I picked up Loving Maddie from A to Z because the cover caught my attention – and let me tell you, it was absolutely the right choice.
It’s the story of Maddie and Aidan, who are an outwardly happy couple who both feel like something is just slightly off in their relationship, and their long-time best friend Zack – who is definitely the missing piece. They set out to take care of him after he spends some time as a captive in Syria (he’s a journalist and was held by rebels), and he finds himself drawn to their relationship.
Particularly once it becomes obvious that Maddie and Aidan are both submissive in bed, while Zack – who loves them both and has for a while – is very much a dom.
It’s nice to see a romance where not everyone (including an established couple no less!) has it together from the beginning, and the problems are solved by communication.
Well, communication, and some very hot sex.
Like seriously.
Super. Hot.
Well, as long as BDSM is something you like – because if that’s a turnoff, this is definitely not the book for you.
But it’s good BDSM, including establishment – and use! – of safewords, with the action stopping immediately after. I pretty much cheered, because while establishing safewords in books focused on BDSM is fairly common, using them isn’t.
And everything was solved by communication, including figuring out where things had gone wrong. Maddie and Aidan talked about their problems, and once they brought Zack into their relationship, they communicated with him too – and got him to talk to them as well.
Basically, I loved this book.
I loved the characters, and the setting, and, well, everything.
I absolutely connected with Maddie, and Aidan is adorable and amazing. But they were best as a triad – bringing Zack in brought their relationship from great to perfect, as though he should have been there all along. But that would have been a different story than the one we got, and I loved the one we got.
I loved them as a trio, exploring everything from BDSM to Zack’s PTSD to the city of Chicago, which was a character in its own right.
It was hot, it was sexy, and it was a lot of fun.
Sadly it’s a standalone and there are no more books in the series – but I’m definitely going to check out the author’s other books!
All in all, I can’t recommend this book enough! A very easy
Five Stars
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