I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Shock & Awe
by
Abigail Roux
It is part of the Sidewinder #1, Cut & Run #7.5 series and is a erotica, romantic suspense in eBook edition that was published by Riptide Publishing on September 30, 2013 and has 106 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Cut & Run, Sticks & Stones, Fish & Chips, Divide & Conquer, Armed & Dangerous, Stars & Stripes, Touch & Geaux, Ball & Chain, Cross & Crown, "Bait & Switch", Crash & Burn, Part & Parcel, "Brick & Mortar Books", "Dine & Dash", "High & Tight", "Shake and Bake", Past & Presents, "Shake and Bake"
First in the Sidewinder romantic suspense series revolving around Nick and Kelly, about to be the next gay couple in this Force Recon team. This new series is a spin-off from Roux’s Cut & Run series with Shock and Awe taking place immediately after Touch & Geaux, 7.
Be warned, it’s all about the relationship building and the sex.
My Take
So where did the sound and smell of bacon come from?
One of the things I love about Roux’s Cut & Run series is how she trashes the gay stereotype of homosexuals being wishy-washy fags. Instead, she shows us that gay men (and women by association, lol!) can be anyone, and can be as manly as society expects a man to be. Or in the case of these hunky boys from the Sidewinder Force Recon team, a very successful special ops team — and that stereotype certainly has me thinking, hubba-hubba!
It looks as if Roux’s Sidewinder series, as we start with Nick and Kelly, is following that same path as a spin-off series from Cut & Run.
Roux’s sense of humor has me going as well! I do love the snarky comments men make to each other — it definitely appeals to my own sense of fun.
It’s an interesting dynamic between Kelly and Nick. They’ve been teammates, friends, for years in some really nasty situations. They know everything about each other and have experienced all the highs and lows any person encounters, and it makes for a totally different “first date”, as the straight Kelly makes those tentative first steps in dragging Nick into his bed, all his curiosity aroused as to how it feels.
In “Shock & Awe”, it’s a short introduction to how Nick and Kelly’s relationship begins and relieves (me, anyway) of any lingering guilt over Nick’s feelings for Ty.
Roux did a nice set-up on Kelly’s character: a man who knows no bounds, whether it’s base-jumping into the Grand Canyon or volcano surfing, lol.
“‘Just stop talking, Beaumont,’ Nick grunted. ‘You’re like the Bermuda Triangle of morals.'”
It ends with that recall to duty for most of the Sidewinder team, and the emotions the parting triggers.
The Story
After barely surviving a shootout in New Orleans, Sidewinder medic Kelly Abbott has to suffer through a month of recovery before he can return home to Colorado. He’s not surprised when fellow Sidewinder Nick O’Flaherty stays with him in New Orleans.
Nor is he surprised when Nick travels home with him to help him get back on his feet — after all, years on the same Marine Force Recon team bonded the men in ways that only bleeding for a brother can. He’s very surprised, though, when Nick humors his moment of curiosity and kisses him.
The Characters
Kelly “Doc” Abbot is part of the Sidewinder team, but was gravely injured in Touch & Geaux. Staff Sergeant Nick “Irish” O’Flaherty, another member of the Force Recon team and currently a cop with the Boston PD, is at his Colorado cabin helping him to recover.
Other members of Sidewinder include…
…Captain Ty Beaumont Grady (he’s with Zane Garrett, a fellow FBI agent) is FBI; Digger lives in the bayou when he’s not called to duty; and, Owen Johns.
Aidan is a fireman in Boston whom Nick has been trying to date.
The Cover and Title
It’s an odd cover — only because it’s so different from Cut & Run — with its distressed grass green background and the white four leaf clover that’s disintegrating in the center. I’m not sure if it’s a reference to the team coming apart or what. The author’s name, title, and series information are also in white
The title cracks me up. I suspect it’s the “Shock & Awe” of what Nick was never expecting.
