The seventh and final book in the Out of Uniform series, Rough Terrain was a well written finale. I loved the characters and how a first impression is not always all there is. The interaction was dynamic and the story engaging and although I wish it didn’t have to end Annabeth Albert delivered a wonder book and series and one I look forward to recommending to others.

Page turning wonderfulness, this book brings us the story of Navy SEAL Renzo Bianchi and Canaan and former drummer, now a nursing student.
It shows the way that love can overcome all obstacles if you just open your heart and your mind. This story touched my heart so much. It was a pleasure reading it.

I have some mixed feelings about Rough Terrain. Overall I enjoyed it, but there were some niggles.

Bad news first:

-Fake boyfriend trope is never a favorite but has worked for me before. I didn't enjoy it here. I hated the person it was done for and wished Canaan has just stood his ground.

-I also didn't care for the for the rescue mission. It felt too similar to Tight Quarters except I got a little bore and skimmed some of it in this book.

-I hated most of Canaan's old bandmates. Their lousy behavior almost felt contrived; it was too much.

The good news:

-I Loved Canaan and Renzo. They were great guys who were family oriented.

-Nice relationship development.

-Steaming chemistry.

-Dual POVs

-A strong HEA.

As for my final rating, I was torn between 3 and 4 stars. I'll go with 3.5 and round up to 4 since the second half of the book was my favorite.

I am not quite sure how to rate this book. I know that I didn't hate it and did actually enjoy the writing and the story in some way but now that it's finished, I don't really remember much of the story.
I'd probably call it a solid book. Will I ever read it again? Not likely, which is why it gets 3 stars.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5 stars
🔥🔥🔥🔥 Heat Level: 4

Heart, trust, and healing! Wow, what a wonderful story!!

This is the first book of this series that I’ve read and honestly, the first novel of Annabeth’s and I can’t wait to read more, such a talented writer!

I found this story compelling right from the start and while it included a fake-boyfriend trope at the beginning, I felt that this was never really ‘fake’ and the connection between Canaan and Renzo transcended this trope.

I loved Canaan and Renzo! These characters have so much depth, they felt so real to me. I could feel Renzo’s insecurities and his overwhelming guilt, and I could empathize with Canaan’s situation and his desire to just be loved. Annabeth has weaved a wonderful, compelling story with ups and downs, a close call that rattles the characters and a realistic but superb happy ending! This book was an eventful ride to find ‘the one’ no matter who they may be and fighting for that love no matter the sacrifice!

A highly commendable ending to the series and a recommended read! I can’t wait to see where Annabeth will take us next!!

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My 4 star review is up on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2585083821?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

It will be posted on blog and social media upon release and and social media and blog links go live at 6 am cst on 1/14/19..

4 stars
Canaan Finley is a nursing student and works in the smoothie shop frequented by SEALS. He has had his eye on Renzo "Rooster" Bianchi for awhile but never knew that Rooster might swing his way as well. So when he finds out, he makes an offer to hang out and the two share a bit of fun and city adventures.

Rooster is a perfectionist, control freak, and a work-a-holic, but with intimate relationships he is a bit more awkward. Canaan is more flirty, easy-going, bold, and fun. When Canaan needs a plus one for a camping trip with his old band, he convinces Rooster to be his fake boyfriend to get his friends off his back.

They had no idea this was going to be more challenging than they expected. Not only will they be putting on a show, but they will also be put in difficult situations where they will have to trust and rely on each other. But the biggest adventure of all might be trying to figure out if there is any way for them to make a real relationship work when back in their daily lives.

They were not looking for a relationship or love, so their connection was unexpected. Renzo is plagued by expectations, guilt, and pressure. Canaan has his own obligations and has been making changing to his life, but also misses certain aspects of his old one. Both have been working towards new opportunities in their careers. They are both family oriented, unfortunately their families are on opposite coasts. They both add excitement and passion to each other's lives, but also ground and balance each other. But there are no easy fixes to the roadblocks in their way. And they have a tendency to cope and make decisions in different ways.

