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Her Majesty's Men

(Her Majesty's Men #1)

Marquesate (Goodreads Author)

3.76 · Rating details · 434 ratings · 51 reviews

Her Majesty's Men is the story of two soldiers in the British Forces and of a friendship taking unexpected turns. In the eyes of the Army they are just two mates who are close. But from the revelation of personal secrets, ensuing hatred and aggression, through terror and danger, to loyalty, triumphant strength and courage, grows their own realisation of what they are: comr ...more

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Paperback, 144 pages

Published November 26th 2008 by Camouflage Press (first published November 1st 2008)

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· 434 ratings · 51 reviews

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Apr 07, 2017 Nancy rated it really liked it

Shelves: e-books, outlaw-reviews, kindle-borrowed, lgbt, erotic-romance, shelf-inflicted

Cross-posted at Shelf Inflicted and at Outlaw Reviews

This is the story of two British solders, Alex Turner and Tom Warren, who are comrades, best friends, and eventually, lovers. Though Tom is discreet about his sexuality, he trusts his friend enough to come out to him. Unfortunately, Alex reacts harshly, putting a temporary strain on their friendship. Alex's behavior sucked, Tom’s crush on Alex bordered on obsessive, and the short sentences and terse dialogue didn't appeal. The Britishisms I e ...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Emanuela ~plastic duck~ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: glbt, rainbow-gay, action-crime-suspense

The first part is 5* for the tension and 4* for the writing, the second part is the opposite, 5* for writing and 4* for tension, so it's overall a 4.5*.

The blurb explains the story very well, so I won't re-tell it, but basically Tom is gay and in lust/love of his best friend Alex; Alex is straight, but the torture he survived during a mission left him with physical and psychological scars. And if you're wondering: no, there's no magic-cock healing.

In the first part we read from Tom's point-of-vi ...more

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Sep 07, 2014 Sofia rated it really liked it

Very intense writing.

Whilst reading this I was curious, curious about how Marquesate was going to make this work and she did. She made it work.

The book is told from two point of views, the first part from Tom’s and the second part from Alex’s. This was a good tactic as it gave me a good grasp of both the characters. During the first part I got worried about Tom and how seemingly hopeless his case was. Alex’s development started from the beginning with his anger, hopelessness, to seeing hope, to ...more

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Jun 23, 2009 Lily rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: what-i-read-in-2009, m-m, loved-it, ebook, military

This wonderfully gripping intense book is the story of Sgt Tom Warren and SSgt Alex Turner, both Royal Engineers in the British Forces. They've been best mates for three years but lately Tom has been having a tough time hiding his deeper feelings about Alex.

Tom and Alex are both tough military Alpha men with hard demanding jobs. This is not a typical M/M romance book. It's so much more than that. It's an action-packed, oftentimes violent and brutal story with two protags that are seemingly perfe ...more

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Feb 02, 2013 JR rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, romance, life

I loved this. It totally enveloped me from the first words. It has all the intensity of Special Forces in shorter form. I really cared for Tom and Alex. I love the way their relationship develops, with Tom already head over heels for Alex. Alex totally unaware. Tom is so intense about his desires, so afraid to reveal them. His turmoil is palatable. When they finally come together, it is not before a very hurtful scene in which Alex reveals his bigotry.
Later on Alex rescues Tom and his sole pur ...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Trisha Harrington rated it really liked it

Shelves: loved, military, friends-to-lovers

This was a nice read and I loved the way the relationship developed. It was sweet to see the way Alex who was straight reacted to falling in love with another man. I have always believed in love the person not the gender. That phrase is important here, I have never really believed you are truly straight or truly gay. We all can fall in love, its the person people fall in love with, not the gender. I love military men and this was no exception. :)

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Nov 21, 2011 Simsala rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: The black coffee crowd...

Shelves: soldiers-military, cold-shower-ice-fan-pronto, blood-sweat-and-tears, violence, m-m, series

4,5 stars

Violence as aphrodisiac -
rough,raw,engrossing and unputdownable...

