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loverofromance 's review for:
The Architect
by Nikki Sloane
challenging
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
Book Evaluation:
Plot: ποΈποΈποΈποΈ
World Building:ππππ
Cover:ππππ
Hero (Clay): π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»
Hero (Travis): π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»
Heroine (Lilith):π¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈ
Intimacy Level: π₯π₯π₯π₯π₯
Relationship Building: ππππ
Heart & Feels:ππππ
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πππ
Page Turner Level:ππππ
Narration:π§π§π§π§
Ending:π§§π§§π§§π§§π§§
Overall View: β¨β¨β¨β¨
First Impressions
The Architect is the third installment in the Nashville Neighbors series. And I will be honest in how apprehensive I was before reading this book and probably why I took so long to get back to the series since I read "Doctor" quite a while ago. I had seen quite a few of mixed reviews of "The Architect" and I felt nervous before reading this because I wasn't sure that this book would actually work for me, but surprisingly, it did work out for me for the most part. Its not a perfect read and probably my least favorite of the series far, just due to some elements in the midway point of the story, however, the ending was so swoon worthy and captured my attention and heart so well that it upped my enjoyment by quite a bit here. Nikki Sloane wrote a story that is brilliant in its own way and just a bit different for its readers.
First Line
A loud insistent banging came from my front door, caused by an angry fist, and I froze.
The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Clay
Architect, Driven, A trained Dominant and a planner in all things. He is also emotionally constipated. He is more about pain than necessarily pleasure.
The Hero: Travis
A dominant in training, a Vet and Doctor, he is more of a alpha mellow in nature. Has a soft spot for women and is all about pleasure over pain.
The Heroine: Lilith
Explorative sexuality, not looking for love or a serious relationship, but embraces casual relationships as long as emotion doesn't get involved and loves animals and works in a Vet clinic.
Summary
When Lilith meets her next-door neighbor, she doesn't expect it to be a sexy nerd type that has alpha vibes surrounding him. He is a mix of oxymorons, but she is intrigued by him. When they come up with a mutual agreement for a cat ownership, Lilith and Clay build a trust of casual friendship and when Lilith learns that Clay is into building furniture for couples interested in Kink and the BDSM lifestyle, she is intrigued. And she and Clay enter into a relationship of domination and pleasure. When Clay brings in a third party to act as proxy for him when he is traveling, something more connects the three individuals in a way that none of them expect. But this relationship was built on casual sex and nothing serious as the heart getting involved, will Clay, Travis and Lilith find common ground that benefits them all or will it break what they have gradually built with each other?
What I Loved
This is a true menage but it's a menage that just happens and not with the characters going into the relationship with the intentions of being in a menage. The way that the story is set up in the beginning was so evoking and powerful and SEXY. First off we get to see some solid friendship bonds form between Clay and Ivy. And then the sex happens pretty quickly, Lilith is much braver than I could ever be. Despite how submissive she is in the bedroom, she is a bit of a cougar when it comes to attracting the male she wants, and that male is Clay. I love how accepting she is of the lifestyle and just wants to learn and experience the journey of exploring it all with Clay. The sex scenes in this one is SPICY. Just fair warning, maybe not listen to this one at work or in public or even read it. Nikki Sloane can definitely write her spice and its always so well done in her stories.
We also get the fun aspects of seeing so many emotional constipated characters learn to love and fight for that love. Its quite a treat to see how different each of them when it comes to falling in love. We have Clay who just rejects it and even pushes people away when it happens. Now with Clay in some ways I understood because he had a previous bad experience and it put him in a mindset that threw him off completely. But he doesn't handle ANY emotions haha and he doesn't know how to deal with any of it even on a most basic human level so that was very interesting. Than we have our heroine, Lilith, who can't do the love thing which is different from Clay. She can handle relationships but her issues are with she gets bored in relationships when serious emotion is involved. Than we have Travis, who was a bit difficult to get to the bottom of his emotional level. He is much more mature than the others and is like the balance wheel between Lilith and Clay. He understands emotion, has an emotional maturity the others don't have, and is able to handle love just fine.
