Chef's Mess is book three in the Anchor Point series. I will start by saying the book is a lot of sex and little plot.
Having said that i did like the little bit of conflict that arose. I think L.A. Witt did a great job with the alcoholism I just wish we had seen more of Noah's issue and I could have handled a little less sex.
would have liked to seen more of both Noah and Anthony's Past I didn't get enough of either of them to really connect.
I will say I did like how Anthony and Noah met and Anthony's line to Noah. I found it petty hot that though Anthony was smaller and Noah older and stronger they held their own in the bedroom and I liked Anthony's aggressiveness. I also liked that it began lust filled and the relationship built slowly.

If you like military cops, computer geeks, stories dealing with alcoholism, and some very hot man-sex this is for you.

5+++ stars

I'm trying to find my words for this review and failing miserably.

Bear with me because this story affected me on an emotional gut level.

But first, the fun part.
Anthony is on the prowl. It doesn't take him long to set eyes on Noah and reach out for what he wants.
...tell me you bottom, and we can skip all that and get out of here.

And that was the beginning of hot, sexy, vers scene after scene. These men were on fahyere.

Yes, sometimes this kind of thing is 'too much of a good thing'. But in this case, it worked. It worked because these guys had such incredible chemistry. Neither were looking for a relationship. It just sort of developed from their insane chemistry and compatibility.

They fell into a long-distance relationship.
We fit together. We just...we just fit. I knew how to make him crazy, and he knew how to make me crazy, and everything was so perfect and so intense...

If you haven't read the previous book in this series, I recommend you do so. Although this one can be read as a stand-alone, I feel like the background gleaned from the previous book added a whole other dimension to this story.

***Spoilers ahead***
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Anthony is Clint's ex-brother-in-law. If you've read the previous book, you know Clint's marriage fell apart due to violent alcoholism. Noah's resentment towards Clint, and what he put his sister through, is huge. Needless to say, Anthony doesn't have a high regard for alcoholics.

Noah...drinks.

Anthony rationalizes that everyone drinks. Sometimes people drink a lot. It's a socially acceptable intoxicant. In fact, it is so prevalent that it's hard to be sociable without it.

Yet...Anthony is uncomfortable with excessive drinking. He watched his sister's life fall apart because of it. When he notices that Noah drinks quite a bit more than he does himself, it makes him nervous.

I loved Anthony's courage to address difficult issues with Noah. Even when he was afraid of a conversation going sideways or starting an argument, he never backed off from discussing an issue that worried him.

But this was a long-distance relationship that only allowed them to see each other a couple of weekends a month, at most. Noah could make allowances for Anthony's discomfort with excessive alcohol for the little time they spent together. Anthony was important to Noah, so he did his best to modify his drinking habits when they were together. This helps Anthony put his misgivings aside and not give undue weight to the signs. Those signs are very, very difficult to see in a society that considers drinking alcohol a requirement to having fun. Everybody drinks!

Noah drinks...a lot

What follows is a heartbreaking view of Noah's final slide down into alcoholism. Seeing both men's anguish. Feeling the helplessness that they both felt. It gutted me just as it gutted Noah and Anthony to be in that position.

It was easy to understand both sides of it because L.A. Witt did an excellent job with each viewpoint. The writing and editing is spotless. The theme addresses an important social issue that is mostly ignored in our society.

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I am not going to pull out my soap box on the subject of alcoholism because this is a book review. I am just grateful that there are authors like L.A. Witt who are not afraid to address serious issues in the tropes they choose for their books.

3.5 stars - This is book 3 of the series and it sort of follows the previous book in that Anthony is Clint’s ex-brother-in-law. He comes to Anchor Point to support his sister and her kids on a visit to Clint (their father). It is an important connection in that it was alcohol that Clint turned to in order to self-medicate his PTSD which hurt and caused him to lose his family. It was that experience that ended up a big sticking point in this story.

