Book Review ~ Four Ever by Sloane Kennedy

 Book Review ~ Four Ever by Sloane Kennedy

Title: Four Ever

Author: Sloane Kennedy

Pages: 357 

Published: January 16th 2019

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Blurb:

Surrounded by a group of devoted four-footed and two-winged family members, Zak and Killian have built what should have been a dream life in their countryside farmhouse. But a cruel twist of fate and the re-emergence of old demons has frayed the edges of the men’s seven-year relationship until just one wrong move could end up severing their bond for good. 

Seemingly content to walk on eggshells around one another, things come to a head when ER nurse Zak brings his work home with him… literally. 

After being forced to leave their posh Southern California lives, homeless stepbrothers Liam and Noah are slowly losing themselves to the streets they can’t seem to escape. When twenty-one-year-old Liam is beaten up while protecting his younger “brother,” the pair find themselves being welcomed into a home where being a stray is considered a good thing. But Liam and nineteen-year-old Noah have learned the hard way that nothing is given for free and there’s no such thing as the kindness of strangers. Survival means only counting on and trusting in each other. 

Will Zak and Killian’s offer of a no-strings-attached place to heal end up being more than any of the four men bargained for? Especially when feelings between Liam and Noah begin to crawl to the surface and the truth of what Zak and Killian’s relationship has turned into becomes harder to deny? 

And what happens when lines begin to blur and needs start to change? Will Zak, Killian, Liam, and Noah end up going their separate ways? 

Or will they learn that love doesn’t always come in twos? 

*This is a novel about a foursome relationship, not just a story of two separate couples in physical relationships with one another. Thus, there is no “cheating” in this story. This is a standalone novel. 

Trigger Warning: The trigger warnings in this book may be considered "spoilerish" so they can be found by using the "Look Inside" feature or by downloading the sample and going to the section entitled "Trigger Warning."

5 Stars! 

The very first time I read a Sloane Kennedy Book years ago, I fell in love. I was feeling as if I was stuck in a rut and losing my love for the genre. Everything I read was either a let down or overdone and cliche. I was sick of the same ole same ole thing. So thinking I didn’t have much to lose anymore, I picked up Logan’s Need and was immediately sucked in. From there I read every book of hers I could get my hands on and she became one off my favorite authors. Now though, after reading Four Ever, I can honestly say Sloane Kennedy is my FAVORITE author. She has once again written a book that has given me a renewed sense of love for MM (in this case MMMM) Romance. 

Four Ever is a great example of why Sloane is so great at writing polyamorous relationships. She has a unique talent for making all the people in the relationship equals. They’re balanced and natural and in the end, I honestly feel they wouldn’t work if everyone wasn’t a part of it. This isn’t a story about a group of men who can’t stop jumping into bed together or two couples who like to share with each other. This is about a relationship, emotional connections, a partnership between all of the men. It involves ups and downs, it takes work and each man brings something very different to the table but they all blend so well. 

I’ve read many books that try to tackle this type of relationship and some have been great, some good but so many have been just okay or bad. Generally, those are either focused too much on the sexual dynamics or too much on over the top drama created to fill the plot. Quite often there is this feeling that one of the people is the glue that holds it all together or that someone is slightly on the outside. Then there’s those times where it’s pretty obvious the third or fourth person was brought in just to add some spice or to fulfill some need that wasn’t being satisfied by one or more of the people in the relationship. I despise that btw. 

Killian, Zak, Liam and Noah are all the glue in this one. While Killian is the tough, dominant ex cop who seems to be the protector, you got Liam who is just as fierce and protective. He has no problems being dominant or Alpha and he can and will go toe to toe with anyone. Both these men have an innate need to take care of their partners, even if that means sacrificing their own needs. Then there’s Zak, at first you kind of want to think he’s soft and sweet and vulnerable (well he is vulnerable in a way, they all are) but he’s not some submissive pushover. He’s a pretty tough nurse, former military medic and he’s got a heart the size of Texas. He can’t help but rescue things that need it, yet he has a hard time rescuing himself when it comes to the problems in his and Killian’s relationship. Finally, we have sweet sweet Noah. Noah is probably the sweetest of them all and the one who’s most fragile. Yet when we really find out more about him it becomes pretty clear that he’s amazingly strong. 

Now having said all that, I can’t deny the sex is hot. These four guys set the sheets on fire and it’s great to read. They’re sexy and sweet and sometimes a little dirty but it definitely works. I fanned myself a few times that’s for sure. 

The dynamics of the book fit well with the overall story and I liked that we really get an emotional journey apart from just the romance between the four men. There’s a great story here and it had me completely entranced. I sat in anxious anticipation waiting for it to unfold and to learn what had led each man to where he currently was in life and those things were sometimes hard to not get emotional over. I’ll admit at times I found myself a bit frustrated at not having all the answers up front and I wanted to just peek at the end in hope to get the answers. However, I was good and I controlled it and just let myself enjoy the ride. I’m glad I did because I definitely was not disappointed. 

Overall, this was a great read and I definitely recommend it. It’s one I’ll have no problem reading again (I have read most of Ms. Kennedy’s books at least 2 or 3 times).

*** Copy provided for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

About The Author:

Although Sloane Kennedy always dreamed of being a writer as a teenager, she didn't take the plunge until 2015 when she released her first novel. Since then, she has released nearly 30 books including the Amazon best-selling "Pelican Bay" and "Protectors" series. While she initially began writing M/F romance, she found her true passion writing gay romance and nearly all of her most recent releases reached the #1 spot on Amazon's Gay Romance bestseller list and several have made it to Amazon's overall bestseller list. Sloane was born in Germany but grew up in the U.S. and although she currently lives in Wisconsin, the place where she has always felt most at home is Seattle and many of her books take place in the Emerald city. When not writing, a menagerie of 2 dogs, 3 cats and 2 horses takes up what little time she has left in the day!