TJ Alexander has been giving me the queer love stories no quite gets right, whether it be nonbinary characters, or T4T couples, or post transition second chance romances. Needless to say, I was excited for the poly romance. While there is good information for those navigating polyamory for the first time, I found the main POV of Mel kind of unrelatable, both as someone adjacent to the drink service industry and the poly dating scene. And it's not that the author hasn't done their research, it's just that Mel is a deeply immature and dull character. I also firmly believe, romances, especially poly romances must have the POV of every character involved in the romance. Otherwise you run the risk of the non POV partner(s) feeling like a cardboard cutout. Which is how Bebe felt the whole time. Frustratingly Kade actually seemed super interesting and I WISH we could've had more or all of the story from their POV. If I hadn't been reading another MUCH better book that does poly relationship structures proper justice, along with telling a good speculative fiction story, I might've been happier with this one whose ONLY job was to make the poly dynamics feel more organic. Not my favorite by the author but will still check out future works because of the unique spaces they inhabit.

Loved this read! The author did such a great job with the development of the setting and each character. The relationships amongst the characters from the beginning was very well done and super cute - the way Mel seemed super shy bumping into Bebe - someone who was able to bring her out of her comfort zone was adorable.

Usually I despise when chapters feel super long but I loved how many details we got from the beginning of the relationships to their development. One of my fav. things was Mel's confidence when it came to making drinks and how proud of herself she was especially when she went to a little party hosted by Bebe.

Triple Sec by TJ Alexander
emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I received an advance reader copy thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Mel is a bartender working at a high end cocktail bar when she meets BeBe, a beautiful lawyer with whom she clicks, until she learns that BeBe is happily married to her partner Kade. Still, Mel is intrigued and gets pulled into their social circle expecting only friendship. Then BeBe tells Mel that she and Kade have an open marriage and she wants to date if Mel is interested.

Mel is has recently divorced her wife, who it seems is her only prior long term partner and who cheated on her. She is gun shy and not sure how to navigate this new reality. While Mel is initially only involved with BeBe, it isn't long before Kade expresses their interest in Mel as well. Rounding out the story is a cocktail competition for which Mel tries to come up with the perfect concoction and a gay BFF/Roommate with his own non-monogamy situation.

What follows is a fun, fluffy poly-amorous romance. I liked this but didn't love it. It spent a lot of time educating Mel, and by extension the reader, on the way polyamory works and checking off the romance tropes and checkpoints. But maybe it's just not for me.

Happy Pride Month!

First of all, T.J. Alexander’s Dedication at the beginning of Triple Sec reads “to all sluts everywhere–cheers.” The rest of the book is as delightful as the dedication. We get to see the formation of a happy polycule, a woman come into her own, and the creation of many alcoholic beverages.

Mel Sorrento is a career bar tender working at a swanky New York City cocktail lounge. She’s good at her job, and maybe a little bored serving the tech bros and finance guys that make up most of the clientele. After an unpleasant divorce, she does not believe in love. So when Bebe, who is married to Kade, proposes that she and Mel date, Mel decides to use the relationship as a safe way to get back into dating. After all, dating an already married woman, even with her spouse’s permission, can’t go anywhere, can it?

In addition to this being a solidly enjoyable read, a couple of things stood out to me. One was Mel’s struggle to let go of her ideas about how committed romantic relationships work. The other was the way we really get to know Mel through her actions, and especially through the sex scenes with Kade and Bebe.

Our patriarchal and heteronormative culture doesn’t offer many models for what committed, romantic relationships look like. Mel and her ex-wife had tried to make their relationship look like a heteronormative monogamous marriage, but gay, and it didn’t work for them. So Mel flails for a while trying to understand how to do consensual non-monogamy and committed non-monogamy. As someone who came to understand themselves as aro-ace later in life, I can relate to Mel’s struggle to fit her relationships, and the relationships around her, into the familiar narrative. But, the socially acceptable narrative doesn’t work for a committed non-monogamous relationship. Once Mel accepts that her relationships, romantic or not, are individual entities that require specific attention and effort, all of her relationships improve. As a side note, I also loved her efforts to be the best committed non-monogamist ever and the cuddle session that happens when she inevitably fails.

