Polished by Erica Chilson

When you’re a divorce lawyer, nothing is more terrifying than marital problems, especially when they involve your husband thinking the ability to mind-read translates into unconditional love.

Daniel Bishop calls his old roommate for help – Kaden Marx loves nothing more than running to someone’s rescue after a decade of always being the one in distress. Neither guy realizes their husbands have been conspiring for months – Uriah Crane has already confided in Wynn Gillette, and then some.

After being lied to his entire life, Wynn will never allow his nearest and dearest to lie to one another or to themselves. Determined, this time, the truths that need to be revealed match up with fantasies Wynn hungers to live out in reality.

Dan’s at his wits’ end.
Uriah is lost.
Kade is in denial.
Wynn is in charge.

Rusty Knob visits Pittsburgh in the present, but Polished revisits another Pennsylvania town, in another era – State College, back to where all the secrets and lies began for Dan, Kade, and Uriah at Penn State University.

Book 4
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

“I have to admit, that makes me jealous.”

“What does?” Silence rings, Kade must have stopped moving. “You have seven years of higher education, so I know it’s not the online courses.”

“How you and Wynn work through your shit.” I answer after a few moments.

“You mean by fighting and fucking?” Kade jests. I know they fight and fuck constantly, but when it matters, they get right to the heart of the matter and fix it immediately. “We just accept that we’re going to hurt the other’s feelings by telling the truth. But it goes both ways, until his pain is mine. It’s almost punishing, until we’re thinking of each other more than our own needs.”

“Yeah, but–”

“I’m a selfish bastard, Daniel.” Kade calls me by my birth name, so I know I’m in for it. “The more selfless I become, the more selfish Wynn gets, until we’re balancing each other out… Wynn told me the other day how he either had to go to Bren’s, or he was going to punch me in the nuts.”

“What were you doing?”

“Annoying the piss outta him.” Kade chuckles darkly. “I learned a lesson on how to control myself, or else it will either emotionally hurt when Wynn runs away from me, or physically hurt when he punches me.”

“I… Uriah and I can’t be like that,” I mutter in mystification, never once resorting to violence or manipulation in our relationship. We rarely argue, never have I yelled at Uriah. “What works for you guys, most definitely won’t work for us.”

“How about you tell me what’s going on, and I’ll try to fix it?” Kade’s voice is coaxing, a tone he mastered way after we roomed together.

Kade’s a grown man now, strong enough to shoulder many burdens– a part of me is sad Kade doesn’t need me anymore, but a larger part is thrilled we’re finally equal in power within our friendship.

I’ll admit it to myself, but never aloud– the confidence in Kade’s voice goes straight to my dick, even if it has guilt suffocating me.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the fourth book in the series – and you would miss out if you read it as a standalone, yet I do believe it stands very firmly on its own as a really good story. Enough background is given for a new reader to get the dynamics and politics of the main players. If your interest is strongly in finding a book which gives voice to those along the spectrum of sexuality and love, then this is a moving read.

Kaden and Wynn have been on our radars from the beginning, but the impact on Kaden has not been seen so clearly before. His time at college with Dan, and the move forwards and backwards in time is very effective at giving value to their friendship and love for one another. Dan is a fascinating man, and his way of thinking is so intense, and so heartwarming. Meeting Uriah has such an enormous impact on him; it is stunning.

Coming to understand, to accept and acknowledge how they all feel about one another is so brilliantly written, that I felt I was feeling the emotions and clicking the logic into place right along with them. I love that these men all see different facets, yet it is together that the picture can become clear.

I shall say no more, you really need to dive in and absorb the goodness as you read. I envy you the excitement of a first read, but enjoyed my second read a huge amount too!

It is advised that you read Wager (if reading the Blended series) before reading the epilogue, and I do think this is excellent advice – but if you cannot bear to wait, it truly won't ruin Wager, just ease your heart a touch, and make you smile, as you read it!


Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
Firstly, I have to say I loved the chapter titles. They put me in a good mood from the first chapter.

Much of the story in Polished takes us back to Dan and Kade’s college days and follows how Dan and Uriah met and how they became a couple. Dan and Uriah are from very different backgrounds and on the surface, seem like an unlikely pairing. For me, that is part of what makes them so good together.

When the story is in the present, Dan and Uriah are having issues and Wynn has been working in the background to try to solve all of their problems.

I enjoyed Polished immensely. Sometimes I was having fun with the romance, relationships, and heat, and other times I was sad, emotional, and angry. Dan and Uriah are both courageous in their own ways. I confess I found Dan to be a little self-righteous, which bugged me and comforted in equal parts.

The epilogue (which is also the epilogue for Wager, also by Ms. Chilson) is brilliant.

Polished wraps up with a brilliant epilogue, but I wished Polished had included more time with all four of them, but maybe I’m just being a greedy reader. I think it is time I went back to the start of Rusty Knob and did a re-read.


Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
OHMIGOD!!! You guys, I cannot even begin to explain how much I enjoyed my first beta read through of Polished. Wynn, my sweet, sweet Wynn, has come into his own and he's a force to be reckoned with. This might be Dan and Kade's story, but Wynn will likely always take center stage for me. I'll try to write up a better review after my second beta read through, but if you've read the previous books in this series, you are not gonna wanna miss Polished.

And I’m back. I didn’t quite finish the second beta read through, but I wanted to expand my review a bit, especially now that I’ve come down from my Wynn high – I do so love that boy.

I used to say that I despised flashback storylines. Yet I’ve discovered that some authors are quite talented at writing such transitions from present to past and back again seamlessly, and it just so happens that Chilson is one such author. As such, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet Kade, Daniel, and Uriah while they were in college. Getting to see Kade and Daniel’s first day at Penn State, the utter devastation Kaden dealt with that day, and how Daniel protected that vulnerability, guarded it, and played a huge part in forming the Kaden Marx that readers met in Rusty Knob was… just… I was captivated.

Equally enthralling was seeing how Daniel and Uriah met. Watching the two tip-toe through the minefield of Uriah’s past, the manner in which he supplemented his income, and his genderfluidity as they began to lay the foundation of friendship was fascinating. Seeing Daniel not exactly struggle, but rather attempt to reset his personal beliefs about attraction as he found himself drawn to Uriah more with each passing day. I loved it all. Seeing how their time together changed their personal trajectories and how it didn’t kept me glued to my Kindle.

Of course, having all that history revealed to the reader and seeing just how many hurdles Daniel and Uriah had to overcome to be together made their predicament in the present that much more heartbreaking – at least for me it did. Fortunately, Wynn took the reins and I found my mood improving significantly as Kade’s (and my) favorite little shit forced the three men, whose lives and love had been so tightly intertwined in college, to face their feelings and acknowledge what they’d refused to admit to since the beginning. And as that obstacle was finally laid to waste, Wynn shoved them all through the door to a new beginning and toward a polyamorous relationship, albeit a long-distance one. Then again, considering how hot the bedroom scene was, it’s probably a good thing that there were a couple hundred miles separating them.

As I beta read both Polished and Wager, I abso-freaking-lutely LOVED the epilogue. I loved, loved, loved that we got to see the polys from both series (Rusty Knob and Blended) meet face-to-face for the first time and discuss their relationships with one another. And I have to cut myself off right there because I’ve probably already said more than I should, but I don’t want to give away any more surprises. I’ll just say that the epilogue left me wanting more from both series so that I can get updates on their relationships – especially for Wynn & Kade and Daniel & Uriah.

Reader’s Note: Dan is from a conservative, republican family who are very active in politics. As such, his views have been shaped – both good and bad – by his upbringing. You won’t understand the full impact of what I’ve just said until you read Dan’s story, because while parts of his views will be as you may expect, other parts won’t. So, keep this in mind while you’re reading Dan’s story, and remember that we’re not all stereotypes and neither is Dan.

Full Disclosure – I'm a bit biased toward Chilson's work, especially the Rusty Knob series. After all, I did begin stalking the author on Facebook several years ago to find out when Good Girl would be released, managed to get in on its beta read, and haven't stopped pestering the author since.

Also Available in the Rusty Knob Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out Stop #1 and Stop #2 on the Rusty Knob Blog Tour.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out Stop #1 and Stop #2 on the Tarnished Blog Tour.

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca

For reviews & more info, check out Stop #1 and Stop #2 on the Stainless Blog Tour.

Erica Chilson does not write in the 3rd person, wanting her readers to be her characters. Therefore, writing a bio about herself, is uncomfortable in the extreme.

Born, raised, and here to stay, the Wicked Writer is a stump-jumper, a ridge-runner. Hailing from North Central Pennsylvania, directly on the New York State border; she loves the changes in seasons, the humid air, all the mountainous forest, and the gloomy atmosphere.

Introverted, but not socially awkward, Erica prides herself on thinking first and filtering her speech. There are days she doesn’t speak at all. If it wasn’t for the fact that she lives with her parents, giving her a sense of reality, she would be a hermit, where the delivery man finds her months after expiration.

Reading was an escape, a way to leave a not-so pleasant reality behind. Reading lent Erica the courage she gathered from the characters between the pages to long for a different life. Writing was an instrument of change, evolving Erica into the woman she is today- a better, more mature, more at peace thinker.

Erica has a wicked mind, one she pours out into her creations. Her filter doesn’t allow all of it to erupt, much to her relief. Sarcastic, with a very dark, perverse sense of humor, Erica puts a bit of herself into every character she writes.

Connect with Erica

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Polished (Rusty Knob #4) by Erica Chilson to read and review.