Opal Carew takes desire to a whole new level in her latest erotic, standalone romance! Abi has been in love with Del for years, but they never got around to acting on their mutual attraction. And then she met and married his best friend, Liam. But when Abi and Liam’s marriage falls apart, Abi decides to take control of her life and find her happily-ever-after with Del. So when they’re all … So when they’re all staying in a country inn for her brother’s wedding, Abi decides to slip into Del’s bed and seduce him…except she accidentally ends up in Liam’s instead.
Liam never stopped loving Abi, and he plans to use every blazing hot trick in his book to keep her in his bed…even if it means sharing her with Del.
X Marks the Spot is emotional, sexy, and is Opal Carew at her best!
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I received a copy via Netgalley and voluntarily left a review and all opinions are my own.
Never having read Opal Carew’s work, I didn’t know what kind of steamy world that I was going to be entering. Although the blurb kind of warned me, nothing could have prepared me for the drama and heat between Liam, Abi, and Del in “X Marks The Spot”. It wasn’t long and Opal had me completely engrossed in this love triangle and wanting to see exactly who was going to end up in bed with one another and get a happy ever after.
I found Abi’s character to be a bit of a disappointment, but luckily I don’t always have to like the heroine to enjoy the story. While she frustrated me, she still kept it interesting, even when I was wanting to shake some sense into her while also being jealous because of the two scrumptious men that she had hanging onto her every word and move.
I think Liam is my favorite out of the two heroes. While he may have broken Abi’s heart and caused their marriage to fall apart, he was also hurting due to the circumstances and wasn’t completely to blame. Add in his good looks and dominating persona in the bedroom and him seductive nickname of “kitten” for Abi, my heart was his and my knees were like jelly. I found myself wanting to comfort him and fan myself in equal measures.
While Liam had my heart, Del still carved out room for himself. Who wouldn’t love a man who stands beside Abi through her heart wrenching experiences and loves her from afar. I have always been a sucker for a man who is a friend to the heroine first. I couldn’t wait to see all that pent up passion ignite and take Abi on a scorching ride.
Opal Carew delivers a scorching read that leaves your heart tangled up in emotions by these three characters. While not my favorite romance, there were redeeming parts, lots of sexy surprises, and I will most definitely try another book by Opal Carew.
*A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley and I’m freely giving my honest review.*
I’ve always liked the books from this author and I liked this one too but I felt that the story was a little weird in the beginning, the male characters felt like they didn’t build a connection between each other. Not until the end and even then I didn’t feel like they bounded in a way that I expected.
Anyway, this is what I did like:
* Good storyline
* Characters descriptions is good and when the story progressed I could see the connection between Abi and Liam and Abi and Del growing.
* No unnecessary descriptions of surroundings
* Good amount of dialogues
* Love scenes that can set the sheets on fire and make you blush for days thinking about them.
* There’s a lot of feelings in this story and the author do an excellent job of writing the feelings in to the story through dialogues both between the characters and through their thoughts.
For me this is a strong 4 stars story, I love ménage stories and if you enjoy it too I recommend you read this one.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the destination, but I did not enjoy the journey as expected. Abi was too wishy-washy about her feelings for both men and I was aggravated most of the time. Sure they ended up having an HEA, but I kinda felt like she unknowingly manipulated them toward it.
Having finished a similar scenario prior to this book…I think it’s the approach that bothered me. As apposed to other books I’ve read with similar relationship dynamics, the relationship between the characters seemed forced and, as previously mentioned, manipulative.
Both Liam and Del loved Abi and were willing to fight for her, but her flip-flopping between both…I felt for them both. My heart broke for both men.
It’s rare I can’t relate to the heroine, but that is the case with this book. The writing was impeccable, sexy times were steamy, and the men were swoon worthy…but I did not like Abi in the end. In the beginning, she came off as sweet and heartbroken and in some cases I did feel for her heartbreak, but I didn’t like how she handled the situation with those wonderful men.
