My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Either you love or you hate the throuple trope. I, for one, adore it when it’s done well. When it’s not done well…the relationship between the three characters can seem strained or unfairly imbalanced. With Robbie, the first book in the Confessions series, author Ella Frank knocks it out the ballpark.
This is the story of the princess (Robbie), the prick (Julien), and the priest (Joel). Julien and Joel have an already-established relationship and have a habit of inviting a third to their bed to quench cravings they are unable, for various reason, to satisfy for each other. They find in Robbie the perfect addition to their relationship to become their permanent third. All three have baggage they are shouldering and each has a unique ability of soothing another when the weight becomes overbearing.
My advice to anyone intending to read this book is to have a tall glass of ice water handy before cracking this one open. The writing is off-the-charts hot. I’m pretty sure I had to take a breather at several points during the story, it was that scorching. Having Julien speak French a majority of the time, and having Joel respond in kind, only adds to the hotness.
In the beginning, both Julien and Joel come across as difficult people with very strong personalities. Robbie acknowledges this and has misgivings about getting involved, not only because Julien and Joel are married, but because he has his own issues with their rough parts.
This was a satisfying read for me. And no, I’m not just referring to the fantastic sexual chemistry. The romance and emotional connections were just as strong as the physical attraction.
Past relationships and events are referred to in the book, and at times I felt a bit lost because I didn’t have the background knowledge for all the pieces to fit together. I now know that Robbie was a minor character in the author’s Temptation series, and Robbie, Julien, and Joel have prior connections. While reading the books in that series isn’t essential, per se, I think doing so would have added more dimension to Robbie and shed more light on the potential complications of his accepting Julien and Joel’s unconventional offer.
Robbie ends on a cliffhanger, and readers will have to wait until May for Book 2, Julian. In the meantime, I’ll be reading the six Temptations books.