Creating a hot Italian SEAL boyfriend to save face seemed like a good idea…until his friends called Canaan’s bluff. Now he’s setting off into the woods with the very man who inspired his deception, and Canaan is not the outdoorsy type. The sparks are already flying when a flash flood separates them from their group, leaving Renzo and Canaan very much trapped…very much alone in the wilderness.
Working together to come up with a plan for survival is sexier than either of them expects. But back in the real world, being a couple is bringing its own set of hazards…
Comment: This is the final full length installment in the Out of Uniform series by Annabeth Albert. There are several short stories in between all the books but I have not read them.
Renzo Bianchi is a Navy Seal who loves what he does and who also happens to have some fame posting videos with exercises, although never referencing the military. He also likes what he sees in Canaan, the guy who prepares the smoothies he and his friends drink after their work outs, and after one fun conversation, they agree on a date. Following that, Renzo accepts Canaan's request to help him with an event camping and hiking, which was organized by his former band mates but it turns out that Renzo and Canaan get along way better than they imagined. However, their jobs and personalities might lead them in different directions too... is there hope for a relationship between them?
This is the last story in the series, featuring several Navy Seal characters and those who interact with them. I have liked most of the stories for the focus is mostly on romance and the relationship challenges and not as much on military content and scenes.
Both protagonists of this story had been secondary in other books but I will say that Canaan had not impressed me much because he had been a key element at one specific part of the plot of book #3, which was the one I liked the least. He had seemed rather aloof then, and showcased as someone who liked to party and some kink and, traditionalist as I think of myself, his character didn't interest me. This is mostly why I had some trepidation in reading this story but, thankfully, there is more to Canaan than who he was before.
In fact, Canaan is studying to become a nurse and he has some jobs in the meantime, which he doesn't ind because it also helps him to keep an eye on his grandfather, with whom he lives. He also has a past of being a party guy, which doesn't bother him much but being with Renzo makes him realize he might more ready for a commitment than he imagined, and I think the author did a good enough job in revealing us how vulnerable he was, and how his past shaped him to be this person who seems one thing but it's not just that.
Renzo seemed, at first, an easier guy to read but he obviously hiding some vulnerability too, and we are told he feels he needs to be closer to his family on the eat coast. This was an important part of the conflict after a while, because the setting is on the west coast and how would a nee relationship survive long distance.... I think everything was dealt with in a satisfying manner, but it also seemed as if some sequences of the plot were there for drama and not because those were really the only options. Still, the difficulties provided a new way of seeing the guys' personalities.
I kind of expected Canaan's past to be more of an obstacle for the romance but this was actually dealt with very quickly. I also thought Renzo's videos would be more of an issue for his career, considering how often they were mentioned in the beginning of the book and in the previous installment, but it didn't really go anywhere specific after all. This is to say that the plot wasn't as intense as I imagined, if I were to think of the possible obstacles, but those things still added layers to what was happening.
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