The Captain and the Best Man – Catherine Curzon & Eleanor Harkstead

*I received a free ARC of this book, with thanks to the authors. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Blurb: FROM POPULAR AUTHORS OF GAY ROMANCE, CATHERINE CURZON AND ELEANOR HARKSTEAD

Book four in the Captivating Captains series

When Josh meets handsome airline pilot Captain Guy Collingwood on a sun-kissed island, he finds out what flying first class really means!

When Josh leaves the rainy shore of England for the sun-drenched tropical island of St Sebastian, his biggest worry is remembering his best man’s speech. But a chance meeting with handsome airline pilot Captain Guy Collingwood leads to a hot and raunchy holiday romance.

Guy’s everything Josh is looking for in his ideal man. Mature, dashing and confident, he’s also single and more than happy to show Josh the pleasures of St Sebastian. Yet Guy’s unruffled demeanor hides a past regret. Is the wedding of Josh’s best friend about to reopen a painful chapter that has never fully closed?

As a fearsome tropical storm threatens the island paradise and a broken family threatens Josh and Guy’s happiness, the stakes have never been higher. Can St Sebastian work its magic to heal past wounds and will Josh and Guy’s holiday fling take flight?

This Captivating Captains series is perfect for fans of steamy, but sweet, MM romance, and this – the fourth standalone book in the themed series – is another great addition to the collection.

Josh is in need of a bit more excitement in his life and his chance comes when he agrees to be best man for his best friend at his tropical destination wedding. As a bonus, the captain of the plane happens to be both gorgeous and willing. But as the coincidences stack up and the skeletons begin to tumble out of family closets it starts to look like Josh and Guy are in for a bit of turbulence and possibly a rough landing.

As usual with this writing team, the romance between the two main characters is an uplifting mixture of adorable true love, romantic sex and some truly cheesy puns. The banter between the characters establishes them as friends as well as lovers, and lightens the tone for the more emotional, dramatic sections of the plot.

The ‘big plot twist’ is pretty easy to spot from the reader perspective, but that doesn’t stop the tension building towards the climactic reveal, as we wait for the characters to catch on to what we already know, and for the storm (emotional and physical) to do its worst.

There is also a very quick progression here from the initial meet-cute to soulmate status, and it is clear that however significant the obstacles seem (most of the communication problems here are technical rather than emotional, but those are the least of their issues!), Josh and Guy are love-at-first-sight made for each other.

If you’re looking for a feel-good, easy read for these sizzling summer days, then this tropical wedding romance is just the (plane) ticket!

Josh ordered a latte, then selected a cinnamon bun from the pastries on offer. It was the last one, a complicated twist of pastry zigzagged with icing and dark with cinnamon. He’d never seen a bun like it.
“If that’s really the last bun, you’d better hope you’re not on my flight,” a plummy voice announced from behind Josh. “Or I’ll make it a bumpy landing.”

– Catherine Curzon & Eleanor Harkstead, The Captain and the Best Man

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