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lifeand100books's review
4.0
I'm quickly falling in love with Vanessa North's characters as much as I'm falling in love with her stories.
I loved Adam and Harris and was extremely happy with how everything turned out. I would LOVE another novella that gave us a peak into how their lives are now that they're together full time.
I loved Adam and Harris and was extremely happy with how everything turned out. I would LOVE another novella that gave us a peak into how their lives are now that they're together full time.
roses_rose's review
4.0
oh my gosh! Harris, pissed me off but i love him so much and adam. love this book, didnt really like all the angst but i still enjoyed the book very much.
papercranestitches's review
3.0
Note (added 11/03/2018):
In light of recent events, I can no longer recommend this book to my friends (or any reader, for that matter).
However, my Goodreads review space provides me an opportunity to rate and review books, expressing how they made me think, feel, question, or react at a particular moment in time. Sometimes, I use my review space to share stories about my life or comment on the world around me, drawing comparisons between myself and the characters and plot lines that I read about. As such, they are a time capsule of sorts and the historian in me won't let me erase them from the historical record.
So I am going to leave my ratings/reviews intact, but reiterate that I can no longer recommend this book to my friends.
Originally rating and/or review:
*** 3.5 Stars ***
In light of recent events, I can no longer recommend this book to my friends (or any reader, for that matter).
However, my Goodreads review space provides me an opportunity to rate and review books, expressing how they made me think, feel, question, or react at a particular moment in time. Sometimes, I use my review space to share stories about my life or comment on the world around me, drawing comparisons between myself and the characters and plot lines that I read about. As such, they are a time capsule of sorts and the historian in me won't let me erase them from the historical record.
So I am going to leave my ratings/reviews intact, but reiterate that I can no longer recommend this book to my friends.
Originally rating and/or review:
*** 3.5 Stars ***
karlijnmerle's review
5.0
I was feeling a bit lonely and bad. So I was lying in bed with this book and believe me, I read without a pause. Holy amazeballs. These are the story's I love. Hurt, comfort, anger, fear, happiness and love.
At the end I was talking with the MC's and was screaming to Adam 'ask him to go with you!' Sometimes men need a kick at their ass and just TALK. Talk about feelings and believe me, you will be relieved. It isn't so hard. Gosh. Men.
At the end I was talking with the MC's and was screaming to Adam 'ask him to go with you!' Sometimes men need a kick at their ass and just TALK. Talk about feelings and believe me, you will be relieved. It isn't so hard. Gosh. Men.
the_novel_approach's review
5.0
This is a 4.5 star review
A high and tight haircut is a variation on a buzz cut, a favorite of military folks. Yes, I Googled it!! If you want to see lots of pictures of yummy military boys, I highly recommend it. But, if you want to read about one particular jarhead who likes to wear his hair high and tight, and loves the only hairdresser that does it just right, then High and Tight is the book for you. As for my favorite heroes, men in uniform are right up there with werewolves and vampires!
I really enjoyed reading High and Tight because it had everything that I love in a romance novel. The happy ending was sweet, the sex was hot, and the plot wasn’t too complicated. Adam, the navy pilot, fell in love with his sister’s best friend Harris in high school but was too stupid to realize what Harris meant to him. Harris was his first sexual experience with a man, and his own hang-ups would not let him admit that he was gay. Harris, on the other hand, had no problem with his sexuality. After kissing Adam, he came out load and proud. Adam joins the navy to realize his dream of flying planes. Harris stays home and becomes the quintessential gay hairdresser. Through the years, as Adam comes home for leave and they reconnect, but Harris has a rule: if you’re straight you can’t touch my dick. Every time they would meet up, Harris would ask Adam the same questions, and he never liked Adam’s answer.
With the repeal of DADT, Harris thought that their situation would change and even tattooed Adam’s named on himself, but it didn’t. Adam was still stubborn and stupid, but this is a love story and love stories always work out in the end. I loved the ending, very romantic. It made me smile.
Adam and Harris were a cute couple, with a couple of surprises thrown in. While Adam was the typical alpha male in his everyday life, he surrendered himself to Harris in the bedroom. He trusted Harris enough to give up control to the man he loved. It takes guts to do that. When they were together, the sex was hot and written very well. There’s a lot more to their history together. I’m not going to mention all of it because the book is worth reading. Adam and Harris do get their happy ending, it just takes them a while because most of the time men can be stubborn and stupid and can’t see past their own insecurities.
High and Tight was a pleasure to read. I love watching sparks fly when a hot man in uniform and a hairdresser are mixed together!
Reviewed by Lana at The Novel Approach
A high and tight haircut is a variation on a buzz cut, a favorite of military folks. Yes, I Googled it!! If you want to see lots of pictures of yummy military boys, I highly recommend it. But, if you want to read about one particular jarhead who likes to wear his hair high and tight, and loves the only hairdresser that does it just right, then High and Tight is the book for you. As for my favorite heroes, men in uniform are right up there with werewolves and vampires!