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Apr 01, 2016 Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: military-m-m

Wow, just wow. This really impressed me, although I started reading it wondering *what* I was actually reading here. It didn't feel like a military romance at all...

The first half of the story is told from Sgt. Tom Warren's POV.

He's a gay soldier with the British Royal Marines - deeply in the closet, of course, but accepting of who he is and how he feels.

While being a sexually active, no-strings attached man in gay clubs on weekends, he's deeply infatuated with his handsome straight best frie ...more

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Jun 25, 2015 HereAndNow rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-will-reread-forever

The most convincing "GFO" story I've ever read. Hands down.

I LOVED IT ! So much !

The only “downside”: it was hardly enough ! I want(ed) so much more of Tom and Alex, one of the two most amazing characters I’ve ever read about. I wish this book had 1,000 pages instead of just a little bit over 100.

But anyway, this book gets 5+++ stars from me because the writing is perfect and it’s stunning, intense, gut wrenching, beautiful, passionate, sexy, nail biting (!), hear wrenching, and so freaking ero ...more

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Oct 12, 2016 Alona rated it really liked it

Shelves: angst, m-m, gay-for-you, i-love-the-uk, friends-to-lovers, can-be-a-stand-alone, military

3.5 stars

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Feb 20, 2013 Major English (Laura) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, sex, should-re-read, gfy, best-friends-to-lovers

4.5 Stars

I usually dont gravitate towards military books, but I am glad I read this one.

This is the story of Tom and Alex, two British soldiers in the army. These men are best friends and Tom has always been attracted to Alex, but never acted on his feelings as Tom was always happy with Alex as a friend.

This story is an interesting way of doing "gay for you" and I liked it. I won't give anything away, but it does fit the "gay for you" genre.

This story really has it all: lust, friendship and a 4.5 Stars

I usually dont gravitate towards military books, but I am glad I read this one.

This is the story of Tom and Alex, two British soldiers in the army. These men are best friends and Tom has always been attracted to Alex, but never acted on his feelings as Tom was always happy with Alex as a friend.

This story is an interesting way of doing "gay for you" and I liked it. I won't give anything away, but it does fit the "gay for you" genre.

This story really has it all: lust, friendship and a lot of action scenes (some in the bedroom) but what I am referring to is the action of war. Since these two men are in the army, a good portion of the book is about these two men fighting in the jungle and what happens to them there. During this part of the book violent things happen. I do not think these scenes were over the top, and as someone who does not normally like reading about war, I did like this.

I've read other reviews of this book and have found that those reviews mention "rough sex." I am usually turned off by reading about "rough sex" when one person dominates the other person and is extremely savage and rough. That is not the type of "rough sex" in this book. Rather, these men are both alphas and they are aggresive with each other in the sense that they knock into tables and bite at each other. This isn't rough sex in the form of rough penetration, as that does not happen.

Why I am giving this story 4.5 stars instead of 5 stars is because towards the end of the book, I feel like the story kind of got away from Alex and Tom when Alex's ex-wife and Tom's sister were introduced as characters. I understand why they were introduced, but I wish that after these characters were introduced that the story went back to Tom and Alex for a good long while.

So I liked this read. It is definitely not a typical m/m romance. It deals with torture and warfare. But it also deals with true friendship and comradeship as well as having lustful moments as well.

I sincerely hope there is a novel length sequel to this. (It is indicated on the author's website that she wanted to write one in 2012.) Currently there is a short story called Beyond Her Majesty's Men which is good but too darn short. I also feel like the short story undoes some of the progress that Alex and Tom had made in their physical relationship.

I really like Tom and Alex and would LOVE to read more about their ongoing relationship!

...more

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Oct 19, 2009 ElaineY rated it liked it

Shelves: military-themes, mm

I saw 'Special Forces' footprints all over this story. Now, I LOVED SF (even if I didn't care for the orgiastic Mercenaries section) but HMM felt a little too similar down to the abruptness of the writing, the staccato feel of some sentences and the scenes.

