Title: Wheels Up
Series: Out of Uniform: Book Four
Author: Annabeth Albert
Narrator: Greg Boudreaux
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Run Time: 8 hours and 27 minutes
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: The longing, frustration and intensity are wonderfully conveyed by Greg Boudreaux/Tremblay. Boudreaux does a great job with the accents, the emotions and, as usual, makes his narration come alive with all the little additions and inflections that create a performance.
Reviewed By: Jovan
Blurb: Their love is forbidden, but their hearts aren’t listening to rules and regulations….
Lieutenant Dustin Strauss is a reformed man. No longer a 20-something hell-raiser, he’s his SEAL team’s new XO – and a man with a secret. Or seven. He’s kept his bisexual identity under wraps for years, along with his kinky side and a fondness for the military-themed semi-anonymous hookup website Joe4Joe. His latest chat buddy is more than a sexy online distraction – they’re taking their very not-safe-for-work relationship into real time.
Petty Officer Wes Lowe has a smart mouth, a take-charge attitude, and an uncanny ability for making things go boom. The life of an enlisted man isn’t always enough to satisfy him, but one wild, no-questions-asked weekend with his online love comes close. When a transfer order comes in, Wes feels ready and centered. He’ll make a good impression on his new SEAL team and keep his growing feelings for Dustin on the down low.
But as they log more time online and some very real emotions surface, Dustin and Wes struggle to pretend they’re just a harmless fling. And when his commander introduces Dustin to his team’s newest member, they’re in for the shock of a lifetime…and a crushing disappointment: their difference in ranks means even a friendship without sexual contact could end their navy careers for good.
With their hearts on the line, Dustin and Wes may not survive their next mission, let alone find a way toward a future together.
Review: I’m generally not a huge fan of military fraternization/forbidden love stories because most never find that balance between believable conflict/angst and hot military m/m action that most fans come to the material for. Usually it’s just “my career is SUPER important, so we can’t be together” followed by ridiculous chance-taking for hot sex and a HEA scenario so contrived it should have a Disney princess stamp of approval. Not so with Wheels Up, an emotionally engaging story about two men caught between the careers they have worked so hard for and the real and personal connection they never thought they would find.
For me, Wes and Dustin’s difficulty in staying away from one another wasn’t the usual irritating rollercoaster of angst and drama, because it wasn’t based in the “your just soooo sexy I can’t stay away” lust that generally seems to motivate the characters, but in the friendship and connection they established during their online relationship. By the time they meet in person, they have spent as much time watching movies together and learning about each other as they have in sexcapades. Additionally, the times they caved and spoke over the phone or spent time together was usually prompted by the need for emotional support and missing the camaraderie and bond they shared as opposed to missing sex.
The longing, frustration and intensity are wonderfully conveyed by Greg Boudreaux/Tremblay. Boudreaux does a great job with the accents, the emotions and, as usual, makes his narration come alive with all the little additions and inflections that create a performance. Every moment of need, wistfulness and heartache that Albert creates echo along the heartstrings Boudreaux helps tug. Wheels Up is a great book to read and a truly excellent listening experience, and while the ending isn’t a traditional HEA, it is definitely one that works for the characters and their situation.
You can buy Wheels Up here:
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