It all will come down to honesty, choices, faith, hard work, and sacrifice. But getting to that point will take a leap of faith and believing in themselves and each other.

I really liked both Renzo and Canaan and thought they made a good pair that balanced each other out. They had good chemistry, patience, and fun rapport. I enjoyed both of their families and seeing some cameos. This one seemed to be a bit longer than some of the others so some parts might have dragged a bit, but the characters did go through a lot. I felt they were well developed and their problems were realistic ones.

Renzo and Canaan

This author is master with conversations and monologues. Not one dull moment

Canaan... dear, sweet and honest... no second agenda... Renzo has to adjust to all the honest actions.
Renzo is very conservative... always on his guard... most of the time I didn’t like him... but on the other side I love it when characters are flawed... so kind of contradicting huh.. I know...
They are far out of each others league but Canaan knows a way to connect with Renzo.
Asking Renzo to go with him on a weekend trip with his ex band members, as his fake boyfriend so his ex boyfriend will not bother him further, is changing their whole friendship... they start some kind of a relationship. It’s quite a complicated relationship and that’s more because of Renzo and his issues and attitude..
Renzo is a SEAL and before he’d known Canaan he ask for a translocation...

A large story, a lot is happening and like I said not one dull moment. Friends, colleagues, family, a band, a survival trip, sweet lovemaking and a lot more things you can find in this read.
This author has a tremendous way of writing, always well developed main and secondary personalities... overall a wonderful story.

Kindly received an arc from the publisher through NetGalley

Rough Terrain by Annabeth Albert is an adorable conclusion to the Out of Uniform series. It’s been a wild ride!

Canaan has been eyeing the sexy SEAL, Renzo, for a while, and Renzo agrees to go on a date. Canaan doesn’t expect to fall hard for the determined, sweet, and surprisingly vulnerable Rooster.

This was relatively low angst, and it was definitely a character-driven romance. There’s no mission, per se, and I liked the change of pace. I really adored Renzo the most. He has a secret vulnerability to him that I don’t see often, and I loved how it was integrated into the story. There’s no way you can’t just fall in love with the man!

Canaan brings the humor, and he is so forthright and honest, and it was exactly what Renzo needed. They balanced each other out so well! I could have done without the OM drama on Canaan’s side, but I loved his grandpa.

Family and friendship are forefront in this novel, and I enjoyed how everything wrapped up.

3.5 stars!

I've been a fan of Annabeth Albert for a long time and her Out of Uniform series is one of my favorites. Of the title in the series, Rough Terrain just might be my favorite. I LOVED the chemistry between Renzo and Canaan.

I had to reread this as I left it too long between reading and reviewing and I have to say I enjoyed it just as much the second time. I loved Renzo and Canaan and thought they worked so well together despite being so different from each other. The chemistry between them was great and I loved how being with each other made them grow and come to new realisations about what it was they truly wanted in their lives, as well as them both being so sweet together. I thought Canaan's love for his grandfather was really lovely and how if you wanted him then it was a package deal. Canaan's friends, especially Eric, from his old band, I wasn't too keen on and was glad Renzo was their for him when dealing with them. They both had to struggle with life issues to make the relationship work, especially Renzo and I thought that struggle made it that much more intense. I have enjoyed the whole Out Of Uniform series, but I think this is my favourite.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Press for a copy in return for an honest review.

Rough Terrain is a fitting ending to a delicious series. I was delighted to receive my preview copy, and I devoured the book right away. If you’ve read the rest of Out of Uniform, I don’t need to sell you on this book. If you haven’t, feel free to dive in with this one or go back and start from the beginning—either way, you’ll be in for a treat. The characters were engaging and treated each other with respect, the obstacles they had to overcome were believable, and all in all it was a lovely way to wrap up this world of SEALs and their partners. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say I had one LOL moment with “Petty Officer Paternalistic.”