I liked Alex and Tom but didn't care for the initial sex scenes as it felt too much like Dan and Vadim cut out of SF and pasted here in HMM. Despite the repetitive feel of the story, I could buy into Tom's and Alex's romance as the characters ...more

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Apr 02, 2014 Ana_P rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: hot-hot-hot, enjoyed-it-a-lot, m-m, scarred-mc, recommended-from-me-to-you, hurt-comfort, restricted-freedom, uniforms

So, this was basically my reaction throughout the entire book:
description

This book was just intense, intense, intense from the beginning, and it never let up. Now I am not saying this is a bad thing; this book had me gripping the edge of my seat the whole way through.

description

I just could not put it down since the first page.

I think part of what made it such an emotional and engaging read was the phenomenal writing:

Thoughts too horrific to think; images flashing, unbidden, unwanted. Tom waited, terrified of e

...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Alina rated it it was amazing

I'm a sucker for military stories and this one was really good! The characters felt real and very sympathetic, and their getting together story was really unusual and engrossing. Sex, violence and love and death situations - it was all done very good. Really liked this book!

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Apr 29, 2017 ~ Lei ~ Reading Is An Adventure ~ rated it liked it

Shelves: a-ebook, a-series, char-bisexual-fluid, genre-contemporary, char-friend-to-lover, char-survivor, sexcontent-frottage, d-3-5-stars, sexcontent-anal-play-sex, char-military

★★★☆☆½ ~ 3.5 Stars
Good story in the style of Special Forces, Tom, closeted gay man, and best friend, straight Alex, serve together and are best of friends. However, Tom has another secret, he's obsessed with Alex. When he finally confesses that he is gay to Alex, it changes the direction of their relationship in many ways.

When they are captured during a mission, everything changes and becomes even more real. Not big on 'gay-for-you' stories but this was written well and spanned a period of time ...more

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Aug 15, 2009 Kassa rated it really liked it

This is a unique and different book about two men who are soldiers to their very core, friends and comrades second, and eventually lovers third. While these would seem to cause problems not only inherently within the military but the order of priorities between the men, surprisingly for the span of the book, it works. Whether it would always work between these two is questionable given their very different personalities and needs, but for the entirely of this story, their romance within the brut This is a unique and different book about two men who are soldiers to their very core, friends and comrades second, and eventually lovers third. While these would seem to cause problems not only inherently within the military but the order of priorities between the men, surprisingly for the span of the book, it works. Whether it would always work between these two is questionable given their very different personalities and needs, but for the entirely of this story, their romance within the brutal atmosphere seems solid and realistic. While this book was not without its flaws, I felt as though the author knew the problems with the characters and decided to leave them as they were, letting the readers decide if they accepted the flaws or not. I could be wrong, but that was the impression I got.

As the blurb suggests this story is about two best friends and their friendship defined by sex, love, torture, selfishness, obsession, and the military over the course of several years. This device of slowly changing their friendship and relationship over the course of years is very clever and works well in this particular instance. Although the passage of time is hardly noticeable other than comments by the narrator that whatever amount of time had passed, this created a long-standing pattern to their behavior while advancing Alex’s slow and difficult recovery. It’s along these lines that the reader can understand that Tom will never leave Alex, ever, and actually accepts the pseudo-relationship they’ve developed without anger or regret.

Tom is an interesting character and the narrator for the first part of the book. It’s his third person perspective that describes their friendship and sets up the foundation for their relationship, which is Tom’s devotion and adoration along with his acceptance of whatever meager affection Alex offers. Tom is almost unsympathetic in his undying need and desire for Alex, his one track mind almost simple and animal like with the initial repetition of wanting, needing Alex. Once they’ve gotten together, Tom still accepts Alex whenever and however he can get the other man, relying on their almost violent coupling and cherishing the time they are together. Surprisingly Tom is never upset, never angry, never wanting more than Alex is willing to give and accepts that while Tom wants Alex, the reverse isn’t true. Alex wants the release he gets with Tom, but he doesn’t want Tom sexually. This leads to a very unbalanced relationship and characterization for the majority of the book, only giving hints of turning at the very end.

