Another solid military romance by Annabeth Albert. These guys had a real struggle on their hands due to fraternization policies that would have not allowed them to be friends, let alone lovers. I enjoyed this and just whizzed right through it. Recommended!

Albert writes some of the best MM romance on the market today. Her stories are character driven, her descriptions are beautiful and she knows how to rip your heart out in one chapter and then turn around and give you all the hope you need with the glance or touch of a character. Whatever is above swoon worthy is how I'd describer her works. And as an added bonus when her characters say they are vers, she makes sure her characters walk the walk which is refreshing when in so many MM romance novels the positions seem to be immobile.

When I read this book in the Fall of 2017, I'd already read several of Annabeth Albert's books and had loved the all. None of them, however, affected me the way this one has. Sitting here, I'm trying to find the right words to truly express how special this book is, but the longer I stare at the blinking cursor, the harder it is for me to decide on just the right words. Sigh.

When I was younger, I didn't allow myself to read any LGBT romances. It was one of my rules. If I didn't consume LGBT media, then I couldn't be LGBT myself (so very wrong). You see, I was Catholic. If you didn't fit into a tiny heteronormative box, you were a sinner. You were wrong. I was determined not to be wrong. While I eventually allowed myself to watch television shows with positive depictions of LGBT characters, I still refused to read same sex romances. Because reading is more personal than watching television.

By the time I reached my 30th birthday in 2016, I was finally starting to accept the idea that I might be bisexual. I don't even remember the exact moment that I decided that there was nothing wrong with me--that being attracted to both men and women was a perfectly normal thing, but I do remember the exact moment I decided that I could embrace that part of me. I was sitting on the bus, speeding away from my job, and reading Wheels Up. Dustin, like me, was bisexual. Dustin, like me, was in the closet. Dustin, like me, was 'old.' And yet, Dustin, unlike me, found someone to love and someone to love him. He was able to tell his friends and family because there is no expiration date on one's sexuality. You don't have to come out at 15. It was when Dusting explained to Wes why he hadn't come out at a younger age and how he thought he was too old to come out now that I realized that we don't need to stay in the heteronormative box we're placed in at birth. As I read that scene, goosebumps broke out on my arms. I'd never seen myself in a book or on television, and this book for the first time managed to make me see myself in a character that was very different from myself--save for one thing.

Suffice it to say, this is an emotional read for me. Because it is so well-written, it affected me in a way very few books have ever done.

For the second time in the span of a few weeks, I find myself reading a book about an officer and an enlisted man falling into a relationship something that is absolutely a no go with the military and once again I find myself questioning those rules and regulations just as I did before DADT was repealed. I’m not so naïve that I don’t understand the issues that can come with this type of relationship and in this book in particular it is a big deal, but I also can’t help but think that we and human beings and the military who protects us can’t after all these years figure out a way to make this work. That being said, Wheels Up by Annabeth Albert is another excellent addition to her Out of Uniform series.

For months Dustin and Wes have been talking on Joe4Joe and enjoying some mutual satisfaction via the web. On a trip for some alumni functions out east, Dustin is a bit stunned when Wes who is station in the DC area suggests they met. They share one great evening until Dustin is called back to his home base in San Diego, one month later Dustin is stunned to find that Wes is the newest member of his SEAL team and his subordinate. Immediately these two thrust into an impossible situation and while they are in agreement they can be nothing more than colleagues, staying away from each other proves harder than they imagined. I actually really loved these two together, they are well suited in their love of sci-fi and documentaries, but they also are a match in their bedroom kinks. Let me just say, these two burn up every surface they touch and yet I could feel how hard it was for them when they had to part ways and the guilt they both felt every time they were together. There was no shortage of emotions in this book and they were warranted on several fronts. I appreciated that these two really opened up to one another on a personal level, while they did spend a lot of time in the sack, they also shared so much of their lives with one another and were way more to one another than a f*ck-buddy despite the lies they told themselves. They made some errors and life was difficult for them both, but there was no doubt that being together was important to them and finding a way to make it happen paramount to their happiness and embracing their true selves.

Once again Ms. Albert offers up an intense, sexy, and emotional romance that I could not put down.

Lieutenant Dustin Strauss is a Navy SEAL and for the last six months, he has been having hot chat sessions with another military man across the country via a military hook up app. Dustin hasn’t told anyone that he is bisexual, nor that he has a kinky side that enjoys submission. The only person who knows his secrets is Saucer Man, the guy who makes many of Dustin’s fantasies a reality, albeit long distance.

When Dustin takes a trip to DC, Saucer Man (aka Wes) surprises him with the suggestion they meet in person. Dustin is terrified of the idea of actually connecting in real life; he has long known about his attraction to men, but hasn’t actually acted on it before in person. But the temptation to actually have a real life experience with Wes is too much for him to pass up. The men have a intense, heated night together that turns many of Dustin’s fantasies into a reality and fuels him when he returns home. Not only does Wes turn him on like crazy, but a real connection has developed between them.

