Simone Anderson

This was an interesting play on the D/S relationship. Dean Hudson is a wounded war veteran both bodily and physically. Thinking himself ugly and unlovable, he avoids dating until he meets his sister's friend, Ethan Moreland. Ethan is a strong Dom and successful businessman who plays at being a knight on weekends. Both men carry some heavy baggage but the real issue is whether Dean can trust enough to become the sub Ethan needs. I didn't think that I'd enjoy this book as I purchased it thinking that it would be about real knights. I was pleasantly surprised. The author took the time to explain why each man was dom and sub and brought out the love/trust issues well. My biggest gripe was too much unnecessary sex which got boring.… (más)

A soldier falling in love with another soldier makes for a tough situation. Make both of them SEALs, both men, and even after the abolishment of DADT there is enough potential for conflict. Problem is: DADT may have been reversed, but human stupidity cannot just be cancelled. And that is what this book is about: the effect of a bigoted team mate and how he can poison two men's attraction for each other to the point where they almost break up a few times.

Christian is a good soldier, a loyal team mate, and so closeted it isn’t funny. Not that I can blame him – he's got some extremely bigoted team mates and in a situation where his life may depend on someone who hates his guts, it is definitely safer not to come out. Having said that, there are ways of dealing with such people, and strangely enough Christian never even thinks in that direction. He also struggles with the concept of loving a man, not sure it is possible, which made me very sad. It takes a pretty traumatic event to bring him to his senses.

Hayden is a little more ready to take a risk and step out of the closet. In fact, his team already knows, so Hayden finds it easier to stand up to the bigots, He has the support of his friends, exactly what everyone deserves. Christian's hesitancy hurts him and almost drives him away. Not that he behaves with a lot more tact or understanding when it's his turn – which made the story all the more real.

What was definitely interesting was that the villain in this case, the person with all the prejudice and issues, wasn't the military command structure, They were amazingly supportive and handled themselves very well within the new guidelines. Whether or not such a badly behaved team mate, one who disregards the loyalty to his fellow soldiers so blatantly is realistic, I cannot judge. But it certainly made for an interesting story, one that pulled me in and didn't want to let go. If you like stories about men in uniform struggling with their emotions, if you enjoy a good action/adventure with your romance, and if the idea of two physically fit men 'going at it' in the bedroom is your thing, you will probably like this book.




NOTE: This book was provided by Resplendence Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.… (más)

Usually the obstacles in a story are around a couple finding each other and trusting enough to fall in love. That is probably the more traditional kind of love story. This one is a nice exception: falling in love is easy for Jason and Cade. Learning how to deal with their issues comes afterwards and it was interesting to watch them deal with things as they came up. They may have had their love and the knowledge about each other’s feelings to hold on to, but that does not make it easier for them to deal with the obstacles.

And there was a lot to deal with. Jason’s past is pretty horrible, physical and emotional abuse included. Cade rescues him from being beaten up, but that is just the beginning. Jason’s deep, dark secrets only surface gradually, and that is good, because dealing with them all at once would be pretty impossible.

Cade, as a Marine, has some pretty tough stuff to deal with as well. Being who he is, he doesn’t talk about it, but the number of times he goes for a run to work of excess energy makes it clear he has developed a different coping mechanism. Loving a Marine may not be easy, as Jason discovers, but being one is not always fun either.

Both men are interesting characters with backgrounds that means they have lots to learn about each other. This makes for a story that contains more than one revelation. If you like stories about military men and the partners they chose, if you want to read a story with a few twists and a riddle to solve, and if some very hot and very loving man-on-man-action is your thing, you may like this book.



NOTE: This book was provided by Total-E-Bound for the purpose of a review on QMO Books.… (más)