Having read Rule of Three from Ariella, I requested the arc for Fiddle and Fire. This was a more historical romance and I was curious about the story. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a bore. Of course, the romance is cute and a little sizzle, but the story unfolded very slowly. Yes, there is some drama, yes there is a background story about Suzette’s past, but in all it took very long for the story to get there. We get distracted by some sizzling scenes, but it took all of the flow out of the story. So, if you go for the sizzle, enjoy. If you want to follow the story, I would recommend the Rule of Three better. Two and a half out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Fiddle and Fire is a unique historical romance that is MMF and takes place in San Francisco just after the height of the Gold Rush, in 1855. We start off with Isaac and Walter, volunteer firefighters of the Aylesbury Fire Company. They are best friends who met on the east coast and travelled to San Francisco together, and find themselves entranced with a newly-arrived French woman. Suzette is torn between the two men, but is sure she wants them together. Suzette has a secret past, apparently, that she is running from.

Unfortunately, that's all I can tell you about this book because I had no desire to continue after chapter 1. I don't think this author or this story is for me personally.

The particular issues I had were with:

- Clunky exposition. Chapter One is 7 pages and consists only of "Isaac is this kind of man and does these things, and Walter is this kind of man, and does these things and they do these other things together."

- What seemed to me to be unnatural word choices for the time period. There were terms such as "hand drawn fire truck" and "hotel and casino," but also references to an Aylesbury style top hat as if I should just know what that means.

- Along with those odd word choices, there was also a distinct lack of description of everything. This lead to a confusing sense of the era this was supposed to be in, and if it hadn't specified the California Gold Rush or 1855, I could be convinced quite easily this was a contemporary story.

- Confusing sentence structures and lack of paragraph breaks when necessary.

- Unnatural dialogue that seemed weirdly stiff and explicitly expository rather than actual conversation with human beings.

Again, this was within 7 pages....

Sadly I do not have the time or patience to sit with this story to give it more of a chance to see if it improves or comes together, despite the enticing aspect of a MMF historical romance.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really wanted to love this one but it just felt a little off on the historical details. I was willing to suspend a lot of disbelief for the story, but it just wasn't working for me. I was fascinated by the characters and the relationships characters were building in the story.

enjoyable read, i enjoyed suzettes charactor but did feel there could of been more to her than what was said, the two Men, isaac and walter were both different in there ways and both enjoyable charactors, its a steamy book not dark romance but sexual content etc are in this book, being book 2 in a series can sometimes not be as good as the first, this was just as good.

I really tried to get into this book and finish it but unfortuntely it was a DNF for me. I thought the relationships were boring and not built up enough to be realistic. I wanted to like this because I love historical romances but it was a no for me.

I really enjoyed this book. It was great to catch up with characters from the first book and get to know other characters better.
This book seemed to move faster than the last and I enjoyed the pace better of this one. The author really gives you a good imagine in your mind of the area in which they live.
There is plenty of erotic scenes but they fit well into the story.
I would definitely read more from this author.

Well this so completely different then anything I have ever read and I LOVED every word. Historical San Francisco was an awesome location, I loved how she evolved and was swept away by both men. This was super sexy but not smut, everything was written tastefully and I truly loved it. Author did a great job with side stories and how everything came together. If there are books like this I am hooked.

Fiddle and Fire is a steamy historical MMF romance novel. The story takes place in early San Francisco and follows the relationship between Suzette, Isaac, and Walter. Suzette quickly catches the eyes of both Isaac and Walter, leading to some very steamy interactions between the three of them. There are some unexpected twists and turns to the story and overall, it was enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley & publisher for this eARC.

This is my very first Erotica-Historical Fiction.

Sets in 1855, Suzette who just moved in to SF with her brother from France, has insta-love with charmingly gentleman, Isaac and Walter.

Now, it was okay, and there were backstory for each main character. And then there were steamy scenes and it wasn't as compelling as I thought it would be (because it was advertised as steamy), it was decent. The plot was okay with the antagonist's motives, but I feel like it's lacking something. Just can't seem to figure it out.

But overall it was okay, and definitely for mature readers, 18+ and above, and those who don't mind man to man scenes.

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a DNF for me. I tried, I really did. I got about 50% through the book but just could finish. The characters were boring. The relationship took off too fast with very little real build up. The sex scenes were nothing special. I love historical romance, it is my go to and have read a few MMF books but this one missed the mark.
I won't be trying another book by this author.