Things take a horrible turn, however, when Wes is reassigned to Dustin’s SEAL team. With Dustin an officer and Wes an enlisted man under his command, a relationship between the two is completely impossible. Even a friendship between them would be considered inappropriate, and certainly they can not continue their sexual relationship. But losing one another as friends, confidants, and sex partners is miserable for both men. Being so close and not able to show even the slightest connection is incredibly hard. And as each man deals with issues in his own life, the draw to reach out to the other is intense. Both men have moments of weakness where they break and get together, but they also both know that there is no way they can be together without destroying both of their careers. But as the connection between Dustin and Wes grows, staying apart may just prove impossible.

Wheels Up is the fourth book in Annabeth Albert’s excellent Out of Uniform series and features Dustin, a side character in some of the previous books. While we do get some cameos here from previous series characters, including Dustin’s brother Dylan and his best friend Apollo, you could easily pick up this story as a standalone.

I think what makes this story particularly engaging is the unique structure in terms of the romance arc. The conflict is in place almost from the start of the book, and rather than building the relationship and then bringing in the conflict, here most of the book is focused on how (or if) the guys can overcome the fact that they are not allowed to be together. Albert makes this really work by starting us with an intense and crazy hot meet up between the guys right at the beginning of the story. By seeing them together, we are able to really get a sense of their connection, both romantically and sexually. Sometimes it can be hard to jump in on a previously built relationship, but here I had no trouble really feeling the attraction and the friendship that already existed between the men. And when I say they are hot when they get together, holy cow! Dustin is exploring his desire for submission and Wes likes to direct and dominate and these guys are steamy to the extreme.

The guys are then faced almost immediately by the problem of Wes working in Dustin’s unit. This conflict felt real and serious and never contrived. Albert really makes us feel not just the attraction, but the longing these guys have for one another, the deep need to talk and connect and have someone that they can be open with and share their problems. I think the balance works here pretty well. Basically these guys “fall off the wagon” often enough that we get to see them being together fairly regularly. But there are times when it is hard to see them so frustrated and the conflict last for so much of the book. But in the end, I think Albert pulls it all together really well. There isn’t a magic fix, but there is a solution that ends up working for the guys and it comes together nicely.

So I really enjoyed this story and am a big fan of the series. This is one of the hotter books in the series and I loved how Albert explores that bit of dominance and submission in these guys. But on top of that, the story really builds the conflict and it plays out well over the course of the book. There are lots of great military details and a nice sense of really being connected to their world. So another great installment in a series I can highly recommend.

I have enjoyed this author's series and this book is no different. The characters are wonderfully diverse and I can connect with them and their situation. I enjoyed the romance and its buildup as well as the emotions these two characters evoked in me the reader. It was another great book for this series.

This time its Dylan's brother Dustin to finds love with Wes his online sex buddy.

In Wheels Up, its focused on bi-sexual with closet homosexuality and a bit of Dominant/submissive. It also deals with the fraternization issue among officers

Dustin is finally exploring his other side of sexuality with an online sexual relationship with Wes. And finally the two get to meet in person where sparks fly. With all the online banter these two get to know each other well, but they both keep their professions hidden.

So, when the new team member gets transferred in, Dustin is shocked to see Wes, but because of no fraternization among officers rule they can't be together but they also can't stay apart.

The fraternization element added a good part to this book creating a nice balance of tension. I liked their struggles and their connection to each other is great.

Wheels Up deserves all the stars! It had me so immersed that I didn’t want it to end. This is another great installment in the Out of Uniform series, an emotional read with two kinky characters navigating a minefield of regulations and restrictions in an effort to find a way to be together, all while battling their feelings for each other. Wes and Dustin were amazing and earned a place right up there along with Apollo and Dylan as my favorite couple of the series. I can’t pick just one, sorry.

I won’t go into the plot at all. I’ll just recommend this to everyone because it’s so worth reading! There is enough angst throughout most of the book that will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. It’s over the relationship and the many obstacles they have to overcome in order to be together. Real obstacles. Their actions have serious consequences, and Annabeth Albert handled everything expertly, giving them a realistic solution. It shows how much time, effort and research went into making everything believable and as close to reality as possible. A big bravo to her for that!

Dustin and Wes were well-developed characters, and they had depth. They had insecurities even as they appeared to be the most confident men. They were honest with each other and had real conversations. They communicated, and trusted each other. They managed to pull through a very difficult situation, and it was really amazing to see that.

I can’t wait to see what’s coming next from this series!

