Senior Chief Will Curtis is as straitlaced as they come. While his fellow Sailors have partied their way through their enlistments, he’s had his eye on the prize—making master chief and retiring after thirty years of service.
Lieutenant Brent Jameson is a Navy brat turned Annapolis grad. He’s lived and breathed the military his whole life, and he knows he’s destined for great things—once he’s done paying his dues at the bottom of the ladder.
When their paths cross, both men know better than to give in to temptation, but that doesn’t stop them. It also doesn’t keep them from coming back for more, even though being discovered would sink their careers. Something has to give—Will can retire, Brent can resign, or they’ll both face court-martial.
But there’s also the option neither wants to acknowledge: jump ship and walk away from each other instead of ending their careers over a fledgling relationship. And they should probably decide before they fall in love.
Except—too late.
The Meta Details:
Source: Netgalley
Format: eBook
Length: 272 pages
Publication Date: September 25, 2017
Genre: Romance, MM Romance, Military Romance, Contemporary Romance
Content Level: Adult
Pearl Clutching Content: FORBIDDEN LOVE
Trigger Warnings: Slut shaming
Featuring: You can ask, but I still cannot tell because he’s enlisted and I’m an officer but neither of us are gentlemen and…
Scorecard:
Recommended for: Romance lovers disillusioned by a string of bad books. Or, you know, just romance lovers. Don’t let me project on you.
Rating: Did you see the nosebleed? I feel like you missed the nosebleed…
Ginny Lurcock’s Thoughts: I’m literally typing this review in a box with a note that tells you to put the good things first.
And you know how I feel about rules?
So let me tell you about the thing that bothered me so we can move onto the good stuff…
Manwhore. I fucking loathe that term. It’s either A) slut shaming or B) used to describe a predatory asshole who only thinks of other people as providers of orgasms and not human beings. In this book, it- and the word slut- were either as teasing or to claim that they were not, no matter what their sexual history was.
And I just… your sexual history is your own. You owe no explanations about it and no one should have to explain it to you. Don’t judge based on it, and don’t make someone feel bad about it. Especially as a throwaway joke in a novel.
That was the one thing that bothered me about the story and now that I’ve put away my soapbox we’ll never speak of it again.
Now let me rave…
Rank and File was amazing. Every last aspect of it was hilarious, fast paced, well crafted, and just stunning. From the second these two met, they had undeniable chemistry. They were sympathetic characters. The situations they found themselves in were real and natural and vaguely heartbreaking because of the situation they found themselves in.
Because:
I just… wish I had the words to do this review justice. It wasn’t just the torrid and forbidden affair these two were having. It wasn’t just them playing with each other’s ranks while in bed. It wasn’t just slowly watching them fall in love… It was so much more.
It was about the shit enlisted get because they’re not officers, despite the fact that nothing would happen without the enlisted. (Think workers v. managers. Or the job Undocumented Immigrants have and are underpaid for that are sneered at by people who assume they’re better…) It’s about living up to familial expectations. It’s about having to hide who you are and who you love.
It’s about hot wing challenges and what the fuck were you two thinking?
Solid prose, great characters, a good arc… this book had it all. And after so many shit books this week I needed something this good.
A complimentary copy of this book was provided in exchange for a fair and honest review via Netgalley.
Ginny Lurcock 