Book 868: Sailor Proof (Shore Leave #1) – Annabeth Albert

This is the very first Annabeth Albert ARC that I’ve read!* (I think, there may have been one more in her True Colors series, but who cares I got one!) Generally I’m bogged down in other stuff and I don’t realize when Albert’s releasing new works, but after joining her Facebook group and signing up for her newsletter I’m much more on the ball than I have been in the past!

The only downside of reading this as an ARC is that I have to wait for the next book FOREVER!!!! I’m so used to blazing through her series, that I actually forewent reading the teaser for book two, Sink or Swim, because the publication date is SO FAR AWAY!!!!!!!

Albert posted a teaser to social media with a checklist for this book and each one I was more and more excited:

• Grumpy older brother’s best friend
• Fake boyfriends catch feelings
• Public (VERY) displays of affection
• Virgin nerd/ Caretaking Navy chief
• Sexy first times with big emotions

I mean COME ON!? The only thing missing is . . . well nothing really, it’s like all of my faves mixed into one.

Sailor Proof is Derrick’s story really. He was dumped unceremoniously by his ex who shacked up with a fellow sailor on his submarine and Derrick really just doesn’t want to get off the boat to no one waiting. His bff Calder steps in and calls a favor in from his little brother, Arthur, to meet him at the disembarkation and it just gets better from there. Arthur has his own woes in that he’s been super focused on making a career out of his passion for music and composing and the few boyfriends he’s had have abandoned him because he would get so sucked into his work and ignore the world around him.

And lord, the man could kiss. On a dock in full sunlight or in the world’s most uncomfortable chairs, he could kiss. He kissed like he ate—slow and deliberate, like he wanted to taste each individual ingredient and like I was the feast he’d been waiting months for. Or rather, he kissed the same way I made music, like nuance mattered and no amount of time was too much to invest if it meant getting it right. (Chapter 12)

The first kiss goes viral and then Derrick and Arthur decide to keep pretending because they’re both hooked and don’t want it to stop. Derrick is on shore leave (duh!) and joins Arthur and Calder at their big family reunion and they get more entangled over the week. Arthur gets to experience a whole bunch of firsts and they have a couple of super romantic moments, even with kids yelling and screaming nearby and Arthur’s family knocking on doors and windows.

I leaned in and claimed his mouth. He tasted like sunshine and laughter and mint, and I was done holding back. Inhaling deeply, I let myself get drunk on his coconut scent. I was going to get horny every time I smelled sunscreen after this, and it was going to be worth it. Kissing Arthur was like eating cotton candy, sweet and light, and not nearly enough to fill me up. (Chapter 15)

If there was one part of the book that was weaker than others, it was the bit between the reunion camp and the big crises of the novel. For some reason this part fell a little flat and just didn’t have the amazing Albert-ness that her other works do. It felt a little rushed and not quite as built up as her other military books when something happens and it wasn’t as sweet as some of her other books. Flat is the best way to describe it, but that amped up really fast when Derrick was called from shore leave to replace a sick sailor having to leave Arthur with a horrible heart wrenching speech for both of them.

Eyes full of wonder I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen before, he kissed me so tenderly that a shudder raced through me. If I’d been composing a soundtrack for us, this would be the moment where the music swelled to something epic and rich, a melody to return to over and over. This was the sort of kiss that a lot of people probably lived their whole lives without, and the composer in me ached to capture the moment. And the human part of me simply ached period. It wasn’t even a contest any longer. I was ruined for anything less than Derrick, and I kissed him back with a desperation I hadn’t known I possessed. (Chapter 22)

In the end though, they get their happily ever after. Arthur realizes that even though he’s sworn off military men because of the stress of deployments he realizes that Derrick is the one for him. And Derrick realizes while deployed that Arthur is the one, even if Calder wasn’t super excited about it. I was legit holding my breath as I read the last chapter and the epilogue and totally would’ve burst into tears if the house they were assigned ended up having the exact same build as the clay house Arthur built at camp (it didn’t, but it was damn close!) because it was just perfect.

Recommendation: Albert is a must read for me. This one had so many of my favorite tropes wound together into one and she really hit the right notes on all of them. There was a little bit of a lull in the story for me right before the crisis and I’m not sure if it was my reading it or the story itself. I cannot wait for Sink or Swim and really want to go back and read her Out of Uniform series because military romances = fan myself and clutch my pearls the entire read.

*I received a copy of Sailor Proof from the publisher via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: “It was going to happen.”

Closing Line: “Wherever he was, there would be home and the one place where I truly belonged.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Sailor Proof
“If this had been a movie, the music would have swelled right then, a beautiful crescendo, and I wanted to memorize every note so I could use this moment later. I’d never experienced anything quite like the energy arcing between us.” (Chapter 2)

“Derrick strode across the lot, confident movements, like he’d been here before. Much as I didn’t want a military partner, I did have to admire their decisiveness and swagger. Fuck. Even the way he squinted at the sun was sexy. I had it bad and this was only day one.” (Chapter 8)