Off Base (Out of Uniform #1) [Zack & Pike] by Annabeth Albert

I've read this one literally in one sitting and if it's not obvious I LOVED it. While I wasn't sure where it was going from the start it didn't take me long to get HOOKED UP and not wanting to let this one go until I could feel their HEA in my bones. It took time but it was SO worth it!

Pike Reynolds is out and proud, he wouldn't even know the inside of a closet if someone showed him one. Though he did have a very bad experience with a "straight but curious" friend who made him vow not to get with anyone who doesn't know who he is and what he wants. It's not like he's looking for a serious relationship, but he still wants things to be very clear.

When he first saw Zack Nelson he had a hard time picking his tongue off the floor but seeing him again after he finished his Navy SEAL training made him even more yummy if that's even possible, trouble is Zack is EXACTLY the kind of guy he won't get involved with - someone who isn't even sure he is curious, with eyes that TOTALLY show his longing to something he isn't even able to articulate. Pike might enjoy looking but touching - NO WAY. Not with THIS confused guy! and it's not like Zack is interested in HIM, he barely tolerates him.. But after a drunk night together and getting to know his cats something might have changed between them.



While becoming a Navy SEAL have been Zack's dream, now that he has finished his training life is far more difficult that he imagined. Being caught off-guard oggeling a fellow's ass he finds himself being blackmailed by the most homophobic but mostly manipulative guy EVER, well, truth be told he has a hard time deciding who is worse, Cobb or his older brother who tormented him for YEARS. Not knowing how to handle the situation and not intending on becoming a snitch just yet he decided to look for a place off base. He gets a hell of an opportunity from his Commander offering him a place for free in exchange for helping renovating the place. While Zack knows NOTHING about fixing stuff in the house he is willing to use Google's help but it doesn't take him long to realize Google is a friend all right, but it's not enough.. So when Pike needs a place to stay (with his cats..) and he realizes Pike can actually help out fixing the place he accepts though dreading the whole thing and what it would bring.. Yeah.. he has NO CLUE.

Living together is the most comfortable thing for both of them, they somehow get along great and that's without mentioning the attraction between them.. At first they both ignore it but after sharing a spontaneous kiss things start to change. Pike wants Zack SO MUCH but he doesn't want the drama and mostly the heart ache dating someone who is so unsure about WHO he is. For Zack it's more complicated considering what he is going through at base, he doesn't want anything to make Cobb torment him even more and even though everything with Pike feel SO DAMN RIGHT he is still scared to truly BE the guy he wants to be with and for Pike.

These two get through quite a lot together. Pike wasn't even sure about the teaching job at the college he got (which took him near Zack's base), he wanted to work for a gaming company.. now he has Zack in his life and it's so confusing! He wants him but giving him his heart only to be crashed when Zack kept them WAY in a closet Pike has no desire to be makes it hard on him to accept a future together. For Zack it's the surprise of finding out Pike is EVERYTHING for him. He falls for him HARD, but considering his VERY conservative up bringing, his parents expectations and not to mention the torments he endures at the base makes him so afraid to grab to the one person who makes him happy.

It was a work in progress but they get there with help from a few friends including their best friends Ryan and Josia (from "Connection Error") - was great seeing these two again! I was BEYOND happy when Zack and Pike FINALLY got their HEA, but even before then, seeing them get closer together, seeing both of them grow and change and truly build a life together was simply BEAUTIFUL.

HIGHLY RECOMMENCED! Off to the next one!

Rating: ★★★★★

E-Book Edition

304 pages

Read on: 9 February 2019

ABOUT THIS SERIES

 

Out of Uniform is a Contemporary MM Romance series by Annabeth Albert. It starts as a sort of spin-off to the #gaymers series with a few visits from their characters but in each one at least one is at guy is in uniform - and specifically a Navy SEAL.

The biggest problem I have with this series is the fact, once you grab one of them, it'e IMPOSSIBLE to put it down. Each story is absolutely unique and SO SO beautiful and heart felt even with "manly men" as you'd expect SEALs to be. There's emotional ride both MCs need to get through, on their own, together and though it's painful at times, it's SO satisfying once you get to the very end.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Books:
1. Off Base [Zack Nelson & Pike Reynolds] (Published 9 January 2017) ★★★★★
1.5 Homecoming [Zack Nelson & Pike Reynolds] (Published 5 June 2017) ★★★★★
1.6 Off Leash [Zack Nelson & Pike Reynolds] (Published 17 May 2018) ★★★★★
2. At Attention [Apollo Floros & Dylan Strauss] (Published 10 April 2017) ★★★★★

2.5 I Do [Apollo Floros & Dylan Strauss] (Published 4 November 2017) ★★★★★
3. On Point [Maddox Horvat & Ben Tovey] (Published 5 June 2017) ★★★★★
4. Wheels Up [Dustin Strauss & Wes Lowe] (Published 7 November 2017) ★★ (DNF 37%)
4.5 Homebodies [Dustin Strauss & Wes Lowe] (Published 10 July 2018) [Didn't Read]
5. Squared Away [Mark "Wizard" Whitley & Isaiah James] (Published 16 April 2018) ★★★★★
6. Tight Quarters [Delbert "Del" Lawrence Bacon & Spencer Bryant] (Published 9 July 2018) ★★★★
- New In Town [Alex & Marco] (Published 26 October 2018) ★★★★
7. Rough Terrain [Lorenzo "Rooster" Bianchi & Canaan Finley] (Published 14 January 2019) ★★★★★