Indigo: Three

Indigo B&B, Book 3

De: Adrian J. Smith

Narrado por: Quinn Riley

Three women scarred by trauma. Will they find a way to thrive?

Heidi and Ann have been together nearly sixteen years, and yet, something hasn't been right in their relationship from the start. Struggling with deep trauma, Heidi pulls away and doesn't know how to function in a normal loving relationship. Ann is overwhelmed by shame when it comes to her needs. Eighteen months ago, they took a leap and opened their relationship in hopes of finding a better balance.

Insert Lila.

Lila is young, vicarious, and a strength for both Ann and Heidi. With trauma of her own, she was graced with the tools to cope and thrive. Now she has to choose if she can work through her own past and race toward the future either by herself or with Ann and Heidi in tow.

©2022 Adrian J. Smith (P)2024 Tantor

Needs to come with a strong trigger warning alert

I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve heard from this author and narrator and, while I haven’t finished this one, I know I’ll love this one as well. I’m invested in these characters. I just really wish this title had given a stronger sense of just how bad the trauma mentioned in the blurb was going to be. I started listening to lesbian romances as an escape. I know I would’ve eventually bought this one anyways but it would’ve been better to be more prepared. When the extent of Heidi’s trauma was revealed I felt sick. I got angry and it was hard to continue.

Difficult and amazing

Stars: 5 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Quinn Riley
Series: Indigo B&B Book 3
Steam Level: Steamy

I read this for the I Heart Sapphic 2025 Reading Challenge for the prompt Small Town Setting.

CW: Childhood SA (past), still birth (past), abuse (past)

PLEASE pay attention to the CWs for this book. They play a MAJOR roll in the story and are impossible to skip. The reason this review is so late is that I wanted to see if this was a book you could skip if you needed to. And yes you can. In Indigo: Law Ann makes an appearance but doesn’t play a major roll. Jerica is the love interest in that one and she’s hardly in this. All you need to know going forward is that Ann and Jerica are nurses.

My review for this book is going to be different from my normal way of doing things.

This was an extremely hard read. If I had been physically reading it instead of listening, it would have taken at least three times longer to finish. If I finished it at all. It was very well written and the story was gripping to the point I absolutely had to give it five stars. I’m not a big fan of Why Choose stories where they aren’t all together in one big happy group but I understand why it’s not (at this particular moment of time in the story at least.)

The issues with miscommunication and intimacy are ones that any intimate partnerships experience and the author portrays it with a nuance many do not. The solid commitment Ann and Heidi have to each other despite these issues actually heightened the tension to nearly unbearable. You get chapters from each of the three, Ann, Heidi, and Lila, so you see/understand how the miscommunications are happening and it helps take away the irritation that comes from this trope. Plus all three characters have a depth that made them relatable.

I cannot stress enough how good and difficult this book is. So hard that I had to reread a very long, favorite book afterwards to decompress. So I would suggest having something low angst on board ready to read afterwards.

Overall this story is amazing. It is one heck of an emotional roller coaster and while I will never reread this one, it will absolutely be sticking with me for years to come.

TLDR: skippable you just need to know Ann and Jerica are nurses at the same hospital

An education!

Not having experience with poly relationships, this book was educational. It was also well written and interesting. There is trauma and I really appreciate how it was handled. It is almost a primer working on relationship communication. Worth the read!