Review: On Point by Annabeth Albert

 

On Point by Annabeth Albert

Published June 5, 2017 by Carina Press

Synopsis:
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.

Review:
It's Pride Month! So, in honor of this month, and conveniently out today is On Point. Annabeth Albert is one of my favorite authors who writes LGBTQ stories because:

• I read to escape, but it also has to be relatable. Thus, I prefer contemporary to historical and fantasy novels, and I like my characters ordinary, that is, no crazy rich people with model-perfect bodies, thank you. 
• Albert's characters are normal, real people; they have jobs that they actually have to work at, are sometimes challenging, and realistically portrayed. Sometimes they have work-life balance struggles, they're smart, and sometimes (charmingly) geeky. They're flawed but on the whole deal with their issues like adults.
• Conflict is organic to situational circumstances, not manufactured melodrama. The characters, through growth and communication, come to solutions together.
• There's no one person saving the other; character growth is internal, though the motivation to grow comes from love and affection.
• The writing is good, too.

This is my favorite of the "Out of Uniform" series so far, featuring my favorite trope, friends-to-lovers. You have sweet, gentle Maddox and his ball-of-energy Ben. They're opposites, and have been best friends since their Navy SEAL training. Yet, despite their personality differences, both have incredible respect for each other.

The book starts off with the natural drama of a mission gone wrong, and there's nothing like a near-death situation for Ben to acknowledge his feelings for his best friends and for Maddox to realize what he wants out of life for himself. The best friends accept each other as they are, and there's never a sense that they want the other to change their essential selves. Rather, each worries that they're not enough for each other. Ultimately, it's a very romantic and sweet story about two people whose shared history means deep feelings for each other having to overcome their insecurities to get their happily-ever-after.

I received an advance reading copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4 stars