Honey Red by Liz Crowe

Honey Red, Liz Crowe, Tri Destiny Publishing
Two men suffering from visible and invisible wounds meet by chance circumstance.
Nick Traynor and Ian Donovan spend a lot of time and effort keeping it very hot, only physical, and purely superficial. But when their resolve starts to slip, a woman is tossed into their midst.
Hannah Williams wants nothing more than to do her job until something better comes along, but is forced to own up to her visceral reaction to Ian, her new boss, and later to Nick, his sometimes lover.
Lust has a funny way of turning into companionship, and eventually evolving into a deeper connection. Faced with the internal and external complications of their potential three-way relationship, they begin to heal and trust, to consider that it might work. Then life tosses them a hardball, forcing them back into their respective corners, where each must choose what is most important.
Three people determined not to commit, thrown together by fate and undeniable attraction--their nights heat up and emotions run high in spite of a claimed mutual desire to "keep it simple." In the process of honest self-discovery, can they learn that while love is never simple, it is definitely worth fighting for?


Review:
This is one of those stories that I had to sit back for a few days and kind of absorb everything before I could write my review. I liked the book, the character's were intriguing and real and the story line was strong. But how do you rate a book that you enjoyed this much but you wanted to punch one of the main characters in the face?

Well that's when you realize that the author has sucked you so far into the story that the character's have become real.

Ok I understand that Ian may have been dealt a shitty hand when he blew out his knee in college derailing his basketball career, and then becoming a single dad when he wasn't expecting to be a dad at all. But he had so much support from his family that his attitude came off as whiney. He frustrated me and I just wanted to smack him through most of the book.

I loved Hannah, and had to laugh because when she finally decided to have sex boy howdy she was going to have a LOT. She hasn't had it easy the last several years but really didn't let it get her down. She picked up the pieces and did what she had to do to survive each day as it came.

Now Nick made my heart break. At the beginning when we first meet him and the author is describing his condition and the headaches and pain and nightmares, you just want to hold him and make it better.

All three come into this with so much baggage and are damaged not just physically but emotionally that you really aren't sure if they can get past it all to see the chance that they have to be truly happy. It' not easy and it takes work and it's messy. But the process is where the love comes from.

You can tell that the author really has a strong knowledge of the micro-brew process and adds enough information to make it interesting and make you crave a cold beer. The beer almost feels like another character in the book.

There were several editing errors, but the writing is strong enough and the emotions real enough that it doesn't pull you out of the story. This was my first book by Ms. Crowe but I look forward to reading more of her in the future.

If you like your stories sizzling with sex and packing some strong emotions then Honey Red is a book that you don't want to miss.

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RATING: 4 Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries and an icy cold micro-brew.  This book was given to us by the author. Many thanks.