Joshua Barnes-Fleetwood is the prince of Willow Fork, Texas, but not all is right with his world. He’s the heir to a multimillion-dollar company, has a family he adores, and his best friend at his side. He can’t figure out what is missing until Nicole takes a job at Christa’s Café. The pretty waitress is a mystery he needs to solve. He’s never been so attracted to a woman, and after one night in her company, he’s sure she can handle his needs. Unfortunately, he’s also sure she’s lying to him.
Jared “Grim” Burch found a home with the Barnes-Fleetwood family when he desperately needed one. With support from his newfound family, Grim beat all the odds and became a veterinarian. In Willow Fork, however, there are still people who are suspicious of him and his past. When he sees Nicole, he knows she’s the perfect woman for him and Josh, but he wonders if he has the right to bring her into his sometimes dangerous circle.
For Nicole Mason, Willow Fork is nothing more than a pit stop. Once she can save up the money to fix her car, she’ll do what she’s been doing for the last several years. Run. Framed for her husband’s murder, she can never stop looking over her shoulder. There’s always someone on her trail, and she can’t let them bring her back to the real killer. Getting to know Josh and Grim makes her dream of the life they could have together. If only she could trust them with her secrets.
When their past catches up to them all, they’ll find out that even a small town can be big trouble.
Review:
The Accidental Siren is a why choose? menage story with a bit of a suspense subplot. Josh and Grim are best friends and brothers (Josh’s family took Grim in when they were teens) who somehow always knew (it came up in kindergarten) that they would grow up to share a wife, though they themselves don’t have a sexual relationship with each other. Nicole is new to town and catches the attention of both of them, and things start from there.
Overall this wasn’t a bad story–IMO it was most engrossing when the what is Nicole’s secret and who’s after her? portion of the book was happening. Their relationship, though, was pretty much insta-everything. Insta-love, insta-relationship (seriously, at no time was there really any significant jealousy or having to work things out, even for Nicole who had zero experience with this kind of thing), and insta-BDSM lifestyle for Nicole, who was totally new to it. The first time they were all together they didn’t even “need” (in quotes, because yes, they totally DID) to explain much of anything to her, or figure out boundaries, or anything else. She just kind of…knew? Or sensed it? It was really all too much to be believed. She got a thorough orientation when they went to the club, but that was quite some time later, so…?
Everything worked out well in the end, I just couldn’t help feeling like their journey to HEA could have been a lot more believable than it ended up being.
The Accidental Siren is a continuation of the author’s very first series of books, the Texas Sirens. I haven’t read any of those books–technically you don’t have to?–but there are a lot of mentions of the original characters here (since the new series is their children’s and their children’s friends’ stories) as well as some characters from a few of her other series (Masters & Mercenaries for sure, maybe some Nights in Bliss, Colorado too?) and it can be a bit much to keep track of everyone all the time. TBH even if I had read everything she’s written (I have read several of the M&M series books, at least) I’d probably be hard pressed to remember who everyone is without going back and checking, so there is that 😉
(Also–I have no idea what the “sirens” of the title and series are? Maybe it was explained in the original series, but if it was given again here I must have missed it. The title and cover therefore seem a bit at odds with the content of the book, at least to me. Not a huge problem, but a head scratcher, at least.)
There are some hints of future MCs–Olivia for sure, and maybe Harlow?–that will probably have me coming back to check them out, despite the issues I had with this story.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.