I'll Be Your Drill, Soldier by Crystal Rose

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About The Author:

Crystal Rose on GOODREADS

Genre:

M-M Romance/ Contemporary

Summary on GOODREADS:

Ryan Gracin had a good life until he told his parents he was gay. Since they yanked their support for college he had to find a way to pay for it. Little did he know that joining the Army was going to change his life forever. Especially when he was introduced to a Drill Sergeant who was nicknamed 'Big Daddy'. Phillip Grabowski had joined the Army to follow in his father's footsteps; by the time Ryan entered, he had already made a name for himself. He was a soldier's soldier, but Ryan was making it really hard for him to remember that.

MY REVIEW:

They were quiet. They were deadly.

They were United States Fucking Army.

As I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death! I will fear no Evil!”

“As I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death! I will Fear no evil!”

Phillip's face grew hard. “For I am the baddest motherfucker in this valley!”

One word: U N P U T D O W N A B L E !!! 

Super-Funny, Way-Too-Hot & very Emotional.

From the first page you get sucked in this crazy world of the USA army and stay so til' the very end.

Every page of this book was simply amazing. I fell in love with the story and all of its characters from the first page and kept on falling with every next chapter. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard while reading a book. It made me so happy :).

The story follows the life of the young soldiers and their bad-ass Drill Sergeants through years, from their 8 week training, then going to war, this time fighting for real and trying to survive. It's a story about unbreakable bonds of friendship and loyalty between soldiers who go literally through hell and back while trying to survive and not lose their minds after all the horrors they've been through. It's about their families faithfully waiting and praying for them to come home alive and flinching every time the phone rings, because it might be "that call". It's about love, true love, that even distance, time and years apart can't break. The main character is a soldier in training Ryan a.k.a Freckles with his 3 Bffs: Kenneth a.k.a Rosy-Ass, Patrick a.k.a Gandhi and Brendon a.k.a Furry and Drill Sergeant Philip Grabowsky a.k.a Big Daddy/ The Antichrist, or his personal favorite Boy-King with two other, equally as bad-ass Drill Sergeants. I can't express how much I loved each end every single of these characters,  they were just adorable, especially Ryan with his unstoppable and totally cute giggling in the most inappropriate moments and Phillip with his bossy and dominant, who's-your-daddy attitude. Their crazy 8 weeks in training and the silly little and hilarious E-mails between them and their friends are my favorite parts of the book.

The hot and palpable chemistry between Ryan and Philip was there from the moment they met and the scenes between them were...let's just say, I got these strange urges of wanting to be a gay dude for a moment. There, I said it :D. The hot scenes weren't the focus of the book which I liked and there was just the right amount of them and at the right moment. The ending was simply beautiful. It wasn't too cheesy like it's usually the case with romance books. It was simply right and made me a bit teary-eyed, but from happiness. All in all this book is a MUST-READ for every M M romance lover out there.  Drill Sergeant Crystal Rose, respect!

Now, to get this gift you have to stay sharp. Keep your head down. Don't be a hero unless you have to. All you have to

do is survive. I know you can.

***Here's WHAT my friend IVA SAID about the book***

My feelings! My f*cking feelings! I don't know if I want to cry or laugh or just pray to God and thank him for everything! I loved this book! Ryan and Phillip were amazing and the whole crew of soldiers. The connection between them, the love and friendship they share for each other, they would all die for each other and THAT will never disappear! It all just gives you a sense of pride. They are US Army soldiers and they sacrifice their lives, their family and their sanity to protect everyone. As they say:

"They came in as boys, go out as men."

The basic training from the beginning is the funniest part of the book. I can't even count the number of times I LOL-ed like crazy and remember the time I had a better laugh. Phillip and Ryan grew an attraction for each other but it took them years to be together and they're an awesome couple - HOT and a little cute too ;)
There are a lot of hardships revolving around the consequences of being in a war and dealing with them with the help of your fellow soldiers, also what happens when someone close to you suffers and gets wounded or even killed in the war? How does the family and everyone at home cope with the fear of losing someone? Can love survive the long absence and distance? Find it all out in this very funny but strongly emotional book.

*** Great news for all of us who enjoyed  this book is that there will be a sequel *high five* :D. The publication date hasn't been set yet, but the author wrote on her blog that the book is finished, but unfortunately, she doesn't have an editor, so she has to do all the work herself and we'll have to wait a bit more, but lucky for us, she did give us a small SNEAK PEAK -  check it out!

Here's what she said about the 2nd book:

"It's actually finished...but I am going through and tweaking things. This has been one of the hardest stories for me to finish off. The first story deals with friendship and some with the horrors of war. But, the second deals with the aftermath. Phillip is not a very good 'sit back and wait' sort of character...this book deals more with his injury and the fact he's not superman. Which throws him out of his element. Plus, I deal less with the group of friends and more on Phil and Ryan. 

I REALLY want this book to be as good as Drill, but it's reading choppy and the guys are doing their very best to drive me crazy. :) "

There's no doubt in our minds that it will be as good as Drill or even better Mrs Rose! Thank you for writing this great  and utterly entertaining story.

XOXO