military

Sink or Swim (Shore Leave Book 2) by Annabeth Albert: Release Day Reviews

February 22, 2022 by Denise

Winning and losing are subject to sexy interpretation…

Navy chief Calder Euler loves to win big. His latest score? A remote mountain cabin. Checking it out is supposed to be a quick trip, but Calder’s luck abruptly turns when a freak injury and a freakier snowstorm leave him stranded.

Oh, and the cabin isn’t empty. A silver fox caring for two young girls claims that the property is his, but Calder’s paperwork says otherwise.

Felix Sigurd is on a losing streak, and his ex-husband risking the cabin in a reckless bet is only the latest in a series of misfortunes. He’ll tolerate the handsome stranger for a couple nights–even care for his injuries—but that’s it.

Calder doesn’t know a damn thing about kids, but making pancakes for Felix’s girls is a surprising delight. Trapped in the cabin, the four of them slip easily into the rhythms of a family. But when the ice melts, they’ll have to decide if a future together is in the cards.

Amazon

Carina Press/Harlequin

This book is exactly what I needed. Sweet, low angst, funny kids, two guys navigating whatever it is their relationship is, etc.

Calder and Felix are both of the “no thanks” camp on relationships. Felix is fairly newly divorced and is now raising his two nieces so his focus is elsewhere and Calder just never really believed in happily ever after.

But a mishap leaves them stranded in a cabin because of snow. Calder seems to get right into the groove of dealing with the girls, etc. He comes from a big family so it makes sense, even though he doesn’t think so. And who wouldn’t be enchanted by those 2 girls? I loved them from the start.

It is utterly adorable that Calder makes flimsy excuses for he and Felix to see each other again once they are back home. And it isn’t even for hooking up per se because they do way more kissing and cuddling than anything else. Which I really kind of loved. It wasn’t a sex driven romance at all.

Felix has to realize that he has room in his life for a partner and Calder does everything he can to prove that. I definitely think Calder worked a lot harder at establishing a relationship than Felix did, but he was a bit salty still from his divorce that happened because his husband had no intentions of being a parent.

Even though I really appreciated that it was low angst, the girls didn’t seem very affected by the fact that their mother died and Uncle Felix’s husband left. There as a comment or two, but nothing like that you normally see with similar situations.

So yes, I did love it even though I wanted the girls to express a bit of their trauma and I wanted Felix to try a little harder and not be a martyr.

4 pieces of eye candy

Having really enjoyed book 1 in this new military series by Annabeth Albert, I was super ready for Calder’s book. (If you haven’t read book 1, Sailor Proof, I highly recommend. They are both stand alone, but you get a good little peek into what is ahead for Calder, as well.) This book did not disappoint.

It was super sweet, but with such a different feel than what I would have gone in expecting for Calder, given what we knew of his personality. He’s all about the win, coming out on top, etc. Yet, he is not only a big softie, but also not out for the quick score. He wasn’t all about jumping into bed with Felix. Yes, there was sex, but it felt more like just a gradual step, not a big leap, and it worked for them both. It provided such a deep layer for Calder, one I certainly didn’t expect. It was a different approach, and really allowed Calder to grow into the person he was, but didn’t realize.

In fact, based on other tropes, there might have even been the expectation that Felix would have done the chasing, and Calder didn’t want to jump into a relationship. In reality, both of them realized they didn’t want a relationship, until Calder finally realized, yes I do, and wanted to get Felix on the same page. No small feat.

Felix had every reason in the world to be gun shy, and apprehensive of not just another relationship (what a d-bag his ex-husband was!!!), but one that could mean his nieces might have their hearts broken. Giving any sort of dating a chance was not what he was expecting, but one date, one night, one meal, one text at a time, Calder made Felix see that they had something worth continuing to work on.

Such a sweet, fresh approach, showing a lot of depth of character in the MC’s, and it was just a feel good book.

4 pieces of eye candy

At Attention by Annabeth Albert: Release Day Blitz, Review, Excerpt and Giveaway

April 10, 2017 by Denise

Title: AT ATTENTION

Series: Out of Uniform, book 2 (but stands alone well–different couple for each book)

Author: Annabeth Albert

Publisher: Carina Press

Release Date: April 10, 2017

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 73,000

Genre: Romance, Military romance, contemporary, age difference, may/december, SEALS

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Lieutenant Apollo Floros can ace tactical training missions, but being a single dad to his twin daughters is more than he can handle. He needs live-in help, and he’s lucky a friend’s younger brother needs a place to stay. He’s surprised to see Dylan all grown up with a college degree…and a college athlete’s body. Apollo’s widowed heart may still be broken, but Dylan has his blood heating up.

It’s been eight years since the teenage Dylan followed Apollo around like a lovesick puppy, and it’s time he showed Lieutenant Hard-to-Please that he’s all man now—an adult who’s fully capable of choosing responsibility over lust. He can handle Apollo’s muscular sex appeal, but Apollo the caring father? Dylan can’t afford to fall for that guy. He’s determined to hold out for someone who’s able to love him back, not someone who only sees him as a kid brother.

