Release Day Review ~
The Soldier Next Door by Brigham Vaughn
Sometimes, love is right next door.
All twenty-seven-year-old Travis Schultz is supposed to do is keep an eye on the kid next door for a few weeks while his parents are out of town. Eighteen-year-old Owen Wheeler has other plans. Newly graduated, with plans to enlist in the Army, Owen wants to get laid before he ships out and he’s had a crush on Travis for years.
The age difference and the responsibility he’s been entrusted with make Travis hesitant, but the attraction is too much to deny. When the casual one-night stand turns into something more, Travis has no idea how to tell Owen how he feels. He misses his opportunity before Owen leaves and is left at home with a broken heart when Owen cuts off all contact.
When they meet again years later, Owen is in the midst of recovery from being injured in the line of duty and Travis will have to decide if he can forgive Owen and try again.
Reader Advisory: This book contains brief mentions of PTSD and war-related injuries.
Publisher's Note: This book was previously released as part of the Right Here, Right Now anthology with Pride Publishing.
General Release Date: 28th November 2017
ISBN: 978-1-78651-641-1 Imprint: P
Book Length: Short story
Pairing: MMM
3.5 Stars
Travis is 27 and has recently moved back to his childhood home. When his parents and their best friends and next door neighbors go on a cruise, Travis is asked to keep an eye on their 18-year-old son Owen. Owen is pretty responsible, though and instead of a babysitting gig, it becomes more of a friendship. What starts out as hanging out playing video games and swimming soon evolves into a somewhat casual relationship.
When Owen leaves for the Military both he and Travis continue their no-strings sex as often as they can. But after Owen is deployed their relationship disappears and Travis is left broken-hearted. Now, Owen is home for good and Travis is forced to face his feelings for him.
Okay, I’m going to be completely honest here. I don’t mind age gap, 9 years isn’t horrible, however, when one character is 27 and the other is 18, I find it has to be handled really well or it feels icky to me. This relationship didn’t gross me out because of the age gap, but I think it was due to the fact that Travis didn’t feel 27 to me at all. He reminded me of a 23-year-old actually (not from lack of maturity or anything, it was just a feeling).
As a couple, I think the two men meshed well. I felt their growing friendship seemed natural and they seemed to connect. However, I wish they had better chemistry. The sex was a bit clinical to me and really lacked the passion and steam I was hoping for. I know that it was supposed to be the first time for Owen so Travis kind of talked him through it and took things slow but it definitely could’ve been hotter.
Overall, I think this was a nice short story about second chance love. Had it been longer and more fleshed out it could’ve been great. I would really like to see what happened in the years the two men were apart and how they have grown and changed.
***Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.***
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