Melissa reviews On Point (Out of Uniform #3) by Annabeth Albert Published June 5th 2017 by Carina Press, 320 pages.
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.
An ARC was provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Why I read this book: I have read all the previous stories in this series and have been looking forward to reading about Ben and Maddox since they were first introduced.
I love Annabeth Albert and her Out of Uniform series is seriously wonderful!!! I have been looking forward to Maddox and Ben’s love story since they were first introduced. It was obvious to anyone who met them that they had this special something between them.
Now, if you haven’t read Off Base or At Attention, (plus the extra short Homecoming which is available via Instafreebie: https://instafreebie.com/free/kbNNR), don’t despair. You don’t have to read the preceding books in this series since they are each standalone. But, why would you do that to yourself? This series is so awesome!!! I think you should read each book, and it does help to read them since you are introduced to Ben and Maddox prior to this book. You will get a better feel for their dynamic.
Like I said, I have been looking forward to reading about Ben and Maddox for a long time, and I was very interested in learning why they were not a couple yet. I didn’t particularly like Ben’s reasoning for not being in a relationship again since his divorce. He’s crazy about Maddox – and I understand him not wanting to mess up his friendship, but he refused to at least try to be with Maddox. At first. See, Ben realizes that at some point Maddox is going to find someone to marry and buy a house with, have kids, the whole shebang. And Ben is all super jealous about that, and yet he still practically breaks out in hives at the thought of being in another relationship. But his jealousy is greater and since nobody is good enough in Ben’s eyes for Maddox, Ben decided to give being in a relationship with Maddox a try.
Maddox is super suspicious at first – who wouldn’t be? Ben has been on his anti-relationship kick for years now, and for him to suddenly change his mind – Maddox is giving Ben “what the fuck” face a lot. 🙂
The majority of the story is after Maddox and Ben are seriously injured in the jungle. They recuperate together, help each other when their breaks and pains are too much, and just generally are there for the other. Now, how to say this without seeming to downer the story….after seeing more of Ben, I didn’t really get Maddox’s infatuation. Ben was/is a player and he brings home different men all the time, and Maddox has seen him with these men. So what Maddox sees in Ben I don’t really know. Is he a good man? Yes. Is he smart? A good team mate? Trust worthy in the field? Yes, yes and yes. But again, Ben is a player. He wasn’t always that way; his divorce really messed him up, but we don’t get to see Ben before the divorce, so we are left clueless as to the type of man he was before that.
Aside from wishing Ben’s epiphany about trying a relationship with Maddox hadn’t been so clinical, yes, clinical I say, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and can’t wait for the next book in the series. Can’t wait for the audio to come out too!!! 😀
Happy reading and a solid 8 pots.
Annabeth Albert
Website: http://www.annabethalbert.com
Twitter AnnabethAlbert
Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two toddlers.
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