Alex is undoubtedly selfish and in love with himself and the military first and foremost. He’s unquestionably straight but after his torture while being held captive and subsequent PTSD, he’s unable to function sexually. Surprisingly Tom seems to find the key to both Alex’s mental and physical needs and is able to tap into those needs to arouse Alex in ways no one has been able to in the past. Alex cruelly uses Tom’s desire for him to slowly heal the mental and physical wounds he’s had inflicted, and it’s only when faced with the possibility of Tom’s death that his own emotions are examined. At this point the book flawlessly transfers to Alex’s point of view for the narration and exposes a relentless will and struggle for survival, putting Tom’s life and worth above all else. It’s only during this experience and subsequent recovery that Alex realizes the extent to his feelings and while his confusion over his own sexuality remains, the important point is his need for Tom in all ways. The friendship and companionship within the military continue being just as essential as the sexual aspect.

The additional character of Alex’s ex-wife was a surprising element towards the end and very much a clue to any readers who might have missed the subtle underpinnings as well as giving Alex an objective viewpoint of his own sexuality and needs. While the ending was a rather nice tie up, the ex-wife did come off as slightly annoying when comforting herself even as her inner commentary gave more insight into Alex. But no doubt that slight annoyance is reader specific. She was however an intelligent and well-written addition to the story that rarely shifted focus from Alex and Tom for long.

Overall this was an interesting story to read and the writing was very different from most available stories. The prose and phrase choice was almost as if the author is not familiar with Americanized English, which worked extremely well considering the English setting. I’d guess the author is not American, but that’s just a guess. The writing style and flow will appeal to some and not others but also the high level of violence in the book may turn some readers off. Alex and Tom’s sexual coupling is often violent for the majority of the book and the second half deals with military problems such as capture and torture. This however, is not prolonged thankfully but is there for those that may have a problem with that. The unbalanced relationship and polarizing personalities of selfish Alex and weak Tom are interesting choices that seem to have worked for the author and created a story that stands out for sure. I’ll be very interested to see what the author does next as the themes and style used here, may not be successful in the long run. You decide. ...more

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May 18, 2009 Elisa Rolle added it

Look at that cover: no naked chests, no passionate embraces, no kissing with glorious flags on the background... an old boot and a piece of camouflage cloth. What can you understand from that cover? that this is an hard book without romance? That you will find sex but not love? That the two main characters are all manly and without feelings? yes and no, yes and no, yes and no...

Sergeant Alex Turner is a scarred man, not only in body but also deep in his soul. He trusted a person, a woman, his wi Look at that cover: no naked chests, no passionate embraces, no kissing with glorious flags on the background... an old boot and a piece of camouflage cloth. What can you understand from that cover? that this is an hard book without romance? That you will find sex but not love? That the two main characters are all manly and without feelings? yes and no, yes and no, yes and no...

Sergeant Alex Turner is a scarred man, not only in body but also deep in his soul. He trusted a person, a woman, his wife and he was frustrated. Coming home from a mission that almost cost him his life, he didn't find a warm embrace and a comforting body, he found the cold refusal of a woman that couldn't see past his marked body. And Alex turned for the embrace toward the Army, a family that never disappointed him, even if he didn't expected to find also the comforting body. Even if he doens't show it, Alex has mental scars that run deeply than the visual ones: he probably thinks to have failed, that he didn't deserve to be still alive, that he now doesn't deserve to have a normal life and to feel pleasure again. These are the barriers he has in his mind, but also his body has some idea for his own: wounded in what are the most intimate and fragile parts of a man, he can't react to a gentle touch, since it's too light for the shield he built around himself, the reaction can only be forced, through a strong and authoritative touch.

Sergeant Tom Warren is Alex's buddy friend, the man with whom he spends all his free time, the one that probably helped him to fill a void. But Tom can't hide no more: he doesn't want Alex as a friend, he wants the man in every way he can. Tom enlisted when he was 16 years old, when he wasn't meat or fish, when he wasn't a man. Growing up, Tom realized that he preferred men, and in way or another he always fulfilled his desires. But now his mind, and body, wants Alex, and Alex's is not available... or so he thinks. When a fist fight with his friend over the discovery that Tom is gay, ends in a burst of unexpected sex, Tom and Alex have to find a way to go on.