I expected to be sadder than I was to see this series end (though of course rereading is always fun)—but the teaser for the new Frozen Hearts series has me asking why it’s not April yet!

A true love story. Canaan and Renzo are awesome! They are such a compliment to each other. I look forward to, maybe, an update to these two.

This was a great ending to what has been a really good series that I have very much enjoyed and can highly recommend.

While this wasn't my favorite of the series I did really enjoy it and both the characters. Canaan and Rooster were very different men who still fit with each other and brought out the best in each other. I liked the way the the characters met and how the author set up the invite to the camping trip so it didn't feel out of left field. My favorite part of this book was the camping adventure and I really wish that part had been longer and had a bit more drama. Canaan's old band mates (one of which is his ex and the drummer who not only replaced him but who his ex cheated on him with). Lots of potential for drama but it really didn't manifest. There is also a big flash flood which Canaan and Rooster have to escape and then survive until help comes. Again lots of room for excitement and drama but it was over before I really wanted it to be and didn't have any lasting repercussions on the two except that it helped cement the relationship between them. Rooster had some interesting issues with his backstory and I really found that part interesting.

So while I did really enjoy this book I do wish we had had a bit more drama/excitement from the camping/ex/flood portion of the book. This is a really good M/M Military romance and I do recommend it along with the other books in this series.

Rough Terrain is an entertaining read that has a fake-boyfriend storyline along with many other little things driving the plot, making it diverting and pleasant to read.

Content warnings include: sex on-page, flash flood, getting stuck in the wilderness, incredibly rude ex who doesn't get called out for his impossible behaviour????; mentions of injury (broken limbs), disability due to accident, cheating, death of family members

I liked both Renzo and Canaan, the two protagonists of the novel that share dual POVs.
Canaan was refreshing with his honesty and directness. He said he wasn't pushy, but came across that way to me, though Renzo didn't seem to mind.
Renzo is the source of most of the book's conflict - he has several small issues that get picked up as central themes, from the pressure originating from his family's hero worship to not being comfortable with sex due to previous experiences and his size.

In accordance with that are several important conversations that I enjoyed, though I wish they had been more centralized or merged with the overarching plot.
I'm feeling a bit nit-picky or overly petty for pointing this out, because this really was a good book and I enjoyed it. The book and its main events could have been structured a little better, if only to make it feel most like a pleasing whole instead of several smaller arches. The whole thing with Canaan's band and his ex felt completely seperate from the later plot, I wish there had been some sort of connection.

What bothered me the most though was the complete lack of reflection on the military as an institution. There is repeated talk about how Renzo is a hero, partly because he is a Navy SEAL, and some instances of his training which he enjoys, but no mention whatsoever about the not-so-fun or outright questionable parts of his job and the US military as a whole, which felt wrong. Like, sure, this is a romance novel and meant as a fantasy or escapism, but books don't exist in a vacuum. It's similar to how in this day and age you can't write a book featuring cop protagonists without acknowledging police brutality.

One thing I particularly liked was the repeated validation of sex without penetration, especially in the first half of the book. It sadly got a little forgotten later on when the characters' sexual relationship progresses, which is actually something that happens with several other small things as well.

Overall still pleasant to read and very enjoyable.

I was provided with an ARC copy and reviewed voluntarily.

Rough Terrain by Annabeth Albert
Book #7: Out of Uniform Series
Source: NetGalley
My Rating: 5/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: I know I say this every single time I review one of these books, but they just keep getting better, staying totally fresh and relevant, and reaffirming my love of this genre. While I generally like one of the leads better than the other (in most books, let’s be fair!) but I found myself equally enamored with both Renzo and Canaan this time around. Renzo is such a wonderful blend of confidence and self-doubt, while Canaan is simply a care giver through and through. In other words, Renzo and Canaan are the perfect balance, perfect match for one another. To say Renzo and Canaan are put through the wringer is a vast understatement, yet through everything, they support and encourage one another, love one another, and try to overcome each obstacle one at a time. It isn’t all fun and games (and hiking trips) and as expected, there is an emotional roller coaster component to this that always make me quite happy. What else makes me happy?? Grandpa!! As far as secondary characters go, Grandpa kind of killed it and I am so glad to have had him along for the ride. In all, Rough Terrain was an excellent read and I am so glad to still be finding strength and variety in this series.

