Happy Hunky Days #1

DAY ONE...Happy Hunky-Days!

Happiest of Holidays from the Guilty Indulgence Book Club. We are pleased to be with you every day and hope you will all join us for our 3rd annual Happy Hunky-days - Twelve fun filled days of Christmas where we treat you with gifts of joy and happiness (aka free books and very yummy eye candy!). All good readers who comment will get a chance to win some really great e-books from our featured authors! Seriously, you can even be quite naughty and still get free books - just remember to register and comment!

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Apparently I have been a very, very good girl this year, because I got a FABULOUS early Christmas gift!!! I really didn't think I would ever find a hotter couple than Ty and Zane but I have to say that Tuck and Owen are giving them a run for their money!

These Rangers are not only sexy as hell but they make me laugh out loud. I read Battle Buddy and would have been perfectly content with just Tuck's POV but then reading Tuck & Cover and getting the story from Owen's POV was like icing on my Christmas cookies.

** SJD Peterson has donated a copy of each Rough Ranger book for our 12 Hunky Days of Christmas giveaway.

Tuck & Cover, SJD Peterson, Silver Publishing
Rough Rangers #2
You may have heard the story of my time in boot camp and Ranger School in Shane Tucker’s published diary entitled Battle Buddy, but he didn’t get all the details exactly right. Tuck will argue the point, but I assure you, a few details he definitely got wrong. I don’t blame him or claim that he lied intentionally. At the time he was, if you remember, a little sexually frustrated and it may have skewed his thinking just a wee bit. To this day, I still tease him about it. This is my wild and crazy ride.

“Rangers Lead The Way!”
Owen

Excerpt:

Sua Sponte, Latin for "of their own accord" were my first spoken words. At least they were if you believe Col Robert Owen Bradford II. I'm more inclined to agree with my mom who swears my first words were probably "mama" or "dada", but it really is quite pointless to argue with the Colonel.
Being the only son of Robert and Sally Bradford, I've been conditioned since birth to become the next in a long line of men to serve in the United States Army, more specifically as an Army Ranger. My father and his father before him were both members of this illustrious group of soldiers, and I was expected to "strive for and reach no less of an achievement," in the words of dear, old dad. Try growing up with those expectations. Worse yet, try being reminded each time Grandpa Bradford came over that, "Owen, it's your legacy. I was part of the assault landing on the Dog White sector of Omaha Beach in 1944." By the age of five, I knew the drill when he would ask me, "What outfit is this?" To which I would reply, "Fifth Rangers, sir."
"Well, goddammit, if you're Rangers, lead the way!"
Now, having a grandpa that was present at the birth of the Ranger motto is a hell of a big set of combat boots to follow. For me personally, with Grandpa having dinner with us weekly, by the age of twelve I was beyond bored with it, but I was, and still am, going to do my best to fill those boots.
I'm not an only child. I have two sisters: Jenny, who is two years older than I am, and Megan, three years younger. However, in the Colonel's eyes, they have less value. Not that my father is a bad husband to my mother or even a bad father to my sisters; but like those from a time gone by, the Colonel believes that, while a woman is to be honored, loved, and protected, it is the male child that is the coveted prize or attestation of his manhood. More specifically, the son has the honor of carrying on his father's legacy. I have the added burden of being a second son and my dad's last hope of carrying on the tradition. The firstborn would be my brother, Robert Owen Bradford III. He died from a heart defect when he was only a few hours old. Hence the simplicity of my name: Owen no-middle-name Bradford.
I knew exactly what I was in for when I arrived at the Harmony Church area of Fort Benning, Georgia. Where as Tuck had gotten the bright idea to join the Army when he turned nineteen and only spent a couple of months training to prepare for his journey, I joined at twenty with twenty years of training in readiness. For me, the only thing I wasn't prepared for was my reaction to a six foot, two inch, one-hundred-seventy pound teenager.
Leaning against the wall that first day, running a hand over my new buzz cut, the short lengths tickling against my palm, I looked up and froze. Like dead-fucking-froze, hand on my head, mouth gaping open, and body tensing pleasantly when I spotted the sexiest man I'd ever seen as he stood in line, waiting for his turn in the barber's chair.
"Well hello, soldier," I muttered under my breath, careful not to be heard.
Head full of shaggy brown hair, Tuck had that dumbfounded look that the majority of the other recruits were sporting. The look of docility on the man's face definitely called to my more dominant side. The moment I got a glimpse of eyes so fucking blue they looked like dark sapphires and a face that seemed to take every facial feature I'd found attractive and placed them together in one perfect piece of work, I was captivated. When my eyes wandered down that lean, muscular body to a gloriously tight, round ass, I knew I had to have some of that. I caught a few other glimpses of Tuck while we were stuck in the reception battalion, better known as Purgatory, but I never got a chance to talk with him--feel him out, so to speak. Although, I kept my eye on him. Tuck is one of those people you can't help but stare at. I spent the next two weeks watching and waiting for my opening.
It was on that first day of "real" training--right after a period in Purgatory--that I happened to be standing in the yard and, therefore, watching as the sergeant stomped up to Tuck--who was the last off the bus--and screamed, "Are you always this goddamn slow, Private?"
"No, Sir," Tuck responded in confusion, looking around the yard.
Oh, shit! The man obviously hadn't seen too many military movies, since even films make jokes about calling a sergeant, sir. I just shook my head and did my best to hide a smile. I mean, really, who hasn't seen Stripes?

REVIEW:
I am not usually a fan of stories that are just a re-telling from a different character's POV (like Midnight Sun) but the way that Ms. Peterson crafted this retelling and Owen's cocksure personality made this story work for me. Plus you get the added bonus of finding out what happens after the two day pass.

I laughed more through this story because of Owens "voice". His perspective was much more in the know on everything and because he is having fun I did too. I also enjoyed learning more about Owen and his background and it made his character seem more real. I come from a military family and understand that sense of duty and respect that comes from that environment.

What I loved about this book is seeing the development of their attraction grow from lust to an actual caring and real feelings towards each other. Both are rugged, raw, alpha men, but that doesn't men that they don't care as deeply as any other man. And when they come together at Christmas after being away from each other for an extended period of time you better make sure that you aren't near anything flammable, because they are SMOKIN HOT!

So if you have been a good girl or boy and are looking for a treat then I suggest you pick up both Battle Buddy and Tuck & Cover, but don't wait for Santa get them now!

Rating: 5 Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.( but no blueberry pancakes)
This book was given to us by the author. Many Thanks!

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