Tag: Annabeth Albert

Off Base (Annabeth Albert)

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offbase

After trading the barracks for a fixer-upper rental, navy SEAL Zack Nelson wants peace, not a roommate — especially not Pike, who sees things about Zack he most wants to hide. Pike’s flirting puts virgin Zack on edge. And the questions Pike’s arrival would spark from Zack’s teammates about his own sexuality? Nope. Not going there. But Zack can’t refuse. 

Pike Reynolds knows there won’t be a warm welcome in his new home. What can he say? He’s an acquired taste. But he needs this chance to get his life together. Also, teasing the uptight SEAL will be hella fun. Still, Pike has to tread carefully; he’s had his fill of tourists in the past, and he can’t risk his heart on another, not even one as hot, as built — and, okay, yeah, as adorable — as Zack. 

Living with Pike crumbles Zack’s restraint and fuels his curiosity. He discovers how well they fit together in bed…in the shower…in the hallway… He needs Pike more than he could have imagined, yet he doesn’t know how to be the man Pike deserves.

In the summer I read Connection Error by Annabeth Albert and I really enjoyed it, so when I saw this one on Netgalley, and with that blurb, I decided to request it. It shouldn’t be a surprise by now that I do love a good M/M romance, and throw a SEAL in the mix? YES PLEASE!

However, I have to say that this book didn’t really do it for me, and I found it OK, but not exactly great. Somehow I couldn’t connect with either character, or their decisions.

Again, this book is told on the third person and dual POV, and while Pike and Zack are very different people with very different takes on life, the fact that they live together for most of the book made some POVs indistinguishable at points. But that’s always a bit of a problem with the third person POV, unfortunately.

This was not my first story about a romance between an openly gay guy and a closeted one, but I felt like the characters weren’t fleshed out enough individually, you know? I liked Pike, he was out, he was never actually in the closet, he was just him and he was unapologetic about it and I loved it, but I wanted to see more from him. Maybe I’m not being fair, because we do have a lot of plot centered on the guys’ lives outside of each other, but I just felt like it was missing something. That was my problem with Zack too, though I had other issues with him too. He was always so scared of people finding out about him and Pike, that I feel like I didn’t really get to know much about him, besides the fact that he was bullied all his life and being out was an impossibility in his mind.

I loved seeing Ryan and Josiah (from Connection Error) here, especially Ryan. But here is one of my biggest issues with Zack… one of his best friends,  Ryan, is an ex-SEAL and he was always out, so why did Zack never felt like he could talk to him? Or even talk about the subject without outing himself? I understand that it was hard, and he felt like he was in an impossible situation, but it made no sense to me that he didn’t seek some support with his work issues at least.

I had a few problems with Zack’s teammates… yeah, there’s a lot of homophobia running around on this book :(.

The romance was ok, sweet and all, I did like to see them act all domestic and shit together. But I felt like there was a connection already when the book started, that was never really explained. I missed that, I felt like I needed a bit of background.

I did like the flow of the plot and the catalyst of things. It made sense, and I really liked their reactions to it and what followed. That was probably my favorite part of the book, to be honest, with Pike and Zack both standing up for themselves.

Overall, this was an OK romance, I will keep my eyes opened for more books from this author though, because I do like her stories. 😉

October Book Haul

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octbookhaul

Once again, I didn’t haul that many books this month… mostly eARCs. 🙂

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Connection Error (Annabeth Albert)

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connectionerror

It’s typical of video game programmer Josiah Simmons to be the last one on the plane on the way to the biggest meeting of his career. Though he’s (mostly) coping with his ADHD, he can’t handle another distraction. But he also can’t ignore his rugged seatmate — especially once he learns the military man’s a fan of his game. 

Ryan Orson refuses to let his severe injuries pause his career as a navy SEAL. He’s got hours of grueling physical therapy ahead of him, and no time for anything that might get in the way of his return to active duty. But that doesn’t mean he’s above a little first-class flirtation with geeky-cute Josiah. 

When a delay strands the pair in St. Louis, they agree to share a hotel room and a night of gaming. Neither expects their new connection to move to the next level in the light of day. Opposites may attract, but is this game over before it’s even begun? 

Book Three of the #gaymers series

This book was a treat. I wasn’t expecting the depth that I got, and I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did.

This book is told in the third person, with dual POV, but the “problem” is that the POVs are not clearly indicated. This wasn’t a huge drawback or anything, but sometimes, especially when the characters were together, it was hard to tell which POV it was from the start. With that said, I did enjoy the writing.

Both characters were like nothing I read before, and I absolutely loved that. Josiah was a young guy, struggling with his ADHD. This was completely unique, because having a little experience with people with this disorder, it was great to read about his challenges, and the difficulties he found in such simple tasks as paying the bills, or even remembering to eat. He’s growth was tremendous, because he has to go from “one of the guys” to a real project manager, and while it took him a while to get a hang of it, he does get there.

Ryan was a real surprise… I wasn’t quite expecting him. It’s the first book I’ve ever read with his kind of injuries, and I not only loved that, but also how the book dealt with the psychological effects of it. He also has an amazing growth during this book, going from someone who loses his whole identity and needs to be needed, to someone who learns more about himself and what he can still be and do with his life.

The relationship between Josiah and Ryan was great, and I particularly liked how Jos always looked at Ryan – you’ll get what I mean. They were really there for each other, and even though their attraction is there from the start, their feelings develop through time, even with them living always far apart. They truly become each other’s best friends before becoming boyfriends, and that’s the goal, a relationship based on friendship.

This book is very character driven, and even the conflicts and plot points have to do with the growth that both characters need to do. And I liked this.

All in all, this was a great book, and I loved this couple, though I honestly couldn’t identify with either of them… and maybe that’s why I only gave this story 4 stars. I do recommend it big time, and it now made me curious to read the rest of this series.

Have you read this book? Would you be interested in it? Have you read any book in which a character had war injuries?