Annabeth Albert loves to write a MM Military/Veteran romance and I am here for it. I love Annabeth Albert and I love MM military/veteran romances, so it’s a match made in heaven for all I have to say about it. The piece that I was meh about, was the body-guard aspect of the series, but seeing some reviews on Goodreads, maybe I’ve been missing out!
Tough Luck is the story of Danny Love, a childhood actor turned hermit, and Cash, an ex-marine who served with Danny’s (step?) brother, Duncan. Duncan’s asked cash to help Danny out installing security at his house, due to a stalker, and Cash has reluctantly accepted.
This is a beautiful story of growth and maturity. Danny’s spent his life fleeing his bad-boy image and the trouble he caused being a childhood star, he just wants a normal life, but his excessively wealthy dad and paparazzi make that impossible. His brother, doesn’t really help still treating him like a trouble making kid. But Cash sees him as the man he is, as the person he is becoming.
Sweet. That was it. Daniel was sweet. But not in the wholesome apple pie sort of sanitized perfection sense. More like these blackberries we had at the back of our property growing up, sweetest damn things I ever tasted, growing out of all those brambles and weeds. Sweet against all odds. That was Daniel. (40)
The plot is a little hazy at this point because I waited way too long to write this, but I remember it being well written and engaging. Cash’s cabin and the scenes there (and the ones that happen there in book three of the series, Bad Deal) really stood out to me, something about the bareness of the mountains and the peacefulness of the isolation. They have real conversations and beautifully intimate moments together. The stalker part of the plot stands out, but it was so minimal compared to the main characters it mostly served as the catalyst for them to meet and then be wrapped up nicely with a bow.
Recommendation: You really can’t go wrong with Annabeth Albert. All of her books, even the mediocre ones and the ones that just aren’t for me, are incredibly well written, edited, and proofread. This one was good and the chemistry between Danny and Cash was so well written and kept me saying, just one more chapter late into the night. One day I’ll have to do a ranking of Albert’s series, this one is probably in the middle, but closer to the top.
Opening Line: “‘I have a job for you.’ Duncan placed two coffee mugs on his breakfast bar as I emerged from his guest room.”
Closing Line: “And the only plan that truly mattered was to keep on loving Danny Love forever.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)
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