Mel, a creative bartender in a fancy cocktail lounge, meets Bebe one night and sparks fly. Then Bebe’s partner walks in and Mel questions the entire connection. Thankfully, Bebe and her parter Kade have an open marriage. What first starts as a casual fling between Mel and Bebe, grows to a committed relationship and continues to grow to include Kade, Bebe’s partner.

This was my first romance where a relationship was occurring within an open marriage (at least at the start) and I really liked how it was discussed among everyone in the relationship. It felt like a healthy adult relationship and never like anything was hidden or kept secret. I like how Bebe and Kade were patient with Mel too when explaining things, since she had no clue what to expect either. Also, yay for talking about practices like STI screenings! Super important and this showed it’s possible without detracting in any way from a sexy or enjoyable encounter.

The relationship between Mel and Bebe was super cute. I was really worried when I got to 56% in the book and everything seemed to be wrapped up nicely. So glad it wasn’t over though! It only kept getting better. Mel and Kade’s relationship was just as special to me, even though it was completely different. It was really cool to see how three people could totally mesh together. The spicy scenes were great too!

The cocktail competition was a nice addition. It was fun to read about the creative process Mel went through. I have no expertise when it comes to mixing drinks, so I truly think it is an art. Having all of Mel’s lovers and friends come together to help was a great way to showcase their personalities and how much they cared about Mel.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book. It was the perfect book to bring on a Girl’s Trip and a great quick read. This is my second TJ Alexander book and they have definitely become an auto-buy author for me.

Thank you so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my 2nd Alexander book, and I found Port Stephen more accessible than this one.
Mel is a bartender, divorced from her wife for 2 years, not interested in love, until Bebe shows up to flirt with her.
Bebe is married to gender fluid Kade, and they have an open marriage.
Mel enters a contest to create a new cocktail, which is quite interesting .
The intersection of all the characters with their various relationships makes for a very interesting story. There is a lot of sex and also a lot of love.

I do wonder who this book will be marketed to, LGBTQ, straight people who are curious, or just people who want a good romance.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my EARC. This is my honest opinion.

Mel Bebe and Kade were so great. I'm a big fan of TJ Alexander’s style, and this was a great example of doing lgbtqia lit well.
Thank you Netgalley and Atria for this ARC!

This is a queer polyamorous romcom that I enjoyed reading. It had all the makings of a classic romcom, including great chemistry, banter, and a little bit of spice, but this time with an extra partner in the mix. The individual relationships between Mel and Bebe, Mel and Kade, and Bebe and Kade, show that they are all perfect for each other as a duo but are even better as a trio. They all worked so well together and again that chemistry was there for them all. Beyond the relationships, we see the most individual character development in Mel as she gains more confidence in herself and mixology skills as she gets to know and love both Bebe and Kade.

Overall, this was a good queer poly romcom that I recommend.

TJ Alexander is an autobuy author for me. This is the third 5🌟 book I’ve read by them. I loved all of the characters. I loved how their triad evolved naturally, in parts. I love how much emphasis was put on communication between partners. But it still read like a sweet and sometimes spicy romance rather than a poly guidebook. All of the bartending details were really fun, too!

∞ stars / 5

Triple Sec was one of my most anticipated reads of the year & it FAR surpassed anything I could have hoped for. I've read all of TJ Alexander's books & love them all dearly, but this one? THIS is my favorite. I was entranced from page 1! Mel, Bebe, and Kade are all so unique but find a way to mesh together in the perfect triad despite numerous bumps along the way.

My favorite part of the book isn't a specific scene or character, but the way that TJ Alexander depicts queer love in so many different iterations in their books. There are so many queer characters in this book & yet no two are alike. They have a wide variety of sexualities, appearances, and relationships. This book is an ode to queer love & such a beautiful story!

Features:
- so many varieties of love on the LGBTQ+ spectrum
- genderqueer representation
- bartender x lawyer x broody artist polyamorous knot
- lotssss of cocktails

Thank you to Atria Books, NetGalley, and TJ Alexander for letting me read an early copy!

This was my first TJ book and I enjoyed it more than I anticipated I would. I thought this book was the perfect kick off to Pride month for me. There’s not many poly books out there so this could’ve gone a few different ways. I’ll be honest and also say that around 30% I felt the luster wearing thin. Some scenes felt repetitive despite just getting to the spicy bits.

TJ Alexander really excels at writing queer romances which highlight identities less commonly seen in the popular genre. This book really treats polyamory with a lot of care and respect, while fully incorporating multiple relationship structures into the plot. The characters in this book are well-written and ooze chemistry. The relationships in this book are really easy to root for. The sex scenes are hot and fun. My one complaint is that some of the background plot is a little rushed and underdeveloped, as a consequence to the amount of time and attention paid to the central relationships.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 4/5

This was an incredibly well thought out meet cute, spicy AF romance that normalized and celebrated polyamorous relationships.

Each character was beautifully crafted, much like the intricate experimentation of cocktails we see throughout the book as Mel prepares for the Cocktail competition. Mel has relationship trauma from her divorce and deep seated insecurities that were so relatable. We see so much growth in her character and communication skills as she embraces her opportunities to find love again, but most of all herself.

Bebe is a sparkling gem of a character, she is adventurous, bold and could persuade anyone to do anything with her twinkling smile. Kade is Bebe’s perfect “opposites attract” wife and is written so well as a deep, complex brooding artist on them surface but is actually tender and fiercely loyal and caring. Can’t rave enough about the characters because swoon. We didn’t get much Daniel overall (which was fine for me because I almost found him a little whiny? And basically no Jackson, but again happy they got a hea too)

Okay, onto the good stuff. The SPICE was creative, well executed, edgy and voyeuristic and we are LIVING FOR IT! It was steamy and romantic in all the right combinations. It was anything but boring vanilla and was superbly written.

The pacing was a bit slow to start but I was too distracted with Mel’s feelings for Bebe to care. I loved the pacing around the middle, which felt really well organized and moved briskly, but I was a bit let down at the end where it kind of slowed down too much again to fully keep my interest. It was a sweet HEA but also in a very predictable way. I would have liked to see the pacing in the middle come through at the end, and despite the subversion of expectations for the competition results it felt a little flat for me.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book, it was lovely and spicyyyyy and read like a perfectly made jalepeno margarita on a hot summers day. It was my first poly romance and it completely sold me on how amazingly romantic relationships and throuples are especially with this level of communication and consideration for your partners!

A queer throuple romcom? This is a fast paced, often funny one that surprised me. It's also got a big heart as it scrolls through the various relationships. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Loved this book! It was sexy and about a polygamous couple, which I had never read about and was intrigued. I fell a little in love with all 3 of the MCs. swoon.

I love a complicated but tender love story. There was such a gentleness in the unraveling of these relationships where I felt almost just as involved in the relationships as those actually in them. I needed more from Kade, maybe?

My first of TJ's books, definitely won't be my last.

I LOVED THIS.

Thank you so much to the publisher for an eARC. I truly adore everything TJ Alexander writes- they are an autoread/buy author.

Tropes: Forced Proximity, Closed Off x Sunshine, Opposites Attract
Representation: Nonbinary MC, Queer, Polyamorous Main Relationship and side relationships
CW: Homophobia, Misgendering

I don't remember the last time I wanted to stay up until midnight to finish a book- I read 70% of this book in one sitting because I didn't want to put it down.

TJ Alexander has a way of writing characters that suck you in, make you get extremely attached, makes you cry a little, then it gets steamy, and they live happily ever after. (I did cry twice in this book)
This book also makes me want to take a mixology class so.. there's that.

Mel- one of our FMC's is a bartender at a high end bar in NYC. One night when she is working a woman, Bebe, starts flirting with her while she's working then steps in to save the day when a guy is being overly pushy with a date. Bebe- our highpowered lawyer- is a whirlwind of a character and I love her. Mel is confused when another person comes up to Bebe in the bar and is obviously her partner... she thought she was reading into something that wasn't there, but when she goes to the brunch Bebe invited her too...

I really liked the progression of Kade and Mel's relationship. Kade seems closed off and a little grumpy especially compared to Bebe, but I liked how thoughtful they were as a character. They deeply cared for Bebe and just wanted her to be happy.
Also the snowed in scene in the cabin... damn.

I really loved Mel's character development- closed off, doesn't feel worthy of love after her failed marriage- into allowing two people to love and take care of her. It was just a wonderful character arc.