I've read most of the Out of Uniform series, and this was yet another enjoyable read. The plot revolves around a fake-boyfriend plot, where Canaan (who we met in a previous book in the series) needs a boyfriend for a trip with his former bandmates, specifically an Italian SEAL boyfriend. Luckily, Renzo, the source of the Italian SEAL boyfriend fantasy, is interested right back, and, after some convincing, agrees to go along with the ruse.

It's a slow-burn (very slow to start with), but once that fire starts, hot damn! The sex scenes in this are both graphic and fit the story so perfectly. That said, Renzo's issues (namely that he is well-endowed) keep coming back up (pun fully intended), which got a little wearing

The end result, though, is a story I enjoyed. It's definitely a fun series, and I'm looking forward to what the author does next.

*ARC received through A Novel Take PR*

I was very excited to read this because I had really enjoyed Tight Quarters. Rough Terrain definitely lived up to my expectations.

Renzo and Canaan don't really seem like a match made in heaven at first. They are very different. Renzo is a Navy SEAL who loves the outdoors but shies away from certain topics. Canaan is more of an indoors person, and very, very forward when it comes to sex.

The author makes it work. I like a good, subtle case of 'opposites attract'. The characters can teach each other valuable things they didn't know before. And in this book, as a very steamy bonus, that also means plenty (within reason) good smexy scenes ;)

The reason for not giving it 5 stars was that, for me, because this is a personal taste thing, the amount of angst was not balanced and its climax was misplaced. I also think the relationship might have been slightly rushed in the beginning.

I definitely recommend the book, though!

I absolutely love this book. This one is by far my favourite in the series. A real page turner. I didn't want it to end. The romance between Canaan and Renzo was so sweet. Renzo underneath that big boy persona was a big softy. And Canaan was the one taking most of the lead. The sex scenes were very very HOT. LOVED IT. This book is an absolute Gem.
Thanks the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. The review is all my own.

3.5 stars
Fake boyfriends, love it but I kept screaming at Renzo to get his head out of his butt. These two worked more than they didn't work- make sense? Opposites attract and I think that's more of what I got from these two.
Renzo was a character that I thought would only think about himself, what he wanted, what was best for himself. Then you have Canaan, who is taking care of his grandfather and working to become a nurse, he was not as self-absorbed as Renzo but again, they just worked as a couple. I did change my mind regarding Renzo only thinking about himself by the end of the book.
Hate that this series is coming to an end but I enjoyed the ride.

My love for this series started from the very first book, hasn’t waned and with this latest instalment ,wouldn’t be waning any time soon.

Renzo(aka Rooster) is a teammate of Bacon from the previous book and he’s been paired up with the lovely nurse-in-training-slash-punk drummer Canaan.I liked Renzo’s loyalty and adored Canaan’s spirit of adventure(both in and out of bed). They made a wonderful couple and were sexy as hell to boot.

Unfortunately, they both came with baggage(Renzo’s being of the extra heavy, sometimes selfish and mostly annoying variety lol). It took Canaan’s sheer tenacity and Renzo’s complete re-evaluation of his priorities for him to realise and accept their future together.

I must admit that this story was slower paced than the previous book but still managed to be engaging. As usual,the writing was great and I liked the secondary characters well enough(though not the former band mates; those people can drop off the face of the earth for all I care...they didn’t deserve Canaan).

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book and suspect it might be the last of this series. If it is, that would be sad news but I believe all good things must come to an end. If not and there are more books in this series, count me In! I am sooo here for that!