hurt and to trust that he was not only worth being loved and cared for but he deserved it.

While there was a bit of a BDSM flavor to this one and I am admittedly not an expert on this lifestyle by any means based on other stories that I've read I'd say it was more like an appetizer than the entree which I have to admit works just fine for me.

This one worked for me and while I can't define one major reason. I would have to say that it was more a case of a bunch of little things coming together to take me back to Bluewater Bay for yet another enjoyable reading experience.

DNF at 84 %; no rating.

One of the characters said best what bothered me with this story pretty much from the beginning: "You can't just say there's a relationship, and then there is one."

Had a hard time to get into the story because Vince and Pete were already an established couple and they already knew Lee as well. Vince and Lee are coworkers and the whole getting to know each other happened off-page, before the book even started. That made it impossible for me to connect to the characters in any way. I dnf-ed How the Cookie Crumbles by the same author in this series. Since one of the main characters of How the Cookie Crumbles is the boss of Vince and Lee I assume that to really connect with the characters you have to read that before reading Three Player Game.

This is such a relationship-focused story that, because not a lot happens outside of the relationship, really drags. But there's also not a lot happening in the relationship. There's no built-up of attraction, no getting to know each other and I didn't believe that the characters were falling for each other. At best this is a story about roommates who occasionally have sex.

What I missed the most was communication between each of them. You can't just decide you're in a relationship and Ta-Da! everyone is happy and in love. I find this hard to believe - especially in a poly relationship. Throughout the whole book - at least up until I read it - Vince and Pete say that they have to agree on what to do because it was their relationship first, and they don't want to destroy what they have by bringing in a third. Their actions though are different. It's always one of them deciding on their own and only afterwards telling the other about what they did. That just didn't work for me.

Personally I really disliked how Pete and Vince try to run Lee's life as if he is not capable of doing it alone. And the way they didn't listen to what Lee wanted was really annoying. So all in all this really wasn't the book I had hoped it would be. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series though.