Title: Beyond Duty (2nd Edition)
Author: S.J.D. Peterson
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (214pgs)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (August 2nd, 2013) First published June 4th, 2012
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4½ Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: The repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell didn’t come soon enough for Gunther “Gunny” Duchene and Macalister “Mac” Jones, career US Marines who met at boot camp in the 1990s. They’ve been somewhere between best friends and lovers in peacetime and wartime both, but as the clock ticks toward Mac’s and Gunny’s retirements, the guys have much more to worry about than coming out.
Whether their relationship will survive outside of the closet they’ve had to shove, it into for over two decades is a big question mark. Gunny questions why a hot military man like Mac—who could get any guy he wanted, including a younger, sexier one—would want him. But as Gunny and Mac navigate emotional waters as choppy as any they saw on duty, they just might learn Semper Fi applies to more than their careers.
This story was previously a short story for Goodreads ‘Love Is Always Write’, this version is the extended Novel Edition.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4097
Review: Gunny and Mac have been best friends for over twenty years; they have been exclusive lovers for the last ten but always having to hide because of their careers in the military. Now as they both approach retirement and with the Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Gunny is worried that Mac will no longer want him when he no longer has to hide. Mac knows what he wants after retirement and he plans on having it but first they both have to face their families and navigate the emotional rollercoaster they both face.
Ah hell, I absolutely adored the first free short of Beyond Duty and I really didn’t think that S.J.D. Peterson could improve on it, but seriously she has, and she has given us a beautiful story with a touch of angst and family unrest, while giving us a love story that has extended for decades. Gunny is quickly reassured by Mac about what Mac wants after retirement, but his worry begins anew when Mac confides he wants to come out to his parents. Mac knows what he wants and it is Gunny. With retirement and the repeal of DADT he wants to go out in style, but coming out to his parents doesn’t go as planned and he is left reeling with Gunny being his rock. Gunny has his own family problems as he tries to reconnect with his mother and father, but some wounds are still raw and Gunny is left adrift unsure if his parents will ever come around.
I loved this story, after Gunny and Mac settle their relationship and where they are going with it, we then see the full story of what is happening with their families and how Gunny and Mac react to the truth of being treated as gay men. Mac does have his head in the clouds a little thinking nothing would change but both he and Gunny realize the truth when they become the ones the slurs and insults are being thrown at. The background we get of both Gunny and Mac is interesting and we see how strained Gunny’s relationship is with his parents but Mac’s parents more than make up for it.
This is a great story of that there is no doubt, we have fantastic hot military men, hot sex, some slight BDSM that is really hot, we find that Mac can act like a ten-year old, we have both Mac and Gunny being supportive and sexy. There really isn’t that much missing from this story, angst, worry, reality, love, and support, it has it all.
I recommend this wonderful story to those who love military men coming out in style, enduring love, some angst and family drama, great characters and a brilliant ending.