Thank you to Blue Box Press and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I will confess: there was something about the cover of this book that appealed to me after a few beers! Do not drink and Netgalley, folks.
This was the first erotica I've tried so I'm coming into this with the perspective of someone who is sex-positive, very gay, but otherwise a newbie for this genre. Party of Three is about EMT Buckley Mitchell is helping his boyfriend Mateo Cano embrace his sexuality, but things get complicated when Mateo's former Marine mentor and past lover, Jeff Braxton, unexpectedly re-enters his life. When all three men meet at a luxury resort, hidden desires surface, leading to a passionate weekend that could either be a one-time escape or the start of something deeper.
The story is a multi-POV novella told from the perspectives of the three men. To get to it, if you are looking for a book that contains a lot of steamy romps around an emerging throuple - you will have a good time. Outside of that, this fell a little flat for me. The characters feel largely interchangeable and had the same voice (such as the late-40s army major calling someone 'dude') despite their backgrounds and little motivations we are given painting them as very different people. We get into the hot stuff too quickly for me, and as a result the intimacy doesn't feel earned or deserved in the characters. To its credit, the book paints a modern style relationship in a positive light, and while it's idealistic it at least attempts to explore to nuances and difficulties a throuple can face. I also appreciated the author's attempts to add some complexity to the characters, especially Mateo's PTSD connected to his past. That being said, it felt a little red flag that ultimately the trauma just resulted in another plotline to get the three back into bed.
Overall, what it sets out to do by telling a hot and steamy story about three burly dudes it executes well. It just doesn't elevate anything beyond that.

I needed this today

Palaver is about an unnamed son, living in Tokyo, who is unexpectedly visited by his estranged mother from the U.S., ten years after they last saw each other. Her arrival disrupts his carefully kept distance from the past, as he juggles a secret relationship with a married man and long nights at a local gay bar. While the son resists reconnection, his mother quietly begins building a life of her own in Japan, forming a tentative friendship with a neighborhood bistro owner. As they share space and memories, both are pushed to confront old wounds and consider what reconciliation might look like.

I’ll start by saying I enjoyed this, and a lot more than I expected to after starting it. Palaver is a slow, dual-POV character-driven story of quieter moments and delicate relationships evolving over time. As the story bounces between past and present for both characters, we’re drip-fed events in the past that led to the relationship being what it is today. I enjoy stories where the author respects the reader’s intelligence and leaves some dots for us to join ourselves. The relationship between mother and son is complicated and raw. Both have made mistakes, and both are frightened about the vulnerability needed to put them right. You find yourself routing for and against both characters at various points which make the wins in this story feel earned and meaningful. 

I also enjoyed immersing myself in Japanese culture. I’ve never visited the country myself (yet!) but you can tell the author has a fondness and respect for the country and its people. I also loved the pictures of Japan interspersed among the story.

Palaver is also wonderfully and unashamedly queer - with all the colour and darkness that our community experiences. There’s a messy but honest authenticity to the gay experience the son lives through; and as a queer reader I found that hooked me in. I think readers, especially those in the LGBTQIA+ community, will connect with this story; alongside those who know what it’s like to feel lost, directionless and have complicated relationships with others. This won’t be a book for everyone, and I can imagine unless this book is FOR you, it won’t be to many tastes. 

As a final aside - this is another books that doesn’t punctuate speech. While not a problem for me, I’m aware this is an immediate dealbreaker for some so one to be aware of.

Ultimately, this was an enjoyable book I found myself eager to return to between reading sessions. It hasn’t changed my life, and isn’t one I’ll likely reread, but was an enjoyable and engaging reading experience for the time I had it.

Thank you to FSG and NetGalley for this Advanced Reader Copy of Palaver by Bryan Washington - at the time of writing (May 2025) due for publication in November 2025.