Title and Link: Maritime Men
Author: Janey Chapel
Publisher URL: http://dreamspinnerpress.com
Genre: Contemporary M/M (military)
Length: short story (63 pages)
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
THE BLURB
SEAL candidates Cooper Fitch and Eli Jones are cut off from the outside world and pushed to their physical and mental limits by the demands of the Navy’s elite training program. Their reliance on each other takes an unexpected turn after Hell Week, the most grueling stretch of basic conditioning, when Cooper and Eli surrender to passion fueled by fatigue, horniness, and alcohol. Despite the danger of being discovered, their intense attraction begins to feel like a natural extension of living, working, and training side by side, and neither is willing to give it up, no matter the risk.
THE REVIEW
Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALS training or Hell Week was over and they had survived … barely. Dead on their feet, Cooper Fitch and Eli Jones were catching their breath when their relationship changed. It started innocently enough, a night out to celebrate with liquor and, of course, women, or as Cooper put it he “cornered a UCSD grad student just after two and had her on her back with her heels in the air by four.” I’ll come back to that comment in my summary. When Cooper returned to base Eli was still awake and after catching up on their evening’s activities Eli went to the latrine and Cooper followed him … one thing led to another and they had a mutual jerk off session before going back to bed. After a while this became a regular and very enjoyable activity between them and they even managed a 24 hour pass together where they got naked.
The next stage of their training involved airborne drills, specifically jumping out of airplanes, and Cooper was ready to call it quits because he balked at the jumps and saw his career as a SEAL taking a dive. However, as usual, Eli had a solution and took control by talking him through his fear, and performed his own brand of behaviour modification by sucking him off right in the Airborne Instructor’s office, and promising a repeat peformance if he made the jump. Of course Cooper passed with flying colours;) The promise of blowjobs after every jump proved to be an incredible incentive as he made it through Jump Week.
Cooper and Eli kept up their close connection over the term of their training and eventually passed and became full fledged Navy SEALS. One aspect of their relationship that grew during this time into something much deeper was the initial bond when they went through the Navy’s elite training program together.
What did I like about the book? The terrific prose and dialogue between the guys and the tight friendship and bonding as a result of being in such close quarters during their training. The relationship between Cooper and Eli was well done and not over the top, after all they were guys, and a hug was as good as a kiss at times. The story was moving in parts as all the recruits supported each other and showed how much they cared for the other person, through all the stresses and phases of basic training.
What didn’t I like? The way the young women were portrayed in the story. In the first paragraph I gave you a sense of one of the references and I wonder if the author felt that she needed to project how men in the forces supposedly talk about women. Another example is this one “Cooper watched her walk back to the bar—legs up to here, hair down to
there?and shook his head. What was wrong with letting a little trim come to you now and then instead of working for it?” I could have done without these comments where the women were treated as if they had nothing going for them except an ability to suck and f**k. Maybe it’s just me but I felt that some of these observations were unnecessary if the only intent was to establish some form of male bonding.
To sum up - the story and the writing are both good, and the characters were well drawn. If you like stories about men in the military you will definitely like Maritime Men.
Loading ...
This sounds good, Wave. I’ve read and enjoyed a short story by Janey Chapel before and this seems like it is just as well written as that was. This book is definitely going on my tbr pile.
Jen
I did enjoy the story and Janey Chapel is quite a good writer. I only wished that she didn’t characterize the women the way they came across in the story. I did love the male bonding parts of the book though.
Thank you for reading and reviewing Maritime Men, Wave — especially since I know parts of it didn’t sit well with you. I appreciate that you were able to separate that from the things that you did enjoy about it. In my mind, Cooper genuinely liked women, but nobody could distract his attention from (or compete with) what he had with Eli; that may not have come through as clearly as I intended.
Hi Janey
Thank you for stopping by.
I always try not to let my personal feelings influence my rating of a book, and I know that others may not even notice some things that bother me.
There is no doubt that you are a wonderful writer and I hope to read and review other stories that you release. Great job. I love military romances.
Thank you, Wave! I love military romances, too — I’m sure this doesn’t surprise you.
I hate to hear that Ingrid had trouble buying the book through the DSP site. I know it’s also available at allromanceebooks.com, and as of today, there’s a Kindle version at Amazon.com
Hi Janey
I don’t think Ingrid saw your comment so I’ll make sure I point it out to her. FYI neither Ingrid nor I have access to the Kindle since she lives in Europe and I live in Canada, and amazon only sells the Kindle to its US customers. Can you tell I’m pissed about this?
Jenre mentioned that you had written another short story. Could you send me a review copy? I could ask DSP as I’m on their list of reviewers, but I don’t know the name of the book.
Great job on the book again. BTW Living in SD smacked me around by telling me that your portrayal of the “bar groupies” was bang on. Obviously I don’t get out much.:)
Hi Wave — I’m soooooo sorry you can’t get a Kindle! Maybe that will change in the future? It’s a marvelous device and many classics are free to download to it — we got the complete works of Shakespeare (including sonnets!) for 99 cents! *boggles*
You may already have the DSP anthology that includes my story — it’s the Reflections of Love anthology, published this past Valentine’s Day. My contribution is “The Wild Side.” If you don’t have it, let me know.
