Reviewed by Cheryl K
TITLE: Beneath Us, Solid Ground: Bad Beginnings book 2
SERIES: Bad Beginnings
AUTHOR: Opal Andrews
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 254 Pages
RELEASE DATE: August 31, 2026
BLURB:
Almost dying wasn’t how Max Dion had planned to start this day. In fact, a car accident leaving him stranded in a new city, friendless, and down part of a leg wasn’t how Max Dion planned to start any day. But, well, here he was.
The only silver lining was that a paramedic who happened to be passing by the accident seemed to be making it his mission to help Max out.
Lucas Gustafsson hadn’t been able to shake the mental image of the man he helped save after a gruesome accident. Checking on him in the hospital seemed harmless, but before Lucas knew it, he was offering his spare room and his medical expertise to help get Max back on his feet.
Neither man had really considered the realities of recuperating from a traumatic amputation, and they find themselves thrown together both emotionally and physically.
Romance wasn’t meant to be part of the agreement. Is their situationship merely a convenience that will end when Max is ready to live on his own…or is this forever?
Beneath Us, Solid Ground is an open-door MM romance centered around hurt/comfort and forced proximity. It features a surprisingly nerdy ex-stripper coming to terms with limb loss and a do-gooder paramedic who would do anything for him.
REVIEW:
Disclaimer: Please take note of the content warnings for this book. If you are a bit on the squeamish side, you might want to take a pass on this one. That being said, I loved this story. It is the second story in the Bad Beginnings series, but it is absolutely a standalone. No prior reading is required. So have no fear jumping into this wonderfully crafted story.
The worldbuilding in this story is excellent. Nothing kick starts off a book like jumping into the action from page one. I think San Francisco is a perfect back drop for this story.
Opal’s character development is well done. She provides a wonderfully detailed and in-depth look into our main characters lives. In this story we have Luc and Max. Max is starting over in San Francisco, when the unthinkable happens. Luc is a paramedic and is the new rock in Max’s life. What I enjoy is that even the side characters are not skimped on when they are introduced into the story line. I especially loved Max’s landlord Evelyn and one of his neighbors, Eli.
There are a few things I really appreciate with this story. I love that Opal is exploring these atypical relationships. Her characters are flawed but so real – as it should be. Not all MM romance books reflect the realty of the world we live in. She takes the loss of a limb, and it is a focus of the book, but it’s not the whole picture. We find ourselves deeply invested in Luc and Max getting out of their own ways to find love no matter the obstacle. Can I just say I wanted to jump into the book and just smack these two so hard and tell them to pull their respective heads out of their butts… I felt so deeply connected to these two men, it was hard for me to put this one down and get some sleep. I also loved the amount of research that this book required, I don’t always have that kind of patience. I think that’s why I’m a reviewer and not a writer. Will Max let Luc in after all the trauma? Will Luc be able to express his true feelings to Max? Will they get their happily ever after? Not happening my darlings… You know I am not going to give away the secrets, if you want answers, you need to read the book.
I highly recommend this second book in the Bad Beginning series from indie author Opal Andrews. So much so that you really should run to your favorite eBook purchasing site and grab up this story. I am really looking forward to the next book from this author.
Till next time…
RATING: 
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