Falling, Freestyle is the first book in Vivian Arend’s Xtreme Adventures duet. Kane and Jack have been best friends since childhood and do almost everything together. They added Dara into their little friends’ group after meeting her when she moved into the same apartment building and they’ve all been pretty inseparable for the last four years. They share the same passion for snow sports and take an annual skiing trip together. Dara has been attracted to both men for a while, but she’s kept her distance, not knowing how they feel about her. Kane and Jack both want to pursue Dara romantically, so they end up having a spat over who should get that chance first, which Dara accidentally overhears. Feeling she can’t possibly choose between them, she makes a plan to seduce them both into sharing a menage during their vacation, hoping that it might help her decide which one she’s more compatible with. While Kane and Jack are surprised by Dara’s overt sexual invitation, neither of them can deny her what she wants, so they end up spending their days tearing up the slopes and their nights burning up the sheets. When their trip comes to an end, Dara is even more conflicted and can’t imagine being without either of her guys. She proposes a permanent menage, but Jack isn’t sold on the idea and needs a bit of persuading from Kane and Dara to give it a try.

I’d say that the main weakness of this story is that it doesn’t have a great deal of character development. Beyond learning how Kane, Jack, and Dara became friends, we aren't given much information about their backgrounds or their current circumstances, such as their family lives and what they do for a living, as well as whether an unconventional relationship might affect those things. However, I can happily say that they all have distinct personalities and kinky preferences. After reading erotic romances, Dara is into the idea of a menage. She isn’t sure if it’s one of those things that’s better in theory than in practice, but she’s daring enough to take the reins in order to find out. Kane loves that Dara is into him, but he’d rather it be one-on-one. He’s heard about guys in menages crossing swords, which is something that doesn’t interest him at all. This makes him angst over Dara’s suggestion until Jack offers up a little reassurance. Kane isn’t really into BDSM either, but finds that he kind of likes Jack taking control of their intimate times. Jack is the kind of guy who’s up for just about anything. From the moment Dara makes her proposition, he’s totally on board, wanting to fulfill all her fantasies. He enjoys things like bondage and spanking and he likes to dominate in the bedroom. He loves sharing intimacies with his two best friends for the weekend, but he’s also more of a pragmatist when it comes to the idea of a permanent threesome, feeling it probably wouldn’t work for a number of reasons. However, Kane knows him well enough to realize what Jack needs to spur him into action.

Overall, I very much enjoyed Falling, Freestyle. The characterizations may have been a little underdeveloped but there’s enough present that I can say I liked all three quite well. Having Kane and Jack angst over certain parts of Dara’s suggestion made it seem more real than if they’d all just fallen into bed together without even thinking about it. Anyone who reads my reviews with any degree of regularity will know that I’m a total sucker for friends-to-lovers romances, so that aspect made it even more appealing to me. Them all being friends for so long also made the rapid progression to lovers a lot more believable as well. The book is novella length, so it’s primarily about the sexy times, but there’s just enough story in between to keep things interesting. As for the steam factor, it’s off the charts. The love scenes are extremely well written with plenty of variety. I just love how Kane and Jack both treat Dara with gentleness and respect and are eager to fulfill her fantasies. All said, I had a great time reading Falling, Freestyle. It was my first book by Vivian Arend, but it definitely won’t be my last. I look forward to the second book of the series and checking out her back list as well.

Note: This book contains explicit language and sexual situations in both M/F and M/F/M combinations, including mild bondage, spanking and domination, exhibitionism, creative use of icicles, and anal sex, all of which could be objectionable to sensitive readers. ( )

The Book: Falling, Freestyle by Vivian Arend

The Particulars: Erotic Contemporary Romance, Samhain, available as e-book

Why was it in my TBR? I like Vivian Arend

The Review:

The blurb:

Dara’s past four incredible years have been lived to the fullest. Along with her best friends, Kane and Jack, she’s left no local wilderness unexplored, no ski slope unchallenged. Yet lately she wonders why they’ve never seen her as more than a buddy with breasts. When—or if—either man will cross that unspoken line.
It’s a line Kane eyes harder every day. Since high school, he and Jack have shared everything. A condo, vacations—and their best girl. Kane’s ready to get serious about his wilderness school and outfitter business, and that includes putting down roots. Preferably with Dara.
Wary of the men who’ve recently been sniffing around Dara, Jack has a growing sense that he or Kane better make a move soon, or they’re going to lose out on their perfect match. Question is, who does she prefer…and who’s going to bring their easygoing trio to an end?
Overhearing the boys arguing over her, Dara’s floored—and torn. Choose between them? No way. Drastic measures are called for, a plan for their annual holiday getaway that will clarify her feelings once and for all—or lose everything in a sexual storm of whiteout proportions.
Warning: Old friends turned lovers can get into the most trouble—exhibitionism, bondage, spanking. Anal sex, oral sex, unauthorized use of ski safety harnesses, icicles in the hot tub…the author apologizes in advance for any melted monitors.

My impressions:

I like friends to lover stories, I like threesomes. Most of all, I like Vivian Arend. So, this felt like a guaranteed good read. I must admit, I was some what disappointed. Oh, it isn’t bad, but it isn’t the sizzling book I had expected. There was a lot of sex, the interaction between characters. But, it felt like everything went too smoothly. There was no conflict. Oh, sometimes it was hinted
at, but it never interrupted the story. ( )