Alex accepts Tom's attentions like an unavoidable thing, like something he searches only when he can no more deny his body, a body that has decided to respond only to Tom's. Tom accepts Alex's unwilling surrender like the only way to be with the man he desperately wants. Is it love? maybe. Tom interprets his feelings as lust over Alex's body, better over Alex's scarred body: the scars for Tom are like symbols of Alex's strenght, the testimony that he survived; he almost feels guilty to be so aroused by something that witnesses Alex's pain. In a way Alex, who unlike Tom's never admits to be gay, is more sincere, since he instead admit that it's not Tom's body that turns him on, it's Tom, apart from the fact that he is a man, or gay, or whatsoever.

There is only one thing that I don't like of the book: that it's too short (142 pages in print version)! While reading faster than I can to see what it happened next, I was also thinking, or damn, I'm at mid book, it's almost finished! and I would liked for it to have still more to read. And I forgot to mention that obviously, the military part of the story is convincing and heroic, all male and proud and adventures filled... but well, I'm a romantic at heart and so I was led astray from the romance!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0955988004/?... ...more

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Jul 18, 2009 Mountie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m, contemporary, military, m-m-favourites, comfort-re-reads

Tom and Alex's story is riveting from the opening shower scene to the final page. It is a voyage of disovery, both for Alex and for Tom. A story of conflict and resolution, of understanding and acceptance, of freindship, heroics and love.

On the outside they look like regular squaddies, from the inside they are complex men. Between Tom examining his conflict caused by his attraction and love for his best friend and Alex's internal scars we get to know these two souls, what drives them and how the ...more

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Apr 28, 2011 Boyboygirllove rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-m-books, military, bffs-who-boink

Tom and Alex kept me entertained from the opening shower scene until the end. Was I always happy with them…no! I wanted to slap Alex for his initial reaction to Tom when he first comes out to him. They are supposed to be best buds…right? A little perspective before verbally flogging your BFF would have been nice. I know…I get it, they’re complex men with their lives on the line every day. I’d probably be a little high-strung and trigger-happy myself. But after a little introspection what happens ...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Brittany rated it it was ok

Shelves: m-m

*sigh* Until the very end, Alex held all the power.

To be frank, I don't think Alex and Tom could make it long term. If Alex could find someone he was attracted to do what Tom does to him, he would probably leave. Alex said himself he wasn't physically attracted to Tom. What would stop him for leaving? Guilt? Loyalty? That's not love and it's not fair to either of them. I know Tom's body craves Alex, but I can't help but wonder what would happen once the lust wore off? How could anybody be satis ...more

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Oct 24, 2010 Jerry rated it really liked it

Shelves: uniform, military

Loved Tom and Alex. Not too much of a plot. Lots of fumbling aggressive sex between them to start, with Alex not wanting to believe he can have sex with a man. To a life and death crisis that causes Alex to think, but it takes his ex wife to make him realize that he has a chance that he could actually have a real love in his life. Story ended too abruptly and needs to be continued.

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Dec 26, 2013 Nadine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mm-erotica, military, friends-to-lovers

Marquesate is a goddess. Can t get much better in the military gay genre. What a powerful writing!
Just downloaded the sequel...like I said, ADDICTIVE!!

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Apr 05, 2012 OkayKim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I love rereading a favorite.

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Oct 19, 2017 Yue rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, friends-to-lovers, a-2stars, author-female, bl-mm-romance, bdsm

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am disappointed because I don't feel like this was a romance. There was love, but the friendly type. Tom is obsessed for Alex, and Alex cares for him but as a relief friend. There were several things I didn't like:

1) Alex and Tom are best buds. When Alex insists to know why Tom has never had a gf during the 3 years they have been friends, assuring him that he will be understandable, and Tom admits he is gay, Alex loses his mind and calls him hideous names. What an ass.

