I hated Three Part Harmony when I tried to read it. It just didn't work for me. It is one I want to try again later though, as I really want to love this book.

*~~*ARC kindly provided from the publisher/author to me for an honest review *~~*

Full review to come

4 stars

Initially, I thought I'd be into this book because of Bruce, called #messbae by author Holley Trent, so it was a wonderful surprise that I loved all three characters equally.
Raleigh is buttoned up and cautious (until he's not), Bruce is so full of love and just needs people to love him back (also he's super hot) and Everley is the round, ambitious but stuck woman of their (my) dreams. I loved how the two men treated her body and how they worked out their trust issues as a group. My only wish is that we'd had more time with them after they figured out their relationship. When the MCs come together at 93%, it's hard to get a feel for how they'll work together, even if there's an epilogue. I need the feels!


Content Warnings: manipulative parents (all of them!), past: mistreatment of MC due to neurodivergence

Poly/ménage romances are still one of the romance corners I don't get into much (y'all, there are a lot of moving parts to keep track of in some of them, pun intended) but I do keep trying to find ones I like. I had heard Holley Trent, who I hadn't read before, was looking for reviewers for her new novel, Three-Part Harmony, and other readers said her books were good. OK, I'll try it out.

It took me a bit to get into the story. Since I hadn’t read the first book I wasn't sure what was going on with the whole scene at the beginning (which I guess follows directly off of book one) and Raleigh, one of those characters' editor and a main character here, is a bit of an acquired taste. Plus, I wasn't quite on board with Raleigh being territorial about his job where Everley was concerned since he was being a total prat (see also: things that can be cleared up with a real conversation). But after about 40 pages, once the three main characters were squared, the plot chugged right along. Interestingly, this is a rather medium-steamy ménage romance; there are some sex scenes but they're not intimately described and definitely won't blow your hair back (if you’re looking for HAWT threesomes by Chapter 2 this book is not for you). It’s mostly three people who manage to figure out by the end of the book that they love each other and function best as a unit. And boy, do they need each other because their families are all garbage (Everley's dad is kind of sleazy and forcing nepotism on her, Raleigh's family are career Conservative politicians who don't agree with his "lifestyle," and Bruce's high-society parents don't know what to do with autism spectrum disorder; I would add a mild CW for references to past trouble with families who are not supportive of queer or neurodiverse people.) Trent's writing was quite good so I think I'll seek out book one in this series at minimum.

Holley Trent is one of my faves because she can write just about anything! I read her PNR and her contemporaries just blow me away. This was such a beautiful exploration of all 3 characters and their emotional journeys and I was completely invested in each of them. I trusted that Holley would deliver that HEA but had no idea how she would possibly do that but oh she did so so so well.

OMG this was so amazing. I absolutely loved it. And these characters were just the right kind of frustrating on the way to their happy ever after. Cannot wait for more by this author.

Full review soon!

i loved this book and these 3 characters. So complex. When i started reading i thought Bruce was my fave but i see Holley is just so good she made me fall for alll of them.

Initially, i felt that it took way too long for all three of them to be together but I think this structure actually worked, and made sense. Bruce and Ral got intimate first. Then Ev and Bruce, then Ral and Ev and it all became this giant mishmash of feelings which made for such a compelling read of course we would want to see them all together!!

And finally they were and wow, the entire scene where Bruce and Ral goes up to meet Ev at her friends place AND they get snowed in AND her father shows up is some comedy goal, even as that scene isn't meant to be funny, but it was lol. I would love to see this book as a movie on screen just to have that scene come to life.

While the three do finally end up together, their entire dynamic was different than Stacia, Adrien's and Dara's which i liked. I liked that we get to see a different iteration of a polyamorous relationship and it wasn't a carbon copy of that of the first book's relationship.

A really grate

Two men meet, have an encounter, and go their separate ways. They have one woman in common and they both start to fall for her, while all three are trying to figure out what they want in life and deal with their families. The three main characters were interesting and very different from each other, but had similar family struggles that they could each relate to the others. I wished that Bruce and Raleigh had more time together, so it would have seemed more meaningful and show their connection. Overall, I enjoyed reading it, but could have used more character development and connection to each other.

