Scan barcode
heabooknerd's review
3.0
I was really excited for this one because I love friends-to-lovers books and I was intrigued by the book blurb's reference to the characters being stranded on a mission waiting for rescue -- cue the action sequence! For the most part, Albert delivered on my excitement. There were a lot of flashback scenes in the beginning of the book as they both remember points in their friendship and there were also flashbacks to several months prior when things got, shall we say awkward between Maddox and Ben. Ben tempts Maddox into a threesome and this changes everything between the two because now Maddox has to be honest about how he really feels toward Ben.
The romance was really sweet and these two truly knew how to turn up the heat. Ben was a great character but he is certainly more cynical about love and relationships and he's much more focused on just the military. I liked that Ben was the one who approached a relationship first because it made more sense that someone generally against relationships would have to really want it in order to start something. Ben's commitment to dating was a bit of a turn around for his character but I think in his mind he had this goal, to keep Maddox in his life and make him happy, and he just pushed through to his goal. Sometimes I felt like Ben wasn't as complexly written because his focus was so narrow, but overall you can see the depth of his character through his actions and his equal dedication to Maddox. I loved Maddox because he was so complex and really fleshed out as a character. He might be a SEAL but he also loves to cook, has dreams of things outside the military, and he's dedicated to taking care of Ben.
Ben and Maddox were both great and were so devoted to each other and each put so much emphasis on making the other person happy so it gave me all the feels.
Content Warning: Slight dubious consent of MC conflicted over participation in a threesome
The romance was really sweet and these two truly knew how to turn up the heat. Ben was a great character but he is certainly more cynical about love and relationships and he's much more focused on just the military. I liked that Ben was the one who approached a relationship first because it made more sense that someone generally against relationships would have to really want it in order to start something. Ben's commitment to dating was a bit of a turn around for his character but I think in his mind he had this goal, to keep Maddox in his life and make him happy, and he just pushed through to his goal. Sometimes I felt like Ben wasn't as complexly written because his focus was so narrow, but overall you can see the depth of his character through his actions and his equal dedication to Maddox. I loved Maddox because he was so complex and really fleshed out as a character. He might be a SEAL but he also loves to cook, has dreams of things outside the military, and he's dedicated to taking care of Ben.
Ben and Maddox were both great and were so devoted to each other and each put so much emphasis on making the other person happy so it gave me all the feels.
Content Warning: Slight dubious consent of MC conflicted over participation in a threesome
marzi's review
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
zaza_bdp's review
4.0
J'ai adoré cette military romance !!
C'est bien simple, il y a tout ce que j'aime dans cette histoire : une bonne dose d'action, un excellent friends to lovers, de la tension en pagaille, du dirty talk (mais je n'aurais pas dit non s'il y en avait eu davantage !), et dans le fond, une vraie belle romance qui m'a émue.
Le premier quart du roman est vraiment très réussi, Annabeth Albert nous embarque dans la jungle, et j'ai lu ces 25 premiers % en retenant mon souffle, j'avais moi aussi l'impression d'être dans cette foutue jungle.
Le truc avec la romance, c'est qu'on sait comment ça va finir, sauf que là, même en sachant ça, j'ai quand même été prise aux tripes, et ces moments terribles que vivent Maddox & Ben m'ont serré le ventre. Cette première partie est vraiment bien écrite, Annabeth Albert maîtrise vraiment son sujet, et ces scènes n'ont pas été sans me rappeler ma military bromance préférée, à savoir celle entre Scott & Stonebridge, dans la série 'Strike Back'.
Le retour sur le sol américain est évidemment compliqué, et tous deux vont d'abord devoir reprendre du poil de la bête s'ils veulent ... se découvrir d'une autre manière.
La romance m'a vraiment plu, il y a toute la tension que j'adore trouver dans ce genre de livre, ces moments qui me tordent l'estomac et me font mal au coeur pour les persos, que ce soit durant les flashbacks, ou lorsqu'ils commencent à se "fréquenter". Étonnamment, je n'en ai pas vraiment voulu à Ben, même s'il se comporte comme un c*n, mais pour moi, cela colle bien avec ses insécurités. Maddox et lui m'ont fait craquer, je me suis vraiment régalée avec cette histoire, et je lirai la suite de cette série avec plaisir et gourmandise !
C'est bien simple, il y a tout ce que j'aime dans cette histoire : une bonne dose d'action, un excellent friends to lovers, de la tension en pagaille, du dirty talk (mais je n'aurais pas dit non s'il y en avait eu davantage !), et dans le fond, une vraie belle romance qui m'a émue.
Le premier quart du roman est vraiment très réussi, Annabeth Albert nous embarque dans la jungle, et j'ai lu ces 25 premiers % en retenant mon souffle, j'avais moi aussi l'impression d'être dans cette foutue jungle.