2) One night they fight a I am disappointed because I don't feel like this was a romance. There was love, but the friendly type. Tom is obsessed for Alex, and Alex cares for him but as a relief friend. There were several things I didn't like:

1) Alex and Tom are best buds. When Alex insists to know why Tom has never had a gf during the 3 years they have been friends, assuring him that he will be understandable, and Tom admits he is gay, Alex loses his mind and calls him hideous names. What an ass.

2) One night they fight and get off on that. It wasn't love-making, and it wasn't sexy. It was rough and according to the author, who has an annoying way of describing things, was all teeth and blood and claws and pain. Umm, not for me.

3) Alex then asks, another day, for forgiveness and tells Tom the truth, that he is impotent because of war torture. Which of course was sad and everything, but then he tells him that THAT night was the first night he was hard. Couldn't they do it again? And for 2 years they do that: Alex gets drunk, asks Tom to make him hard and Tom relieves him. Two years of drunken handjobs, whenever Alex wanted it, and Tom was always willing to be the sex-friend, giving always, never getting anything.

4) After 2 years, Tom realizes Alex needs someone to dominate him. So he gives Alex a bj in a dark corner. Again, more rough than romantic. Like a porn movie.

5) Only once Tom asks Alex something in return, which is to be btw his thighs, which is closer to what he wants. Of course Tom gets what he wants from other men without faces, one-night stands, but not from Alex. That time was the closest to love-making they had.

6) Then it comes pages and pages of war and torture which were too dark, too violent for my poor eyes.

7) I didn't like the ending, because it felt rushed and I don't think that Alex saw Tom as a love partner. As his best friend, yes. Someone to take care of, yes. Someone who would get him off, yes. But Alex even admits that Tom's body doesn't turn him on. So I don't think this is a "gay for you", more like "I am impotent but the only one who can satisfy my sexual needs is a guy for the moment" thing. Once Alex gets better and find a girl, I don't think he will continue with Tom.

So for me, this was a HFN. When I don't see a future (together) for the main couple, it means the book was a disappointment for me. ...more

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Aug 25, 2018 Laks rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m, military, favourites

A romance between two military men - one gay and the other straight. They were best friends turned lovers. The story telling is very intense staccato style writing ; sometimes like a machine gun firing. Really makes an impact on you. Will be reading more from this author soon.

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Oct 27, 2012 Charly rated it really liked it

Emotionally wringing story with incredibly real characters

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 7/10

PROS:
- Great descriptions of rough sex that results from anger/frustration/confusion. I didn’t find many of the sex scenes particularly arousing, but I thought they were good--realistic and raw. There is one toward the middle of the book that’s…wow…hot.
- The most convincing “straight guy turned gay” story I’ve ever read. I believed at the end of the story Emotionally wringing story with incredibly real characters

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 7/10

PROS:
- Great descriptions of rough sex that results from anger/frustration/confusion. I didn’t find many of the sex scenes particularly arousing, but I thought they were good--realistic and raw. There is one toward the middle of the book that’s…wow…hot.
- The most convincing “straight guy turned gay” story I’ve ever read. I believed at the end of the story that he wasn’t “gay” necessarily and just happened to be in love with a man.
- Very gradual progression and transformation of the relationship.
- Understated ending that I was disappointed with immediately after having read it, but that now, several days later, I find consistent with the rest of the book and for which I admire the author’s restraint.

CONS:
- Took me a while to get used to the author’s frenetic writing style. (Example: “Never intended to … never … hadn’t known who he … sh*. Too late. Load and Fire!” And those ellipses are not mine; they’re in the book.) There are almost as many fragments in the book as complete sentences. They’re cleverly (and purposefully, I’m sure) done and create a unique rhythm that jives well with the story and setting, but my mind had a terrible time lining up with the cadence of the language and keeping in time with it.
- Long section in the middle of the book that is grueling and horrible. The rest of the story is graphic and intense as well, but there are at least 20 pages (of a book that’s not very long) that are so hideously painful that for the first time ever while reading this genre, I had to skim through parts of the story. The last author whose writing impacted me in such a strong, negative way was Steven King. Don’t get me wrong: the writing is good throughout. It’s just horrifying.