During his visit to Anchor Point, Anthony goes out to find a hook up and meets Noah. They are both looking for the same thing and boy did they ever find it with each other. Scorching sexual chemistry with both of them liking things exactly the same way – a little rough, with lots of delicious dirty talk. They begin their relationship with hot sex which leads to texting and Skype sessions, which leads to more visits filled with hot sex. They get to know one another, mostly during their time apart, but we don’t see a lot of that. There was a lot of hot sex in this relationship, if you didn’t catch that.

As their visits become more frequent, Anthony begins to notice some red flags concerning Noah and his drinking habits. As is typical, assurances and excuses are made, and the relationship continues. Not long after they share “I love yous,” the red flags start waving again and things fall apart.

Noah finally wakes up (literally) when his friend and co-worker gives him an ultimatum and reality check. Lose his job, career, relationship, etc. or continue down the same destructive path. It doesn’t happen overnight, but Noah finally realizes he has a problem and decides he needs to take action. While this aspect felt a bit rushed, due to the bulk of this story being a sexfest, I liked that Anthony stood his ground and was adamant that Noah get help for himself, but also that he was there for Noah once he decided to do so.

This was not my favorite of the series, but it was still a great addition to the series. Ms. Witt is a pro at writing the hot delicious sex and military trope, and this one is no different. The alternating POVs here worked well in showing how each character was feeling and affected by everything. I also loved seeing Clint and Travis again and that they were doing well and I can’t wait for Will’s story!

Sexy, steamy, and sensitive!

Once again we head back to Anchor Point and this time Witt delves into the choices, struggles, and fallouts of alcohol addiction and reminds us that sometimes we find what we want and need when we least expect it.

The writing is sultry. The characters are sympathetic, sincere, and committed. And the plot, which has a little less depth than the previous novels in the series is ultimately about military life, friendship, alcoholism, acceptance, support, desire, and explosive chemistry.

Overall, I have to say this is a deliciously erotic novel written in alternating points of view that allow a genuine look at all the unfolding dynamics, relationship drama, emotion, and salacious scenes through each man's eyes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Riptide Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book in L.A. Witt's Anchor Point series but can easily be read as a stand-alone.

Anthony, an engineer from Denver, meets Noah in Anchor Point during his visit to support his sister Mandy, Clint's ex-wife from Afraid to Fly. Anthony comes off as a bit of an asshole and has no time for Clint, an alcoholic who put his sister through hell, and after spending the greater part of two days glaring at Clint, visits a gay bar where he runs into Noah:

“[Noah:] Can I buy you a drink?”
[Anthony:] “Yes, you can.” The redhead looked me up and down in the most deliciously lewd way, and met my eyes again. “Or tell me you bottom, and we can skip all that and get out of here.”

Chief's Mess is a bit of a mess, plot-wise, but the sex? Dear gawd, the sex is plentiful and richly described. Anthony and Noah are positively platinum in the bedroom and their sexual chemistry is off the frickin' chart. These two men connect (and connect .... and connect) on a very basic primal level and of the three books in the Anchor Point series, Chief's Mess wins the "Epic Sex" award hands down. Sexy? Ooohhhh, yeah.

However, plot and character development get shoved aside by all that sex. Basically Anthony and Noah have sex, sext, Anthony flies back for a weekend, sexSEXsexSEX, more text and calls, more visits, sex ... rinse, lather, repeat. In a nutshell, the pace of the book is way too slow for the amount of plot and the character development is negligible. Around 75% of the book, Anthony begins to strongly suspect that Noah has a problem with alcohol and while there is a resolution and an epilogue that deals with this, it seems a little too late.

L.A. Witt and a military setting is a great fit, but this book did not work for me. Just Drive is my favorite of the series so far, but I am intrigued by the next book Rank & File, featuring Senior Chief Will Curtis.

While I did not enjoy this book as much as the first two in the series, it was still an great read. The chemistry between Anthony and Noah was off the charts and the sex scenes were well written. The alcoholism plot was dealt with very well but it could have used more meat. Loved that Clint was an integral part to the recovery process. Looking forward to the next book in the series.