This first book in the Shore Leaves series by Annabeth Albert is a sweet, light-hearted, low angst, fake-dating mm romance between a submarine chief and an adorkable musician, with some of my favorite tropes; fake-dating, opposites attract and falling for best friend’s younger sibling.

When his big brother calls, Arthur Euler agrees to help his brother’s friend, Navy Chief Derrick Fox, out with a plan to make his cheating ex boyfriend jealous. Giving Derrick a home-coming kiss doesn’t seem like much of a deal. But when the whole Euler family is there and so happy for the two being involved and invites Derrick to the annual family holiday, Arthur and Derrick find themselves pushed into continuing the charade for much longer than expected. But how fake are the feelings they have for each other, really? Arthur has a rule about not dating military men and Derrick is done with relationships, but they decide to take this fake dating opportunity to practice being better boyfriends for the future. But as the days go by, it all seems more and more like real love…

This was such a cute, sweet and fast read! I love the adorkable Arthur and the big Euler family. I also loved the way Derrick made Arthur feel seen and always stood up for him against his competitive family.

I had some issues with the pacing though. It was strangely enough both too slow and too fast. I’d wished for the attraction between Derrick and Arthur to have been allowed to take a little longer, but on the other hand, the family holiday with their constant pining and all focus on the bed-sharing issue felt a bit too drawn out, if that makes any sense…

But all in all, this was a highly enjoyable and cute read with two tropes that I love: fake-dating and opposites attract, plus a wonderful big, chaotic and loving family. It’s one of those stories that will make you smile and warm your heart!

Two tropes in one. Fake boyfriend meets in love with the brother’s best friend. Really fun book to read with characters you can relate to and root for.

Absolutely loved this best friend's brother/fake boyfriend tale from Annabeth Albert. It's a slower burn with lots of heat. I adored Derrick and Arthur as a couple. They were so sweet together. Derrick especially engaged me through his vulnerability and underlying goodness. he really wants to support Arthur and learns so much about himself in the process. It was low angst but very realistic conflict. Arthur's family is exhuasting and a hoot at the same time. The reader can see how he has formed his impressions and why he feels the way he does in his family. . The pacing of the story and relationship is just perfect. Annabeth always has well developed characters and her stories are complex. She clearly does her research on whatever genre she writes in. Her dialogue is always quick, clever and flows beautifully. If you loved her Out of Uniform series you will love Sailor Proof. Highly Recommend!!!

4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this start to a new series from Annabel Albert. The premise, characters, and writing were all so engaging and adorable to read. I loved how Arthur grew and came into the person he was meant to be and Derrick was so sweet and supportive of him. They make a great partnership.

Thank you Carina Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I’ll be honest, I expected this to start a little differently. But this was a nice surprise.

This trope is always fun, and while in Sailor Proof the drama was kept to a minimum, it delivered.

Derrick Fox is still heartbroken after being dumped by his boyfriend, who’s serving with him on deployment. Being cooped up with him on a submarine isn’t so fun, especially when he’s being teased constantly. Adding insult to injury, the douche ex was picked for first kiss upon disembarking.

That’s when Derrick’s best friend suggest he shows him up by smooching a hot guy of his own. And Calder takes care of everything, including getting his little brother over to homecoming and laying one on Derrick for all to see.

Arthur is being tagged along with his best friend who’s a social media genius and the kiss turns viral. But all of a sudden Arthur and Calder’s parents are there, too, and all are invited to a family vacation, from which Derrick, now Arthur’s “boyfriend”, can’t get out of.

I enjoyed the banter, the playfulness, the way both Arthur and Derrick slowly found their own selves during this story.

I did feel like a little more angst or at the very least some drama was missing, but did enjoy the book very much.

Sailor Proof is a swoony, sexy and often funny (The Eulers are a nuts bunch) read. I’m looking forward to the next book.

This book was really just "okay". Arthur is a 25 year old virgin with a "fucket list".
I get it, my dude. I get it.
The Navy aspect and the Euler family as a whole were a little...meh for me. Arthur's family is crazy competitive, and his family doesn't respect his profession as a video game musician.
Like...how boring would video games be without music?!

So...parts didn't feel very relatable, but the characters were all likable enough. Nothing to really write home about.

I enjoyed this M/M romance of a fake relationship that blooms into the real thing. Derrick is a Navy Chief who finds himself falling for his friend and shipmate's younger brother. Arthur is the sweet and caring musical computer nerd/genius who absolutely never wanted a military romance, but suddenly desires exactly that with Derrick. Both main characters are strong in their own ways and I loved seeing them come together. I am looking forward to more entries in this new series.

