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kaity_b's review
4.0
4 stars!
Mark and Isaiah were a good team loved seeing some different rep in there (mark being demi/gray ace)
The kids were adorable and the ending is what made my rating go up! (Hint:
Mark and Isaiah were a good team loved seeing some different rep in there (mark being demi/gray ace)
The kids were adorable and the ending is what made my rating go up! (Hint:
heabooknerd's review
5.0
Once again Annabeth Albert writes a fantastic book and I'm loving this series more and more with each new addition! I'm a huge fan of deeply emotional, character driven reads and I always find that with Albert's books. SQUARED AWAY in particular was giving me all the feels; between the grief over losing Cal and Dani, to Isaiah's worry over keeping custody of the kids, to Mark's self discovery it was overflowing with emotions. I was sucked in from the very beginning and desperate to find out more as I went on this journey with Mark and Isaiah. The pace in the beginning was a bit slower but I think it fit the overall somber feel of that part of the story. But even with such a heavy topic weighing in, I never felt overwhelmed by the character's grief, which I appreciated. Albert's skill with writing allowed the reader to see everyone's pain and oftentimes anger without totally derailing the more happy and hopeful parts.
The characters are always a strong suit of these books, and I loved Isaiah from start to finish! He's wonderfully confident and compassionate and he's never afraid to go after what he wants. Isaiah never backs down on his fight to take care of the kids and he was truly a wonderful "parent" for them. I loved seeing him in the prologue and then getting to see how much he's grown up once we see him with the kids. He's also incredibly understanding of Mark as he works to sort out his sexuality and accept himself for who he is. Mark was a tougher cookie to crack in the beginning and he comes across a bit standoffish and snobby. He has no confidence in Isaiah's ability to be a stable parent but he soon sees just how much Isaiah has changed. I really grew to love Mark as well in the story and most of that comes from how much introspection and acceptance he goes through in his journey.
I also really appreciated Albert's representation of a character who was grey ace or demisexual. Mark has pretty much given up on relationships and the idea of love because he's rarely interested in other people or sex. He's been attracted to men before but he doesn't really consider himself gay or even bi. Mark goes through a lot of self-discovery in this book and watching him learn to understand his desires and what's happening in his mind, body, and heart was really great. Mark and Isaiah have such amazing chemistry in a really sweet way. But make no mistake these two are hot together, but they also share the quieter moments like cuddling during a movie and kissing for endless amounts of time. Of course Mark's newly found self is hard at times for him to accept and this causes friction between Mark and Isaiah. The inevitable clash was heartbreaking to read and I felt so much for both men who are just trying to find happiness after so much loss. I loved SQUARED AWAY from start to finish and I can't wait for the next book in the series!
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Content Warning: Death of side characters, grieving family
The characters are always a strong suit of these books, and I loved Isaiah from start to finish! He's wonderfully confident and compassionate and he's never afraid to go after what he wants. Isaiah never backs down on his fight to take care of the kids and he was truly a wonderful "parent" for them. I loved seeing him in the prologue and then getting to see how much he's grown up once we see him with the kids. He's also incredibly understanding of Mark as he works to sort out his sexuality and accept himself for who he is. Mark was a tougher cookie to crack in the beginning and he comes across a bit standoffish and snobby. He has no confidence in Isaiah's ability to be a stable parent but he soon sees just how much Isaiah has changed. I really grew to love Mark as well in the story and most of that comes from how much introspection and acceptance he goes through in his journey.
I also really appreciated Albert's representation of a character who was grey ace or demisexual. Mark has pretty much given up on relationships and the idea of love because he's rarely interested in other people or sex. He's been attracted to men before but he doesn't really consider himself gay or even bi. Mark goes through a lot of self-discovery in this book and watching him learn to understand his desires and what's happening in his mind, body, and heart was really great. Mark and Isaiah have such amazing chemistry in a really sweet way. But make no mistake these two are hot together, but they also share the quieter moments like cuddling during a movie and kissing for endless amounts of time. Of course Mark's newly found self is hard at times for him to accept and this causes friction between Mark and Isaiah. The inevitable clash was heartbreaking to read and I felt so much for both men who are just trying to find happiness after so much loss. I loved SQUARED AWAY from start to finish and I can't wait for the next book in the series!