I greatly enjoyed this book! It was wonderful to read an enemies to lovers in two completely different forms in the same book. I also love reading about neurodivergent characters and Bruce was a refreshing change from the sometimes generically written neurodivergent characters. Bruce's interactions with both love interests and inner monologue was so refreshing to read and I felt everything about it was so believable. I loved all of the characters, especially when Raleigh ended up having to eat his words in the beginning to Stacia about her polyamorous relationship. I look forward to recommending this book in our store.

This wasall the best parts of the enemies to lovers from The Hating Game and the polyamory in Outside the Lines.

Just as I was promised, I finished this book in basically one sitting. For me, as soon as Everley and Bruce met each other, I was all in.

That's not to say that I didn't like the Bruce and Raleigh section right at the start. No no, I quite liked Raleigh, the curmudgeon from Writing Her In, and was super happy to see both his story and also a butt load of character growth within this tale.

But my heart definitely went out to Everley and Bruce, both gorgeous characters.

At the start, I'm not going to lie: Bruce was a little bit difficult to read because his behaviour and speech patterns hit too close to him and I found that I read that uncomfortably. But finding acceptance of him in these pages was hugely validating. A Girl Like Her has previously been my favourite novel depiction of autism rep, but I think I have a new one in mind now!

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
I absolutely loved this book – so much that as soon as I finished it, I got hold of Writing Her In (book #1) and read it straight through too! You could read this as a standalone, as the characters involved are new, but we meet Raleigh and mention of Everley in book one.

All three characters in this book have one very important thing in common – they have pressures on them to perform in a way that satisfies others at a significant cost to themselves. Each of them have dealt with this differently, but in all cases their level of trust in someone engaging with them because they are attracted to them, not because they want something, is zero. Makes it difficult to have a relationship, that's for sure.

Everley, thankfully, breaks the cycle by being the very best friend to Bruce – but even that seems to have an expiration date... oh, three such betrayed people have a lot to cope with when opening up, dealing with each other’s foibles, and having faith. I don't want to say more, as you need to have the goodness revealed as you read.

I cannot begin to tell you just how much I loved this story, and how I stayed up until very, very late, as I just got so involved with this trio of fascinating and deserving of love people. I also love that they are all open to what love can mean, and that gender is not a rational determinant of it.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
I completely fell in love with Writing Her In earlier this year and this is a very worthy sequel. I think the characters might be more interesting in this second book, but it doesn’t quite have the explosive sexual tension that the first book did. This is the story of Raleigh (Stacia’s editor) and the two people he finds himself reluctantly drawn to.

Everley is my favourite character in this story. We first see her through Raleigh’s eyes as a cold and ruthlessly ambitious woman whose career has been buoyed by blatant nepotism. And then we get her perspective. Everley is lonely, isolated, and slowly dying inside as she attempts to live up to her father’s expectations. I love Everley’s journey and the growth in her character.

Bruce is fascinating and enigmatic, but I struggle with him as a romantic lead. It’s because of Bruce that the triad relationship makes sense – while they love him, Raleigh and Everley both need more than Bruce can sometimes give. I love that the author has included a character who isn’t neurotypical and I love that neither Raleigh nor Everley attempt to change him.

I found Raleigh extremely annoying in Stacia’s book, but I loved him here. He isn’t quite as smooth, quite as pushy, or quite as confident in his own book. I love that he’s human and raw at times and I love his difficult past.

I love all three characters, but I didn’t engage as well with their relationships as I did with the first book. This feels like a lower heat read and the large gaps of time between characters connecting and reconnecting doesn’t do much to build or sustain sexual tension. The story feels slightly fractured in places as two of the three characters connect and the other is excluded. While there are a few too many long and slow passages in the middle of the book, the story races to the end. For me, things are wrapped up too neatly and too quickly.

