Summary:
Taro Ichikawa needs his weekly routines. Working from home as a programmer allows him to work around his constant struggle with anxiety and OCD—everything from exact meal times to his weekly dinner dates with his best friend Cris Sable. Openly demisexual, he’s comfortable knowing he’s different from most, and he’s content being single—until he breaks routine to attend Cris’s birthday party and makes an unexpected new friend.
Dell Greenwood moved in with his uncle eighteen months ago to turn his life around, and after a serious setback last fall, he’s finally healthy and heading in the right direction. His full-time job as a porn videographer keeps him busy, so he doesn’t have to think about the fact that while he seriously dated one man last year, he’s not attracted to…well, anyone. It’s easy to assume that his traumatic past is to blame for his lack of interest in dating, but when he meets and gets to know Taro Ichikawa, Dell wonders if there’s a different reason.
Befriending someone mired in strict routines isn’t easy, but Dell is stubborn when he wants something, and being patient with Taro is easy. From emails to tentative lunch dates, what begins as a simple friendship slowly deepens into something much stronger—and completely unexpected. But Dell knows that for him to be all-in with Taro, he not only needs to come to terms with his sexuality, but he also has to be honest with himself and his family about the absolute worst moment of his life.
Heart of Us #4
Summary:
Charles “Chet” Greenwood has everything he’s ever wanted: a home, a stable business, and strong, loving relationships with his two boyfriends. In the year since he’s been with Cris and Jake, they’ve always agreed on one thing to keep their triad strong: communication is key. Which is why it hurts that lately Jake seems to be hiding something. Before Chet and Cris can find out what, a tragic phone call forces Chet and his nephew Dell to return to their Georgia hometown for a funeral—and to finally confront the bigoted family they left behind.
Jake Bowden never imagined he’d go from an exotic dancer to a professional cook in the space of a year, but here he is. He’s also secretly looking at top culinary schools, but the requirements are way beyond Jake’s abilities. And going to school could take him away from his boyfriends—which might actually be for the best. Chet and Cris have so much history together, are always in sync, and when Jake can’t get time off to support Chet, he feels even more like the odd man out.
Cris Sable knows something is going on with Jake, and he hates leaving Jake behind for two days to attend a funeral, but Chet and Dell need his support—especially with Dell’s own boyfriend unable to make the trip. Cris checks in with Jake constantly while they’re away, and even after their trio returns home, Cris knows something is still wrong. But it gets lost in the aftermath of an unbelievable secret reveal.
While in Georgia, Chet received shocking news about his own past that will change everything about his future, and it rocks their triad to its core. But Cris loves and believes in his men, and he will do everything in his power to keep their three hearts beating as one.
AUTHOR NOTE: This is an m/m/m romance with kinky three-way sex between consenting adults. The “Us” series is best read in numerical order.
I'm just going to jump out of the gate and say this. Uniquely Us can be frustrating at times and seems repetitive with all the understanding that the boys do getting to know each other. I found myself setting my kindle down a few times saying "can't we just jump ahead" but no we can't. Truth is, not everyone is able to reach that level of knowing each other quickly or easily. The author doesn't do the "repetitiveness" to fill pages or because they're not sure what to write, AM Arthur has written the story this way because its who Dell and Taro are, they need structure, they need time, they need to develop the connection before they truly feel comfortable. So yes, you may get frustrated at times but it is so worth it, maybe you don't know anyone in your life like Dell and/or Taro or maybe you just haven't taken the time to understand how important developed structure is to that person. Uniquely Us may teach you something about yourself and those around you but don't think for one minute it isn't entertaining or that it comes across preachy because it doesn't.
I knew that Dell and Taro's story would be intriguing from the first time we met them but the balance between heartbreak and joy really pops and makes the characters come alive. I purchased this book when it first came out nearly 2 years ago and I'm not sure why it took me so long to read it. Perhaps the timing just wasn't right, I tend to be moody about my books and if I'm not feeling like a particular sub-genre it can get "lost a bit" on my always growing TBR list but for whatever reason then wasn't right but now was and I loved it!
Uniquely Us may be part of the AM Arthur's Us series but it is not an M/M/M or polyamorous story, it is a tale of friendship, self-discovery, and finding what love means to them. Dell and Taro will break your heart at times as you see them struggle to balance day-to-day existence with romance but watching them discover that balance with each other and within themselves will also warm your heart. Life is about being who you are and hopefully finding others who accept you and will help you along the way and Uniquely Us is a perfect example of just that. A true gem and though it centers around a different pairing than the first two in the series I highly recommend reading Here for Us and Sound of Us first as that is when we first met Dell and Taro. You won't be lost if you read book three first but I found it flowed better knowing the connections already established in the other two series entries.
Heart of Us #4
I didn't even know there was another entry in the polyamorous love story between Chet, Cris, and Jake until about 6 weeks ago but once I found it I 1-clicked it, read Uniquely Us(book three because I need to read a series in order to fully enjoy it) and then jumped in.
I'm just going to start off by saying that even though the three men, Chet, Cris, & Jake, are as lovely as ever, I don't know as Heart of Us is quite as good as the first two in the series. Having said that, the difference isn't enough to make my rating any less it just didn't quite touch my heart as deeply.
Between Chet's discovery, Jake's inner fears that his two partners would be better as a couple then a triad, and Cris trying to keep everything together there are times when I just wanted to bang the mens' heads together and scream "TALK!!!" But where would a story be without a little inner turmoil and, well not really miscommunication but not enough communication? Don't get me wrong, the drama caused by Jake not being completely open about his fears is not just a plot point to create angst, its real and a common fear that most people deal with in one form or another. It's this realism that makes this book(and series as a whole) so moving and so must-readable.
If poly love stories isn't your cup of tea then Us is probably not the series for you however if you can read with an open mind that for some three is more fulfilling than two and love a good love story then I highly recommend this series. If you've been following along with Chet, Cris, and Jake's journey from the beginning then Heart of Us is a definite must and just because it didn't quite touch me as deeply as books one and two doesn't mean I didn't love it because I did. If you're wondering about book three, Uniquely Us tells the story of Chet's nephew Dell and Cris' best friend Taro and how they found love. Will you be lost if you go from Sound of Us(#2) to Heart of Us(#4) without reading #3? No, but there are things that are mentioned and touched upon that make a little more sense if you know Dell & Taro's journey but no, you won't be lost. This series is a keeper and though I may not re-read it often or for a few years yet, I definitely will be re-visiting this little group of men and their journeys to find their happiness.
RATING:
A.M. Arthur was born and raised in the same kind of small town that she likes to write about, a stone's throw from both beach resorts and generational farmland. She's been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long, in a losing battle to make the fictional voices stop. She credits an early fascination with male friendships (bromance hadn't been coined yet back then) with her later discovery of and subsequent love affair with m/m romance stories. A.M. Arthur's work is available from Carina Press, SMP Swerve, and Briggs-King Books.
When not exorcising the voices in her head, she toils away in a retail job that tests her patience and gives her lots of story fodder. She can also be found in her kitchen, pretending she's an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments.
EMAIL: AM_Arthur@yahoo.com
Uniquely Us #3
Heart of Us #4
Us Series
Perspective Series
