Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Square One

SERIES: Under the Uniform #7

AUTHOR: JJ Harper

PUBLISHER: Aubergine Publishing

LENGTH: 247 pages

RELEASE DATE: September 20, 2018

BLURB:

Xander is angry and fed up with being signed off work for something that was out of his control. He loses himself in alcohol and one-night stands, anything to dull the pain in his head.

Jonah is enjoying the freedom away from his small-town life, living life to the full in a big city. A few weeks away from starting his job as a firefighter, he embraces the nightlife and the men found in the clubs. One man, in particular, catches his eye, and not even exchanging names, they spend a night lost in each other, and then another. Still not bothering to find out any more about each other, they go their separate ways.

Until they find themselves face-to-face at work.

Unable to stay away from each other, they embark on something that soon morphs into so much more. Deeper, more intense, looking a lot like love.

But will it be enough when Jonah hears some life-changing news and he turns to Xander for support?

Square One is a 55k word standalone gay romance and a part of the multi-author Under the Uniform M/M romance book series released by Aubergine Publishing, which also includes:

Dance With Me by Ann Grech

Made to Measure by Viva Gold

Rescue Me by T.A. McKay

Isola di Fiore by Lou Watton

Hot Nurse by Brad Tanner

Long Tall Texan by L. J. Harris

REVIEW:

If all these stories are as good as this one then I have some great reading ahead of me!

Xander is having a really hard time with a death on his watch as a firefighter. He is dealing with the sorrow the only way he can after feeling the girl’s death was his fault because he didn’t find her before the building collapsed. His way of dealing, while on mandatory medical leave, is to go out and get drunk and then score a hot piece of arse to drown his sorrows in. He then gets a chance at “Hot Guy” and once was not enough. When Jonah’s “Saturday Sexy Guy” turns out to be the other member of his team at his new fire station he knows he is totally screwed. Not only is Xander one of the team’s favorite guys but he has been through hell trying to recover from that fire. Little does he know that he has lit a different kind of fire in the guy he is more than attracted to.

I love when two guys meet up in a bar, the chemistry is sizzling and the sex is off the charts! Then they walk into a meeting or a new job and guess who is sitting right there! I love the turmoil of them not knowing what to do or how to approach the subject of their liaison. It’s even better when they are a more of a “one and done” kind of guy and this other man gets under his skin immediately and makes him start to question why he is that way. Both Xander and Jonah have all the right reasons in the world to not trust a guy in a relationship again. They have both been burned by their ex’s and aren’t looking for anything lasting or permanent in their lives. But they both figure out pretty darn quickly that they have found their “true one” and aren’t going to let them get away. Not even when a mistake, years ago when Jonah was a high schooler, comes into the picture. I loved how both these men were there for each other and there was no turning back.

What I couldn’t fathom was Lauren, Jonah’s best friend and confidant growing up, keeping such a huge secret from him. If they were that close then, even though she changed her mind, you would have thought that she would have somehow shared her secret with him. She knew he was gay when she convinced him to be her first and it gave him the opportunity to figure out if he really was. I know this was an extremely flawed plan from it’s inception but I could totally see two high school students, that were best friends, thinking it was a good idea. I loved how supportive Xander was through all this.

Even though this book was a couple hundred pages it flew by fast. I loved it right from the start and couldn’t stop reading. There is no slow burn or angst here…just two guys who knew exactly what they wanted and went for it. And their sex ignited the book. These guys loved full out with all their hearts and let nothing stand in their way of getting what they wanted. Great story!

RATING: 

BUY LINK:

Amazon