Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Battle Ship

SERIES: Valentine’s Inc. Cruises #4

AUTHOR: Brittany Cournoyer

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 127 pages

RELEASE DATE: August 22, 2019

BLURB:

Dawson Hoshaw lives by one motto—work hard, play harder. As the owner of Blue Lotus, a tattoo and piercing shop, he’s got the first part covered. The second part, he accomplishes through meaningless hookups and no-strings-attached encounters. It’s safer this way, with no risk of getting his heart broken again. But when his best friend, Peyton, enters him in a contest—and wins—Dawson finds himself the recipient of an all-expenses paid singles cruise around Australia, courtesy of Valentine’s Inc. 

As long as he can remember, Stephen Kincaid has known it’s his duty to take over his family’s chain of men’s clothing stores. The closer his father grows to retirement, the more responsibility Steven assumes. Running multiple businesses and living up to expectations doesn’t leave him with much time for dating, and he can’t remember the last time he took a vacation. So when he wins a contest he didn’t even enter, he can’t pass up the opportunity to see Australia before returning to his humdrum life. 

When a mix-up forces Dawson and Steven to share a cabin, their dream vacation turns into a nightmare. It wouldn’t be so bad if they could escape each other during the day, but it’s hard not to run into one another. And the more time they spend together, the more they find they don’t want to stay away. After a night of passion, Stephen and Dawson can’t help giving in to the growing feelings between them. But how can they make this vacation fling work once they go back to the real world? 

Battle Ship is a Valentine’s Inc. novella, but you will see familiar faces with this Forever in Middlebury Crossover. It can be read as a standalone and is intended for adults 18 and over

REVIEW:

Nothing like winning a cruise you know nothing about, and to have to endure that cruise with someone you hate. Well, not necessarily hate, but someone that makes you feel things you never have and don’t know what to do with yourself.

Dawson gets a surprise from his best friend, in the form of a cruise to New Zealand. He’s excited and thanks him, until he realizes it’s a singles cruise. What makes it worse, is his best friend’s boyfriend’s best friend, Stephen, won the same cruise and for some reason, he seems to hate Dawson. Although Dawson has never done anything to the man. Now not only do they have to split the cruise, they have to share the same cabin and some of the dinners. Dawson wonders if he can go home. Stephen thinks the same thing. But Dawson decides he’s going to have fun in spite of Stephen. They eventually make a truce but every time Stephen sees Dawson talking to some guy, he thinks the worst and treats Dawson like crap after. Well, at a dinner, Stephen runs away after seeing something and assuming the wrong thing. And Dawson has had enough. He goes back to the room to hash it out and it ends up a passionate night. But on the last day, Dawson wonders if they will continue on and Stephen says something that goes too far. Dawson is destroyed and Stephen doesn’t think he can ever make it right.

I don’t care how old you are, coming out is hard. Even if everyone seems to already know. With bullying and homophobia, kids being kicked out, people being beaten, families disowning each other, it’s just horrifying. So I don’t blame Stephen for being upset at how he feels for Dawson. I am upset by how he treats Dawson. It’s not Dawson’s fault and he has no clue why Stephen is acting the way he is. 

The bad part is Stephen has no clue Dawson is really gun shy. With what happened to him 5 years ago, he’s not ready to jump onto a relationship or anything. He just wants to have fun. Yeah, he’s aware that it’s kind of given him a rep back home but oh well. Sure he gets lonely, but he’s rather be lonely than go through that ordeal again.

But these two have a chemistry that’s off the charts. They’re both just fighting it. Stephen maybe a bit harder than Dawson, but still. And they both realize how electric it is when they finally come together. But in order to fix it for either of them, they have to let go of doubts and fears. And embrace a new life.

Another good book in this series.

RATING: 

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