“Each book in this series keeps getting better and better. I stayed up way past my bedtime with this one!” –Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews Their love is forbidden, but their hearts aren’t listening to rules and regulations… Lieutenant Dustin Strauss is a reformed man. No longer a twentysomething hell-raiser, he’s his SEAL team’s new XO–and a man with a secret. Or seven. He’s kept his … secret. Or seven. He’s kept his bisexual identity under wraps for years, along with his kinky side and a fondness for the military-themed semianonymous hookup website Joe4Joe. His latest chat buddy is more than a sexy online distraction–they’re taking their very not-safe-for-work relationship into real time.
Petty Officer Wes Lowe has a smart mouth, a take-charge attitude and an uncanny ability for making things go boom. The life of an enlisted man isn’t always enough to satisfy him, but one wild, no-questions-asked weekend with his online love comes close. When a transfer order comes in, Wes feels ready and centered. He’ll make a good impression on his new SEAL team and keep his growing feelings for Dustin on the down low.
But as they log more time online and some very real emotions surface, Dustin and Wes struggle to pretend they’re just a harmless fling. And when his commander introduces Dustin to his team’s newest member, they’re in for the shock of a lifetime…and a crushing disappointment: their difference in ranks means even a friendship without sexual contact could end their navy careers for good.
With their hearts on the line, Dustin and Wes may not survive their next mission, let alone find a way toward a future together.
Out of Uniform
Book 1: Off Base
Book 2: At Attention
Book 3: On Point
Book 4: Wheels Up
Book 5: Squared Away
Book 6: Tight Quarters
Book 7: Rough Terrain
Also by Annabeth Albert:
Shore Leave
Book 1: Sailor Proof
Book 2: Sink or Swim
Hotshots
Book 1: Burn Zone
Book 2: High Heat
Book 3: Feel the Fire
Book 4: Up in Smoke
more
This is the first book of Albert’s that I have read and it did not disapoint. I really loved this book and the relationship between these two. There was so much emotion and tension between them that it just pulled at the heartstrings.
Overall wonderful book and I will be reading more of this series in the future.
This is by far my favorite Annabeth Albert book. I connected with Dustin on such a deep level that it compelled me to message Annabeth and through that we have built an awesome friendship.
The book centers around Dustin, a Navy Seal who is exploring his bisexuality and kink, and Wes, a Southern boy who is not happy about his transfer to the west coast. A one night stand turns into so much more but their journey is fraught with trouble. Fraternization rules and family pressures put stress on their budding love and you will worry that maybe things won’t work out in the end. It does have a HEA and is so worth the read.
The characters were easy to like and care about. Wes’ care for his family was very sweet. And Dustin’s awkwardness was endearing for a big tough SEAL.
And I really liked how Ms. Albert approached s*x with them. They have a dominate/submissive relationship that was the opposite of their outward appearance. I like when authors use s*x to explore a characters personality.
I’m not dying to read the other books in this series, but I’m sure I’ll read them at some point.
This pains me to write this. But… I’m on the fence with this one.
I have to say i’m 50/50 with this book.
With all the internal thinking going on with both characters. And all the angst going on in this book. It just had a totally different feel than the other books in this series. And I have to be honest here. It took me awhile to warm up to Dustin.
I really liked Wes character. He loved his family and he really went all out with Dustin. He knew what he needed and he never pushed Dustin to far. He knew he needed to go slow with him. And I really liked that about him.
Dustin… I hated how wishy washy he was with Wes.
I get the whole fraternization between these two characters was a big part of this story. But… I just hated how Dustin always felt guilty and pushed away Wes. And the whole Dom/sub thing. I guess I just had to be in the mood for it. Because it was ok. But not really what I wanted to read. It just all felt too choreographed the sex scenes. Like it had to be tied to a fantasy. Instead of just happening naturally. In my opinion there was only 2 scene that I felt they came together naturally. I’m not saying the other times they were together weren’t hot. It just felt too scripted.
Overall I thought this book was ok. It wasn’t my favorite of the series but it was still an ok read.
I really loved how we get a little more in this book with Dylan and Apollo!
*ARC provided by HARLEQUIN – Carina Press via Netgalley*
Likable characters, well written story. I’ve read several books by this author, now, and liked them all.
I tend to like characters, and these two had from the first chapter. There romance was a struggle and a bit frightening… I sort of thought the ending was logical, though it did twist a bit away from my thinking… Not having served in the military, I wasn’t aware of this issue until I read this book.
Such a well written book. Love the characters. Great connection and plot. Fast pace. Quick read. First read will definitely read the others in the series
See this is why I love Annabeth Albert. Fourth book into the series and she just keeps getting better. The emotional ride Dustin and Wes have us on is a prime example of why I’m an avid reader. Plus it doesn’t hurt with the whole Navy Seal thing either.
Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2018/12/06/wheels-up-annabeth-albert/
I have never struggled so much in my life to give a mark to a book. I usually know the number of points it gets as soon as I finish them. This time it took me a while. I like the book, no doubt about that. It’s just… I don’t know. The other books of this saga felt more substantial.
This time we meet Dustin, Dylan’s brother, who is a closeted bisexual army guy having a rough time dealing with himself. And on the other hand we have Wes, a gay SEAL who doesn’t like being the focus of attention… so he hides himself from the world. They met using an app with the self-explanatory name of Joe4Joe and their love relationship starts to blossom. Too bad Wes ends in Dustin’s team and military regulations frown upon that kind of things…
The main trait of the Out of Uniform books is the well written and well handle drama. In this case the main characters have to deal with the crazy army regulations against fraternization. I could understand that a love interest in the same team could mean a distraction, so they have to avoid them. But in this case we are told the XO can’t even show friendship of any kind to any of the people below him. I’m an ignorant without any family or friend even closed to the military lifestyle, but that seems a bit too much. Such cold environment in the line of command would drive me crazy! I wonder how so many people can take that path in life with so many human restrictions. It doesn’t feel natural, but that’s not the point of the review.
