Sometimes love finds you when you least expect it.A bold and deeply emotional novel, This Is Not the End marks a new way of looking at love, family, and happily-ever-after.Zacary Trevor is the love of Anya Alexander’s life. Their sometimes tumultuous marriage has survived ups, downs, and all the in-betweens. With successful careers, a lovely home, and a beautiful child, domestic bliss is a … successful careers, a lovely home, and a beautiful child, domestic bliss is a hard-earned reality for two people whose hedonistic days are in the not-so-distant past. They’re happy.
Enter Zac’s best friend, the deeply reserved Cal Keller. Zac’s friendship with Cal is the foundation of his career and—until Anya and their son came along—the most important relationship of his life. Cal’s a cipher, someone Anya can’t help but gravitate to, even if they don’t always get along. Even more, she’s drawn to the Zac she sees when he’s with Cal—a careful, cautious version of her husband, someone with hidden thoughts and desires kept secret even from her.
Inviting Cal into their home, deeper into their life, is a risk.
Zac should say no. He knows he should. But he doesn’t. From the first, the hint at the life the three of them could have together is exhilarating. And finding a new definition for family just might be worth the risk to every bond that exists between them.
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A mmf poly romance (not a reverse harem). I’m not usually that into stories about very rich people these days; but the rich-people-ness was a bit of a side-issue in this. There’s a settled m/f couple and a third male ‘best friend’ who has wanted more for years and is trying to do the right thing. It’s a sensitive and engaging exploration of each of them. The main couple are in an open relationship in that they have fun with other people on the side, but they aren’t looking for a third. The friend isn’t into casual sex. It’s beautifully done.
I love Sidney Bell’s writing and her previous books made this a must-buy for me. I’m glad I did.
This blew me away.
This is another book that I’m not sure I can do justice to with a review. Read the blurb – it tells you what you need to know about the story. All I can say is how much I loved this. The relationship between Zac, Anya and Cal is complicated but it ends up being a beautiful (and HOT) love story.
The only thing I know about polyamorous relationships is what I read in romance books and I think this story is one of the best of this type that I’ve read. Once I started reading it I couldn’t put it down.
A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.
Okay, first and foremost, I adore the way Sidney Bell portrays the polyamorous love triad in This Is Not The End. She gives both Cal and Zac a healthy bisexual identity, and Anya’s secure in her sexuality and not afraid to voice her needs. While I was concerned over the amount of time spent with these characters as they introspective battles about the validity and “rightness” of their wants and needs—paired with them then turning around and essentially saying “F*ck anyone who isn’t okay with who we are”—I feel the overall portrayal was well done. I just wish there would’ve been some external conflict in the story outside them trying to decide whether their love and lust for one another would or should be accepted by the outside world.
That being said, I think a lot of their concerns are valid—there are a lot of hateful people out there who don’t accept things that aren’t exactly as they believe they should be. But I do wish Zac, Cal, and Anya would’ve made the decision to put their love above all else a little earlier and had a larger conflict in the story that stood in the way of them finding their HEA.
Now, all that aside, I really did love this story. It had brief but steamy love scenes—lots of them!—and I think it handled the dynamics of the triad very well. I felt the love from all sides and it wasn’t something that felt forced or unnatural for the characters.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is into erotic romance and who loves love. I think this would be a wonderful read for anyone who wants more diverse romance couplings in their reading world.
I’m so torn with this story. This is my first by this author and the subject matter is what prompted me to read. I always enjoy a great polyamory or MMF story and this one sounded so very promising. It wasn’t horrible by any stretch but for some reason it hit the mark for me for some reason. I struggled to finish it because I wasn’t remotely invested in the story. I guess I just didn’t connect with any of the characters for the most part. What I DID love about it is how Anya and Zac came together to show Cal that he was worthy of all he was looking for and that it was possible to love and be loved by more than one person. 3.5 stars and yes I’d read this author again only because so many love her that maybe it is just this story that missed the mark.
I was drawn to read this title because I’m always interested in unconventional stories of love, and it’s been a while since I’ve read a poly-amorous title, and this looked interesting. Zac and Anya are young parents, in love, and adventuresome in their sex life. Even though they might catch the eye of someone else (or vice versa), they might play, but they always go home together.
Cal is Zac’s friend, business partner and creative collaborator in a successful rock band. He’s reserved and doesn’t say much around Anya. Still waters run deep as they say, and eventually Cal catches Anya’s eye. She wants to know more about Cal and encourages Zac to take his relationship with Cal to a new level which leads to Anya and Zac talking about bringing Cal into their marriage.
The proposition is not an easy one for Cal and a good part of the middle of the book is Cal’s deliberation of whether he can handle such a relationship. I thought Cal had a lot to work through in this story and he dominated much of the conversation.
At first I wasn’t quite sure but I ended up liking this throuple. Zac’s beta personality helped balance out the intensity of Anya and Cal and I left the story thinking they just might make it. It did take me a little time to get used to the third person present tense narration as well, but at some point the story pulled me in and took precedence over my noticing verb tense.
So overall, I liked this M/F/M story, mostly because I found the characters interesting. Anya’s open and forthright way of dealing with things, Zac’s don’t-rock-the-boat personality and Cal’s brooding heart of an artist made for an interesting mix.
An ARC was provided by the publisher. This is my honest review.
I was incredibly excited to see a new release on the horizon for this author. Sidney Bell’s books never fail to pull me in and make me feel. Better yet, This Is Not the End includes rockstars, a trope I read a ton of years ago but less often these days. While a polyamorous relationship that focuses on the emotions and characters’ stories rather than just the physical connection is rare, I had no doubt Miss Bell would succeed.
Imagine my surprise when I struggled with the first few chapters. I must have stopped and started a handful of times once the book landed on my kindle. The beginning felt clumsy for this author, or rather I felt thrust into a story without a handhold, only to come face to face with Anya, a character who oozed confidence but I didn’t much like- at least initially. Once I read through some of the awkward first moments and exchanges between Anya and Cal though, the book and characters sunk its teeth into me. And, as I’ve come to expect, the author’s ability to create varied, vibrant characters who expose a slew of emotions on page wove its magic.
What was different was Zac and Anya. I really liked how they coached and supported Cal through his bumps, questions, and nerve, but Zac and Anya felt so different than most of this author’s characters. In hindsight, I think that’s what threw me at first. They’re seemingly light, happy, and without a care in the world. However, it’s those qualities along with their comfort in their own skins and trust in their love that makes this polyamorous romance work. This Is Not the End may at first feel different from this author’s other books, but really it just demonstrates her range and talent. The raw emotions, great characters, and memorable story that showcases the power of love are all still there and ensure I’ll be back for more.
*eARC received via Netgalley. The author and publisher had no influence over this review*
Flipping heck! I don’t know what I thought I was expecting, I knew I was going to love it. Everything Sidney Bell has written has left me awestruck. This is Not the End is no exception. I was hooked from the get go. Eager to learn more about Zac and Anna’s relationship, they were after all, happily married. Anna was such a straight-up gal. No hiding behind rose coloured glasses, she says it like it is. Completely refreshing. I loved her. Zac and Anna’s relationship is completely transparent, they have no secrets, so when Zak’s best friend and band mate, Cal, is factored into their marriage, things start to get interesting. Cal struggles with how a relationship could work between the three of them, and the story centres around all their feelings and emotions, it totally worked for me. I loved the insights into Cal’s mind, especially with all his insecurities. Sidney Bell has a way with words and she expresses her character’s thoughts and worries in the best possible way. They were passionate, emotional, and oh so sexy, the chemistry between the three of them really worked. I loved it, plain and simple. I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest review.