. .
Duncan “Ducky” Reigns, metalhead and hardcore gamer, has spent his life railing against the establishment. But now when he looks at himself in the mirror that’s not the person he sees. Though he and his brother have worked hard to create a successful multi-million-dollar company, he’s lost himself and his identity in the process.
Chad Reeves, successful in his own right, has achieved every goal he’s set for himself. But living up to the legacy of his uber-successful father feels like an impossible task. When the heavy burden of a lifelong secret begins to unravel, he’s forced to face the truth. He’s lacking in what matters the most and only one thing can make it right.
Sometimes a simple reboot is all it takes to realize the answers are right in front of you. A soul-searching trip to paradise changes everything for two best friends… if they are brave enough to follow their hearts and reach for the Level Up.
Title: Level Up: Ducky’s Story
Author: Kindle Alexander
Release: July 12, 2022
Genre: MM Romance
Cover Design: Reese Dante
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I didn’t get a chance to read the first book in this series, Breakaway, about Ducky’s brother (the non a-hole one apparently), because well that period of time reading was just in RL for me. However, it does seem like one I might be interested in going back to. But I liked the idea that Ducky and Chad had been gaming friends, and as it turned out, they were best friends, but had never actually met in person.
There wasn’t a lot of angst between the characters, once they finally met each other. Although it took a really long time for them to realize they wanted each other (around 70%?) Each main character had personal issues to deal with, but in the case of Ducky, I feel like perhaps I missed a piece from book 1. I didn’t really understand where his motivation for giving his money away came from. Meanwhile, Chad had, as he put it, daddy issues. Which this was actually fascinating! How often have you ever read the romance of someone, with kids and the HEA. Then read one of the children’s romance and he has daddy issues. Don’t you always think that they must be perfect parents? Good to have the reality of, yes, parents F up, and kids may take those issues upon themselves.
Once the two characters went to Hawaii, I felt like it was a bit redundant, until they got together, but then it was all the feelings pouring out of Chad, and Ducky “same”. (Which made me laugh, btw…think Han Solo “I know”). Ducky, though, noticing how Chad could calm him when he was anxious, similar to his brother Dallas was sweet.
This book wasn’t as deep into the characters as most KA books, but at 60K words, that’s to be expected. However, I did feel like there was a missing element in this book. I would have loved to see just a bit more interaction between the MC’s prior to meeting up, or getting together. It made it hard to believe the chemistry was as strong as it was. Sex scenes though…SMOKING!
This is a good beach read…which is good since they are in Hawaii for half of it. 3.5 pieces of eye candy.
Best Selling Author Kindle Alexander is an innovative writer, and a genre-crosser who writes classic fantasy, romance, suspense, and erotica in both the male/male and male/female genres. It’s always a surprise to see what’s coming next!
I live in the suburbs of Dallas where it’s true, the only thing bigger than an over active imagination, may be women’s hair!
Usually, I try for funny. Humor is a major part of my life – I love to laugh, and it seems to be the thing I do in most situations – regardless of the situation, but jokes are a tricky deal… I don’t want to offend anyone and jokes tend to offend. So instead I’m going to tell you about Kindle.
I tragically lost my sixteen year old daughter to a drunk driver. She had just been at home, it was early in the night and I heard the accident happen. I’ll never forget that moment. The sirens were immediate and something inside me just knew. I left my house, drove straight to the accident on nothing more than instinct. I got to be there when my little girl died – weirdly, I consider that a true gift from above. She didn’t have to be alone.
That time in my life was terrible. It’s everything you think it would be times about a billion. I love that kid. I loved being her mother and I loved watching her grow into this incredibly beautiful person, both inside and out. She was such a gift to me. To have it all ripped away so suddenly broke me.
Her name was Kindle. Honest to goodness – it was her name and she died a few weeks before Amazon released their brand new Kindle ereader. She had no idea it was coming out and she would have finally gotten her name on something! Try finding a ruler with the name Kindle on it.. It never happened.
Through the course of that crippling event I was lucky enough to begin to write with a dear friend in the fan fiction world of Facebook. She got me through those dark days with her unwavering support and friendship. There wasn’t a time she wasn’t there for me. Sometimes together and sometimes by myself, we built a world where Kindle lives and stands for peace, love and harmony. It’s its own kind of support group. I know without question I wouldn’t be here today without her.
Find out more by visiting www.kindlealexander.com or email me at kindle@kindlealexander.com
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