At Attention by Annabeth Albert
Series: Out Of Uniform, #2
Contemporary Romance LBGT/MM
April 10, 2017
Carina Press

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “You make everything else make sense.”

Lt. Apollo Floro is a 31 year old Navy Seal and widower who is raising his twin daughters alone after his husband passed away two year ago. Wearing his grief like a shroud, Apollo has buried himself in his work and his family, stuck in a place between love and anger that he isn’t ready to move on from yet.

When Apollo’s mother and primary babysitter arranges to take a cruise with friends for the summer, Apollo’s best friend Dustin offers him a temporary solution. His younger brother Dylan is available and in town. Apollo knows Dylan used to have a crush on him and is prepared to set some firm rules in place to handle that but is totally unprepared for his reaction to the the gorgeous sexy man Dylan has grown into.

Model cute-curly hair falling just so over his forehead, sparkling eyes, chiseled jaw, and a tight T-shirt advertising a British soccer team showing off a defined chest and stomach.

Apollo reluctantly agrees to Dylan staying with him and watching the girls while he works. The more time Apollo spends time with Dylan, the more he realizes Dylan is no longer the gangly, awkward teenager who followed him around. This is a grown man with experience and desires. Desires that both intrigue and torment Apollo. A relationship begins to gradually form as Apollo struggles with his growing feelings for Dylan and his guilt over those feelings.

They were walking a knife edge between casual friendship and…something else, something Apollo refused to name.

The second book in Annabeth Albert’s LGBT military romance contemporary series uses multiple tropes to build it’s story. Death of a spouse, single parenthood, second chance romance, best friend’s younger sibling, and a substantial age gap all add up to some heavy weight on this budding potential relationship. Albert does an amazing job verbalizing the anger, confusion, pain, and guilt that Apollo is still experiencing in the wake of his husband’s death. There is no time limit when it comes to grieving and moving on and Albert stresses this throughout the story.

What all the Bridgets of the world wanted to hear was that Apollo was moving on-like time was a magic cure for the hold in his heart.

The romance moves extremely slow with healthy amounts of angst and sexual tension against a background of deliciously explicit love scenes. Emotionally plump with generous servings of heart and heat, these two intelligent, strong, and loving men seem to be at differents point in their lives though they connect in all the right ways.

I want to watch you come.” Apollo turned them so that Dylan was sitting facing the mirrored closet doors. “Fuck, you are hot. Want to fuck you like this, you riding me. Want to watch you fly.

The differences between Apollo and Dylan are like night and day and only add to the overall anticipation of the final outcome. Apollo’s issues are legend and he is not only affected by the obvious, he also has issues concerning his and Dylan’s age and what their friends and family will think. Unfortunately, Apollo takes a little too long to come to understand that finding love again isn’t being disrespectful to Neal’s memory and Dylan gets tired of waiting. Dylan decides he isn’t going to be anyone’s dirty little secret or friend with benefits. He has more respect for himself and Apollo and leaves. Now Apollo has to convince Dylan to give him one more chance.

How would it feel to lose him?

Like this.

Because you are losing him. One way or another, he’s gone. Only difference is whether he’s yours in the in-between time.

Annabeth Albert’s At Attention is a loving, humorous bittersweet, and erotic tribute to second chances at love and well worth your attention. I am looking forward to reading more from Albert and her sexy Navy Seals.

Grade: B

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