Overall comments: Not an easy read, but different from almost anything else I’ve encountered in m/m romance. There’s some graphic sex and some graphic violence, so if either of those bothers you, this is definitely not a good choice for you. ...more

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Apr 15, 2013 Passerby rated it liked it

Shelves: m-m, military

The book was...quite a dissapointment for me to be honest. And now for everyone who want to slap me for saying this, please wait for me to explain.
Since I have a chance to compare this book with another ones from the author (SF, Deliverance), it really wouldn´t stand a chance against Vadim and Dan. But yea, it would be quite unfair to compare these two creations for many many MANY reasons. So I won´t. I really am not. But I guess Vadim and Dan already got stuck under my skin and SF seemed to be The book was...quite a dissapointment for me to be honest. And now for everyone who want to slap me for saying this, please wait for me to explain.
Since I have a chance to compare this book with another ones from the author (SF, Deliverance), it really wouldn´t stand a chance against Vadim and Dan. But yea, it would be quite unfair to compare these two creations for many many MANY reasons. So I won´t. I really am not. But I guess Vadim and Dan already got stuck under my skin and SF seemed to be excellently worked-out to the smallest detail. Maybe that was the cause of me not being so hot into reading the continuation of HMM, I´m not really sure.
Bad signs for me were when:
I didn´t have that urge to read until I was dead to the world, out of a blue, from sleep deficit.
The main characters weren´t as catchy for me as I expected them to be (considering I got intrigued by most probably any other pairings coming from the author´s desk-drawer).
I didn´t really feel the adrenaline and danger as much as I did in some other books.
Which:
The first warning sign sucks the most, I guess, since it´s a tell-tale sign to leave the book be - or at least force me to try to find something else to concetrate on x.x
The second is not as much of characters´ fault as of mine, lol. The poor guys had no idea I´ll be such an ass and ride the book as I do right now.
Now seriously. The guys are awesome, alright everyone? They just didn´t catch my interest as much as others I got to "meet" already. Shit happens, alright? It´s like wanting to find a chemistry between you and a wrong person. It´s just not gonna work no matter how hard u try.
And as of the third problem...Since the book as a whole didn´t connect with me well it would take really some serious action going on there to get me "up and out of my chair".
On the other hand I really love the author´s writing style and I got my share of awesome humour and bickering.
The book has strenght in itself because of its straightforwardness. Just a shame I was missing something in there maybe exactly because of that. ...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Sophia rated it really liked it

Shelves: miltary-romance-contemp-fut-hist

I have come to really anticipate anything I read by this author. The backdrop, the plot, the characters and most of all the 'voice' of the story is something that reels me in easily and completely.

In this story are two tough soldiers who are also best mates. One is a gay man who is infatuated with his friend while his friend doesn't swing that way. Alex was captured and went through horrendous torture that left both his body and his mind scarred to the point that his marriage fell apart and all ...more

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Feb 04, 2011 Crys Harris rated it really liked it

3.5 stars.
I'm a sucker for a 'gay for you' story and also soldiers, so this book is a win.

The sex is violent and I thought some of it was rather unnecessary. Still, the author did a good job of connecting the two characters and creating sexual tension.

Someone complained about the forced feeling in the ex-wife scene and I agree that it wasn't necessary, except as a way to further crystalize what Alex clearly realized during the rescue.

Frankly, the weak part of the story was during the capture and ...more

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Oct 01, 2011 Boycop rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The ultimate incarnation of military relationships.

Having been myself in a long-term relationship with a fellow officer (and still being around soldiers almost daily), I believe Marquesate is writing military romance fiction, not even aiming for true realism relationship-wise. That said, this is nonetheless one of the most enjoyable, hot and emotional military romance stories I have read.

The main characters, Tom and Alex, are well thought and interesting. Tom is, to the contrary of many reviews, ...more

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About Marquesate

Marquesate

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Marquesate is a British author living in Scotland. She has been associated with the British Forces for many years, and specialises in contemporary gay military fiction.

Using the insider knowledge of the 'bowels' of the military machinery and the insight into the soldiers' minds and modes of functioning, Marquesate creates realistic settings, situations and characters who are simultaneously down to ...more