So this book doesn’t actually get good until 75% into the book. I found Abi to be delusional and annoying for most of the book. I felt bad for Liam and Del and no I didn’t feel bad for Abi, refer to my previous sentence. I think Opal took to long to introduce the whole MFM threesome. This book has a lot of sex but it’s kind of boring because you feel the guys getting played by Abi. When it gets to the threesome then it gets hot but not everyone will want to read up until that point. I do like the ending because it’s a HEA.
*Thanks Netgallet for allowing me to read this for my honest opinion*
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Kris –
I had a bit of a love-hate with this book. At times, I really found leading lady, Abi, to be way too wishy washy and stringing the men along cruelly. She’s sleeping with her ex-husband but had planned to sleep with her longtime friend, Del, that night, and it just happens the two switched rooms. She loves her ex, Liam, but loves Del too. The patience displayed by these two men (who happen to be old friends themselves) was a bit far reaching in reality, but it worked well for the story. I had no idea this was to be a ménage book and was quite happy with that outcome! Bossy in the bedroom, Abi’s ex-husband, Liam, is the show saver here if you ask me. Liam telling Del and Abi what to do gave the steamy scenes more heat and pulled the three characters together better.
Mary Jo –
This is not your typical romance or ménage story.
Abi and Liam have been separated for a couple of years and Liam refuses to sign the divorce papers. He insists he still loves her, but Abi has her doubts. After a tragic loss, he pulled away from her in every way that counted, and she can’t put herself in that position again.
She’s always had a fierce attraction for Del, but neither of them acted on it because Del is her brother’s best friend. Del is also good friends with Liam, and when Abi’s life turned upside down, she turned to Del for comfort. Abi has never acted on the attraction between her and Del, but she’s ready to move on and see where a romance might lead. If only Liam would sign the papers and let her go.
Liam loves Abi. He knows that he screwed up in the past, but he does love Abi, he just has to prove it to her. Del also loves Abi but knows as long as she’s married to Liam, there is no way Abi will even consider a relationship with him.
What neither Del nor Liam knows is that Abi may have a solution that will solve all their problems.
I enjoyed this book and the slow buildup to the ménage story. Of seeing how Abi finally comes to terms with what she wants and how both men want to make her happy.
Avid Reader –
M/F/M Romance
Triggers: Cheating, Miscarriage
Abi, Liam, and Del… Where to begin with this story? Hmmm. Abi is a woman who is trying to move on from a tragedy in her life. What’s making this the most difficult is that her wealthy husband is refusing to divorce her.
Del and Abi have been friends since her older brother asked him to watch over her in school. Despite their attraction, Del has placed Abi firmly in his friend zone, despite their mutual attraction.
The slow buildup throughout this story is a good thing. I liked how Abi’s sisters tried to give their opinion without being overly pushy. When a unique opportunity of a family wedding presents itself, Abi decides that she’ll make her move for Del after all.
What happens next is not what Abi expects, however, it is a very predictable storyline. She sneaks in to surprise Del, only to be more surprised that it’s her ex-husband, Liam, instead. They still are attracted to each other and while one thing leads to another, Abi is now in quite a conundrum.
Abi has to decide whether or not her past will dictate her future. Can she find it in her heart to forgive her husband or has her heart changed allegiance to Del? The relationship aspect is sometimes very youthful, as Abi can’t decide between the two men.
Overall, this is a slow-burn relationship, and everyone must come to the same conclusion. But my biggest complaint was Abi’s character. She wasn’t a strong woman throughout and that bugged me a lot.
Ruthie –
I am a big fan of ménage romance, so was excited to get this on my Kindle. Ms. Carew has written some super-hot erotica, and this also has some very sexy scenes in it. I did, however, struggle with the pacing and the timing of events. I felt that everything I wanted was there, but just that the way it unfolded didn’t entirely convince me.
It is difficult to pinpoint what the issue was, but I think it was that I didn’t identify with them as people before the wedding events kicked off. Things are revealed later, but it would have helped understand Abi’s insecurities and behaviour if revealed earlier. As it is, she comes across as spoiled and petulant, rather than having a genuine concern about Liam’s claims to love her.
