Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review. All I can say is we need more polyamory in "love triangle" books.

This is an interesting read, and I enjoyed the view in to a non-traditional relationship set up.

I enjoyed it a lot.

I thought this book was really interesting. It was so refreshing to see an "unconventional" relationship being accepted and nearly not discussed at all for it's being unconventional. The issue was (nearly) never that there were three people in the relationship, but that one of the parties broke the unit apart and that they no longer worked. They were incomplete. It didn't always work for me, I wasn't always convinced that they actually worked. But for the most part, when the three were together, I believed in their love. I also really enjoyed the murder mystery aspect, and how they worked together and knew each other well enough to know when each one needed to take lead.

What We May Be is an engaging romantic suspense story that features a ménage relationship. It was a very pleasant surprise for me. The mystery was engaging and kept my interest but the real star of the show was the relationship and relationships between the 3 protagonists. They had great chemistry and a really interesting dynamic. I liked the fact that it being a ménage relationship wasn't the crux of the story. This was a second-chance romance between 3 people, not the story of how 3 people found each other and overcame societal conflict to be together. Very refreshing!

Layla Reyne dangled MMF in front of me and I couldn't resist. Truthfully, I didn't want to. Have you seen that cover?

Let's take a moment to appreciate the pretty.

Anyhoo, hot cover that is surprisingly representative of Charlie, Sean and Trevor aside, this was a good second chance romantic suspense thriller. I think the second chance was a smart choice on the author's part because it automatically builds a backstory which allowed more of the focus to be on the mystery/thriller aspects of this story.

So, that's warning one for the hardcore romancers out there: it's a romantic suspense and the romance is definitely in the sidecar not the driver's seat.

Charlie and Trevor have been licking their wounds since Sean basically vanished a decade ago shortly after asking them to marry him. Of course there was a reason but nonetheless lives were altered, feelings were hurt, there's amends to be made and when circumstances dictate he return to their small town in North Carolina he does so with hat and heart in hand thus the stage is set for a reunion.

Except for the pesky serial killer that's lurking around and seems to have an axe to grind. Even though I was fairly certain I knew who the killer was I continued to be engrossed in the storyline until the end.

What I liked most about this story were the characters and the fact that even though Charlie, Trevor and Sean's relationship is/was an unconventional one, everyone in town seems to be genuinely rooting for them to reunite and make it work. That was an unexpected but pleasant surprise.

I'm not 100% certain but I believe some of these characters may appear in other books however, I had no trouble following this story. So if you're looking for an engrossing romantic suspense featuring a second change triad give What We May Be a try.






An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an exciting, steamy, and romantic read -- just what I've come to expect from Layla Reyne! I enjoyed getting to know the characters and quickly got swept up in their dramatic tale of love, heartbreak, longing, and reunion. Trevor, Sean, and Charlie have such a strong bond and their story delivered just the right amounts of angst, sweetness, and spice! I liked how they blend their jobs, interests, and passions, making sure that no one ever gets left out or feels unappreciated.

One thing I particularly enjoyed is that this book is set in a small town on the coast of North Carolina; not only is this a cool setting in and off itself but, speaking as someone from a rural town in Georgia, it was nice to see an out, poly triad making it work in that setting. I also like that, for the most part, Trevor, Sean, and Charlie's friends and family support them. The case that the three of them work on is interesting and kept me guessing! I had no idea who the murderer was until the very end. I also liked that there are mentions of characters from Layla Reyne's other book series. (And I'm looking forward to reading Marsh's book!).

I ain’t even gonna lie, I saw this cover and was IMMEDIATELY intrigued. I hadn’t even read the blurb yet and I was already ready to jump right in. LOL. Okay, so then I finally read the blurb and discovered this was a throuple second chance romance and that pretty much sealed the deal.

What We May Be starts off with a bang (literally), introducing its three main characters: Sean, an FBI agent, Trevor, a college professor, and Charlotte, better known as Charlie, who is a police officer. Trevor and Charlie grew up together and were best friends until Sean entered the picture in college and brought all three of them together into a relationship. When the book opens Sean has come back to town to attend Charlie’s brother and father’s funeral, and it’s the first time he’s seen his lovers since he abandoned them ten years ago… for reasons. So as you can imagine, there is A LOT of pent-up frustration, anger, and lust. 🔥🔥🔥. But then he leaves again, determined to stay away.

