Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Eden

AUTHOR: Avon Gale & Emily Rossman

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 227 pages

RELEASE DATE: August 23, 2022

BLURB:

Search and rescue pilot Rayne Lee is leaving the Coast Guard and heading to Eden, Alaska, to reconnect with the foster sister he hasn’t seen since childhood. In addition to piloting the helicopter that brings travelers and supplies to and from the town, Rayne takes a second job leading eco-friendly tours of the breathtaking Alaska scenery. However, his plan for a peaceful, new life is thrown into chaos when he discovers one of his fellow tour guides is Brandon Weaver — an infuriatingly gorgeous former rescue swimmer who was kicked out of the Coast Guard after a mission Rayne led turned into a disaster.

Brandon Weaver thought Eden, Alaska, was the one place he could go to escape the memories of his failed military career – and the disappointment of his father, a well-respected admiral, who always wanted Brandon to follow in his footsteps. But leaving the Coast Guard behind isn’t as easy as he hoped. His parents are planning their first visit in years, and his new coworker is his former commander Rayne Lee, who didn’t lift a finger to help Brandon in the hearing that cost him his career. And worse, Rayne is just as handsome as he was years ago.

Rayne’s guilt over the incident and Brandon’s anger at his dismissal make their reunion a tense one…until their old attraction becomes too difficult to ignore.

Eden is a m/m, second-chance romance featuring an emotionally stunted helicopter pilot, a cocky rescue swimmer turned tour guide, found family, an adorable giant dog, and learning that sometimes confronting the past is the only way to find the perfect future. 

REVIEW:

These authors were new-to-me and I’m so thankful I took the chance on their book. They had me riveted the entire time. .

Rayne Lee needed a new start. After retiring as an officer from the Coast Guard as a helicopter rescue pilot he just wanted to find his foster sister that he got separated from when their foster parents were tragically killed in a car crash. Now he’s flying up to Eden, Alaska, a tiny town on a small island in Prince William Sound, to live with his sister and her wife, be the town’s helicopter pilot to keep them connected to the mainland, and work for NORG, an eco-friendly Alaskan tour company. Little did he know that the man that sent him and his career into a tailspin, Brandon Weaver, had found his way to Eden right after “the incident” and was working for NORG as a lead guide. Now both men have to put this all behind them for the sake of the tourists that come to Eden for the thrill of the adventure.

Rayne has been kicked around from foster home to foster home since he was little. When the home he thought would be his family was struck by tragedy he muddled through until he was accepted at the Coast Guard Academy. Although emotionally stunted and extremely withdrawn socially he has thrived as one of the top Coast Guard helicopter rescue pilots around. When an incident lead to his extremely cocky but talented rescue swimmer being dishonorably discharged for ignoring an order and he got accommodations he couldn’t handle the pressure of being Commanding Officer any more and retired. Now he’s found the only family that has ever meant anything to him and a remote place to hide away and do his thing. That all came crashing down when his swimmer, Brandon, turns out to not only work with him but is now his lead. Competition and flirting has always been strong between these two but now Rayne doesn’t have the structure of the military to stop anything.

It took a while for Brandon and Rayne to finally even tolerate being near each other but that was how  is should have been. I know that they have been attracted to each other for years however what when down with Brandon’s dishonorable release from service was a lot to come back from. That mission changed and sculpted these men into how they became. And forgiveness is hard when you believe you did the right thing and lives were saved.

I really liked both men. They were believable and you could totally understand where each was coming from. Yes, they always have been and still were attracted to each other, they were both gorgeous, but so much hurt happened because of that mission and the lingering consequences of it. I’m thankful that each man figured out a way to let go and embrace what they wanted.

This was a fast-paced novel with a lot of outdoor adventure and some scary moments that kept you riveted to the story. I highly recommend it and wish we were taking another tour with them again.

RATING:

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