Could Be a Crowd by C.J. Munoz
Review by Lauren
Source: copy from netgalley; all opinions are my own
Official Summary: Nicolas has worked with Pierce almost his whole
life, and they’ve come far together, currently Co-CEOs of one of the
largest companies in the United States. As they keep on heading toward
bigger and better dreams, only one fear casts a shadow over Nicolas:
Pierce falling in love.
Nicolas tells himself it’s for the company, for their shared goals and
dreams. He can’t let Pierce get sidetracked, so he does his best to make
sure it never happens—including keeping all the cute interns well away.
Then Lynn shows up, attractive, eager, practically perfect.
But it’s not Pierce that Nicolas should be worrying about this time.
Review: First off, I should mention that this is a poly relationship – which means it includes three people. If that is something that immediately turns you off, then you’re better to skip this one. If you’re like me, and it doesn’t bother you, then keep reading!
Nicolas and Peirce have been working together for about seven years now and they are currently Co-CEOs of a huge business that deals in various robotics, like a robot maid. They are successful and seemingly happy, except both mean are looking for love. Pierce is looking in all the wrong places and Nicolas is mostly in denial about how much he wants Pierce. He tells himself he keeps Pierce away from all the new male interns because when Pierces falls for someone, his work goes down. This may be true, but it also makes Nicolas feel better when Pierce isn’t fawning over some cute, young guy.
A lot changes when Lynn becomes a new intern (Lynn is a guy, by the way). Nicolas makes him his personal intern to keep him away from Pierce, but of course, this doesn’t last long. Pierce is soon very much interested in Lynn and Nicolas tries everything he can to keep Lynn from being too interested back. My one complaint about this book is probably how Pierce talks to Lynn as an intern -he’s blatantly flirting, and if Lynn weren’t interested, it could be construed as sexual harassment.
I knew going into this book that there would be a poly relationship so it’s not difficult to see that eventually, the three guys will all start seeing each other. There are a few sexual moments, but that wasn’t the main focus of the book. It was about finding the people that are right for you, and the people that you fall for and how that sometimes comes in the form of more than one person. I thought the author handled the topic really well and I appreciated Nicolas’ reservations because they felt real.
Could Be a Crowd is listed as a novella, so it isn’t terribly long (about 40,000 words is what it says) and I would have loved to read more about these three men and their burgeoning relationship. At the same time, it felt like a full story so you aren’t left with a ton of questions beyond how this will all work as they continue on. Perhaps the author will decide to return to their story in the future!
Not only a M/M book… but three of them! Whoa! Sounds like a lot of hotness. Funny how Nicolas tries to keep everyone from Pierce!
When you think about it, it's not all that different from a love triangle except that everyone ends up happy. Sounds really interesting Lauren. Wonderful review hun and thanks for sharing <3
Wow, how times have changed. Not a relationship that featured mainstream in books until recently, I think its good to see other than the usual 'boy meets girl' relationships featured in novels.
I do love a novella every now and again; though I don't think I'd be interested in this storyline. Glad you enjoyed it!
xx
This isn't my kind of read but I'm so glad that you did like it and novellas as nice every now and then for a fun short read. 😀
Ohhh a m/m/m relationship … nice. I've only read m/f/m, so I'm curious about this.
Oh boy. I'm not a fan of these type of romance (too complicated to imagine, lol). Glad you loved it, though!
Haven't seen much in the way of m/m/m! I'll admit poly is not for me, but glad you liked it!
I've been enjoying the novellas I've read recently. They manage to have a complete story without all the added angst.
I don't mind the poly relationship but I haven't read many that were written well. It always feel like one person is on the outside looking in.
Karen @For What It's Worth
Not sure it's my kind of story, but glad you liked it!
You mean this is a love triangle where every guy gets… the guy?! Sounds like a very happy story to me! 🙂 Would be interested to read this kind of relationship and see its dynamics… would be a different change from the usual angst love triangles we always get!
Faye at The Social Potato
I’m not sure this book is for me, though I’m intrigued by the lack of drama in such relationship and by happy ending.