Sailor Proof was an absolute joy to read! I loved both main characters, Derrick and Arthur and the rest of the Euler family.
What started out as a fake relationship quickly morphed I to something so much more. I loved how Annabeth took an ordinary family reunion and made it extraordinary.
There wasn't much drama but this story didn't need it. It was great to focus in these two men and their relationship.
The author gives us a glimpse on the next in the series and I'm going to be on edge waiting for it!

Faced with the embarrassment of his ex with another man, Derrick seeks the aid of his shipmates brother. What would be an easy first kiss ends up being so much more when Arthur and Derrick end up in a fake relationship. Oh and did I forget to mention they need to keep the façade going during Arthur's family reunion retreat? But what starts off as a way to save face ends up being so much more when the two feel a similar spark. But can the relationship last when it is based on a lie? Or will Arthur abandon the entire set up when Derrick gets called back into duty overseas? With strong male characters that have so much more to add to the story than just a fake relationship and an undercurrent of true family togetherness that brings hope to the dysfunctional this was a great read. Cannot wait for more in the series.

For me, Annabeth is at her absolute best when she's writing military based romances, I've yet to not absolutely adore every one she's created.

This was no exception as she gives the reader a fabulous twist on the fake boyfriend/only one bed/best friend's brother tropes and mixes them all up into an utterly delightful romance between two very different guys.

From the moment Derrick's best friend Calder arranges for his younger brother Arthur to come and greet him when their submarine docks after a long deployment - during which Derrick's ex cheated on him with a fellow officer who's now won the First Kiss raffle - the two men are on a collision course into falling in love.

Arthur is everything Derrick isn't - he's younger, musically gifted, outgoing and disorganised - while Derrick's focus has been on his Navy career, he's disciplined, reserved, logical and secretly nursing a whole world of vulnerabilities.

From their supposedly staged First Kiss which goes viral thanks to Arthur's social media influencer BBF Selina, to all the ones they subsequently share, these two men are on fire.

Arthur is a virgin and Derrick, while reluctant at first to take all his first moments, slowly comes to realise he not only wants to be the first, but he wants to be the only one Arthur is with.

They're both holding back feelings, there's a tad of martyrdom on both their parts but thankfully it never becomes too much and they do talk a fair bit about the rules of their fake relationship and whether they should continue it after the initial holiday with Arthur's family.

The gorgeous cover on this book absolutely matches the gorgeous romance inside it as both Derrick and Arthur come to realise that because they started off as fake, doesn't mean they can't actually have real feelings.

As the lovely Dani said in her review, the Epilogue is insanely swoony and ridiculously romantic and this is a Happy Ever After you will truly believe in.

Now roll on Calder's book because from the blurb and the sneak peek, that's going to be an absolute cracker!

More like a 3.5 star?

This was good but not amazing!

I recently discovered Annabeth Albert after I read an early copy of her Out Of Character that I am absolutely loved and definitely one of my favourites of 2021. So, naturally, to say that I was excited about this title is a no-brainer!

I love stories that feature the - best friend's younger sibling and the fake dating trope. I am also 'okay' with 'Oh! There's only one bed trope. And in that sense, this book does deliver decently well.

But, something felt off or consistently missing. And I am not sure what?

Was it the passion in the romance? The humour? The steam? The plot? I DON'T KNOW.

But something felt missing.

Having said that, I feel this book has a certain target audience that it would make happy and even though I do not necessarily fall into its aimed readership, I feel this did a good job.

It could have been a lot better but it's okay. It is what it is.

This was a pleasant M4M romance with the added touch of on of the protagonists being a Navy man, which added some interesting challenges to the relationship. The characters were well created had some depth. I liked the variety of characters that added more meat to the story than just the romance and sex. The family background story and acceptance were a bit of fresh air and made the novel more fun to read . A good upbeat story. The story line was pretty standard for M4M romance novels - boy meets boy; boy falls for boy but is not sure that is what is meant to be: the boys get together and find a way to make it work with the difficulties that exist. I much give the author credit for not falling into the trap that M4M writers, especially female ones, fall into. The main protagonists were not made bi-sexual with constant reminders of the that fact throughout the book. This is M4M romance, so why ruin the story with reminding the reader that protagonist is bi-sexual, unless their working through that is relevant to the story line. I think that pitfall is something done to make the book appeal to heterosexual women rather than men who love men.

I'll be honest, military romances aren't usually my go-to since I have a tendency to get a little too critical of them because my husband is in the military. And after reading the synopsis, I knew I had to read this because of submarines! Lo and behold, that's what my husband works on. So, here we go!

Arthur and Derrick are absolutely adorable, what started off as a fake relationship, I simply loved seeing their friendship grow into something more. There were definitely a lot of moments that left me saying, "awwww, that's actually really cute".