Wheels Up is the fourth book in the Out of Uniform series, and spend some time with Dustin, Dylan's big brother.

Dustin is bisexual, but his family doesn't know. Just as he is about to come out to his family, Dylan beats him to the punchline. Dustin then gets a whole heap of family pressure dumped on his shoulders. His dad wants grand-kids, after all! Plus being a SEAL hasn't always been the best situation to be in if you're gay or bi, so Dustin has stayed firmly in the closet. He has his 'special' time with an online friend though, and that is more than enough for him... or maybe not.

Now, I'm not American, and I'm not in the Forces, nor do I know of anyone who is, so the whole fraternisation rules are new to me. That being said, wow! After seeing how distracted Dustin became, I can sort of understand the no relationship part, but to have that enforced to such a degree you can't even be friends??? And I didn't get the enlisted part of it - sorry! However, that didn't stop my enjoyment of this story one iota.

I think my heart broke so many times reading this one. The need to be with each other, the wanting to show people, the absolute necessity of keeping it quiet. Dustin and Wes put paid to so many preconceptions - why is it always the big guy who is the bossy top? Big guys need cuddles too! And to be fair, I can see them needing someone else to take charge of them, after being in charge of others for so much of the time.

So much steam, so much heartbreak, so much worry, and so much hope. You get a HFN, which I just hope will be enough. Can't wait to read more and find out. There were no editing or grammatical errors that interrupted my reading flow, and I was thoroughly engrossed from start to finish. Absolutely recommended.

This was a brilliant MM military novel, as usual. I’ve loved this series so far, they just keep getting better and better! The audio version of this series is also worth a listen. Wes and Dustin were the perfect couple and I look forward to seeing them and their friends in future books.

I was pretty disappointed in this fourth book in the Out of Uniform series. I felt a bit blindsided about Dustin being of the main characters in this story. He didn't come off as bi in previous stories and I was really surprised to find him as one of the main characters, in fact, it wasn't until he mentioned his brother Dylan that I put it all together.

Gah - the angst!! I loved Wheels Up and the impossible aspect of Wes and Dustin’s story. Annabeth Alpert would never give us a story without an HEA, but for a while there, I was really wondering if it would happen. With Dustin being Wes’ direct commanding officer, the romance between them that began online when they had no idea who the other was is completely forbidden. Just reading about them trying to deny themselves was one of my favorite parts. But the light D/s aspect of their relationship was REALLY my favorite part. These two SEALs were H-O-T. Annabeth Alpert can give me more of this any time.

This series is fabulous. Nothing that I love more than hot muscle men in the military. I don’t know how many more this wonders author has in stored for us but you better believe it that I’ll be waiting for the next installment.

I really enjoyed this book. I've been following the series and was very much looking forward to this installment. The dynamic was great, a big, muscly man who likes to bottom and be dominated by his partner. Whew,
that's right up my alley! Annabeth Albert does this well and I enjoyed these scenes a lot. There's obstacles that the two characters face, it's not all hearts and ropes and roses unfortunately. I appreciated that bit
of realism. The drama was a little bit heavy at some points and some of the back and forth and between the two was a little tedious. A part of me wanted to see their relationship mature and grow more without a ton of the drama. Besides that the book was great, I really liked the hot, hot sex scenes and the
dynamic between the two men.

4 out of 5 stars, very solid M/M Kinky Military Romance.

Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a great series, I love meeting new characters and catching up with old couples. Highly recommended.

Stevie‘s review of Wheels Up (Out of Uniform, Book 4) by Annabeth Albert
Contemporary Bisexual Military Romance published by Carina Press 01 Nov 17

Annabeth Albert’s Out of Uniform series has delighted me from the start with the different types of relationships it covers, involving military men and the (sometimes civilian) guys who love them. I don’t know much about fraternisation rules in the US Army, other than that they seem more rigid – and more rigidly enforced – than seems to be the case over here, but this latest book is all over the issues that code of conduct can throw up, even when the guys don’t mean it to.


Lieutenant Dustin Strauss, brother of At Attention ’s Dylan, keeps his bisexuality quiet, figuring that with a gay younger brother, he’s going to be the one expected to carry on the family name by settling down with a wife and (hopefully) kids one day. His relationships with men have mostly taken place online, via a dating site linking military guys up with each other; however, a trip to Washington DC seems to offer the perfect opportunity for Dustin to try meeting his latest buddy in person.

Wes Lowe is as keen as Dustin to get together, and not at all bothered by the other man’s lack of experience. They spend a fun night together that is unexpectedly curtailed by the demands of Wes’ base, and are still figuring out how to progress their in-person friendship of whether to return to online dates only, when Wes is posted to the team on which Dustin is second in command. Military rules forbid the pair to even be good friends, never mind lovers, but the pair find it increasingly tricky to stay away from each other.