What I wanted to say before starting babbling is that Dustin and Wes had enough drama with the military. There was no need of adding the sexual identity drama to the mix. Any other time with any other set of characters I would have welcomed it, but in this case… it’s a nonsense. Dustin’s family and firends are very tolerant, so I don’t know where the fear to reveal himself comes from. Almost all of his friends are gay!! If you can be open with them… no one can. So yeah, I couldn’t believe Dustin’s turmoil in that aspect (which he recognizes at then end…). A little more believable is Wes’ closet situation. Even though he could totally be opened with his friends, he is just some kind of emotional masochist.
And talking about Wes and emotions… His sister part of the plot almost killed me. I felt it pretty deeply, even though there are barely five pages total about it. I would have loved something else about Sam and a lot less sex scenes. That story thread isn’t properly finished and that pissed me off a little bit.
I have a love-hate relationship with the sex scenes in this book. The first ones are really good. Plenty of eroticism to feed anyone’s fantasies for a long time. But soon they feel a bit too much. Most of the book is a loop of Dustin and Wes meeting when they shouldn’t, having sex and regretting it the day after. Over and over again. The book gets stuck so badly that I got fed up of its adult parts pretty quickly. Annabeth was so much better balancing the plot and the sex in the previous books…
I liked the book, yes; but I have more issues with it than with the other ones I have read of this saga. I still love the authr’s style and the lovely characters she creates, so I will keep reading more of the Out of Uniform saga!
Wheels Up is the fourth book in the Out of Uniform series, and spend some time with Dustin, Dylan’s big brother.
Dustin is bisexual, but his family doesn’t know. Just as he is about to come out to his family, Dylan beats him to the punchline. Dustin then gets a whole heap of family pressure dumped on his shoulders. His dad wants grand-kids, after all! Plus being a SEAL hasn’t always been the best situation to be in if you’re gay or bi, so Dustin has stayed firmly in the closet. He has his ‘special’ time with an online friend though, and that is more than enough for him… or maybe not.
Now, I’m not American, and I’m not in the Forces, nor do I know of anyone who is, so the whole fraternisation rules are new to me. That being said, wow! After seeing how distracted Dustin became, I can sort of understand the no relationship part, but to have that enforced to such a degree you can’t even be friends??? And I didn’t get the enlisted part of it – sorry! However, that didn’t stop my enjoyment of this story one iota.
I think my heart broke so many times reading this one. The need to be with each other, the wanting to show people, the absolute necessity of keeping it quiet. Dustin and Wes put paid to so many preconceptions – why is it always the big guy who is the bossy top? Big guys need cuddles too! And to be fair, I can see them needing someone else to take charge of them, after being in charge of others for so much of the time.
So much steam, so much heartbreak, so much worry, and so much hope. You get a HFN, which I just hope will be enough. Can’t wait to read more and find out. There were no editing or grammatical errors that interrupted my reading flow, and I was thoroughly engrossed from start to finish. Absolutely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books!
I LOVE this series and this book is one of my favorites.
Wes! He was my favorite, that’s not to say that I didn’t like Dustin, but Wes! Anybody else want to be blindfolded, bent over the back of a couch with your hands tied? Wes is my type of guy and I loved it when he pushed Dustin’s doubts and insecurities to the side and just made him feel! I didn’t want this book to end. But it did, so now I wait for what is next.
One of the better
flimsy & predictable
This is my favorite Annabeth Albert book so far, I really liked the dynamic between Dustin and Wes.
Despite being the XO and higher ranking Seal, Dustin is a submissive. He feels like his relationships with women haven’t been what he’s looking for because most women expect a Seal to be more Toppy. Wes and Dustin meet on an online chat group and hit it off, but things go sideways when Wes shows up on Dustin’s team as their new munitions specialist.
Dustin and Wes are great guys – the obstacles in front of them don’t keep them apart even though it’s always “the last time”. For a while there it doesn’t look like a happy ending will be theirs – but maybe love will conquer all.
I have been really enjoying this series, each of the books either getting four or five stars from me but I must say that this story of Dustin and Wes has to be my favorite. I absolutely loved this book. Dustin and Wes met online through the Joe4Joe app and began a sexting, video chatting from the neck down while getting busy, etc. but they have never met in person and that was because they were on opposite coasts, Wes on the East Coast (North Carolina) and Dustin on the West Coast (California) that was until Dustin had to fly to Washington, D.C. for a dinner so he and Wes decided to meet and see where things took them.
I was wondering how Annabeth would get things to work out between the two but I shouldn’t have because where there’s a will there’s a way! There were a couple of parts that had me holding my breath worried on how things were going to turn out, and I must admit there were tears shed during a few parts as well. There were some cameo appearances from past couples but the most prominent past couple was Apollo and Dylan (Dustin’s younger brother) whom were married during the course of this book, I am looking forward to reading “I Do” to get the full story of the wedding because we only get a little glimpse of it here.
Things aren’t easy for Dustin and Wes and there is a lot of sneaking around and I will admit that it made there relationship even hotter for me, it added another layer to their story. As I mentioned before Wes and Dustin are definitely my favorite couple of the series to date, but only time will tell if they continue to hold that coveted spot.
**I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Readers Copy of this book**
Amazing