Apollo is shocked by the intensity of his attraction to Dylan. Maybe some no-strings summer fun will bring this former SEAL back to life. But the combination of scorching desire and warm affection is more than he’d expected, and the emotion between them scares him senseless. No fling lasts forever, and Apollo will need to decide what’s more important—his past or his future—if he wants to keep Dylan in his life.

Book Two of the Out of Uniform series

This book is approximately 73,000 words

**This is from the first chapter**

Hamburger. Onions. Pickles. Ketchup. Buns. Buns.

Well, hello, there. Possibly the most perfect specimen Apollo had ever seen was bent over in the bakery aisle at Sprouts, looking at a rack of organic cookies. High. Tight. Round. Attached to muscular legs poking out of board shorts, the kind of legs that suggested a serious investment in a sport or fitness. He wasn’t going to do more than look, but even when he’d been with Neal, he hadn’t been blind, and it was nice to know perfection like this guy existed in the world.

It was like swimming by a perfect coral reef on a dive or the blue of a cloudless sky right before a jump—

Wink. Fuck. The guy straightened before Apollo could look away and caught Apollo staring, and instead of blushing or serving him with the angry glare he deserved, he gave Apollo a saucy wink. It was the sort of wink that a decade ago would have had Apollo crossing the shiny linoleum and getting the guy’s number, but those days were long gone.

Instead he grabbed the closest twelve pack of hamburger buns and one of hot dog buns and headed to the next aisle. Those were the only kind of buns he had any business letting himself be distracted by. He was a father for crying out loud, not some single guy out treating the natural grocery store like his own personal pickup joint. Reflexively, he rubbed his ring with the side of his pinky, making it spin on his ring finger. Yeah. No more looking.

“Apollo! How are you?” Bridget from down the street almost ran her cart into his as he navigated the aisles. Her red-haired toddler waved at him from the basket.

Hell. He knew he should have brought at least one of the girls shopping. Then Bridget could have focused on the kids, and not his least favorite question in the universe.

“Hanging in there.” Apollo gave her a practiced a smile. “Good” would be a lie and no one wanted to hear “same as yesterday,” which was closer to the truth. But what the Bridgets of the world all wanted to hear was that Apollo was moving on—like time was the magic cure for the hole in his heart. “Having some people over for a barbecue later. Apologies if anyone parks in front of your place.”

“Oh, no worries.” Bridget patted his arm. “Having friends is so important.”

“Yeah, it is,” Apollo agreed because Bridget was a nice person, but inwardly his teeth gnashed together. He was so tired of well-meaning people telling him what was good for him when not a damn one of their suggestions would bring Neal back. “I better get on with my list.”

“You do that. And be sure and let us know if you need anything.”

Apollo nodded. Two years. It had been two years of neighbors and friends stopping him like this, making kind offers, but none of them able to do the one thing he wanted more than anything.

Fuck. Snap out of it, Lieutenant. No one wants your mopey ass around on this sunny May weekend. And it was an absolutely gorgeous day, perfect for playing with the girls outside and kicking back a few beers with his friends. He wasn’t on duty and had three consecutive days off for the first time in a long time. No sense dwelling on sad shit. Time to get stuff done.

Find something else to focus on.

Like that perfect ass?

No. Absolutely not that. Like…pickles. Lots and lots of pickles.

He saw Mr. Perfect Butt again in the juice aisle, and it was damn hard to keep his resolution to stick to shopping. The guy was model cute—curly hair falling just so over his forehead, sparkling eyes, chiseled jaw, and a tight T-shirt advertising a British soccer team showing off a defined chest and tight stomach. The guy smiled at him again and looked like he might want to speak, so Apollo grabbed the juice boxes for the girls and got out of there like he’d just launched a flash bang in the guy’s direction.

At the checkout, Mr. Perfect Butt was ahead of him in the only line that seemed to be moving. Apollo very carefully did not look at his butt again and busied himself grabbing some gum and trying to give off “don’t talk to me” vibes.

But those vibes seemed to be an utter failure as the guy turned, offering another movie-star-worthy grin. “You want to go first?” His voice was husky, like every word was a secret.

“I’m good,” Apollo said.

The man nodded, shy smile teasing the edges of his mouth, making his blue eyes dance. “You know—”

“ID please.” The cashier interrupted whatever flirtation the guy had planned as his six pack of beer went across the scanner.

“Oh, yeah.” A faint red flush spread up the guy’s neck. Oh hell. He wasn’t just younger than Apollo. He was a kid. A kid who still got carded, and rightfully so with that baby face. What the hell had Apollo been thinking, admiring his body?

Apollo focused on unloading his own groceries, making neat rows for the cashier, and making sure the buns wouldn’t get squished.