When people around them begin to suspect that something’s going on, Dustin and Wes can’t find out how much the others know without giving themselves away. It seems that one of them will have to get out – of the military or their relationship – before both their careers are ended in court martial. Everything comes right in the end, of course, though not without a few more ups and downs: not all of them connected directly with the guys’ relationships: their external issues are just as pressing at times, but that ending was suitably satisfactory as far as I was concerned.

An excellent addition to the series, in which we also get to follow developments in the lives and loves of some of the guys from previous books without their overwhelming this book’s main pairing.

Grade: A

Wheels Up by Annabeth Albert
Book #4: Out of Uniform Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4½/5 stars

Some things in life simply aren’t fair. For example, Lieutenant Dustin Strauss has finally accepted his bisexuality and begun a conversation (and a little fun) with an online companion only to find said companion transferred to his unit and under his command. The military takes fraternization seriously which is why the relationship, such as it is, must come to an immediate end.

Wes Lowe wants nothing more than to be off the west coast and back to the east coast with his family, where he can look after his ailing sister, relieve his parents from some of their burden, and be with his own, familiar SEAL team. As an explosives expert, Wes’s skill set is in high demand which is how he has found himself in the one place he absolutely doesn’t want to be, on the west coast. While the presence of Dustin Strauss should be a comfort, Dustin is now Wes’s superior officer and therefore, completely off limits.

Life and love are funny creatures that are often unpredictable and surprising. What started out as some casual guy on guy online flirtation and fun has slowly turned into a real friendship with real feelings and emotions. Because of their work situation, it isn’t even possible for Wes and Dustin to be anything other than co-workers to one another. But, real feelings don’t just go away and as life throws more and more crap at both men, they find it harder and harder to stay away from one another. Neither intends for a physical relationship to develop, but real feelings are tricky and often lead to physical expressions. Comfort and emotional support take many forms, and Dustin and Wes quickly find themselves in a “this has to be the last time” situation neither counted on nor wants.

The Bottom Line: Wheels Up may be the best book in the Out of Uniform series to date! This one has such a tricky plot with the issue of fraternization coming into play. The military really does take the issue quite seriously and Dustin and Wes are two fictional representations of what must be a very real-world situation. Albert has navigated this tricky issue brilliantly with great care and concern taken for all parties involved, including the military. Likely the best aspect of this entire read is how it all plays out in the end, and without giving anything away, I was so pleased with the caution, the very real sense of perception, and self-preservation. Albert doesn’t pander to the crowd who want nothing but a neatly tied up HEA, but provides the reader with a real-world ending that fits the characters and the situation perfectly. Make no mistake, it’s still an HEA, just not quite the one you may be expecting.

I’ve enjoyed Alberts Out of Uniform series quite a lot. I’d definitely recommend the whole series, including Wheels Up. I will be honest and say, however, that this is my least favorite of the series.

I mentioned in my review of On Point that there was something — a spark maybe — that was missing between the main characters, and that spark was really felt during the sex scenes. While I don’t feel the same with this book — the sex was very sexy — there was still some kind of disconnect happening in this book.

This book has so many elements that would normally have made it a yes please right now: super hot sex with a dash of kink, complex characters, online relationship turned real life hookup, etc. And while Albert hit good notes with some of this, there were things that just didn’t work for me.

So much of this book focused on a back and forth “we shouldn’t do this” but oops “we did it” which became tedious after a while. I appreciated that it had to exist because of fraternization rules — as in, these characters had to navigate wanting and falling for each other when they weren’t allowed to. But the part where they kept *saying* they couldn’t do it and then doing it lost so much tension when it was a rinse and repeat kind of thing.

Additionally, the wheels up aspect — the characters being called into action and how that action played out, was a little disappointing. I expected these sections to a) be a bigger part of the story and b) create drama and tension. But they felt rushed and unnecessary for achieving what the author was trying to achieve.

I did enjoy the characters — particularly Wes. He captured my attention, I loved his devotion to his family, and his commanding/toppy presence. However, considering how we meet Dustin in the previous books, the story about him being bi is so rushed — as readers we are just plopped into that story when there wasn’t really indication in the previous ones (other than that his inclusion as a side character in an ongoing series signaled we were going to get his story).

This all sounds rather negative: however, if you are looking for a very sexy, met online and have tension and drama kind of book, I recommend it. This is a good book to escape the world for a moment with. It just didn’t hit the notes I was hoping it would, particularly within this series.

I absolutely love a love story about a man in uniform. This book was no different. They were hot! I really enjoyed their love story. Highly recommend this author. Especially is you love MM genre.

Didn't realise going in that this was a dom/sub book, and checked out once I found that out. 1 star reflects the DNF, not the quality of the book (loved book 1!)