I have really loved Holley Trent’s writing in both these books. Her use of language is beautiful, and her characters feel wonderfully human. These are sexy stories that feel more like real life poly relationships than the titillating ménage so common in erotic fiction writing. I can’t wait for more from this author.

What I enjoyed most about, 'Three-Part Harmony,' was hands down, the writing. It's fluid, a little languid, but easy to follow—and a clear sign of the talent behind the pen. Her grasp on vocabulary was enough to make me weep. Teach me your ways, Holley. Teach me your ways.
The handling of the polyamorous portion was delicate, and the author paid particular attention to the intricacies and tenderness of the type of relationship it is, along with the different personalities. Dealing with one lover is difficult, I can't imagine two, even if they are cooperative.

The only thing I was "unhappy" with was the pacing. It's a slow mover. It felt longer than I imagined it would be.

The bright side is the author uses the time to develop the story fully; and the characters. The story doesn't lack in any of the vital areas; like plot, character development, etc. I prefer book one over this one, but I enjoyed the depth of these characters. I liked Bruce; I liked all the characters. They're well fleshed out.

I liked his quirky traits. I enjoyed his quote-unquote, weirdness. I liked his insecurities because, besides the fact that it made him real, it makes us as readers, feel okay with being flawed. The author does an excellent job with the handling of these reflective personalities, with their true-to-life stories.

Well done and I would recommend it.

My first intentionally read triad. Was and was not what I expected. The enemy to friends (Bruce and Raleigh) for one of the pairs was a bit much as it went on a little long for me. I enjoyed the uniqueness of Bruce's character. His reflection on day-to-day life was interesting. I also liked Everley and her to the most extent direct approach to life. While reading, I kept waiting for something to happen and when it did, I was like huh, so what. Bottom line, I was bored but I did finish.

Having read the one before this I had to get into this one. It is nice when you can follow the next one in the reading with all there is out there to pick.
Since this will not be your normal path you quickly get caught up into Raleigh's path in life with all his ups and downs. Add into that Bruce and Everley to the equation and the level of reading goes up. You have been captured with these puzzles wanting to see how they will fit if at all. The emotions will build with us holding our breath and loving every minute.

I need to start this review with a couple of confessions… First, I didn’t read the book blurb before I made the request for the ARC. I don’t think that would have stopped me from picking it up, but it kind of threw me when I got to Everley’s POV in the book. Second, I didn’t read the first book in the series (Writing Her In) before I read this book. No worries on that one though, because I’m definitely back tracking to get to Dara, Adrien and Stacia’s story, especially after meeting Stacia in Three Part Harmony and getting a sneak peek at Writing Her In at the end of book 2.

Three Part Harmony not only took me by surprise, it drew me in so strongly that I finished it in less than 24 hours. The more I got to know these characters, the more I wanted to get to know them better. I fell in love with all of them, which doesn’t mean I didn’t get aggravated with them at times (especially Raleigh). Even then, they had good reasons for what they did and how they reacted. It was hard not to adore Bruce and want to love and protect him as much as Everley did. Honestly though, all three of these characters needed some type of love and protection because none of them had it easy. Which was just one of the many reasons why they were so perfect for each other.

The romance was great in Three Part Harmony, but honestly, what I think I loved most was the humor, wit and snarkiness that pretty much all the characters possessed. It definitely made me want to search out more books by Holley Trent – which I probably will. Even after I pick up Writing Her In. 😉

A good story but didn't quite live up to its promise for me.

Three Part Harmony is the second book in the Plot Twist series but it reads fairly well as a standalone. The first chapter or so had quite a bit with characters from the first book so it kind of got me up to speed. After that, though, the story was pretty strictly about Bruce, Everly and Raleigh.

I was really excited to read this book as it's been a while since I've read an MMF (male/male/female) ménage story. It turned out to be a good story but it took me way longer than it should have to finish reading it. (It's a longish book at 384 pages but I'm normally a really fast reader.)

The story had a lot of promise to be really hot but turned out to have only a few hot scenes, which was a bit disappointing. I really loved Bruce/Theo; he's a quirky character and I almost always enjoy them. Everly and Raleigh were pretty good, too but it took me much longer to connect with them.