Buns. Nope. Not going there. The kid hung around after paying for his groceries, mouth moving as if he were debating speaking, but Apollo kept his attention squarely on the cashier.

No more looking. Remember who—what—you are now. When he finally looked up, perfect butt guy was gone, and if Apollo felt a twinge of regret for being a bit on the rude side, he squashed it quickly. Wasn’t like he’d ever see the guy again anyway.

****

What will Apollo do when he discovers that Perfect Butt guy is his best friend’s little brother? Find out in AT ATTENTION!

Heather's Review

How do I love Annabeth Albert, let me count the ways… seriously, I have never read a book written by her that I haven’t devoured. As a matter of fact, I read At Attention a while ago and just read it again now so I could write this review. That’s really telling, because reading a second time was almost as amazing as the first. Sure, there were things I remembered from my first time with Apollo and Dylan, but overall, I enjoyed it as much as most new-to-me reads.

As soon as we met Apollo in Off Base, I knew I needed his story. There was pain that needed to be healed and I wanted to know he’d be okay. And boy, was he ever!

Dylan has some big tasks ahead of him if he wants to win Apollo’s heart. He needs to show Apollo he’s no longer Apollo’s buddy’s little brother. Heck, I’m pretty sure he needs to remind everyone he’s not a kid anymore. On top of that, he has to get past the double-thick wall Apollo’s built around his heart.

Every interaction, every progression of their relationship felt natural. It was the way two men, one of whom has a long list of responsibilities, would go from a convenient arrangement to help Apollo with his daughters to men in love with one another as equals.

Today, I’ll be picking up the audiobook so I can listen to their story again. There’s one scene in particular, right at the end of the book, that I’m dying to know if the narrator does justice. After that, it’ll be time to start hounding Annabeth for the next book in the series, because the Out of Uniform series is a bit like Lay’s chips: you can’t eat just one.

5 pieces of eye candy

Carina Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.

Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two children.

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Resurrection by S. Davidson: Release Day Review and Book Blast

June 1, 2016 by Denise

Two men with painful, complicated pasts who have shut themselves down from ever loving again. Complete opposites of one another, one raised in a strict military household, who grew up with the sole purpose of becoming a soldier and defending his country, only to have that cut short by an IED; and the other raised in the rodeo, small town and ranch life his safe haven; and their chance meeting.

How the two of them end up in some small town diner can only be credited to divine intervention. But are both men too damaged? They say God works in mysterious ways. Well, he certainly had his hands full when he chose these two for saving.

Is it too late?

TITLE: RESURRECTION
AUTHOR: S. DAVIDSON
GENRE: M/M MILITARY ROMANCE 18+
PUBLISHER: ENCOMPASS INK
COVER ARTIST: RUE VOLLEY
LENGTH: 296 PAGES
RELEASE DATE: JUNE 1, 2016

This was unlike any book I have ever read. The way the whole story was layed out was something I haven’t seen before and for me it worked perfectly. The characters were so well developed. I really enjoyed the way the author gave so much back story. It was enough to explain the life of each character without going overboard. I got to know each one so well I fell in love and cried and laughed right along with them. All of the scenes in this story were written so clearly that I felt like I was really there. I could picture everything and felt like I was seeing through the characters eyes.

For it to cover the type of subject matter that it did, the author pulls it off beautifully. Coming from a military family where my Grandfather and Uncle fought in Vietnam, WWII and Korea, this book touched a special place in my heart. She told a very believably story and it helped me to understand more about some of the things my own family members go through on a daily basis. Having grown up listening to war stories from both of them, the author paints a very accurate picture.

Going into the story and not knowing a thing about the Rodeo circuit or bull riding didn’t matter. She explained everything and I had no trouble following. It actually made me curious and want to learn more.

This story will stick with me. When I get done reading something and all I can do is sit there and stare into space while it consumes my brain definitely makes it a fantastic story in my opinion. It was heart wrenching and at times incredibly violent. Not for the faint of heart for sure but a wonderful read for me.

5 pieces of eye candy

Amazon

Who is Shelly Davidson? Shelly is someone who has been writing literally her entire life (and that’s a LONG time) and has always written M/M. Her first story was back in high school and she hasn’t stopped since. Of course, Shelly never dreamed of getting published, so needless to say, she’s in heaven! Shelly loves her characters. Her writing focus is real people, flaws and all, who are hurting or damaged, but deserve a little joy in their lives. Shelly was born and raised in Arizona, but currently lives in California because that is where the money is! She is currently single, but has a grown daughter and an adorable grandson both of whom she loves dearly. While she usually stays pretty much to herself, she does have a Bachelor’s in Social Services and a diverse background that ranges from theater to health care and currently works in accounting, she swears it’s not as boring as it sounds. While this is her first publication, it is by far not the last! She plans on being around for quite some time! You’ve been warned!

https://sdavidsonauthor.org/