For the military part of the story, bravo. I could absolutely relate to most of it being on the other side. The waiting, the uncertainty, and of course, the homecomings. Annabeth did a great job capturing the highs and lows that many in the military face along with their significant others and families. Even though this is fiction, I appreciated some of the accuracies of military life.

Sailor Proof was such an enjoyable read and I'm excited that this is a series! When opposites attract and they find a balance in the world of the unknown. A must-add to the TBR, there's definitely something everyone can enjoy!

Sailor Proof is book one in the brand new series, Shore Leave, by Annabeth Albert. This is a MM, Fake Relationship romance that is sweet, sexy and low angst.

Naval Chief Derrick Fox has been stuck on a submarine with his ex who loves to flaunt that he will be the one kissing Derrick’s cheating ex when they return home and are greeted by their loved ones. Derrick wishes that someone would be there to kiss him when he gets off the sub. Someone that would make his ex jealous. His friend Calder has just the answer. Calder’s younger brother owes him a favor and will play his fake boyfriend and greet him with so much enthusiasm it will definitely take Derrick’s ex down a notch.

Arthur Euler composes musical scores for video games. He’s a bit of a musical genius and definitely a computer nerd. Arthur grew up in a military family and has one rule for himself. He will not date anyone in the military. But when his brother asks him to help out Derrick to get back at his ex, he’s all in.

Arthur and Derrick haven’t seen each other in a couple of years. As soon as their eyes meet, it’s like time stood still. And when their lips met in their welcome home kiss, the kiss that was supposed to be fake, everything else faded away. But, Arthur hadn’t planned on his parents being there seeing their kiss. Or the video of their fake reunion going viral. Or his parents inviting (insisting) that Derrick accompany the family on their week long family reunion. They will just have to pretend a little longer.

What happens when their cozy little cabin only has one bed? What happens when the more time they spend together, the more they begin to feel for each other? What happens when their fake relationship somehow became real, and they don’t want it to end?

These two were so cute together. Derrick found a family in the Eulers. He began to like who he was when he was with Arthur. And Arthur seemed to gain confidence with Derrick. Together, they brought out the best parts in each other. They saw the parts of each other no one else ever bothered to notice. But, is a relationship that began as a ruse destined for failure? What happens when Derrick is deployed again? Do they have a future with each other or is this just a temporary thing?

These two really were adorable together. I loved how they just fit, how they complimented each other. This really is a sweet, sexy story that is sure to make you smile. I look forward to the next book in the series that will be Arthur’s brother, Calder’s story.

“It was Arthur. He was magic.”

This was a good start to this new series that I enjoyed from the start. In this new military read from Ms. Albert we meet Derrick and Albert on the roller coaster of a story that came with this pair.

Derrick, a man married to his job on a submarine finds himself in a fake relationship with his friend's brother Albert as a means to take the attention away from his cheating ex. This fake relationship slowly evolved into a rebound relationship that initially was fake but over a short amount of time evolved into more.

Albert, the awkward member of his family, agrees to help his brother's friend finds that he has instant feelings that he is unsure about with Derrick. He is inexperienced in all aspects of relationship and finds himself spending a week with Derrick at a family reunion posing as a couple.

The pair have instant chemistry and have many issues that they work through both internally and as a couple. Albert has issues with how he fits into his family as well as how he feels about relationships with military men while Derrick needed to work though realizing that there was more to life than his career while balancing his competitiveness.

This had an initial slow burn feel at first and at times I thought there was too much emphasis on the family reunion instead of the characters. By the end as both characters are having their epiphanies, I thought that the book ended well and enjoyed how it wrapped up. I look forward to more out of this series and can't wait to see what is instore for the next book. Overall, this was a pretty good read that I would recommend to others.

I enjoyed this! Sailor Proof follows a Derrick, a man in the Navy who embarks on a week of fake-dating with his best friends little brother Arthur to make his cheating ex-boyfriend jealous. Arthur has sworn off dating military men after watching his mother be neglected by his military father his entire childhood, but something about Derrick is just... special. Feelings quickly ensue, But is Derrick worth the inevitable heartache? And is Arthur worth putting his best friendship at risk?

Albert writes characters wonderfully in this book. They're realistic, likable, relatable, and they show fantastic growth throughout the story. You will fall for Derricks kind, caring persona and Arthur's bright and persistent character. The plot kept me invested and turning the pages, and I finished this story in no time, craving the next one!

~4.5~

Annabeth Albert's Out of Uniform series is a favorite of mine, so I've been waiting with bated breath for Shore Leave.

I'm thrilled to report this first installment was a big win for me. Everything about this story jived:

- Fake to real boyfriends. It doesn't take long for Derrick and Arthur to realize they want it all, despite Arthur's reluctance to date a military man.