For some reason the author's writing style in this story just didn't work really well for me. I found myself drifting a bit while reading and I often had to read portions again to grasp what was being said. I suspect that this had as much to do with me as the writing. Sometimes it's really better for me to put a book aside and come back to it later and I probably should have done that with this one.

If you're looking for a really hot ménage story, I don't think this will be what you're looking for. But, if you're looking for interesting characters, along with a good story, this should work quite nicely.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

I absolutely adore this book and pretty much read it in one sitting.

Basically you take three people who really don't have a lot of things in common or to do with each other and you throw them together in various circumstances that boggle your mind and at 30% of the book have you wondering how in the world the author is going to solve this tangled mess. And then you get your heart served to you on a silver platter.

At least that's what happened to me. I think what I loved most about all the characters is that without them realizing it they had so much in common. They all had to deal with the expectations and the scars their families have left them with, as well as with the expectations and judgment other people are trying to trap them in. Be it Bruce and his brain that is everything but neurotypical and that has had people treating him with the worst kind of ableism throughout his whole life.

Or Everley who was trained to never rock the boat, never take up space, always take what people dished her way with a complacent look on her face. So much so that her own happiness was always a thing she wished for, but never got to find. She wasn't allowed to learn how to stand up for herself in any way or form, not when her father forced her into a career and role she never wanted, not when her coworkers tried to punish her for getting the job she never wanted in the first place.

And Raleigh… Raleigh was never free of who his father is. What he does, what he says, what he can do for people. He was never free to be just himself. To have something for himself other than his job he fought so hard for. All three of them struggle with the results of that, all three carry the scars and the baggage that comes with those kinds of traumatic and life-shaping experiences.

And what I loved was how thoroughly and gently Holley Trent incorporated all of it in the narrative. The characters, their flaws and strengths and struggles, their actions and feelings were all related to their life experience and to the one thing they all wanted but could never truly experience the way they wanted and needed to: The freedom to be independent and happy and loved for who their are.

I did wish for a little more time and space for Bruce and Raleigh to explore more of their connection, their push and pull, but at the same time it wasn't really needed, just my personal wishes. It *worked* just the way it was.

Great side characters made the story whole and real to me. In addition to the setting in the entertainment and publishing industry where so much is reduced to and focused on appearances rather than humans and humanity. It was an emotional rollercoaster and a pleasure to dive into this story, into this tangled mess these characters created, while simultaneously being so human and gentle and caring. I loved them, I loved their story and I loved how Holley Trent managed to first make me wonder how she'd ever solve all of it, then made me guess all the steps it could take to really work, and *then* made me believe and absolutely fall into what these characters were doing and feeling so effortlessly. If anyone ever tells you romance is predictable and therefore boring? Please send them my way and will gladly use this an example and explain how you might predict some of the twists in this story, but you couldn't possibly be bored because the journey to this HEA is amazing and wonderful.

Three Part Harmony by Holly Trent is a brilliant three way tale. The characterizations felt real and seductive. Each character was unique and fully developed and the storyline unraveled with enough time spent on each of them and each act so as to be both intriguing and authentic. I would recommend this to friends but not to patrons.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed Writing her in when I read it earlier this year. That was a ménage as well but it was MFF and at times I would argue FF and MF.

This time it’s MFM and the characters are Raleigh, Everley and Bruce. I hate asshole heroes and honestly that’s what Raleigh was. I really liked Everley and Bruce and found myself wanting it to be just them in the relationship to be honest.

Unfortunately this book didn’t work for me like the first one in the series. Holley Trent is a great author but I just didn’t click with Raleigh. If you haven’t read the first one I recommend reading that one just because I think it’s better than this one.

I didn't really enjoy this book, but I don't think it's because of any flaw in the writing or characters. I just really don't like menage stories where all the angles sleep together first through various hijinks and then decide to combine. If you don't mind that kind of plot line then you would definitely enjoy it far more than I did.