Le truc avec la romance, c'est qu'on sait comment ça va finir, sauf que là, même en sachant ça, j'ai quand même été prise aux tripes, et ces moments terribles que vivent Maddox & Ben m'ont serré le ventre. Cette première partie est vraiment bien écrite, Annabeth Albert maîtrise vraiment son sujet, et ces scènes n'ont pas été sans me rappeler ma military bromance préférée, à savoir celle entre Scott & Stonebridge, dans la série 'Strike Back'.
Le retour sur le sol américain est évidemment compliqué, et tous deux vont d'abord devoir reprendre du poil de la bête s'ils veulent ... se découvrir d'une autre manière.
La romance m'a vraiment plu, il y a toute la tension que j'adore trouver dans ce genre de livre, ces moments qui me tordent l'estomac et me font mal au coeur pour les persos, que ce soit durant les flashbacks, ou lorsqu'ils commencent à se "fréquenter". Étonnamment, je n'en ai pas vraiment voulu à Ben, même s'il se comporte comme un c*n, mais pour moi, cela colle bien avec ses insécurités. Maddox et lui m'ont fait craquer, je me suis vraiment régalée avec cette histoire, et je lirai la suite de cette série avec plaisir et gourmandise !
rellimreads's review
4.0
This is book 3 in Annabeth Albert’s Out of Uniform series. While each book covers a different couple – there are characters and events that appear throughout the series making these best enjoyed in order starting with Off Base. This review contains spoilers to earlier books.
I love friends/roommates-to-lovers and books that make me ugly cry from all the emotions. Maddox & Ben’s story is full of so much angst – these two fighting their attraction for fear that it will ruin their decade long friendship. Fighting for their lives on a deployment brings them together, but making it last is a whole new battle.
I admit that flashbacks aren’t my favorite literary device, but this wouldn’t have worked as well if everything were presented purely chronologically. Albert contrasting their current mission predicament with remembering the relationship missteps of the previous months enhances the suspense of both.
I’m literally bawling for Ben & Maddox while they struggle through. It’s a long yet understandably difficult road for these two to find their HEA. I love the way Albert wrapped things up and the sweet epilogue.
Can’t wait for Dustin’s book, Wheels Up.
Narration:
J.F. Harding is fantastic as usual. This series is full of so many male characters that giving them unique voices and personalities would stretch any narrator’s talent. Harding handles it masterfully with a perfect & dynamic narration.
I love friends/roommates-to-lovers and books that make me ugly cry from all the emotions. Maddox & Ben’s story is full of so much angst – these two fighting their attraction for fear that it will ruin their decade long friendship. Fighting for their lives on a deployment brings them together, but making it last is a whole new battle.
I admit that flashbacks aren’t my favorite literary device, but this wouldn’t have worked as well if everything were presented purely chronologically. Albert contrasting their current mission predicament with remembering the relationship missteps of the previous months enhances the suspense of both.
I’m literally bawling for Ben & Maddox while they struggle through. It’s a long yet understandably difficult road for these two to find their HEA. I love the way Albert wrapped things up and the sweet epilogue.
Can’t wait for Dustin’s book, Wheels Up.
Narration:
J.F. Harding is fantastic as usual. This series is full of so many male characters that giving them unique voices and personalities would stretch any narrator’s talent. Harding handles it masterfully with a perfect & dynamic narration.
bitchie's review
3.0
I seem to be an outlier here, because this one barely hits 3 stars for me. I just didn't really feel Ben, at all. He's exactly the kind of MC that I hate- the guy who got hurt once, and so decides to never open himself up to that kind of pain again. I get that his mom doing what she did really messed him up, but it's no excuse for the way he behaved. At first, it felt like he only agreed to try to date Maddox because he was afraid Mad would date someone else. It just felt selfish, even more so when he threw such a hissy fit like he did. It just took him too long to get his head out of his ass, and I never really felt the connection, or saw what Maddox saw in Ben.
a_reader_obsessed's review
4.0
4.5 Stars!
Let me just say that I'm one very satisfied customer. I admit, the first 2 stories in this series were not my favorites, but it says something when I finish a book that’s over 300 pages in one sitting. That hasn’t happened to me in a long time and it just goes to show that this was a major win.
There is nothing groundbreaking in this friends to lovers story, but for some reason it ticked off all my boxes. Tough military badasses? Check. Off the charts UST? Check. Twisty emotions of doubt, jealousy and insecurity?? CHECK! Throw in one of the MC’s being a sensitive gentle giant and I was all over that like white on rice.
So yes, it’s the age old adage of two guys not wanting to destroy their friendship should they give into their lustful desires. Maddox, ever cool and conservative, only wants Ben one way and that’s the right way - a committed relationship. However, Ben’s been burned by very important people in his life and believes that if he can just hold on tight to being friends with Maddox, he can hang onto him for forever without allowing something like love get in the way and messing things up. When two separate nights of letting go of their inhibitions results in months of awkwardness, it takes a life threatening covert op to bring things into perspective for both Ben and Maddox.