Once they had worked out there was a solution, then things were as hot and heady as I expected, and very satisfying. I am just not sure that the best friends aspect of Liam and Del got a lot of coverage, and there were gaps which seemed odd – surely Del would have known that Liam liked D/s games, and surely Liam would have thought about the voyeur/trio options earlier.
Having finished the story and thought about it for this review, my memory is shuffling the story round and giving me a good feeling about the outcome. Give it a go and see what you think!
Veronica –
This is the first book I’ve read by Opal Carew and early on I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I was having issues with the characters and the story and about 10% in I read a line in a sex scene that just had me laughing and laughing. When I shared this with fellow reviewers I was told Ms. Carew writes “unapologetic smut.” This actually helped me get in the right headspace to enjoy the story.
X Marks the Spot is the story about a pretty selfish woman and the two men who are madly in love with her for reasons I couldn’t decipher. This felt a bit like a soap opera but with lots of really hot, dirty sex. And like watching a soap, I just sat back and watched (or in this case read) the drama and story unfolding, judging the characters, enjoying myself. and feeling a little guilty doing it.
At the end of the day, X Marks the Spot was pretty entertaining, and if you are a reader that likes your stories with lots naked time, this book will hit the spot.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
I have to be honest, this book started off slow and it took a while for me to get into it. It turned out to be an okay read. I think when it comes to this story, either you will like it in some way or you will totally hate it. Abi, Del and Liam characters will definitely test all of your patience when it comes to them. There were definitely moments that made had me thinking wait, what in the world just happened? I hated the push and pull with Abi; I also found her to be a very selfish at times. One minute she didn’t want Liam and the next she was on her knees, yet she claimed she was mortified and embarrassed yet she did it repeatedly with both men. I do wish this author would have separated the characters actions by chapter or some sort of separation. For example, The story could be talking about something going on with Abi and Del then all of a sudden it would go to something Liam was doing. I had to go back and read it to be sure I hadn’t somehow missed something; a page or a paragraph, and it happened often in this story. However, I found the ending a great one for these characters because I don’t believe there was another way for their story to end.
If you love taboo romance novels then X Marks the Spot by Opal Carew is your book. I struggled with this book as it went too far with the taboo. The sexy scenes were hot but not enough to save the book. Abi has a close network of friends who are enmeshed with her family. In fact, she married one, Liam but should have held out for Del. A wedding brings these three together again. Abi sleeps with her husband and Del says he’s willing to give their romance a chance. Abi just can’t keep her legs closed and she gets pregnant by her husband, Liam who has always wanted a baby with her. However, Abi would just rather be with Del instead of here husband. It was totally a messed up story.
I struggled with this book, giving it only a 2-star rating, and honestly that’s being generous. The only reason I gave it that is because I enjoyed the intimate scenes and felt they had some depth to them. I enjoyed the character Del, but in addition to that it was thumbs down for me. This story had no exciting plot to it, although there was some potential, it just fell flat. I do not recommend this book, unless you want to read some steamy sex scenes then you may enjoy it quite a bit.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
The idea of crossing paths with her gorgeous longtime friend Del at her brothers wedding has Abi nervous and excited, it has been a while since they have seen one another, and the last time wasn’t on the best of terms. Abi’s marriage was coming to an end, she was dealing with some of devastating news, and Del was there to help her sort things out. She has always been able to count on him, and has always harbored feelings for him, but he friend zoned her years ago, so she moved on and married his best friend. And while she loves Liam, she knows their marriage is never going to recover, so it’s time for her to move on, and she knows exactly who she wants to move on with… Del, now she just has to convince him it’s the right move for them.
But before she has a chance to make her feelings known to Del, Liam walks back into her life and her bed and muddies the waters… and leaves her wondering if she is doing the right thing. And with the right man…
X Marks the Spot is an intriguing, seductive, and emotional tale that is sure to have romance readers addicted from the first page! Within the pages of this one, you will meet a troubled woman who has deep feelings for two men; one who she is married to and hoping to divorce soon, and the other, a best friend who she harbors feelings for, and wants to make known. But these two men have plans of their own, and once they share them with her, she is left beyond confused, she thought it was a cut and dry situation, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Both want a life with her, and she can’t decide which one to walk away from and which one to walk to… and man o’ man was it fun to watch it all unfold… it produces an ending that you will never see coming! I really enjoyed this one, love triangles are my favorite trope and I have to say this one definitely rivaled some of my absolute favorites; it stirred the emotions, made me blush, and kept me entranced from start to finish!! Highly recommend this one, it’s sure to scorch your fingertips and curl your toes!!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley, and voluntarily read and review.
