ARC Review: The Space Between Us by Megan Hart

The Space Between Us

by Megan Hart

The wait between when we get a novel from Megan Hart is terrible for me, so when I saw that she was releasing this book I did my "hell-yeah-we-are-getting-a-MH-book" happy dance.  Quite frankly, I hardly ever read the blurbs and I stay away from any spoilers or excerpts because I want the book to speak to me.  Megan Hart's writing is one of those rare voices that can tell a a sad and oftentimes hard story beautifully.  It sucks you in and grabs you because you have to know what happens, how it ends.  THE SPACE BETWEEN US was no different.  I couldn't put the book down even when I thought the storyline was going places I didn't think I wanted to go.

I'll be honest here and say that I was not too thrilled to find out this book had a f/f/m menage.  I don't read f/f and I wasn't sure if I wanted to but I trust the author so I just went with it.  Our heroine, Tesla, has had a rough life.  Nothing ordinary or normal, more like crazy and sometimes wild.  Even though she doesn't see herself as wild.  Her parents were I guess swingers and, during the summers, they would take her and her brother, Captain, to a type of sex commune, The Compound.  There kids were even encouraged to explore and learn sexualy, either by themselves or with other kids.  She also met Vic there, who happened to be the rock to support her and get her out of that situation.  They bonded and a sort of love formed, even though he was older than her and they never really had sex.

Fast forward and now she's living with Vic.  Vic is married and has two kids and another on the way.  Tesla is in her mid twenties and works at a coffee shop (the same one where Johnny from COLLIDE goes to get his coffee).  She has a sort of crush on one of the customers, Meredith.  Meredith wants to be Tesla, she wants to be wild and free, to experience things.  So, she asked Tesla to have sex with her husband.  That slowly develops into Tesla, Meredith and Charlie being a part of a threesome.  And then the reality of that sets in.

I did not like Meredith.  I know her character is meant to be the way she is but I thought she was a bit of a lost soul and wanted to slap her around and smack some sense into her most of the time.  

Tesla on the other hand, you can't help but feel for her.  You get her present story but also some of her past.  And now she has to deal with a lot of changes and different emotions.  This book was really the evolution of Tesla for me, from what she had to live through, her teenage years to now.  Her conflicting relationships with her family and that is in big part Vic, who has always been there for her.  With Meredith and her attraction to her but also her attraction to Charlie.  Changes and emotions and pain.

And then there's Charlie who seemed to be the glue holding everything together.  The things he did and how he knew just what to say to make Tesla, and even Meredith, feel comfortable and happy.  How he went out of his way so that everyone would be happy.  He felt real if not the ideal of an alpha male we are so used to read about.

I enjoyed the few cameo appearances in this book by Johnny from COLLIDE and most of all Sadie and Joe from BROKEN.  Sadie is now pregnant and Joe is still in love and devoted to her.  So nice to see them and know what they are doing.

I kept waiting for the waterworks to start, because I always cry when I read a book by this author, but I have to say the tear jerker factor in this one was lower than others.  I did still cry at the end.  And I was happy at the end, although I guess I would've wanted to have more, maybe even one more chapter or an epilogue.

Favorite quotes:

"I would bang that man like a screen door in a hurricane."

"Can't say I've buffed my muffin over it or anything."

*ARC provided by Netgalley

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