Book 1,012: Bring Me Home (Safe Harbor #1) – Annabeth Albert

This is probably the novel I should’ve picked up to end my dry streak. Annabeth Albert has almost always given me a great read with wonderful character driven plotlines. Even on the few occasions that I wasn’t enamored, I was still impressed with the characters (especially the minor) and the humor. This book was no different.

It isn’t my favorite book by Albert, but it is a wonderful read opening a whole new friend group that she’ll explore in her Safe Harbor series. This is the story of Monroe, an ex-Navy investigator who’s come back to a small town in Oregon because his aunt left him a house. A childhood friend’s grown kid, Knox, needs somewhere to stay for the summer and of course it’s the guy who caught his eye at the club recently in Portland. The high jinks come fast and furious from there, as do the big emotions and the relatively low stakes drama Albert is best at.

Most of the story is kept within the four walls of Monroe’s inherited house, they’re “secret” lovers because Monroe doesn’t want to hurt his friend. He’s spent his life mostly on the DL and is just biding his time until he can move to San Francisco or some other gay hub away from small town nosey neighbors and Knox is willing to go along with it because he’s just living his life. There is a tense reckoning between Monroe, Knox, and Knox’s father (whose name completely escapes me) but there’s this golden nugget that so many parents need to be reminded of:

Parent the kid you are given, not the kid you might wish they were. (Loc. 2,730)

Albert kills it with the sex scenes as usual. They’re sensual and slow and well written. Both characters have a hang up or two that they work their way through, and she walks the walk when it comes to both characters being verse. The scenes are rushed when they need to be and languorously slow when they should be.

The one part of the novel I was meh on was the background murder mystery tying the three novels in the series together. It was interesting and the discovery in book two and the start of healing in book three are fine and they do add depth to the story, but for me it was about the protagonists and less why they were in Safe Harbor.

And this is all while keeping meta commentary romance novels:

‘That is true. And so you’re gonna be an investigator with his own B&B . . .’ Knox grinned slyly as he pulled me snuggly against him. ‘Dude. I’m officially living with a gay cozy mystery romance hero. No tripping over bodies in the flower bed or cozying up to the local baker.’ (Loc. 2,886)

and pushing the lovey-dovey saccharine sweetness to a level that makes me uncomfortable but also makes me swoon internally:

Loving Knox wasn’t the hard part. In fact, it was simply an immutable truth of the universe, one I could no more influence than the ocean’s tides. (Loc. 2,149)

Short review even shorter, this is another solid entry into Alberts oeuvre and I’m so glad I read it.

Recommendation: You can’t go wrong with Annabeth Albert. Even the few books that haven’t been for me were well written with engaging characters and storylines. Monroe and Knox’s love story falls somewhere in the middle of the pack of her works. She may have tried to do a little too much in this story with the aunt, the murder mystery, the restoration of the house, Knox’s family dynamic, and Monroe’s getting over his internal critic, but it’s still miles ahead of others I’ve read.

Opening Line: “One summer. I could make it one last summer in Safe Harbor.”

Closing Line: “I was finally home. And that, along with my unwavering love for Knox, was my truth. This was home.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Bring Me Home
“‘Big talker.’ I let my lips hover next to his, hand coming up to rest near his chin. I was totally okay with no penetration. Like him, I rarely bottomed, and definitely not with a random bar hookup, so I respected whatever rules and likes he had for himself. If he wanted to show me what his mouth could do, I was more than game.” (Loc. 284)

“I wasn’t sure exactly when want had given way to full-fledged need, but here I was, absolutely certain that I’d needed someone like Knox for years and might never find another one like him.” (Loc. 1,988)

“I was just thinking about all the years when the pair of us couldn’t dream of going to a B&B, especially not as easily as clicking around on some site. Or going to the doctor together, for that matter. It’s a different world Knox lives in. He and all the baby queers coming up won’t know the heart palpitations over something as simple as sleeping arrangements at a nice B&B.” (Loc. 2,226)