Conduct Unbecoming by L A Witt

SYNOPSIS

“As long as no one asks and they don t tell “

First class petty officer Eric Randall is less than thrilled about taking orders to Okinawa. Three long, lonely years on a crappy island that s thousands of miles from his daughter? Oh. Yeah. Sign him up. But as long as he s stuck here, he might as well make the best of it, so he discreetly checks out the local gay scene.

Shane nearly drops his drink when the gorgeous, cocky-looking guy strolls into Palace Habu. He buys him a drink, and before long, they re making out in a booth. Eric is a straight-to-the-point kind of guy and doesn t want to play games. Since Eric s idea of not playing games is getting the hell out of there and going back to one of their apartments, Shane is more than happy to go along with it.

What starts as a scorching-hot one-night stand leaves both of them wanting more until Eric finds out Shane doesn t just outrank him, he s an officer. DADT may be repealed, but an officer getting involved with an enlisted man falls under conduct unbecoming.

Still, they can t resist their mutual desire. There s no reason anyone has to find out. But secrets have a way of outing themselves.

Warning: Contains two military boys who keep forgetting they re not supposed to be together. Probably because they never have their uniforms on for any length of time ”

CONDUCT UNBECOMING is available to purchase below

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Reviewed by Jenny and Gitte – 4 Stars

Jenny:    Well, I have to say Gitte there was so much I “really” liked about this book and so much I “liked”.  It was such an enticing read based on two military men stationed in Okinawa who attempt to develop and maintain a relationship against the odds.

Gitte:    I was really excited to start this book as who doesn’t like a bit of gorgeous military men action and yeah I was immediately engrossed in this story. Though I have to be honest here and say the cover photo really doesn’t do it justice. I hold my hand up to being a cover snob so I was pleasantly surprised and we have our own image of our main characters don’t we Jenny!  (sigh check out the photo below!)

Jenny:  Oh we sure do GG! And I agree with you that the cover doesn’t do this book justice.  Okay,where to start with Conduct Unbecoming.  I think we have to start at the lust at first sight between Eric and Shane when they meet in a gay bar…..Gulp! The sexual chemistry! WOW! you really felt it didn’t you Gitte?  You felt the instant attraction between these two for straight off. It was palpable.   The booth scene! Two alpha males having such an intense physical attraction to each other….pass me the smelling salts, I think I may have fainted.  Was it the same for you GG?

Gitte:    Oh wow Jenny….the bar scene…so fiercely sexy and hot. The physical attraction sure was intense! Eric and Shane immediately had my attention hahaha….

 Jenny:   I can understand why! Let me start with Eric. A divorced single man who has been just been stationed in Okinawa for three years and is feeling the emotion of being away from his teenage daughter for such a long period of time.   I truly felt this man’s sadness at having to leave his daughter and straight away, you knew these two shared a special bond didn’t you?

Gitte:  Oh Jenny, my heart really felt for Eric. He came across so lonely and lost despite his extreme alpha-ness. The background we got on him from the start showed him to be such a decent and lovable guy. His relationships a true testament to this! I especially loved his relationship with his daughter, melted my heart! I have to say that Eric stole my heart.

Jenny:  Next we have Shane.  Shane is a bi sexual, divorced Dad of two young children.  Unlike Eric, who has maintained a good relationship between himself and his ex-wife, Shane has to deal with the separation from his children and, due to the problems with his ex, doesn’t have the access and relationship with his children that Eric has with his daughter.  I felt so sorry for Shane at these times, what about you Gitte?

Gitte:   Shane intrigued me Jenny. He has this confidence and is completely comfortable in his own skin; a true alpha, yet he refrains from taking action to correct what is wrong in his life. That is until he meets Eric.

Jenny:    Yes GG, until Eric……..Both these men have had their fair share of doomed relationships when they meet.   They both share a sexual compatibility like nothing either has ever experienced before – yes; the sex is plentiful and very hot between these two!   But they share so much more than a physical connection.  They are compatible in every sense of the word and really understand each other, but due to army regulations must ensure their relationship remains a secret and are forced to arrange clandestine meetings to enable them to be together.

Gitte:   You are absolutely spot on Jenny these guys are perfect for each other. They complement and enhance the other. They fit, in every way possible and more. Now, my problem here is that the character development started off so intense and so much was made of this navy regulated forbidden relationship….it kept me hanging in the build-up waiting for that moment I thought they would have to face….the moment that was built up but never came. Their love was never tested. It was kind of an anti-climax to me. Though perhaps this is a sign of how caught up in their story I was that I wanted more, I wanted to see them have that final show-down and succeed.

Jenny:  I felt the same. The build up was there for sure but the climax just didn’t eventuate for me either.  I I loved the relationship between these two men.  I absolutely adored the bond and the relationship between Eric and his daughter; this was actually one of the highlights of the book for me, together with the developing relationship with Shane and Eric.

Gitte:   Yes, I agree Jenny. This Author had two extremely lovable, sexy alpha characters who had amazing relationships and angst/struggles. At times it seemed as if Eric and Shane acted as tour guides on a much too detailed exploration of Okinawa, it took up a little too much of their story, instead I would have liked to have their individual external relationships explored as well as the one they had with each other in the face of adversity and navy regulations.

 Jenny:   Spot on again Gitte. I hate to say this because I really did love so much about this book, but in the end it fell a little short for me and I also felt the characters were a little let down and I’ll tell you why.

I was loving the story and the characters.   I was invested in them, and I was so looking forward to seeing how these men overcame Military rules, regulations and obstacles that were in their way. To see how love prevailed etc. and then…………..it ended. Just like that….it jumped to the epilogue which really didn’t satisfy me either  to be honest. I just felt there was so much that could have been further explored and I would have LOVED this to have been the case because I really did love these characters and this story.   I felt the author could have delved a lot further into this story and the characters towards the end.  I so wanted to “experience” this rather than just having it alluded to.

Does that make sense?

Gitte:    Oh completely Jenny, perfect sense. I loved so much about this book, the premise of the story of fighting for love and overcoming the military rules, the characters and their intense relationship as well as their family relations. The build-up was perfect.   I do want to mention though, that as a reader with no prior knowledge of the Navy; its abbreviations and regulations; I was lost at times. The Author almost assumed I would have this prior knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly dislike being spoon fed in a story; however, when something is so intricately linked to the story line, I would have liked to have been able to understand it more.  Overall though I really enjoyed Eric and Shane’s story, these guys were pretty amazing and their story highly addictive, I just wanted more.

Our Eric & Shane….sigh!!

Thank You to  Michael Walker Photography & Stuart Hatton Jr. for letting us use this amazing photo!