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Content Warning: Death of side characters, grieving family
bookschaosnart's review
4.0
This is a good growth story. For both of the characters individually and their relationship.
kerithesmutslut's review
3.0
This was my least favorite. Honestly it just went a step too far. I hated Mark. I felt like for someone who struggled so much with his sexuality he was sure judgemental. He felt like because Isiah had slept around a little bit that he was untrustworthy and would never grow up, even though Isiah never once went out when he started to look after the kids. Isiah showed who he was and Mark still refused to believe him. Honestly I felt like Mark in no way made up for how he treated him and I don’t know if I’ve ever been so angry at a character before. Isiah was perfect, and he deserved so much better.
zaza_bdp's review
3.0
Je n'ai pas vraiment accroché avec cette histoire, ni avec les héros. Le souci, c'est qu'ils ne se parlent pas, ou en tout cas chacun campe sur ses positions et Mark cache des choses importantes à Isaiah. Ce manque de communication, c'est vraiment un ressort narratif qui m'insupporte et forcément, là, c'est passé difficilement.
Annabeth est une des rares auteurs que je connaisse qui propose des personnages issus de la diversité, que ce soit au niveau des origines, de la couleur de peau, ou bien de l'orientation sexuelle, et j'ai découvert ici un pan du (vaste) spectre LGBT que je ne connaissais pas du tout. Je m'y perds un peu avec toutes ces étiquettes, et, dans la mesure où les précédents tomes de cette série étaient quand même bien chauds, là, ça m'a fait tout drôle de lire une histoire avec un 'gray ace' (en fait même avec un 'ace' tout court, je crois bien que c'est la première fois ...
Les enfants sont très mignons, leur présence dans l'histoire aurait pu encore être plus marquée, au vu de leur rôle central, mais au moins, Annabeth Albert n'édulcore pas la réalité, et montre à quel point cela prend du temps de s'occuper chaque jour d'un enfant.
Pour en revenir à la romance, je n'ai pas trop accroché à ce couple, parce que j'ai eu l'impression que chacun avait une vision faussée de l'autre, et surtout Mark en fait. J'ai pris fait et cause pour Isaiah, que je trouve très patient en compréhensif, et je n'ai pas aimé le regard que Mark pose sur lui, un regard par ailleurs très paradoxal.
Les choses se sont définitivement gâtées dans le dernier tiers, et la fin n'est absolument pas crédible, et d'ailleurs, ça m'a tellement agacée que j'ai complètement survolé les 2 chapitres, alors que normalement, j'aurais dû être aux anges devant cet HEA ...
Bref, c'était pas top, j'ai eu l'impression de me traîner ce livre comme un boulet (surtout les 2 derniers tiers, en fait), et j'espère que la suite sera meilleure !
Annabeth est une des rares auteurs que je connaisse qui propose des personnages issus de la diversité, que ce soit au niveau des origines, de la couleur de peau, ou bien de l'orientation sexuelle, et j'ai découvert ici un pan du (vaste) spectre LGBT que je ne connaissais pas du tout. Je m'y perds un peu avec toutes ces étiquettes, et, dans la mesure où les précédents tomes de cette série étaient quand même bien chauds, là, ça m'a fait tout drôle de lire une histoire avec un 'gray ace' (en fait même avec un 'ace' tout court, je crois bien que c'est la première fois ...
Les enfants sont très mignons, leur présence dans l'histoire aurait pu encore être plus marquée, au vu de leur rôle central, mais au moins, Annabeth Albert n'édulcore pas la réalité, et montre à quel point cela prend du temps de s'occuper chaque jour d'un enfant.
Pour en revenir à la romance, je n'ai pas trop accroché à ce couple, parce que j'ai eu l'impression que chacun avait une vision faussée de l'autre, et surtout Mark en fait. J'ai pris fait et cause pour Isaiah, que je trouve très patient en compréhensif, et je n'ai pas aimé le regard que Mark pose sur lui, un regard par ailleurs très paradoxal.