I have loved everything TJ Alexander has written and I am glad that this one continued to make me enjoy their writing.

I absolutely loved this book! It was so interesting and unique and fun! A great queer romance! Totally recommend !

This book was (1000 FIRE Emojis) lol, SPICY!!!!!!!! It was different from the types of romance novels I am into, we have a queer throuple!!! This was very different, I loved Mel, she was such an amazing character. The support, and the love was so heartwarming. When she met Bebe, everything was all good, but there is a twist to this relationship, and the way it unravels………. *FIRE EMOJI!!!!!* lol……

thank you netgalley for a e-arc of this title. i quite enjoyed the story and the intricacies of a unique relationship. i thought the characters were well written but it could have had more backstory as to why they are the way they are and how they grew into the people they became. there was no confusion until 80% of the book when 2 of the 3 characters go on vacation and i had no idea that one of the partners were trans. which, cool, fine. but i think it should have been explicit as so (maybe i wasn't paying full attention in the beginning or the author was never clear). i really liked the cocktail competition and the drink recipes of it all.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Having really enjoyed TJ Alexander’s prior books, I was excited for what they would write next. And when I saw that Triple Sec was a polyamorous romcom, I was intrigued. While this isn’t necessarily as “groundbreaking” as the editor claims it is the introductory letter included with the ARC (I’ve read self-published books with a similar premise), it is a cool thing to see from trad publishing, especially from an author who hasn’t been in the industry all that long.
The characters are absolutely wonderful. Mel anchors the story as the POV character, and I love how she starts off the book having just gone through a tough divorce, and navigating the dating world again. I particularly enjoyed seeing how she opened up to the idea of polyamory as the story went on, starting off not really understanding it, with her best friend even having to explain it to her, and then navigating it for the first time, first with just Bebe, and then with Bebe and her partner, Kade.
While I was worried the other two would be less defined, so it would be harder to empathize with them, I did not have to worry. Bebe was instantly endearing, being very outgoing and sweet, while Kade took time to get to know, in part because Mel didn’t start off dating them, but also because Kade is more reserved. But as Mel got to know Kade, they opened up too. And I really liked seeing how the three of them evolved as a polycule over time, including constant evolution of their personal “Guidelines for Poly Living,” including notations of the many revisions and addendums. While I don’t know a ton about polyamory (and don’t assume this reflects the experience of all polyamorous people), I love that they handled each step maturely and with great communication.
This is such a beautiful book, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a softer, yet still fairly steamy, queer-affirming read.

I was so excited to read this and for me not to love this actually hurts ( if you told me this months ago I wouldn’t have believed you). Honestly while the first 40% of the book I wasn't head over heals about I really did enjoy Mel as a character ( even though she self-sabotages quiet a bit) but I was willing to overlook that until that fight happened and I was just simply annoyed because honestly I couldn’t overlook any longer for many reason. After that I tried to still find the enjoyment but other than small scenes, I couldn’t anymore because its like Mel would use her common scene and then she would forget it again. Honestly I personally didn’t care if she got together with them or not I just wanted to stop reading from her POV ( I know I could have DNF but I put way too much of my energy into this book to not finish it). Honestly I could go on a whole tangent but I won’t because I want peace.

But I have to be honest TJ writing is good, just not sure if I enjoy their characters.


Thank you Atria and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by TJ Alexander, and I really enjoyed their writing! I got a lot of insight into a life that’s very different from mine, and which I’m not sure I’ve seen polyamory in traditional publishing before, so that was kind of groundbreaking. I felt like I understood two of the three main characters well (Mel and Kade) but had trouble understanding Bebe at times and was a little less invested in her relationship with Mel than I was with Mel/Kade

I really liked that this was a story about diverse relationships because we don’t often see that in novels. The characters were all unique individuals that found harmony with each other and also provided humour along the way. However, where this fell short for me was the fact that Mel kept using her insecurity and lack of knowledge to get in the way of her agreement. It didn’t make sense to me that she kept asking questions that seemed unnecessary to me since everything was outlined and agreed upon by all three of them. I found myself wanting Mel to act more confident and assured in her decision, instead of constantly seeing herself as encroaching on Bebe and Kade’s relationship.