- Opposites attract. Derrick is serious and intense, all logic and straight lines, while Arthur is joyful, artistic, and chaotic.

- THAT KISS, and the many kisses that follow. Arthur is a virgin in the wild, but he sure craves Derrick's hands (and mouth, and tongue ...) on him.

- Family and more family, but not in an annoying way (Arthur's family is supportive, but Arthur is tired of everything being a competition with them.)

- Mild angst while Derrick and Arthur decide if the sacrifices are worth it. (Hint: they are.)

- True HEA (So perfect and swoony, I can't even).

If you like relationship-driven, low-key stories involving military men, don't miss Sailor Proof.

Thank you to Carina Press and Netgalley for a free eARC in exchange for my honest review!

If you are looking for a lovely, feel-good, happy ending? This is the romance for you. Annabeth Albert combines the 'Best Friend's Little Brother' and 'Fake Relationship' tropes for a super sweet and swoonworthy escape! (With just a hint of naughtiness because...well...why not?)

Derrick and Arthur are absolutely adorkable together and add the hijinx of a large (rather competitive) family reunion for some comedic background noise? Golden. I truly enjoyed this story--and while there was nothing spectacularly unique about it, given the genre, that was a-okay with me because it still left a smile on my face and lots of warm fuzzies flitting around my heart.

4.25 Stars for 'Sailor Proof' by Annabeth Albert.

With 'Sailor Proof', Annabeth Albert begins a whole new military series, but from the outset it’s clear she has chosen a different approach from that of her acclaimed ‘Out of Uniform’ series. The Shore Leave series is clearly a more light hearted series than Albert’s earlier military works, but it’s every bit as good.

Based on 'Sailor Proof' and an introduction to 'Sink or Swim', the second book in The Shore Leave Series, it appears this new series will focus on various members of the Euler family, a multigenerational U.S. Navy family.

'Sailor Proof' is set in Washington State at the Bremerton Naval Shipyard and the Euler’s Family Camp on Lake Crescent in the Olympic National Park. It tells the story of Naval Chief Derrick Fox (depicted on the book’s cover), his submarine mate and long time best friend Calder Euler, and Calder’s openly gay brother, Arthur.

Arthur Euler is a red-headed, free-spirited musical genius and computer nerd who agrees to provide a fake first welcome home kiss to Derrick designed to shock and shame Derrick’s ex who will also be waiting on the dock for his new boyfriend, another member of Derrick’s crew.

While every other member of the Euler is constantly racing to win - Arthur believes everyone can be a winner. His work with the family’s younger children and grandchildren provides much of the novel’s humor - and it’s terrific fun. You won’t want to miss how he prepares them for the family’s Amateur Night contest.

At one point, about ¾ of the way through the book, I was afraid the story was about to run out of steam. And then - WHAM!' - the pace truly accelerated.

'Sailor Proof' is a really sweet, funny start to what appears to be a wonderful new series. It’s low to moderate angst, but even that is offset by its charm. If you enjoy gay m/m military romance, don’t miss 'Sailor Proof'.

I received an Advance Review Copy of ‘Sailor Proof’ from NetGalley and HARLEQUIN - Carina Press in exchange for an honest review. #SailorProof #NetGalley

Sailor Proof is the first book in the Shore Leave series by Annabeth Albert. The fake relationship trope is my favorite trope, so I was excited for this one. Arthur Euler agrees to help his navy brother's friend out with a plan to make his ex jealous. What was supposed to be just a welcome home kiss turns into a fake relationship that they have to keep up with during the Euler annual summer vacation. Arthur doesn't date military men and Derrick is done with relationships, but they decide to take this opportunity to practice being better boyfriends for the future. Unsurprisingly, their fake relationship turns into real feelings and Arthur has to decide if he can handle being in a relationship with the Naval Chief.

Ahhh Sailor Proof had so many of my favorite tropes in it! Fake relationship ✔ the one bed dilemma ✔ first time experiences ✔ It did it all with two great characters. Arthur is a quirky musician whose family makes fun of his lack of athletic ability and his music passion, which includes obscure musical instruments. He had the biggest heart and had a great connection with all his younger cousins that will melt your heart. Derrick was sweet and charming. He was uncomfortable with their arrangement at first, but once he accepted his feelings for Arthur he was all in and pampered Arthur with attention. They were just adorable as a couple, for two people who thought they were bad boyfriends they sure did a good job at pretending. The physical chemistry between them was hot hot hot, there is a bit of sexual tension/angst between them at first but it doesn't last long and things between them become steamy fast.

Sailor Proof is a light-hearted, low angst romance between a Naval Chief and a music lover that is guaranteed to give you a smile. Filled with camping fun, shared baths, and lots of steam, and I look forward to more book sin the series.