Months later Charlie, now the deputy chief of police since her father’s death, is called into a case involving a prominent member of the community and professor at the local college. He is killed in a very odd way, made to almost look like a suicide, that is until they find the weird note left at the scene which points to murder. That’s when Sean shows up again, ready to assist with the investigation as a favor to a friend who also happens to be the son of the victim.

Y’all I read this book straight through in one day. Did I have some quibbles? Of course. I never really bought the reason Sean went away and never even tried to get in touch with the two people he was all ready to marry. He couldn’t even have sent a text or something? And why did he leave AGAIN after that hot and heavy get together after the funeral? But all in all this was a really well-done polyamory romance.

The chemistry and emotional connection between the main characters were tangible and the sex scenes were scorching hot. I believed the feelings of devotion and need between all three of them. I feel like sometimes in a romantic suspense the suspense storyline drowns out the romance, but that didn’t happen here and weirdly enough there was no danger banging for a bit of sexy relief. Oh, there is plenty of throuple loving, just in safe conditions. I did feel like the suspense storyline was done well, I mean I didn’t really know who the villain was until the very end.

This was an enjoyable, super sexy romance and I can’t wait to dive in for more when Marsh’s book comes out. Thank goodness I read until the end and picked up that little information nugget.

Content warnings: on page violence, mention of parental death, mentions of terminal cancer, mention of off page sexual assault

I really loved the characters in this book. The chemistry between Trevor, Sean, and Charlie was amazing. I also really loved Marsh as a side character. He was great.

I didn't love the backstory of the characters. I felt like it took too long to figure out what happened between the three of them and then once we found out it fell kind of flat.

Also, the "bad guy" reveal. I like to be surprised by a mystery, but there were literally no hints that the person who actually is the criminal would be the criminal. It felt like the bad guy was chosen just for shock value, which is valid, but I personally didn't love it.

I thought the concept of this book was great with the three being brought back together to help stop a serial killer. I absolutely loved the scenes with Trevor, Sean, and Charlie. The chemistry was there whether it was all three together or if they were paired off.

Overall, this was good, but I ended up reading it more for the characters than for the suspense of the mystery.

Trevor and Charlotte have been best friends for forever. It wasn't until college when Sean came into the picture, first as Trevor's roommate and best friend, and later as his lover that Trevor and Charlotte found something more together as well. Sean was the glue that held the three of them together and made a happily ever after seem possible. When Sean left them without even saying goodbye, Trevor and Charlotte went back to being friends as best they were able. Now, ten years later, Sean is back in town investigating a murder as an FBI agent, Charlotte is working the case as a local detective, and local politics get Trevor drawn in as well. As they are forced to work together it's clear that the desire and feelings they felt in college still linger. Can they solve the mystery of the murder, as well as learn to trust one another again?

This is a quick treat for readers looking for a standalone romantic mystery with the second chance love trope and a sizzling polyamorous relationship. I like that we get to be inside the head of all three protagonist at various points, although it does feel much more Sean centric to me. I liked the way in which polyamory was discussed and the exploration of what it meant for each individual in the relationship. The mystery element had an interesting premise although felt a bit rushed to resolve at the end. There were a couple hot sex scenes and the resolution felt genuinely good.

This was a pretty good read that had me hooked just to see who committed the crimes. In this poly relationship read, we have three characters that all have a tragic past together that are brought together again years later by another tragedy and a mystery. Sean, Trevor and Charlie all have had chemistry that was off the charts from page one and continued while trying to solve this mystery. With many twist and turns throughout their case, will this troupe get their second chance and will the killer be caught? I guess one will have to read and see!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I'll start off with what I liked:
I'm not very well versed in poly relationships so I can't speak for the authenticity of this one, but it seemed very believable to me. Sean, Charlie and Trevor certainly had chemistry and I appreciated that it seemed like a well-balanced relationship. It was nice to see very little judgement from the townfolk (by and large) regarding the throuple (is that the correct word?).

The town setting was really well done. It definitely had that small-town, everyone in everyone else's business sort of feel, and the coastal atmosphere was palpable.

The mystery was creative, if a little dry. I was pleased with myself for more or less figuring it out, something I rarely do, so I am rounding my rating up a half star just for that. The police procedural parts seemed authentic enough although I will admit, I know next to nothing about that either.

And now what I was not so fond of:
It seems to me that the entire backstory for the throuple was pretty needlessly tragic. Sean left on the night he proposed, and hasn't spoken to his two partners for a decade, but why? I was really expecting something big. The explanation didn't jive for me. He TRULY could not find time to reach out in any way, in 10 years? I don't buy it. I don't want to spoil anything but I just didn't think it was a significant enough obstacle to separate him from the loves of his life for a decade.

