Dawson Hoshaw lives by one motto—work hard, play harder. As the owner of Blue Lotus, a tattoo and piercing shop, he’s got the first part covered. The second part, he accomplishes through meaningless hookups and no-strings-attached encounters. It’s safer this way, with no risk of getting his heart broken again. But when his best friend, Peyton, enters him in a contest—and wins—Dawson finds himself … himself the recipient of an all-expenses paid singles cruise around New Zealand, courtesy of Valentine’s Inc.
As long as he can remember, Stephen Kincaid has known it’s his duty to take over his family’s chain of men’s clothing stores. The closer his father grows to retirement, the more responsibility Steven assumes. Running multiple businesses and living up to expectations doesn’t leave him with much time for dating, and he can’t remember the last time he took a vacation. So when he wins a contest he didn’t even enter, he can’t pass up the opportunity to see Australia before returning to his humdrum life.
When a mix-up forces Dawson and Steven to share a cabin, their dream vacation turns into a nightmare. It wouldn’t be so bad if they could escape each other during the day, but it’s hard not to run into one another. And the more time they spend together, the more they find they don’t want to stay away. After a night of passion, Stephen and Dawson can’t help giving in to the growing feelings between them. But how can they make this vacation fling work once they go back to the real world?
Battle Ship is a Valentine’s Inc. novella, but you will see familiar faces with this Forever in Middlebury Crossover. At 35,00 words, it can be read as a standalone and is intended for adults 18 and over.
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This was a cute and funny story. I really liked Dawson from the beginning, and Stephen grew on me. The whole coincidence of the two men both being gifted with cruise tickets and ending up having to room together was a bit over the top, but I still enjoyed the banter and interaction between the men enough to overlook that.
This is a great series, and this is a really fun addition. Once Stephen loosened up, he and Dawson were a really sweet and sexy couple. I’m really glad I read this one.
Battle Ship is my kind of love
Start with a splash of enemies-to-lovers and add in some forced proximity and what do you get? A spicy, sweet romance by Brittany Cournoyer! Dawson and Stephen both work in the same town. Their best friends are partners but when they first meet it doesn’t go well. Come to find out, they’ve both won a cruise but have to share the trip. It’s a recipe for disaster, or is it?
I love enemies-to-lovers stories because the tension is so delicious and when these two are forced together in close quarters it only adds to delectable push and pull between them. Both Stephen and Dawson have an immediate attraction to each other but they struggle with how the other makes them feel. What I enjoyed most about this book is that although they have the immediate attraction, they fight it and are slow to start something. When they do give in, wow, is it hot! Plus, watching Stephen and Dawson go from bickering to falling in love was wonderful.
A truly enjoyable, sweet and sexy read. You’ll fall in love too.
This story! What a whirlwind of emotions!
I absolutely loved the yes iin between the MCs and their background stories! The setting on a cruise and the overall plot were really well done and I could not wait to see what makes them give in!
It was a very entertaining story and another great addition to the series!
Quick Battles. This is an enemies to lovers tale that also happens to be a very fast read. Cournoyer does an excellent job of quickly showing just how much these two guys *don’t* like each other… and then the hijinks ensue. Great tale of one man being burned by love and another not sure what he is coming together rather explosively. My first from this author, will not be my last. Very much recommended.
This was a short, low-angst, sort-of-enemies in forced proximity story. Dawson and Stephen are thrown together on a Valentine’s Inc cruise to New Zealand after both winning the prize. Only having met once before, and with Stephen taking a dislike to Dawson, having to share the prize package leads to a rather unwelcome situation of suddenly not being able to escape one another. Even since meeting Dawson, Stephen had been struggling with his sexuality and really this is the underlying root of their animosity – the attraction sizzling between them. Dawson is a little more relaxed about the situation and slowly being around him gets Stephen to open up and experience being in the moment.
I really liked the secondary characters of Abby and Donny. They were great friends to both Stephen and Dawson respectively, and not to mention the little bubbles of jealousy they helped stir to the surface. It’s not long before the forced proximity, jealousy and secret mutual pining leads to something that can’t be ignored anymore…
*I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review*
I love how the Valentine’s Inc. Cruises series caters to all tastes,to every favorite trope possible.
And enemies to lovers is the one in Battle Ship by Brittany Cournoyer. Stephen and Dawson start off as enemies mostly because Stephen hates how attracted he is to Dawson and his gut reaction is to lash out and antagonize the other man,forcing Dawson to respond in kind. It was highly entertaining to watch them snap at each other and do their best to avoid crossing paths. Until any resistence became futile and they had to give in to their need for one another.
So,pick up Battle Ship and get ready for fun,sweetness,hotness and two men who finally find happiness.