Triple Sec is told entirely from Mel’s point of view. We only see her from her own perspective, and she has no idea why anyone would fall in love with her. We see who Mel is in the way that she handles the stressed out lounge patron who wants to propose to his girlfriend in a tired and cliché manner and in the way she helps a stressed out bartender at an art opening. In those moments, we see her confidence, experience, and compassion unfiltered. We also see Mel without her own jaundiced lens when she is having sex with her partners. In open door romances, the sex scenes tell us a lot about the characters and their relationship. Alexander does an amazing job of illuminating Mel and showing us the vibe that captured Bebe and Kade’s attentions. The single point of view is also, I think, the book’s greatest weakness. I think I would have found Bebe and Kade more interesting if I had a sense of them beyond what we see through Mel’s eyes.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Atria Books and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

I have been excited for this book ever since I first heard about it and it was such an enjoyable read! It’s been so interesting to see more polyamorous couples in romance and I think this was such a worthy addition to the niche (especially with a slightly different polycule than you usually see!). It’s queer in every sense of the word, sapphic and genderqueer and just kind of gay honestly. Mel is such an endearing and strong main character with a fantastic personal journey while also being a great romantic character. There’s a level of care and seriousness taken with the relationships while also being fun and playful and just a joy to read. It’s the perfect beach read, or curled up in an armchair on a rainy day read, or simply looking for a fun queer romance with character development read.

Girl meets girl (and girl’s spouse). They become girlfriends. Bartending hijinks. Girl kisses girl’s wife, and they become partners. Then everyone becomes a couple! That is essentially what happens in TRIPLE SEC but like all good romances, the fun is in seeing how they get there. The characters all feel so fun and genuine and nuanced that even when the characters are being a little bit ridiculous and not communicating it’s fun to read. We also get a great queer friendship with Mel’s roommate, and just overall fun queer vibes. It’s definitely a little centric on a somewhat stereotypical New York Queer but I still think there are some levels of interesting elements. But honestly, I wouldn’t read this if you’re looking for like, the most serious exploration of queerness and polyamorous relationships, but if you’re looking for a fun, queer romance then this is absolutely worth the read and I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Reading a romance novel that doesn’t only challenge the heteronormative norm but also challenges the monogamous imperative was NOT in my bingo card for this year! But boy, o boy, was I glad to stumble upon it! This is giving rags to riches but queer and poly. What a way to begin Pride month 2024!

The MC was super relatable, a bisexual bartender who’s still healing from her divorce, and suddenly discovers the world of polyamory with Bebe, a spunky lawyer who’s beautifully persuasive. The thing is, Bebe is already married to Kade, a nonbinary artist who’s emotional performance is akin to Severus Snape (don’t worry, I love them and this comparison is the best of compliments). Mel dips her toes in the waters of poly and well, without giving anything away, the small twist at the 2/3 of the novel had me giggling like a little girl. Just saying: there’s a reason the cover has THREE different hands wink-wink.

In terms of writing, the meet-cutes are very cute indeed! Loved the descriptions of cocktail making, as it was giving Pixar (Ratatouille, anyone?). The quick and witty dialogue and heavy sarcasm was bountiful and beautiful to read. So fun also! Daniel, Mel’s roommate and bff, has AMAZING zingers like “Okay, Scarlet Letter. Remember the commandment: thou shall not hate on thy friends’ sluttiness” (31). Kade, the royalty of dead pan witticisms; “I told you we should print up pamphlets. It would save us all some time” regarding explaining their poly arrangement (59).

Poly representation? YES YES YES

The way Kade and Bebe host their past lovers and those lovers’ new lovers was nothing short of warm and comforting. Seeing this represented was like a dream come true for me. The way Kade and Bebe have open conversations about including another person in the polycule or dating someone new. “It’s 2024. Get with the program. Basically everyone’s poly” (66). Everyone has different arrangements and they are all based on ethics and love. Daniel’s for example is very much open because he and his partner value the sanctity of their serious relationship; they don’t get serious with anyone else.

Even the inclusion of dynamics like sun or dom or top or bottom. Bebe describes her theory that however a person is in their daily life out on the street, in bed, they are the opposite. Which helped ME a lot in the past and helped Mel in this journey to learn about herself. Love how Bebe was direct and proud that she’s a “champion pillow princess. I’ve made bottoming an art form. I can drape myself over a mattress and let you do whatever you want to me like that” (86). Which then led to Kade and Mel discovering things about their own connection in turn. On that note, this book is not just smut with a plot. There are very few scenes of spiciness and most of it fades to black but gives enough (insert double entendre brow arch).

*SPOILER BELOW*

The last thing I’ll say is the contract. I ADORE that in navigating this different relationship, everyone felt grounded by creating a contract they all agreed upon. Loved how, with every change and hurdle, they went back and made amendments. And at the end when it was decided that it would be a triad, they took out all the stuff that said otherwise and just said “Fuck it. We ball” 🤣. This made me laugh because that’s how it is in real life! You make boundaries with your partner and lovers but at the end of the day, there’s no rule book or commandments to follow. Everyone makes the rules as they go. Everyone loves in their own way, and as the author said, “with their whole heart, in defiance for anyone who tries to tell you otherwise.”

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the ARC!