The mystery WAS a little dry. It's hard to put my finger exactly on why that was; perhaps the book was trying to do a full-on mystery and a full-on romance at the same time and it was just too ambitious? Idk.

And some nitpicks:
Tracy- nurse or anesthesiologist. Gotta pick one or the other.
Charlie asking her librarian sister for the library records of a customer, and Annie just... doing it. Nope, would not happen. You need a subpoena for library records. Those would be thrown right out of court as inadmissible evidence.
Charlie's behavior when questioning a certain suspect, also, I found to be incredibly unprofessional. I would have expected the acting chief of police, a woman who was being recruited to the FBI, to be able to control herself better.
A character uses the phrase "the baby in my belly", and I apologize that this is such a specific personal issue for me, but that just makes me laugh. That phrase is really only appropriate when speaking to a small child, in my personal and honest opinion. I'm sure 99.9% of readers would neither notice this nor care! lol.

Overall, I would have felt better about the romance here if the past (the original breakup) had felt more large-scale and authentic. As it was, I just didn't believe that that was enough to separate the three of them for so long.

There are parts of this book I really enjoyed but other parts that left me feeling a bit confused and downright annoyed.

Let’s start with the good.

I liked the throuple in this book a lot and I haven’t read a TON of throuple books so maybe it’s just my limited reading but this is the first throuple book where it’s also a second chance romance. I’ve never read that combo. and I really enjoyed it. I liked the 3 MCs a lot and felt there was a lot of chemistry and the sex was HOT.

I didn’t love the suspense aspect of it as much. I thought the actual villain was kind of random and their reasoning for doing what they did came way out of left field. (I’m using the pronoun “they” so as to not give away any indication of who the villain might be).

Also, there’s a part in the story where one of the MCs ex wife is referred to as a nurse and then later on, referred to as an anesthesiologist. This is a very small thing to focus on in the grand scheme of this book but she’s either a nurse OR an anesthesiologist, she really can’t be both.

The other part that annoyed me was why Sean left Charlotte and Trevor all those years ago, so abruptly. I don’t mind misunderstandings as the break up plot in a romance but it has to make sense. This….didn’t. You’re gonna make me believe that there was no way for Sean to contact Charlotte and Trevor and tell them why he left? Or they couldn’t have called him up? Sent an email? That part really annoyed me so much because it just felt really silly and ridiculous that these people who were all ENGAGED to be married wouldn’t have tried to reach out at some point during the 10 years to figure out why one of them suddenly left without warning.

Other than that, I did like the central romance - especially when Trevor called Sean “baby” - idk why but I am a sucker for a well-placed “baby”. And I thought the emotional connection between the three was really strong - it wasn’t just physical though there was plenty of that as well.

Content notes: on page violence and murder, reference to off page sexual assault and attempted sexual assault; off page parental death, off page attempted suicide, reference to parental figure dying of bone cancer; reference to cheating in the past;

A mystery/thriller featuring a poly thrupple, this is a fantastic book. Charlotte and Trevor were best friends growing up. When they got to college and met Sean, everything changed for them. They were happily loving each other before tragedy struck and Sean left abruptly in order to protect them. But when Charlie's dad and brother are killed in the line of duty, a series of murders brings Sean back into their lives. Will they find the murderer before they strike again? Will they find their way back to each other? My only gripe with this book is that at one point, Charlie, the deputy police chief, asks her sister, a librarian, for someone's library record. She does. But no librarian would do that.

I've never read a Poly book before, nor do I know much about Polyamory, so I won't be commenting on how this book portrays Polyamory because I don't know near enough about it! I will say that I really enjoyed the relationship between all 3 main characters, and I thought they had a great, fully-developed and complicated backstory which was handled great. We as readers got tons of insight into their relationships to each other, and the character development and closure in this book is super satisfying.

I wasn't a huge fan of the main plot of the book; I've always liked my romance books to be "romance, with a side of plot" and this book was more 50/50 split between plot and romance. I found the main mystery to be rather boring and uncompelling to read about. I cared about the relationship much more than the mystery plot, so I found myself skimming through lots of the plot to get back to the relationship development. This isn't to the fault of the author, as the book wasn't advertised any different, however it's just a personal preference that gives some insight as to why I docked a couple stars.

3.5 stars, rounded down. Thank you for this ARC!