Jamie Conway has a charmed life. At 24, he’s relocated from Dublin to London to star in his first feature film. Unfortunately, he also has one very big problem: He has a huge crush on his happily married costar.

British heartthrob to middle-aged women everywhere, Callum Griffith-Davies should have better sense than to flirt with his new-to-the-business colleague, but good judgement isn’t one of the qualities for which he’s known.

Nerea Espinosa de Los Monteros Nessim has better things to do than fret about her husband’s newest conquest. She’s busy planning her daughter’s wedding at the family’s farmhouse in rural Spain. Besides, she and Callum have been married and polyamorous for almost 30 years; she’s content to let him make his own bad choices.

But when Nerea flies to London after her artwork is selected for a high-profile museum show, she falls for Jamie too. Soon Callum, Jamie, and Nerea have bigger problems, and surprises, than international logistics. From ex-lovers and nosy neighbors to adult children with dramas of their own, The Art of Three is a contemporary romance that celebrates families, and farce, in all shapes and sizes.

Goodreads / Amazon
Release Date: March 28th

An ARC of this was provided via Netgalley

When I first heard of this I knew I had to read this sooner than later so when it was up on Amazon I pre-ordered immediately.

Then I found it browsing through Netgalley but didn’t request because I had preordered after all and what were two more weeks anyway? Apparently too much because I did end up requesting. And I’m SO happy I did because this book is truly fantastic!

My absolute favourite part of The Art of Three was the development of each relationship. Not just the one between Jamie and Callum, but also the one between Nerea and Jamie and the triad-relationship. I loved how organic and natural it felt for them to end up together. Each relationship is a bit different, just like the characters involved, but I really enjoyed each pairing equally. I loved the glimpses we got into the already existing and still going strong relationship of Nerea and Callum. I loved the parts when Jamie and Nerea “ganged up” on Callum and teased him about his quirks. Overall the banter and humor was lovely but I also loved the more sedate scenes.

In particular I loved is that this story showed how important communication and time-management in a relationship are, maybe more so in a relationship involving more than two people because each of them needs time as a couple too, not just as a triad. Mind-readers only exist in fiction after all, so things can’t improve if you don’t voice your opinion and talk about expectations and hopes. Racheline Maltese and Erin McRae managed to portray this with such ease and simplicity.

Callum and Nerea are more “experienced” when it comes to being in a poly-relationship and have been living like this for the last 30 years. But it’s an all new situation for Jamie and I loved how – even though he’s sometimes unsure – he still stands up for what he wants. He’s such an endearing and sweet character but also so determined. I really, really loved that.
And Nerea! Boy! She knows how to handle those two and it was so delightful! She’s the embodiment of a strong, independent woman. Easily standing her ground against them; I wish I was just a little bit like her.
Callum… he’s so charismatic and such a charmer. Each of them separately is already a handful but the three of them together are not to be messed with.

The Art of Three focuses more on the emotional bond between each of the characters and while the reader knows they’re intimate, there are no explicit scenes in this book. And I don’t feel like they’re needed at all. Sex can be a good way to show intimacy of a growing relationship but this story works perfectly without.

Not only has The Art of Three a strong cast of main characters, the side characters are also equally interesting. There’s really not one character that I didn’t like. Each of them brought something to the story and I feel like some of them have a story of their own to tell. I’d love to read about them.

The ending of the story definitely leaves the possibility for a sequel so I hope that we eventually get more of these characters. I’m decidedly *not* ready to say goodbye to these characters yet.

So to conclude: The Art of Three is a fantastic story with amazing characters, great bi- and poly-representation, you absolutely should not miss.

Genre: Contemporary Orientation: Bisexual Pairing: M/M/F Pairing: Poly Review Self Published Tag: Age-Gap Tag: Celebrity / Famous Person Tag: Friends to Lovers Erin McRae Racheline Maltese The Art of Three