Hot in the city

San Francisco in the 1850's is a booming new city. Isaac and Walter are volunteer firemen and partners in a creative business. They built a house for the deMassey heir and his sister Suzette, and things heat up fast. Both men have a 'thing' for one another, both develop feelings for Suzette, and - voila! It's a ménage a trois. But Suzette's past catches up to her, with incendiary results. No spoilers, but this is a hot historical romance of a different stripe than the usual. I enjoyed every deliciously sexy, dangerous, thrilling page. This is a voluntary and independent ARC review.

I just couldn’t get into this book. It was kinda blah for me. Might be because I don’t usually read historical. It’s about a young French woman and her brother coming the the US. The ended up in San Francisco were she meets two men. Of course theirs a villain in it also.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

I

this book was short sweet and steamy just how I like it. There were a few times where the transitions between scenes were a bit clunky but the story and characters made up for it. I enjoyed it all the way through and I cant wait to see what else this author has to offer

This is my first time reading a book by Ariella Talix but not my first time reading a MMF erotic historical romance. While this is the second book in the series, I do not feel that I missed anything by heading straight into this book.

This book is less about the three main characters, Suzette (who just moved to 1855 San Francisco from France), Isaac, and Walter, and more about what happens once they find themselves in a relationship. They are learning to navigate the world of a three person couple and I appreciate Talix's candiness as Walter and Isaac figure out their dynamic. (But to confirm, swords do cross--It is MMF, not MFM.) There is a lot of drama that happens along the way that is central to the story. So if you are more invested in the saga and watching a couple grow rather than reading about the journey to get to the relationship, this book is for you. I enjoyed a different historical setting from the typical 1800s London ballroom.

As for the sex scenes, they are descriptive but not necessarily explicit. Sometimes Talix references encounters between the three of them and I wished she'd shared those scenes rather than some of the more storytelling, non-steamy scenes.

This is a solid three star for me if I have to give stars. I enjoyed it for the most part. The writing itself was VERY good. The pacing was solid.

I unfortunately had come close DNFing this book but I persisted since MFM and Historical romance are two of my much favorite genres. It took me a long time to finish Fiddle and Fire. I did have a couple of problems when it came to reading this book. There was so much happening and it became a whirlwind of confusion. I struggled with the writing which didn't help things. I had hoped I could fly into it but it didn't work out.

The sex scenes were okayish but I couldn't feel much chemistry between our characters. Isaac and Walter on the other hand had an excellent bond that could be felt. I also liked the passion of music that was depicted in this book! There was room for a lot of improvements but all in all it was an okayish read.

Thank you Netgalley and Victory Editing for this ARC!

Fiddle and Fire by Ariella Talix is a steamy MMF romance based in the 1850s in San Francisco. It’s the new world where Walter and Isaac have made a life for themselves as a sought-after construction company in the city.

Enter Suzette, a French lady who doesn’t think much of the ruffian working in her newly purchased home is strangely taken with him and also a gentleman who greets her that day too. She makes friends and opens up from her stuck-in-the-air attitude and acts on her feelings even when her past tries its best to botch up her present.

I liked the multiple elements at play. The music was a very major and entertaining part of it. The book seemed to segregate between the parts where it mentioned Isaac’s Woodwork and the voluntary firefighting team of the city.

The story lost its tone in places. I could not visualise the story as the multiple developments moved too fast to comprehend. The book was of the romance genre and I feel that no effort was made to include incidental foreboding in the events except the peeping eyes towards the end of the book.

This lacked the connection with the outside world. It revolved around Suzette, Walter and Isaac and was isolated. It played in the positive as a lot could have gone wrong otherwise. This is a book that should be read as slowly as you can that you did no miss out on the developments.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me by 25%. The writing just...wasn't great. All of the characters felt bland and I didn't care for them to get together. I can see that people might enjoy it which is why it gets 2 stars.

Shame, but I don't want to keep reading something just for some eventual sex scenes.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. Overall, the plot was lacking a bit of depth and steam both. There were decent sex scenes, but they weren't super compelling. The attachment between the characters was pretty quick and I didn't really feel a lot of emotional depth, they just jumped in with zero drama. However, I appreciate the book for what it was, and think it was enjoyable. I would read another book by this author.

A wonderful story that is well written with great characters. The author writes in such a way that it gets your attention at the beginning and holds it until the very end. I adored Issac and Walter and how they are drawn to Suzette. It’s interesting that Isaac had not idea about Walter’s interest in him. There is a lot happening in this story as it relates to their journey to becoming a marriage of three and all of the obstacles that seem to get in their way. There is a HEA but it is a process that makes for a great story. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and are voluntarily leaving a review.

Thank you Ringmaster Publishing and Netgalley for this steam historical romance. I wanted more erotic scenes probably if the book is marked as erotic. Or I missed the point for historical romance. It was not all bad but they were maybe to perfect or that was the purpose. I liked they nevee argued a lot but the antaghonist were really to boring.