The dynamic of the relationships that forms between the three was quite interesting. Because there isn't necessarily a strong sexual vibe between Clay and Travis. There is a strong friendship between them and nothing super sexual, at least not in the beginning, but towards the end of the story we are seeing some slow evolvement of that. So its not a straight MFM relationship. So if you struggle with that particular dynamic, and prefer MMF, than this one could work for you. Then we have the bonds that Lilith has with Travis and Clay. At first this is separated but eventually this tends to get mixed in. I really enjoyed how Lilith was the first one to fall first when she is the one rushing out of relationships when "love" happens haha but the true struggle is Clay and seeing Travis and Lilith work through their feelings and assisting Clay on it and allowing him to see that sometimes change happens that are unexpected. The later half of the book was my favorite aspect of the story though, I really felt that is where much of the emotional intimacy gets formed and enjoyed seeing their beautiful dynamic develop in those precious chapters.
What I Struggled With
So it has some elements to the relationship that might be a struggle for some to enjoy. I will be honest the way that this relationship is built, was not easy at times to read. Especially when one or really two? are so emotionally constipated. And I will be honest that this is the section of the story I truly had a hard time with. Particularly in how Clay brings Travis into the relationship when he is 'traveling'. Its a really odd set up to be honest, and there was something about it that threw me off and I just really struggled with how Clay treats Travis in the relationship. Travis is such a cinnamon roll at times and just didn't deserve how he gets treats at times in the relationship.
Narration
The narration on this is fabulous, and really the narration Nikki Slone has for all of these books are so well done. I just love the way that they capture the steam just right and the emotions of the character is so well portrayed. You can't help but be drawn in completely with the story.
Overall View
I found The Architect to be a superb read that will stoke up the flames, stir up emotion and heart and deliver completely for any romance reader!
Favorite Quote(s)
You want to be punished, don't you?"
When I nodded, he grinned.
"I hope you're not fragile."
Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Character Types: Alpha Male, Alpha Mellow, Vet/Doctor, Architect
Themes: BDSM, Menage, Hot Smexy Times, Love of Animals, Next Door Neighbor, Sex Club
Tropes: Age Gap, Fling
Book Perspective
Mulitple POV's
Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Relationship conflict
Song This Book Inspires
Earned It by The Weekend
Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as standalones if needed.
Steam/Spice Explanations
Simmering cup of tea---soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Narrators:
Angelina Rocca, Brennan Landry
Book Evaluation:
Plot: ποΈποΈποΈποΈ
World Building:ππππ
Cover:ππππ
Hero (Clay): π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»
Hero (Travis): π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»
Heroine (Lilith):π¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈ
Intimacy Level: π₯π₯π₯π₯π₯
Relationship Building: ππππ
Heart & Feels:ππππ
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πππ
Page Turner Level:ππππ
Narration:π§π§π§π§
Ending:π§§π§§π§§π§§π§§
Overall View: β¨β¨β¨β¨
First Impressions
The Architect is the third installment in the Nashville Neighbors series. And I will be honest in how apprehensive I was before reading this book and probably why I took so long to get back to the series since I read "Doctor" quite a while ago. I had seen quite a few of mixed reviews of "The Architect" and I felt nervous before reading this because I wasn't sure that this book would actually work for me, but surprisingly, it did work out for me for the most part. Its not a perfect read and probably my least favorite of the series far, just due to some elements in the midway point of the story, however, the ending was so swoon worthy and captured my attention and heart so well that it upped my enjoyment by quite a bit here. Nikki Sloane wrote a story that is brilliant in its own way and just a bit different for its readers.
First Line
A loud insistent banging came from my front door, caused by an angry fist, and I froze.
The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Clay
Architect, Driven, A trained Dominant and a planner in all things. He is also emotionally constipated. He is more about pain than necessarily pleasure.
The Hero: Travis
A dominant in training, a Vet and Doctor, he is more of a alpha mellow in nature. Has a soft spot for women and is all about pleasure over pain.
The Heroine: Lilith
Explorative sexuality, not looking for love or a serious relationship, but embraces casual relationships as long as emotion doesn't get involved and loves animals and works in a Vet clinic.
Summary
When Lilith meets her next-door neighbor, she doesn't expect it to be a sexy nerd type that has alpha vibes surrounding him. He is a mix of oxymorons, but she is intrigued by him. When they come up with a mutual agreement for a cat ownership, Lilith and Clay build a trust of casual friendship and when Lilith learns that Clay is into building furniture for couples interested in Kink and the BDSM lifestyle, she is intrigued. And she and Clay enter into a relationship of domination and pleasure. When Clay brings in a third party to act as proxy for him when he is traveling, something more connects the three individuals in a way that none of them expect. But this relationship was built on casual sex and nothing serious as the heart getting involved, will Clay, Travis and Lilith find common ground that benefits them all or will it break what they have gradually built with each other?