This book was an awesome way to kick off Pride month!
I absolutely loved the celebration/exploration of polyamorous relationships, it's great to see a book that's so open and thoughtful in traditional publishing.
The characters are very well thought out, each with their unique struggles, and I loved seeing how they all adapt to one another and learn to communicate their feelings/thoughts/needs better. Communication is so important and hard, and this book manages to show it in a way that is genuine and honest. All 3 characters were great but I especially liked Mel and Kade, it was great to see their bond develop.
I also really liked how Mel's journey is interwoven with the competition. The ending was quite predictable, we can se quite early on how everything is going to play out, but the book was so sweet and fun that it didn't really bother me too much.
Triple Sec was my first book by TJ Alexander but I'll be sure to check out more of their work because I had a great time.

Thank you NetGalley/Atria for the ARC.

Triple Sec was such a sexy, sweet love story and I love seeing it from a mainstream publisher! I thought the book did a great job developing all three of the main characters- Mel, Bebe, and Kade, their individual relationships, and their relationship together. I think that balance is really hard to get right in a romance that’s poly-based. I loved the focus on communication and that Mel’s journey was also one that was intrinsic to her as she figured out how to make space for love in her life and figure out her career. I thought the NyC art and bar scene as setting were so perfect for this story- New York just feels like the most romantic place in the world when she gets invited in. TJ Alexander’s prose is so beautiful and I loved how much heart was packed into this story, as well as how truly diverse the characters felt.

If this book were a cocktail, it'd be a sipper for sure.

Triple Sec by T.J. Alexander is a lighthearted story about Mel, a NYC bartender at a swanky cocktail lounge who isn't looking to date seriously (or really date for that matter) since her divorce, yet when Bebe walks into the bar with all the charm in the world, Mel can't help but be drawn to her. They flirt they hit it off- and then Bebe's wife Kade shows up. Mel, thinking she read the situation wrong, isn't quite sure what to make of the night but after being invited over for a brunch party and later a more formal lunch date, Bebe expresses interest in dating Mel after explaining that Bebe and Kade are polyamorous.

This may be the first book I've ever read where polyamory is at the forefront, or central focus, of a story. I love that we're seeing this representation in literature! Nothing is black and white and through Mel's journey with dating Bebe, later developing feelings for Kade too, Mel discovers there's so much more to herself and the world that she never had opened her mind to before. The story is enjoyable, there are many moments and lines that had me laughing out loud, and this paints a beautiful picture of what communication can accomplish!

With the big set up of this cocktail competition in the first act, I really wish that would have been more of a central point throughout the story and it only left me wanting more. Some books I find myself flying through, this one I sadly only picked up for a few chapters here and there and never fully got lost in the story.

Overall, entertaining and is guaranteed to make you laugh!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Get in, hotties, we're going to the craft cocktail lounge to order fancy drinks and read TRIPLE SEC!

I'm obviously deeply obsessed with TJ Alexander and all of their books, but a throuple romance starring a hot queer bartender? Say less! I'm in! This book made me look at the whole romance genre in a new way and think about what queer happy endings can look like. But beyond that, it's simply a treat to read. Have your favorite cocktail on hand, because you WILL crave it.

I love reading about different types of relationships and situations different from mine.
I enjoyed this book a lot and I loved that it was so easy to get into and follow.
This book follows Mel, a recently divorced bartender who gets asked to join a throuple. I wish they stuck with this part of the story more but I did also enjoy the bartending competition.

3.5⭐
First read of pride month how fitting! I'm just now realizing that although I've read books with different relationship dynamics I have yet to read a clear fully poly book. Now im not sure if this is the first of its kind, the first in Trad pub or merely the first that ive come across but it's pretty neat. I had a great time reading this! One thing, I would've loved more exploration into the backgrounds and beings of the love interests and also more in-depth exploration of the main characters previous relationship and it's subsequent end. The book seemed to be focused mainly on polyamory and it's exploration which is still a worthy cause and on that front I feel the author delivered. There is no one set way to be queer in whatever capacity and the more representation in mainstream media the better. This was such a fun read I sped right through it. If you're looking for books to add to your pride month tbr definitely check this one out!

Something about this book felt so refreshing and for that, I was able to enjoy it. i’ll admit that i didn’t care for the plot itself with Mel entering this bartending competition and wanting to open up her own bar, but the romance was cute enough to carry it through. i liked Mel, Bebe and Kade together and i appreciated the separate relationships they built before becoming a full on poly couple. i do think that the characters were kinda archetypes for their sexualities, but i also think this book would give a lot of context to people who aren’t aware of how these sorts of relationships might work. Kade is probably my fav cause i loved seeing them come out of their shell and become more comfortable. there’s things i could nitpick but i honestly just thought this was a fun time so i won’t complain too much.

Triple Sec is a delightful blend of queer love, self discovery, and polyamory set against a picturesque backdrop of the NYC high end cocktail world that makes for an engaging read. The plot revolves around a complex yet charming narrative that kept me turning pages well into the night. Alexander's writing style is both vivid and accessible, drawing the reader into a world that feels both familiar and intriguing.

