Solid 4/4.5 for the story, 4.5/5 for the narration

I really like that the stories in this series all take an in-depth look at the various problems that can face those in long-term military service and that (so far) no two stories have been the same. In this one, we've got a forbidden romance between an older, career enlisted Master at Arms (a Senior Chief), and a younger Lieutenant - when officer/enlisted "fraternisation" is strictly against the rules.

The two leads first meet when Will Curtis and some of his MAs are called to a domestic dispute; he arrives to find a heated situation between a husband, wife and another man, and fortunately is able to de-escalate the situation before it becomes more serious. Lt. Brent Jameson is the other man in the situation; he met the woman on a hook-up app and had no idea she was married - which he admits later was pretty dumb of him. Will gets him home and that's that - except that he can't stop thinking about the younger man, even though he's obviously straight.

Around a year earlier, Will got out of a long-term relationship with a guy who cheated on him, and he hasn't been interested in anyone since; deciding to get out of his funk (and to try to divert his thoughts from Brent Jameson), he goes out to the nearest thing Anchor Point has to a gay bar looking to hook-up... and who should he see there but the object of more than a few of his recent night-time fantasies.

Brent (who is bi) hadn't been able to get Will out of his head either and he’s just as surprised to see the supposedly straight MA at a gay bar as vice-versa. They both know it’s incredibly stupid, but the intense attraction between them is undeniable and leads to an equally intense f**k in the bathroom. They then head back to Brent’s place to do it all over again… and realising that sex like that doesn’t come along very often, they decide to risk seeing each other again.

L.A. Witt writes sex scenes incredibly well – and there are a lot of them here, which serve to show just how sexually compatible (and combustible!) Will and Brent are, and why they keep coming back for more despite the very real risk they’re running. But she also does a great job showing the development of an actual relationship between them and their growing feelings for one another outside the bedroom. Of course, they’re not going to be able to continue to sneak around for ever and are bound to get caught; they both know this and think they really should stop seeing each other before they get in too deep. The trouble is they only see that line in the sand once it’s way back in the rear-view mirror.

The dilemmas that face Brent and Will are very real and the consequences they could incur if caught are potentially career-ending. Will is career military and having served nineteen years, plans to stay in until the thirty year mark; Brent on the other hand was brought up living and breathing the Navy – his father served and so does his older brother – and was never really allowed to explore any other options for his future. Nine years in, he’s not feeling it and tells himself that’s due to the fact that he’s still at the bottom of the ladder, and that things will get better as he starts to climb through the ranks. But the longer he’s involved with Will, the more he starts to question that belief; and only when he finally realises what it feels like to actually want something for himself is he finally able to distinguish between what he wants and what others want for him; and I loved the way he handled the situation in every respect.

I’ve been dipping in and out of this series – I’ve listened to books 1-5 so far and plan to finish it – but Rank and File is possibly my favourite of the series so far. Nick J. Russo does a great job with the narration; he always provides clear, distinct voices for the main characters, and differentiates well between the secondary characters, providing believable female voices when needed. He’s extremely good in the sex-scenes as well; he doesn’t hold back but neither does he go stupidly over the top, which is important in a book like this where there’s such a lot of it!

A solid 4/4.5 stars for the story, and 4.5/5 for the narration.

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1 person found this helpful

Awesome! Defo recommend

Great story. Great characters! Amazing narrator plenty of blushing moments and happy squeals!!
Highly recommend

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Superb book.

loved it from start to finish. You will enjoy listening more than once. Definitely worth the money.

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horribly tedious

It was a struggle to finish. Both characters were interchangeable and very shallow. I did not understand the attraction, motivation and reasoning of both characters, because the author forgot to mention those. It just went on and on with lots of boring sex and bland discussions about dumb subjects like a hot wing contest or cherry blossom.

I understood, because of the genre, the protagonists had to choose between love, career and family. The text did not mention this, it was just expected of me to come up with my own angst and tension. And when both protagonists have nothing good to say about military or relatives, I get really confused about what the problem is and why I should care.

The narrator is one if the best but had nothing to work with. The text did not tell him about sounds, personalities, expressions, hesitations, laughter or anything.

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