What I Loved
This is a true menage but it's a menage that just happens and not with the characters going into the relationship with the intentions of being in a menage. The way that the story is set up in the beginning was so evoking and powerful and SEXY. First off we get to see some solid friendship bonds form between Clay and Ivy. And then the sex happens pretty quickly, Lilith is much braver than I could ever be. Despite how submissive she is in the bedroom, she is a bit of a cougar when it comes to attracting the male she wants, and that male is Clay. I love how accepting she is of the lifestyle and just wants to learn and experience the journey of exploring it all with Clay. The sex scenes in this one is SPICY. Just fair warning, maybe not listen to this one at work or in public or even read it. Nikki Sloane can definitely write her spice and its always so well done in her stories.
We also get the fun aspects of seeing so many emotional constipated characters learn to love and fight for that love. Its quite a treat to see how different each of them when it comes to falling in love. We have Clay who just rejects it and even pushes people away when it happens. Now with Clay in some ways I understood because he had a previous bad experience and it put him in a mindset that threw him off completely. But he doesn't handle ANY emotions haha and he doesn't know how to deal with any of it even on a most basic human level so that was very interesting. Than we have our heroine, Lilith, who can't do the love thing which is different from Clay. She can handle relationships but her issues are with she gets bored in relationships when serious emotion is involved. Than we have Travis, who was a bit difficult to get to the bottom of his emotional level. He is much more mature than the others and is like the balance wheel between Lilith and Clay. He understands emotion, has an emotional maturity the others don't have, and is able to handle love just fine.
The dynamic of the relationships that forms between the three was quite interesting. Because there isn't necessarily a strong sexual vibe between Clay and Travis. There is a strong friendship between them and nothing super sexual, at least not in the beginning, but towards the end of the story we are seeing some slow evolvement of that. So its not a straight MFM relationship. So if you struggle with that particular dynamic, and prefer MMF, than this one could work for you. Then we have the bonds that Lilith has with Travis and Clay. At first this is separated but eventually this tends to get mixed in. I really enjoyed how Lilith was the first one to fall first when she is the one rushing out of relationships when "love" happens haha but the true struggle is Clay and seeing Travis and Lilith work through their feelings and assisting Clay on it and allowing him to see that sometimes change happens that are unexpected. The later half of the book was my favorite aspect of the story though, I really felt that is where much of the emotional intimacy gets formed and enjoyed seeing their beautiful dynamic develop in those precious chapters.
What I Struggled With
So it has some elements to the relationship that might be a struggle for some to enjoy. I will be honest the way that this relationship is built, was not easy at times to read. Especially when one or really two? are so emotionally constipated. And I will be honest that this is the section of the story I truly had a hard time with. Particularly in how Clay brings Travis into the relationship when he is 'traveling'. Its a really odd set up to be honest, and there was something about it that threw me off and I just really struggled with how Clay treats Travis in the relationship. Travis is such a cinnamon roll at times and just didn't deserve how he gets treats at times in the relationship.
Narration
The narration on this is fabulous, and really the narration Nikki Slone has for all of these books are so well done. I just love the way that they capture the steam just right and the emotions of the character is so well portrayed. You can't help but be drawn in completely with the story.
Overall View
I found The Architect to be a superb read that will stoke up the flames, stir up emotion and heart and deliver completely for any romance reader!
Favorite Quote(s)
You want to be punished, don't you?"
When I nodded, he grinned.
"I hope you're not fragile."
Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Character Types: Alpha Male, Alpha Mellow, Vet/Doctor, Architect
Themes: BDSM, Menage, Hot Smexy Times, Love of Animals, Next Door Neighbor, Sex Club
Tropes: Age Gap, Fling
Book Perspective
Mulitple POV's
Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Relationship conflict
Song This Book Inspires
Earned It by The Weekend
Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as standalones if needed.
Steam/Spice Explanations
Simmering cup of tea---soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Narrators:
Angelina Rocca, Brennan Landry