Three to Ride: Nights in Bliss Series, Book 1 (Unabridged‪)‬

3.5/5⭐️ rounded to 4. Three to Ride by Lexi Blake is the first book in the Nights in Bliss, Colorado series, which was originally published in 2010. This is a why choose cowboy romance/romantic suspense novel about Rachel Swift, a woman on the run from a stalker. Her car broke down driving into the town and due to the kindness of the residents of this quirky small town, Rachel found herself with a tow and repair from the local garage and a job at the local cafe. Nearly out of money, she decided to stay for a short time when she met Max Harper. She decided to indulge in a short fling with the sexy cowboy even after she discovered that he had an equally sexy twin who was the town Sheriff. Rachel distrusted law enforcement after her experiences trying to get help to stay safe from her stalker, but she soon discovered that Max’s twin brother, Ryan, was a really good man. She was riddled with guilt for feeling so attracted to her boyfriend’s brother. Ryan and Max Harper had always known that they wanted to share a wife, but after too many failed attempts to be more than a hot fling, they had decided to try to find happiness separately. When Rachel caught his eye, Max had already met her, and Ryan tried to control his jealousy and help Max navigate a relationship without him. Max was afraid that Rachel would never be willing to consider a relationship with both he and his brother and all three were struggling. Would they be able to find a way for all three to be happy or would their unconventional relationships or would they end up losing more than their hearts? I found the town of Bliss highly entertaining, filled with a variety of non-traditional residents including a colony of hairy nudists, a wealthy Dom, and the resident expert on aliens. This romantic suspense novel is filled with laughs, intensely hot chemistry, and a sweet story on the simpler side for this author. I was entertained, but it wasn’t my favorite book from her backlist. The narrator did a good job and it is definitely worth he listen. I am curious to see how the rest of the town residents receive their happily ever afters. I am voluntarily leaving this honest review after listening to an advanced complementary copy of this audiobook thanks to Valentine PR and DLZ Entertainment LLC.

I liked it and it had good 🌶️. My only complaints is how long it took for the three to get together and how little of the suspense element was in the story. It felt like a missed opportunity to not use more of the suspense element and the twisted bad guy.

The relationship was well done and the characters where complex. I appreciated the colorful side characters. Overall it’s a good story I just wish it had been a bit more. Though I do have to say I loved the final conflict and ending. It was quite satisfying.

Lexi Blake (aka Sophie Oak) does romantic suspense like no other. I truly love the balance between spice and plot whenever I read any of her stories. There is never a dull moment when reading one of her books, but when it's an MFM story that involves twins...hang on tight for one heck of a ride. I love the angsty feeling we get with the brothers having a past relationship that has caused them to go solo. We also get this small issue of Rye being a cop which has Rachel on high alert. I love her attitude and the way she doesn't take any flack from anyone despite being out of her element and on the run. It is a medium burn but when things really get going, they don't slow down again. The world building is also on another level. I have never wanted to visit a fake town more than this one. I can't wait to read/listen to more of this series.

As for the audio portion, these two truly knocked it out of the park. While the story was already fun and exciting, the narration amped it up exponentially. Both narrators fit their perspective characters so well and it was no hardship listening to them for hours...good thing since I didn't want to turn this one off!