Les choses se sont définitivement gâtées dans le dernier tiers, et la fin n'est absolument pas crédible, et d'ailleurs, ça m'a tellement agacée que j'ai complètement survolé les 2 chapitres, alors que normalement, j'aurais dû être aux anges devant cet HEA ...
Bref, c'était pas top, j'ai eu l'impression de me traîner ce livre comme un boulet (surtout les 2 derniers tiers, en fait), et j'espère que la suite sera meilleure !
rellimreads's review
4.0
This is book 5 in Annabeth Albert’s Out of Uniform series. While each book covers a different couple – there are characters and events that appear throughout the series making these best enjoyed in order starting with Off Base. This review contains spoilers to earlier books
I’ve been looking forward to Isaiah’s book since he was introduced in At Attention. While not exactly a single dad or nanny - this definitely had the vibes I love from both those tropes. Mark is on deployment when he learns that his sister and Isaiah’s cousin were lost in a car accident leaving 3 young children and a tangle of legal issues.
Forced proximity and opposites attract bring authentic tension as these two figure out a long term solution to custody. Isaiah realizes he isn’t over his teenage crush and Mark discovers that Isaiah has matured in the last decade. While there’s quite a bit of relationship angst, it works well and makes sense given the situation. I love their interactions with the kids who play a central role in the story.
Sweet ending and lovely HEA.
Narration:
Greg Boudreaux is wonderful as always. Not only giving Mark & Isaiah unique voices and personalities but brining the kids to life as well. A great fit with Albert’s writing.
I’ve been looking forward to Isaiah’s book since he was introduced in At Attention. While not exactly a single dad or nanny - this definitely had the vibes I love from both those tropes. Mark is on deployment when he learns that his sister and Isaiah’s cousin were lost in a car accident leaving 3 young children and a tangle of legal issues.
Forced proximity and opposites attract bring authentic tension as these two figure out a long term solution to custody. Isaiah realizes he isn’t over his teenage crush and Mark discovers that Isaiah has matured in the last decade. While there’s quite a bit of relationship angst, it works well and makes sense given the situation. I love their interactions with the kids who play a central role in the story.
Sweet ending and lovely HEA.
Narration:
Greg Boudreaux is wonderful as always. Not only giving Mark & Isaiah unique voices and personalities but brining the kids to life as well. A great fit with Albert’s writing.
evethingiread's review
3.0
I’ve been thinking about how to rate this book. It’s not a 4. But it’s not a 3 either. It’s somewhere in the middle.
It felt a bit like a departure from the last few books in the series. We didn’t see these guys a lot in the other books and it really felt like they were strangers. The way they connected with each other felt like it came out of nowhere.
But then I did relate to mark a bit. I think the ace and demi thing is still new to me and I found it hard to connect with their love for each other. It wasn’t communicated in the story that I read.
I think this story could’ve been better. It was okay. I was rooting for them to figure things out.
It felt a bit like a departure from the last few books in the series. We didn’t see these guys a lot in the other books and it really felt like they were strangers. The way they connected with each other felt like it came out of nowhere.
But then I did relate to mark a bit. I think the ace and demi thing is still new to me and I found it hard to connect with their love for each other. It wasn’t communicated in the story that I read.
I think this story could’ve been better. It was okay. I was rooting for them to figure things out.
kirbyj_'s review
4.0
this was one of the first books i read with an ace/demi mc and it was beautiful to see.
whilst i think these mcs are less realistic as a couple than others in the series, i do still love this book.
whilst i think these mcs are less realistic as a couple than others in the series, i do still love this book.
Spoiler
my main problems were that whilst in private isaiah was so understanding and compassionate with mark about him coming to terms with his sexuality and then the second they were in public and mark didn't acknowledge him in the way he wanted he got pissy. and mark was so pushy and certain that he knew better and never communicated with isaiah and even after saying he'd give up control he'd go on to be controlling with something else.nalia_danger's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia