UP FOR AIR

A married writer embarks on a polyamorous journey in this novel.

Ariana “Ari” Goody Hendricks has always done the right thing. Married to her sweetheart, Greg, whom she met at age 17, the 29-year-old freelance writer and published author lives with him in Austin, Texas—with their mutual best friend, bad boy musician Jacob “Jake” Mitchell, close by. Jake affectionately calls Ari “Goody Two Shoes.” When Greg’s grandfather’s funeral beckons the trio back to their East Tennessee roots, Ari begins to wonder whether she’s truly lived: She’s never been drunk or smoked a cigarette and, more significantly, has only emotionally and physically been with her husband. Ari broaches the idea of an open marriage to Greg once they return to Austin, and he agrees on the condition that their union “close” again if anything goes sideways. Over the next several months, Ari explores her city’s vibrant bar scene and finds a fun-loving friend in roller derby star Sheryl while enjoying passionate flings with a variety of men. But there’s one man Ari can never get out of her mind: kind and steady Alex, whom Ari met her first night at the bars and never saw again. When Alex reappears in Ari’s life and introduces her to a new world of kinky sex, the two quickly form a deeper connection that may demand more than the occasional one-night stand. Berry gives each character, from inquisitive hero Ari to protective Jake to questioning Greg, their own nuanced, complex motivations that inform their actions, and she pens sex scenes that are both titillating and (even those that involve BDSM) romantic. The love between Ari and Greg and the platonic friendship between Ari and Jake are strong and steady even as the relationships grow and change. But the novel’s greatest strength is its informed and compassionate portrayal of polyamory, from the necessary communication to the glow of newly forged connections to the realization that relationships old and new may be headed down an unexpected path.

A refreshingly nonjudgmental look at opening one’s marriage and heart.