Review for Double Time by Olivia Cunning

Olivia Cunning delivers the perfect blend of steamy sex, heartwarming romance, and a wicked sense of humor in this menage story featuring the hottest guy in the Sinners band.

Trey Mills, the notoriously sexy Sinners rhythm guitarist, gives up his bisexual lifestyle and is swept into a hot, heady romance with Reagan Elliot, a female rock star sensation. But when Trey encounters Reagan's sexy bisexual roommate, Ethan Conner, he can no longer deny who he is or what he wants. Reagan heartily agrees to a solution that opens up a hot new world of sexual experience--and love--with the two men she wants the most.

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Double Time was to be the final book in the Sinners on Tour series but for some inexplicable reason the publishers decided to release it as the third book in the series and it suffers a bit for that.  We're already given the endings for the two final band mates and spend time with the women they've already claimed for their HEA.  I feel cheated knowing these endings and with how this book concluded there was a definitive ending to wrap the whole series up.  Knowing that this isn't a true ending diminishes the feelings of kumbaya the author expressed in the final pages.

Barring these issues, Double Time was an entertaining story that brings us back into the world of rock-n-roll and presents this crazy lifestyle in a realistic manner.  The concert scenes made me feel like a part of the crowd with the sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.  These scenes were seamlessly worked into the storyline and showed how masterful Ms. Cunning is when it comes to displaying this lifestyle.  I enjoyed seeing the two bands side by side and the differences with each.  It has me looking even more forward to the Exodus End series of books.

Reagan was a character that didn't always appeal to me.  She was strong-willed one minute and a weepy little girl the next.  I never quite figured out why Trey was drawn to her other than she could play guitar like his unrequited love Brian.  She was hypocritical about understanding Trey's lifestyle but quickly accepted it after she saw how it benefitted her.  On a whole I found her a bit bland and not near the larger than life mate Trey needed.

Trey's been through a lot in this series thus far and I was really hoping for a HEA for him with the love he deserved.  However I'm not convinced that Reagan is the perfect choice.  Their relationship seemed to be totally based on sex as that's where most of the story took place....the bedroom, couch, table.  I never really felt that they connected on an intellectual level as the few times they did talk she was sarcastic.  Trey was a fully fleshed-out character and I wish Reagan had been as well.

The third part of this lover's triad is Ethan who doesn't join in until the last third of the story and therefore never seemed to amount to any more than a participant.  He has issues himself that drew me to him but we never got to dig too deeply into his life.  Trey proclaims that they're one big happy/loving family but it all felt so superficial to me in the end.

The catalyst for them to all proclaim their love was the appearance of a stalker wanting to hurt Reagan.  The stalker's identity was kept well-hidden but once revealed his reasoning was ridiculous.  He felt more pathetic than dangerous.  The rather clownish way he was apprehended made him appear even more pathetic.

All these issues notwithstanding I was still fully engaged in this story's outcome as well as the members of the Sinners and Exodus End.  While not as good as the first book in this series there's still much to reccommend it.  Each band member is sexy in their own way and a reader can't help being drawn to them.  Their larger than life personalities are what makes these books succeed and have me, and other readers, coming back for more.  

My rating for this is a B-

*I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.