Review: Get a Grip by L.A. Witt

Title: Get a Grip (A Bluewater Bay Novel)

Author: L.A. Witt

Length: 300 Pages

Category: Contemporary

At a Glance: 4.5 stars for an amazing casual-to-serious relationship!

Reviewed By: Ky

Blurb: If a tree falls in Bluewater Bay . . . could it be fate?

A year after his divorce, Shane Andrews isn’t interested in dating—not that he has time, between three kids and a demanding job as a grip. When a windstorm knocks a tree onto one of the Wolf’s Landing soundstages, Shane’s there to help with the mess . . . and so is firefighter Aaron Tucker.

A former smoke jumper, Aaron’s an adrenaline junkie and way too restless and reckless to be relationship material. As far as he’s concerned, monogamy is for penguins, and he’d rather be alone than tied down. Signing up to be a stepparent? No, thank you.

But after a scorching-hot night together, they’re hooked. Aaron is a taste of the excitement Shane’s been lacking, and Shane’s pushing buttons Aaron didn’t know he had. The more they’re together, the less Aaron craves wild nights with other men . . . but the more Shane wants to play the field like he never got to in his twenties.

This could be the love neither man knew he needed, but only if Shane gets his feet back on the ground before Aaron walks away.

Review: A hook up that became the real deal. We’ve seen this trope many times, but when it’s done right it’s one of my favorite themes. In this book, it’s absolutely done right! There is no rush. Their deal is clear and at first it works just fine. When feelings come out to play, it happens in stages and not unexpectedly and out of the blue.

In the beginning, Shane was a bit all over the place, not knowing what he wanted and unable to decide how he felt about a casual arrangement. He changed his mind all the time, even in the course of a single dialogue, and I struggled to follow his thought process. I guess it was a understandable, as he found himself with a bit of freedom and the ability to be a little wild for the first time in his life.

Aaron, even though he was seeking adrenaline and excitement, read as the more grounded of the two. He knew what he wanted and was able to communicate it to Shane. He was content with how his life had turned out, and was happy with his choices.

I enjoyed reading this book, and I liked the MCs as well as the side characters. I liked that Shane’s kids had a role in the story, and weren’t just names thrown around. Shane spent time with them on page, and interacted with them. I would have liked more scenes with them and Aaron in the same room, though. The fact that Shane was able to be friends with his exes made me like him even more. Leo was an amazing person, from what little we got to see of him. I will read his story in a heartbeat if it’s ever told. I liked his relationship with the kids and the fact that he wanted and managed to remain in their lives after the divorce from Shane. As a bonus, this book has a huge, adorable boxer-mix named Jack, who loves to cuddle and has a whip for a tail. It also has three cats, but Jack’s presence overshadowed all other pets. What can I say? I’m a dog person, so he stole the show whenever he was in a scene.

At times, I had trouble remembering who was supposed to narrate the chapter I was reading. The story is told in the first person, and the narrator changes in every chapter. Their voices were pretty similar, so I often had to turn back and reread dialogue in order to understand who was saying what. It bothered me a bit and frustrated me because I was pulled out of the story, but in the end, it didn’t do much damage to the story. What I didn’t like was the ending. It felt rushed and like everything was neatly tied with a big red bow in order for the characters to find their HEA. I wanted to see more of them as a committed couple trying to merge their lives together. With kids, pets, friends, jobs and exes in the mix, it would have been an interesting process to witness. I also wanted to see Aaron trying to win the trust and acceptance of Shane’s kids instead of just getting it.

If I could have, I would have read this in one sitting. I kept wanting to find out if Shane was going to sow the wild oats that he wanted to so much. The fun part is that I couldn’t decide if I wanted him to succeed or not. I think I liked reading about his fantasies, but didn’t want to see him actually making them come true. I won’t tell you if he experienced everything he wanted to, because that’s one of the things that I wanted to keep reading and find out for myself. I will tell you, though, that he had Aaron with him for the ride…

You can buy Get a Grip here:
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