Brief Encounters

Title: The Art of the Delaneys
Author: Anne Brooke
Length: 10,000 words
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: m/m/m (light) BDSM contemporary
Rating: B+

Blurb:
Liam is determined to prove to the Delaney twins that he’s more than just a good bed-partner for them. His chance to show them what he’s worth comes unexpectedly soon when his boss at the art gallery, Melissa, is asked by the Delaneys to take part in an art scam, and Liam agrees to help her.

When the Delaneys turn up with their henchmen on the night of the scam, Melissa and Liam are startled to discover that it will involve a painting by one of their best artists. Can Liam make sure the gallery doesn’t get too seriously involved and keep the Delaneys satisfied, in the only way he knows how, at the same time?

Review:
I’m really enjoying this series of shorts about the hapless Liam and his dealings with the Delaney brothers. This story follows on from the previous book Entertaining the Delaneys. Liam has come to the frankly rather terrifying conclusion that he has developed feelings for Marcus and Johnny and now is determined to find a way to change their relationship from the occasional bout of sex into something more meaningful. With the help of Melissa, Liam’s boss, Liam co-ordinates a scheme to introduce the brothers to the world of fraudulent art in the hope that the brothers begin to see Liam has a use outside the bedroom. However, as always with Liam, things do not go exactly to plan!

As with all these Delaney shorts the pleasure is in the character of Liam whose mix of obsequiousness and cheek towards the Delaneys is quite endearing. This time he’s trying to prove that he’s more than a great body, and on the whole he’s successful, but there are still a few moments when I thought he was going to cock things up completely. It’s been amusing to watch the change in the feelings of the Delaney brothers too as Mark is slowly thawing and you can tell that Liam has Johnny wrapped round his finger. The mix of the humour in Liam and the slight danger of the volatile Delaneys works well and I was rooting for Liam all the way by the end.

If I have any niggles its that I wasn’t completely satisfied with the one sex scene – I wanted more! Also the casual way that the Delaneys go about their scam, and the references to some of their other unsavoury ventures, pricked at my moral conscience a bit. Having said that, I also liked that the author has not toned down that the Delaneys are criminals – and rather unapologetic ones at that – otherwise the danger that Liam feels when in their company wouldn’t work as well.

Overall, this third instalment of the Delaney series was a great fun read with a very likeable narrator in Liam.  I’m really looking forward to seeing how Liam manages to further their relationship into the next story and can highly recommend this book.