Wit and Sin

Originally posted on Joyfully Reviewed: http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/reviews/Feb09/ninelives.MB.html

Ophelia Brown lives a nomadic life, packing up and moving every few months, helping people where she can with the money her parents left her. As a cat shifter, Ophelia lives under the constant fear of discovery. When Ophelia moves to Denver, her job as a dancer changes her life when she meets two intriguing men she can’t seem to resist.

Conner Riley, owner of Riley’s Dance Emporium, and his boyfriend, private detective Fox Nichols, are incredibly drawn to Ophelia. When it’s clear her life is in jeopardy, Conner and Fox are ready to do anything they can to protect her. As the threats against Ophelia pile up, Conner and Fox’s twosome becomes a threesome. But will the trio’s newfound relationship survive the secrets Ophelia’s keeping and the danger that surrounds her?

Melinda Barron is one of my autobuy authors, and Nine Lives shows exactly why. It’s sexy, fun, and had characters I absolutely adored. What I loved about Nine Lives is Ms. Barron’s ability to balance a permanent threesome in a way that makes the relationship feel equal for all parties, not an easy feat, particularly when two of the three were already involved with one another. Separately, Conner, Fox, and Ophelia have distinctive voices and personalities, which make them stick out in my mind as individuals. Together, the three of them fit so well with each other that I was cheering their relationship on and enjoying the way they burned up the sheets along the way, of course.

Nine Lives is the first full length book in Ms. Barron’s new shifter series. For those who read Cat Got Your Tongue?, Fox works for the Parr Agency, so Parr, Gaius, and Kalyn all appear in this story. It was wonderful to get to see them again, and I can’t wait to read the next book in this explosively sensual series.