Naval Maneuvers

by John Simpson

Just out of boot camp, newly minted Seaman Alex Bender expects to encounter adventure on his military cruise to the Middle East. He just didn't expect it to come in the form of one Seaman Kurt Jackson. The chemistry between them is so strong that when Jackson makes his interest known, even the shy and slightly younger Bender can't deny how well they click. Shipboard romance isn't always smooth sailing, but when the two are granted shore leave in Kuwait City, they make the decision to spend it together... unaware that they may already be a committed couple in love.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Military Fiction, Gay, Romance

63 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2009

About the author

John Simpson, a Vietnam-era Veteran, has been a uniformed Police Officer of the Year, a federal agent, a federal magistrate, and an armed bodyguard to royalty and a senior government executive. He earned awards from the Vice President of the United States and the Secretary of the Treasury. John has written articles for various gay and straight magazines. John lives with his partner of 35 years and three wonderful Scott Terriers, all spoiled and a breed of canine family member that is unique in dogdom. John is also involved with the Old Catholic Church and its liberal pastoral positions on the gay community.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Alina]

I liked this book.
It's rather straightforward love story in military settings and I think the dry writing style suits it well.

[Laylah Hunter]

Guessing I must have picked this up when it was a DSP freebie. Honestly it reads a lot more like gay erotica than like m/m romance -- more John Preston than Amy Lane, if that makes sense. This is definitely the sexy fantasy version of the Navy, for all that the author's bio points out he's a Real Veteran -- a huge percentage of the ship is queer, and all of them are hot, and there's only just enough risk of discovery (or risk of any kind) to make things a little more exciting, rather than actually imperil anyone. Workmanlike prose gets from point A to point B but doesn't stroke my literary boner along the way. Progression from "hot dude in the shower, yum" to "I want to build a life with you, seriously" was *really* fast (wondering if that's an attempt to add romance to a story that was more interested in being erotica). On the bright side, though, the power dynamic between the MCs was really healthy and respectful -- Kurt might have been older, more experienced, more assertive, and generally all-around toppy, but he was also willing to take no for an answer and made sure to give Bender enough room to make choices. It's a sad commentary on the genre for that to be noteworthy, but it IS noteworthy and I appreciated it.

[FloJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am really cross I didn't learn from my past disappointments with John Simpson. The blurbs always sound good, and I think to myself, maybe THIS time. But alas no. The writing is aimed at someone with the reading age of about 10 and the story, which had potential, just puttered out.

[SheReadsALot]

Tee-hee...the guy's named Bender. Wonder what he'll be doing?

^_~

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

free from Dreamspinner

[Carey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't. bother. Stilted writing. Bad editing. Implausible plot. Disappointing.

[Southernangel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I strained my eyes by the amount of eye rolling I did.