Resilient Heart by Annabeth Albert & Civilian Master by Cassandra Carr ~ Dual Release and ARC Review
Dual Release for Resilient Heart & Civilian Master
Resilient Heart
by Annabeth Albert
Genre: MM Romance
Originally released as part of the Unconditional Surrender bundle, now available as a stand-alone novella complete with BRAND-NEW 10,000 word short story/epilogue. When a wounded soldier is forced to accept help from his former best friend, both men discover the true strength of their entwined hearts.
Army IT specialist Xander keeps his emotions wired as tight as his NETCOM gear, but when he’s seriously injured by an IED, his whole life unravels. Running out of options, Xander must accept help from his ex-friend-with-benefits, Mackey. However, Xander’s had feelings for Mackey for years, and close quarters only complicates his emotions. Further, Xander doesn’t know which is worse: combating his inner demons or dealing with Mackey’s guilty kindnesses.
Mackey’s always kept his emotions close to his chest, but now he’s got a secret that could destroy his one chance with the man he cares far too much for. Both men will have to heal their wounded hearts to ensure a future together.
Entwined Future: In this new short story, Mackey has news that could change everything for him and Xander, but a visit from Xander's family jeopardizes Mackey's plans--and forces Xander to confront some harsh truths.
Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.
Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two toddlers.
Represented by Saritza Hernandez of the Corvisiero Literary Agency
Author Social Links
Website: www.annabethalbert.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AnnabethAlbert
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annabethalbert
Tumblr: www.annabethalbert.tumblr.com
Mari's Review
*ARC provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review.*
First of all, I have to say Resilient Heart was one of my favorite stories in Unconditional Surrender – An M/M Military Bundle, and the reason why I discovered Annabeth Albert.
The story itself is angsty as hell and deals quite realistically with Xander’s depression and PTSD after losing his right arm and suffering multiple injuries after being in an explosion that killed some of his friends. Macky, his best friend with benefits, comes to his side when Xander is about to be released from the hospital and convinces him that they should live together for the time being, what with Xander not having anywhere else to live and all.
Both Xander and Macky are great, tridimensional characters. Xander is so broken, and yet, I couldn’t not love him, after reading all he goes through. And Macky, well, he’s awesome, so understanding and supporting and not letting Xander push him away.
They both have to work through a lot, but the way they just clicked, makes it all worthwhile. The added Epilogue was lovely as well. I adored reading what Xander and Macky had been up to until that point. It was like revisiting old friends, at the same time that it was a wonderful, emotional read and I adored every second of it.
Rating: * 5 angst-filled stars *
Civilian Master
by Cassandra Carr
Genre: MM Romance
Originally released as part of the Unconditional Surrender bundle in 2014, now available as a stand-alone novella complete with BRAND-NEW 5,000+ word, 16-page epilogue. The only life Clay Benson has known in years is the Army. Now he's on forced leave after a Ranger mission goes terribly wrong. When he decides to return home, Clay knows he needs to face his past, and the only man he's ever loved: Flynn. Now Flynn is a Dominant, and Clay wants nothing more than to heal and find his true self. Is his place as Flynn's submissive? Flynn certainly thinks so, but must convince Clay there's something worth fighting for besides his country.
Bio:
Cassandra Carr is a multi-award winning romance writer. When not writing she enjoys watching hockey and hanging out online. Cassandra's books have won numerous "Best Book Of" awards and her novella Unexpected Top was nominated in the E-book Erotic Romance category of RT's Reviewers' Choice Awards.
Website: http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com
*ARC provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review.*
I have to admit that I’m not much of a BDSM fan, that said, while this book deals with that up to a certain point, it is not just about that.
Clay is an Army Ranger, on a 6-week leave after his last mission failed. He’s always been interested in exploring the BDSM scene and his submissive streak. What he didn’t imagine was that when he goes to a BDSM club nearby his hometown, he comes face to face with his best friend, Flynn, who he hasn’t seen in 8 years. And if that isn’t enough to make his head spin, Flynn is a Dom at the club.
Flynn is an accountant, and has been in love with Clay from the moment the other man disappeared to join the army and as Clay, he hadn’t expected to see him there at the club and even less, wearing a sub collar with a blue ribbon, signaling that he’s a gay sub.
One thing leads to the other and they enter a relationship, there’s a lot of spanking, but there’s also trust-rebuilding, and some sweetness and the guys have great chemistry between them. The story is enjoyable and it flows nicely. The main characters were likeable and relatable, and that is important for me.
Rating: 4.5 spanking stars!!!
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