Title: On Point
Series: Out of Uniform #3
Author: Annabeth Albert
Genre: Military, Contemporary
Length: Novel (296pgs)
Publisher: Carina Press (June 5th 2017)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4.5 hearts
Blurb: Never fall for your best friend…
Pushing thirty, with his reenlistment looming, decorated navy sniper Maddox Horvat is taking a long look at what he really wants in life. And what he wants is Ben Tovey. It isn’t smart, falling for his best friend and fellow SEAL, but ten years with Ben has forged a bond so intimate Maddox can’t ignore it. He needs Ben by his side forever—heart and soul.
Ben admits he likes what he’s seen—his friend’s full lower lip and the perfect muscles of his ass have proved distracting more than once. But Ben’s still reeling from a relationship gone to hell, and he’s not about to screw up his friendship with Maddox, too.
Until their next mission throws Ben and Maddox closer together than ever before, with only each other to depend on.
Now, in the lonely, desperate hours awaiting rescue, the real challenge—confronting themselves, their future and their desires—begins. Man to man, friend to friend, lover to lover.
ISBN: 9781488022630
Product Link: Carina Press | Amazon | Kobo
Reviewer: Aerin
Review: On Point is the story of the infamous duo Maddox and Ben. We’ve heard about Maddox and Ben in Apollo’s book and we know all about Maddox’s quiet pining for his best friend and all about Ben’s whorish ways. On Point lets us learn the WHY of Ben’s behavior, which I greatly appreciated, even though I wanted to whack the bastard across the head a few times.
Ben and Maddox are SEALS who have served together and have been best friends since the beginning of their careers. Their friendship and a constant significant other in their lives prevented the two from acknowledging the attraction and chemistry between them, but that all changes after Ben moves in with Maddox following his divorce. The two are so different from each other, I still can’t wrap my head around them as a couple (but I’m slowly getting there).
Ben’s career as a SEAL is the thing he’s most passionate about in life, and he lives for the adrenaline he gets when on missions. Ben’s father and his stepmother both support Ben unconditionally and I loved them as secondary characters; Ben has many mommy issues however, and we learn that his mother leaving has Ben questioning anyone’s commitment. Ben is a player and a manwhore who spends his free time in clubs chasing new men he can fuck.
Maddox is a soft-hearted man who’s career as a SEAL doesn’t match his dreams and hopes in life. His family cut ties with Maddox the day they found him kissing his boyfriend when Maddox was just 17 years old. In a desperate attempt to make his father proud, he joined the Navy, but he soon learned that his family’s love is conditional. Maddox doesn’t hate his job, and he definitely loves being at Ben’s side, but Maddox is not happy and yearns for a change. Maddox dreams about opening a bakery, dreams about Ben as more than a friend, he just dreams ….until the last mission they go on goes wrong, and Maddox realizes that life is too short and decides to make his dreams a reality.
Being trapped together when their mission goes wrong, both Maddox and Ben are hurt, but Maddox is by far worse. Cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder doesn’t stop Ben from carrying his best friend to safety, and the following weeks of recovery make Ben realize he doesn’t even want to imagine a life where Maddox is not by his side. What follows is an awkward courtship dance that was painful to watch in how out of character it was for Ben (but sweet and entertaining just the same).
On point is a great friends-to-lovers story that’s going to delight the readers who love that trope. This book is angsty and gritty for the most part, but Maddox and Ben get their HEA, so hang in there. I can’t wait for the next book in this wonderful series!