Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
Aristide, Leandre, and Perrin pledge only three loyalties in life: their King, their captain, and their passion for each other. So when the musketeers discover a plan to accuse M. de Treville of treason, the initial impulse to kill the messenger, Benoit, is tempered by their need to unmask the plotter. But their first two suspects, the English ambassador and Cardinal Richelieu, prove to be innocent, forcing the musketeers to delve deeper into the inner machinations of the French court.

Meanwhile, Aristide finds himself falling in love with the ill-fated messenger, a blacksmith without a home who rouses all of his protective, possessive instincts. Benoit, however, has no interest in any man. Torn between desire and duty, Aristide must find a way to protect the King and clear his captain’s name ~ all while heeding the demands of his heart.

BOOK REVIEW:
“All for One” gives a completely different perspective to the legends of the French “Three Musketeers.” Not only were they adventurous, risk-taking, and often reckless-according to this novel, they were not only gay, but quite open about it among themselves, taking partners in whatever combination suited their fancy of the moment.

The action ~ both erotic and non-erotic ~ is fairly non-stop. The Royal Musketeers seem not to rest for a moment, as both their libidos and their circumstances demand continual attention. Their duties are frequently superseded by their assumption of other responsibilities, and mystery upon mystery pile on to claim their attention to detail. They are good friends as well as lovers, and the group seems to function seamlessly, without erotic jealousy and without stumbling when conscious focus is required to overcome in the face of danger.

I did not, however, find the character delineation as deep and illustrative as I would have preferred. Viewing their romps from a modern standpoint and knowing the staunch rigidity of their historical era in regards to same-sex encounters, their nearly constant sexual tensions and activity seemed less realistic, and I found it difficult to suspend my reader's disbelief long enough to accept that such a long, and very frequent, series of gay encounters could occur, unnoticed and unpunished, in that century.

The novel does contain a strong plot which should carry it through, but in this event I did not find it so. Readers seeking detailed scorching sexual encounters on nearly every page, with m/m and multiple m/m/m lovemaking, will find this novel worthwhile, but those who expect more detailed historical background and realism may not agree.

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