I saw that comment from LISD — it’s reassuring to hear from someone with “eyes on the ground” about how some women behave around the SEALs. For a minute there, I wondered if I’d just read too many Suzanne Brockmann novels.
Janey
Don’t boast about your damn Kindle.:) Everyone outside the US is mad at amazon because the company is discriminating against its international customers, using some flimsy trumped up excuse. 99 cent classics – well we can’t get them.
I did find the story so now I have to decide if I have the time to review the entire anth. Damn! So much to do, so little time.
Have a good evening!
I wanted to have this one already but I have trouble with DSP’s check out system *grumble*
I really liked this story. I actually thought it was realistic the way she depicted the bar groupies. I live in San Diego and there are women/girls/students who spend weekends s*cking and f*ucking as many military guys as they can so they can brag later. The ones that target the SEALS in Coronado are the worst. Hard to have respect for them when they have none for themselves.
Hi LISD
I had no idea that there are bar groupies in San Diego who act the way these women are portrayed. I visited there on a couple of occasions but saw none of this. Thanks for letting me know. It did jar on me as indicated in the review because I felt that the portrayal was a bit disrespectful. I’ll keep this in mind next time.
Ingrid
What’s wrong with DSP’s check out system? Is this something that can be fixed? Perhaps you should write their customer service department. I’m sure they don’t want to miss out on any sales.
I have already contacted them Wave. DSP admitted they have trouble with their shopping cart system. They are working on it.
Ingrid
They’re updating their web site and will relaunch in about 8 weeks so hopefully the problem will be fixed then.
However Janey says that you can get a copy from allromanceebooks.
The nickname for them is “barracks bunnies” like the “buckle bunnies” on the rodeo circuit, but with less class and more VD.
DSP already offered to mail them and make a separate paypal payment.
Amie
I have to remember that nickname – I was already familiar with “buckle bunnies” because I read a lot of books about rodeos.
Ingrid
I’m sure you’re happy to get your book.
Wave,
I used to be in the military and yes we saw a lot of girls like that and I can tell you that what guys said about them they kind of totally asked for it to be treated like that. In french they called them “les meubles”. It’s always the same girls and they go after every man on base.
And they were also the guy who when thrown with all of his other guy buddies, became the worst jerk ever.
I don’t like when people act like that but I’m happy to see that this author wrote it like it is, even if it could offend some readers. I’m going to buy this book right now.
Thanks again for the review.
Elayne
I live such a sheltered life. I’m very happy that my comments made you want to buy the book.:)
I was going to tone down my comments but maybe I won’t right now, because both you and Living in SD give you perspective on these types of women which you wouldn’t have if I hadn’t highlighted it in the review.
Great review Wave. This sounds like a good one. I’ll have to add it to my TBB.
Lily
It is a great little book and I reallly think you’ll like it!
Books were in the mail!
I was reading and flipping pages and then….. I got the authors details! I could have done with a few more pages *g*. It was very enjoyable story. Thank you Janey.
Ingrid, I’m glad you enjoyed the story — I guess it’s good that you wish it hadn’t ended so quickly?
Are you planning on a sequel? I too wanted more
Janey
I guess we’re all wondering the same thing. Is there a chance of a sequel with the guys? Eli and Cooper are such a fun couple it would be a shame to leave them high and dry.:)
I have learned never to say never, Wave & Lisa G, but I’ve also learned that there’s no forcing the characters. That’s my way of hedging and saying I would LOVE to write more about the SEAL team, but I can’t guarantee it. It’s nice to know that you’d like to see more of them!
Yes, I always want the fun to continue a little bit longer. That’s why I am not into short stories really.
[...] at Reviews by Jessewave gives Maritime Men 4 out of 5 stars and says, “The story and the writing are both good, and [...]
I think this review brings up some interesting issues in the genre of m/m romance which probably have been addressed time and time again and will so until the genre is wiped out along with the rest of the world in 2012
Which is, primarily, how women get marginalised in m/m fiction, and interestingly become the token characters that then need to be granted certain protections. Just as how any depiction of gay characters in mainstream media tends to get scrutinised carefully because it is done rarely in comparison to het romances/characters.
We’ve all seen books where the women in them are token ‘fag hags’, or are bitches obsessed with tearing our romantic heroes apart, or other similar plot tropes in order to hinder/help the characters get together. So when there are only a couple of representations in a story, if they are only negative ones it can be a bit worrying.
I’m not saying this to point fingers at Janey – I look forward to reading the book! – I just think that the review and the comments in response to the review have shown some interesting opposing views in the depiction of women in this genre.
Do women therefore need to be represented differently in m/m fiction because they are the marginalised characters just as much as the male protagonists?
Yeah, I think they do. What does everybody else think?
Hi Sean
From my perspective I don’t care if there are no women in M/M romances because I read the genre for the men, not for the females, regardless of their roles. In this case it struck a nerve with me because I had read another M/M romance recently where the women were treated in a similar fashion and I wondered – why bother to have females in the book at all if all you’re going to do is denigrate them?