However, I must admit that I initially had some trouble connecting to the characters. In the beginning, they felt somewhat distant and underdeveloped, making it hard to fully invest in their journeys. It took a few chapters before I started to feel a genuine emotional connection to them. But once the story gained momentum and the characters' personalities began to unfold more richly, I found myself growing increasingly attached and rooting for their successes and resolutions.

Despite the slow start, "Triple Sec" ultimately won me over with its clever plot twists, well-crafted setting, and the depth of emotion it eventually delivered. For readers who enjoy a mix of intrigue and heartfelt moments, "Triple Sec" is definitely worth picking up.

🥃 Cocktails Competition
🌸 Polyamory
🥃 Queer Love
🌸 A couple spicy scenes handled very well

Mel, a creative bartender in a fancy cocktail lounge, meets Bebe one night and sparks fly. Then Bebe’s partner walks in and Mel questions the entire connection. Thankfully, Bebe and her parter Kade have an open marriage. What first starts as a casual fling between Mel and Bebe, grows to a committed relationship and continues to grow to include Kade, Bebe’s partner.

This was my first romance where a relationship was occurring within an open marriage (at least at the start) and I really liked how it was discussed among everyone in the relationship. It felt like a healthy adult relationship and never like anything was hidden or kept secret. I like how Bebe and Kade were patient with Mel too when explaining things, since she had no clue what to expect either. Also, yay for talking about practices like STI screenings! Super important and this showed it’s possible without detracting in any way from a sexy or enjoyable encounter.

The relationship between Mel and Bebe was super cute. I was really worried when I got to 56% in the book and everything seemed to be wrapped up nicely. So glad it wasn’t over though! It only kept getting better. Mel and Kade’s relationship was just as special to me, even though it was completely different. It was really cool to see how three people could totally mesh together. The spicy scenes were great too!

The cocktail competition was a nice addition. It was fun to read about the creative process Mel went through. I have no expertise when it comes to mixing drinks, so I truly think it is an art. Having all of Mel’s lovers and friends come together to help was a great way to showcase their personalities and how much they cared about Mel.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book. It was the perfect book to bring on a Girl’s Trip and a great quick read. This is my second TJ Alexander book and they have definitely become an auto-buy author for me.

Thank you so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my 2nd Alexander book, and I found Port Stephen more accessible than this one.
Mel is a bartender, divorced from her wife for 2 years, not interested in love, until Bebe shows up to flirt with her.
Bebe is married to gender fluid Kade, and they have an open marriage.
Mel enters a contest to create a new cocktail, which is quite interesting .
The intersection of all the characters with their various relationships makes for a very interesting story. There is a lot of sex and also a lot of love.

I do wonder who this book will be marketed to, LGBTQ, straight people who are curious, or just people who want a good romance.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my EARC. This is my honest opinion.

Mel Bebe and Kade were so great. I'm a big fan of TJ Alexander’s style, and this was a great example of doing lgbtqia lit well.
Thank you Netgalley and Atria for this ARC!

This is a queer polyamorous romcom that I enjoyed reading. It had all the makings of a classic romcom, including great chemistry, banter, and a little bit of spice, but this time with an extra partner in the mix. The individual relationships between Mel and Bebe, Mel and Kade, and Bebe and Kade, show that they are all perfect for each other as a duo but are even better as a trio. They all worked so well together and again that chemistry was there for them all. Beyond the relationships, we see the most individual character development in Mel as she gains more confidence in herself and mixology skills as she gets to know and love both Bebe and Kade.

Overall, this was a good queer poly romcom that I recommend.

TJ Alexander is an autobuy author for me. This is the third 5🌟 book I’ve read by them. I loved all of the characters. I loved how their triad evolved naturally, in parts. I love how much emphasis was put on communication between partners. But it still read like a sweet and sometimes spicy romance rather than a poly guidebook. All of the bartending details were really fun, too!

∞ stars / 5

Triple Sec was one of my most anticipated reads of the year & it FAR surpassed anything I could have hoped for. I've read all of TJ Alexander's books & love them all dearly, but this one? THIS is my favorite. I was entranced from page 1! Mel, Bebe, and Kade are all so unique but find a way to mesh together in the perfect triad despite numerous bumps along the way.

My favorite part of the book isn't a specific scene or character, but the way that TJ Alexander depicts queer love in so many different iterations in their books. There are so many queer characters in this book & yet no two are alike. They have a wide variety of sexualities, appearances, and relationships. This book is an ode to queer love & such a beautiful story!

Features:
- so many varieties of love on the LGBTQ+ spectrum
- genderqueer representation
- bartender x lawyer x broody artist polyamorous knot
- lotssss of cocktails

Thank you to Atria Books, NetGalley, and TJ Alexander for letting me read an early copy!