What results is a “try out” period, where each war with their conflicting feelings of wanting to trust but finding it so difficult to let go of the past. Some might be frustrated with what ensues but I was caught in their struggle of trying to find what best suited them and to let go of their baggage and preconceived notions of what love is and isn’t. Yes, it took waaaaaay too long for Ben to dig his head out of his ass, but I still loved both these men. This was emotional and my heart clenched consistently throughout this story, while at the same time I struggled persistently with something stuck in my eyes that just wouldn’t stop making them water.
Obviously, this just simply worked for me - the feels, the dynamic, the hot smex! Unf. Annabeth Albert, you rocked it this go around! Looking forward to the next in series!
Let me just say that I'm one very satisfied customer. I admit, the first 2 stories in this series were not my favorites, but it says something when I finish a book that’s over 300 pages in one sitting. That hasn’t happened to me in a long time and it just goes to show that this was a major win.
There is nothing groundbreaking in this friends to lovers story, but for some reason it ticked off all my boxes. Tough military badasses? Check. Off the charts UST? Check. Twisty emotions of doubt, jealousy and insecurity?? CHECK! Throw in one of the MC’s being a sensitive gentle giant and I was all over that like white on rice.
So yes, it’s the age old adage of two guys not wanting to destroy their friendship should they give into their lustful desires. Maddox, ever cool and conservative, only wants Ben one way and that’s the right way - a committed relationship. However, Ben’s been burned by very important people in his life and believes that if he can just hold on tight to being friends with Maddox, he can hang onto him for forever without allowing something like love get in the way and messing things up. When two separate nights of letting go of their inhibitions results in months of awkwardness, it takes a life threatening covert op to bring things into perspective for both Ben and Maddox.
What results is a “try out” period, where each war with their conflicting feelings of wanting to trust but finding it so difficult to let go of the past. Some might be frustrated with what ensues but I was caught in their struggle of trying to find what best suited them and to let go of their baggage and preconceived notions of what love is and isn’t. Yes, it took waaaaaay too long for Ben to dig his head out of his ass, but I still loved both these men. This was emotional and my heart clenched consistently throughout this story, while at the same time I struggled persistently with something stuck in my eyes that just wouldn’t stop making them water.
Obviously, this just simply worked for me - the feels, the dynamic, the hot smex! Unf. Annabeth Albert, you rocked it this go around! Looking forward to the next in series!
evethingiread's review
5.0
This book broke me. I haven’t cried in over a month. This opened the floodgates.
Their hell in the jungle felt so real. And even though I knew that they’d both be okay, because this is a happy ending type of book, I was so scared for them. I don’t typically enjoy friends to lovers. It’s really hard to make it make sense as to why it took them so long to figure it out. And normally they end up making characters oblivious and blind to the other person. But this, here, we have none of that. They both clearly love each other, probably since day 1. But life happens, and trauma I’m sure. Seeing them fumble their way into a relationship is both endearing and heartbreaking.
This is the first book in this series that made the characters feel real! I hope the next books have a similar impact.
Damn! I think this is the first 5 star book of the year.
Their hell in the jungle felt so real. And even though I knew that they’d both be okay, because this is a happy ending type of book, I was so scared for them. I don’t typically enjoy friends to lovers. It’s really hard to make it make sense as to why it took them so long to figure it out. And normally they end up making characters oblivious and blind to the other person. But this, here, we have none of that. They both clearly love each other, probably since day 1. But life happens, and trauma I’m sure. Seeing them fumble their way into a relationship is both endearing and heartbreaking.
This is the first book in this series that made the characters feel real! I hope the next books have a similar impact.
Damn! I think this is the first 5 star book of the year.
becksgoesbookish's review
5.0
The F2L angst in this one got me to actually enjoy this trope…10 stars for the narration!
rosska22's review
4.0
This one really launches you into the action. Within the first few pages our characters are lost and injured in a jungle and I was stressed to the max. The story really sucked me in. Ben and Maddox were great characters and I liked all the backstory we got that really showed how close they were.
P.S. I wanted to strangle Ben for the WHOLE BOOK.
P.S. I wanted to strangle Ben for the WHOLE BOOK.
kirbyj_'s review
4.0
i think this is one of my favourites of this series. i'm a sucker for a good friends to lovers romance, especially in mm romance.
ben, the sweet marshmallow! you lovable idiot, you made me so mad, you walked right into the point and then through it like it didn't exist. i just wanted to push you right into it and hold you there so you couldn't miss it.
ben, the sweet marshmallow! you lovable idiot, you made me so mad, you walked right into the point and then through it like it didn't exist. i just wanted to push you right into it and hold you there so you couldn't miss it.