There is no need to either demonize or portray women as the bitch from hell, or the other character some authors love – the girl who would open her legs 24/7 to any man. In some cases these portrayals might be true to life as a couple of the bloggers pointed out – the “barracks bunnies” and “buckle bunnies” but do we need to read about them in these stories? Why?
In terms of the male protagonists, I have a gay friend who lives in the same Province I do in Canada who objects strongly to the portrayals of gay men in these books because he feels that the women who write M/M romances portray the men as fuck machines who are mostly one dimensional. I don’t know how you feel about all the sex in M/M books (or any erotic book for that matter) but I mostly skip over it and try to find a story, if there is one. I don’t know if other readers feel the same but lots of times I find all the sex boring and repetitious. Too much of a good thing I guess. Very few authors can pull off a story with lots of sex – it takes ingenuity and imagination to do so. A limited number of authors do it well and the sex enhances and moves the story along, but these are skilled and talented writers and I know many of them because I read and review the majority of their books and they are auto buys for me. Their books tell a story and is not an excuse for two guys to go at it like rabbits.
Back to female portrayals in these books – as I mentioned earlier, I read M/M books strictly for the men and their relationships, and I could care less if there are women in these books. When I want to read about women I’ll read a het book or general fiction. But if an author is going to have women in M/M books maybe they should wonder how they would feel if their sisters or mothers were characterized the way some of these women are. I’m not saying that female characters should not be portrayed negatively but maybe more thought needs to be given to having fully developed three dimensional characters (with all their flaws and positive attributes) if you’re going to have women in these books at all.
Having said all that, I want to restate that Janey did a terrific job on the book and I did enjoy it very much. My comments are in no way a reflection on her talent as a writer or the content of the book, but an isolated observation about one aspect of the story.
I have to say that it’s rare in m/m fiction to find a female character that I like and identify with. On the whole they are made up of stereotypes – the fag hag, the annoying female friend whose actions cause more harm than good, the slapper who wants to separate the heroes, the ex-wife who is only after money, etc, etc. In some ways I agree with Wave, if these are the sorts of women who are going to appear in m/m then I’d rather not have any female characters at all.
On the other hand, when done well the female character can counteract all the testosterone in an m/m book and is often the voice of sense when things might get a bit heated. Sean wrote a great, sensible friend in Fran from Tigers and Devils and I’ve seen it done well in quite a number of other books. There’s also much scope for sensitive portrayals of family life using mothers and sisters who help the hero through any difficult parts. In fact, I often find that Mothers in m/m books are the best kinds of female characters and less likely to grate on my nerves
What I can’t understand is why some authors feel that they have to add a ‘token female’ to their books. It’s almost as though they feel that there has to be a woman to make us straight female readers be comfortable. If that’s the case then these authors are misguided. Like Wave I read m/m for the heroes. If I want to read about a woman I’ll go back to my m/f historicals!
Wave, that’s so very true. When they’re the only female characters in the story, they tend to stick out – and when they’re negatively portrayed it feels like an indictment against women in general. Just like if you’re watching a film and there’s only one gay character and they’re the villain. Jen makes a good point about how women can be shoehorned into the plot perhaps because the author feels they need women in it – as you both say, people read m/m for the men – but I’d like it to be a realistic depiction of their world as well. Gay guys do not exist in a gay bubble where they only have gay men to associate with. If there is a gaytopia, it’s been left off the map and must be invite only. And no girl cooties, either, apparently!
And Jen, thanks for what you said about Fran. I really wanted her to come across as less token-ish. I can’t speak on behalf of every queer man out there, but I have plenty of strong women in my life so I like them to be in my fiction as well.
Sean
No girl cooties for me:) But if authors are going to insert women into an M/M book let’s have a range of female characters, not the one dimensional ones I have seen in a lot of M/M books. As you say, there is no gaytopia and there are women in your world, and maybe a few sensitive/strong women (mothers, sisters, friends, bosses etc) to counteract all of the negative stereotypes would be a good start.
Wave, Sean, et. al.,
I’m enjoying this discussion — it’s always good to get different perspectives!
Wave, I’ll be interested to hear what you think of Cheyenne, the protagonist’s best friend in “The Wild Side” — that short story in the Valentine’s anthology. There’s some “fag hag” to her, but I hope you will find her to be more three-dimensional than that.
Janey
I will definitely read your story The Wild Side. Jenre just posted her review of Reflections of Love today and she thinks very highly of your story.
Re the issue of women in M/M books – Sean, Jen and I will do a generic post, not highighting any author or books, but asking bloggers for comments on how they feel about the portrayal of women in M/M generally. As I mentioned before, I read M/M for the guys and it doesn’t bother me if there are no women in the books (no girl cooties):) fag hag or otherwise, but as Sean pointed out, there is no gaytopia. I hope you will comment.
I’ll keep an eye out for it, Wave — it sounds like a topic that will generate a lot of interesting discussion.
[...] military romances of note that I like are Out of the Blue by Josh Lanyon, Maritime Men and Anchors Aweigh by Janey Chapel, Her Majesty’s Men by Marquesate, Because of the Brave and [...]