This is one of those books That will either appeal to you or be a huge turnoff. For me it was a turnoff. I enjoy multiple partner books but I do not enjoy cheating and that played a very large part in this read. Character wise, Liam was likable and I could feel for him, Del was alright, but honestly some friend!, and Abi, well she was totally unlikable and a complete train wreck. In my opinion, she did not deserve Liam. A more immature, self centered, borderline cray-cray character I have not seen. Even the steam and drama could not save this one. I am posting a honest, voluntary review after reading this book.
X Marks the Spot by Opal Carew is the story of Abi, Liam and Del.
Abi and Liam were married but Abi couldn’t get her crush of Del, Liam best friend from her mind. When Liam and Abie break up she thinks now is her time to get with Del but Liam still wants her.
This story worked through the three people finding each other and working towards having something together.
This was a different type romance that might not be for everyone but I really enjoyed their story.
X Marks the Spot by Opal Carew
Abi is conflicted…there are two men she has “loved” and one she has married then separated from. She believes she is ready to move on to the one she knows she has loved all along but is she really ready to give up the man she has been separated from for two years? This is a story of three people finding a way to be together that works for all of them. That said, I did not relate to any of them and really can’t see why Liam or Del found Abi so special. The believability factor was not high and characters were not that well developed. Mostly it was a vehicle for a steamy ménage story.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC – This is my honest review.
2-3 Stars
ARC – I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest
It was an interesting relationship between Liam, Abi, and Del.
I like the storytelling + the characters
The storytelling + the character’s build were great !
Abi is in a mess she is in love with Del and has been for years but Del is her brothers friend so he stayed in the friend zone even when her marriage to Liam was crumbling.
Liam has shown up to her brothers wedding even though he told Abi he wouldn’t but her brother was insistent. When a mix up end both Abi and Liam in the same room she can’t help the desire to have Liam.
Abi has decided she is in love with Del and she is gonna tell him no matter what and even though she is in love with Liam she can’t be with him after what he did. Good story I was never quite sure who I was routing for but the end made the stress worth it.
Reviewed on behalf of Once upon an Alpha
Abi is getting divorced but it’s taking two years to get her husband, Liam, to sign the papers. He thinks they can work it out. But Abi wants to move on with her friend Del, who’s also Liam’s best friend. At her brother’s wedding, she waits for Del in his bed. But awakes to find Liam. Liam believes she wants to reconcile and they go at it like bunnies because she still loves Liam but he wasn’t there when she needed him. Liam is very rich and will do anything to get his wife back, even coerce her to spend a couple of weeks with him. She agrees as long as Del can come too. Both men love her and are not about to give her up. Abi doesn’t want to give either man up, so can they come to an agreement? I’ll be honest at first I didn’t like where she was supposed to be in love with Del and having sex with Liam. Even though they are still legally married, so I also felt when she was having sex with Del, she was cheating on Liam, even though they were separated. But at the end it turned out alright. * Voluntarily read and reviewed this for Netgalley *
X Marks The Spot by Opal Carew is a great read, this is a menage book though, so it may not be for everyone. Ms. Carew has delivered a well-written book. Kudos to Ms. Carew for writing this in 3rd person because all these 1st person, alternating point of view books are getting old. Abi is trying to get her husband Liam to sign divorce papers. She wants to start a romantic relationship with their friend Del. Liam is still in love with Abi and has been refusing to sign the papers. Their story is loaded with drama, humor, blazing hot sex and a bit of angst. Thankfully the angst isn’t overpowering. I enjoyed reading X Marks The Spot and look forward to reading more from Opal Carew in the future. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I voluntarily read an Advance Reader Copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.