I really enjoyed reading High and Tight because it had everything that I love in a romance novel. The happy ending was sweet, the sex was hot, and the plot wasn’t too complicated. Adam, the navy pilot, fell in love with his sister’s best friend Harris in high school but was too stupid to realize what Harris meant to him. Harris was his first sexual experience with a man, and his own hang-ups would not let him admit that he was gay. Harris, on the other hand, had no problem with his sexuality. After kissing Adam, he came out load and proud. Adam joins the navy to realize his dream of flying planes. Harris stays home and becomes the quintessential gay hairdresser. Through the years, as Adam comes home for leave and they reconnect, but Harris has a rule: if you’re straight you can’t touch my dick. Every time they would meet up, Harris would ask Adam the same questions, and he never liked Adam’s answer.
With the repeal of DADT, Harris thought that their situation would change and even tattooed Adam’s named on himself, but it didn’t. Adam was still stubborn and stupid, but this is a love story and love stories always work out in the end. I loved the ending, very romantic. It made me smile.
Adam and Harris were a cute couple, with a couple of surprises thrown in. While Adam was the typical alpha male in his everyday life, he surrendered himself to Harris in the bedroom. He trusted Harris enough to give up control to the man he loved. It takes guts to do that. When they were together, the sex was hot and written very well. There’s a lot more to their history together. I’m not going to mention all of it because the book is worth reading. Adam and Harris do get their happy ending, it just takes them a while because most of the time men can be stubborn and stupid and can’t see past their own insecurities.
High and Tight was a pleasure to read. I love watching sparks fly when a hot man in uniform and a hairdresser are mixed together!
Reviewed by Lana at The Novel Approach
terriaminute's review
3.0
This for me was an average story (81 ebook pages), since if I'm given emotionally immature pairings, I'd prefer better reasons.
The only saving grace was the smart women who care about these guys. It's reasonably well written, it just ticks too many of my 'ugh, no' boxes. I'm never going to love a story where a single honest conversation could have resolved everything years earlier. I'm never going to love characters who expect their love to read their mind, or expect their love to endure emotional hits and still accept them back. Worst of all, neither ticked my 'hero' box. They'll appeal to readers who want to nurse people, but I'm too aware of that fallacy. The one great element in this story is the separation before the resolution, during which Adam makes a rare mature decision. For a pilot, he is awfully risk-averse.
The only saving grace was the smart women who care about these guys. It's reasonably well written, it just ticks too many of my 'ugh, no' boxes. I'm never going to love a story where a single honest conversation could have resolved everything years earlier. I'm never going to love characters who expect their love to read their mind, or expect their love to endure emotional hits and still accept them back. Worst of all, neither ticked my 'hero' box. They'll appeal to readers who want to nurse people, but I'm too aware of that fallacy. The one great element in this story is the separation before the resolution, during which Adam makes a rare mature decision. For a pilot, he is awfully risk-averse.
scorchingnix's review
4.0
Really 3.5 Stars
Reviewed at http://www.scorching-book-reviews.com/a-nix-mm-review-high-and-tight-by-vanessa-north-3-5-stars/
FTC : I requested this book for a fair and honest review. The author has been on the site a number of times.
Wow, this book was an emotionally challenging read. For such a short story, it certainly packed in a lot of angst and, with a mixture of flashbacks and present day scenes, the author did a good job in making sure that the love story didn’t feel rushed. I’m not sure I liked Adam’s methods, or his timing, but it certainly made for a compelling novella. I read it in one sitting… yes, it hooked me in with its angsty goodness :)
Adam comes back to tell the man he has loved ever since he was a teenager that he is ready to come out and have a proper relationship with him. Unfortunately, that very same man has since moved on to a new, and very happy, relationship. Completely disregarding this fact, Adam, arse that he is, decides to pursue Harris anyway. I was torn at this point. Although I knew whose love story this was, and who I was supposed to be routing for, I couldn’t help feeling Adam’s course of action was crappy. Jason (the new boyfriend) was a nice guy and, although it was blatant that Harris didn’t love him, it was such unhero-like behaviour it made me question what I wanted from this romance. I was so bloody confused!
I completely understood why Harris was so mad. I’d have been mad. In fact, I think I’d have been completely unforgiving. He expected Adam to come back when Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was repealed. When that barrier to their relationship was lifted, he expected to be able to be with the man he loved and whom he thought loved him back. Instead, Adam stayed away. Honestly, this alone made me question what I, as a reader, wanted for Harris. I knew Adam was sorry, and I knew that Harris loved him desperately, but I didn’t know if it was too little too late. I liked Harris, respected the way he dealt with the things life had thrown at him and I just didn’t know that Adam could redeem himself enough. It was a very clever decision by Vanessa North to write this tale with Adam as the dominant voice; it made it very difficult for me to hate him, even a little, even when he was the one completely in the wrong.
The sex scenes are all completely on the page and I enjoyed the desperation and bittersweet emotions that flowed through them. Adam was touching the man that he loved for the first time in years and Harris, whilst trying to resist, was completely helpless to resist the chemistry and emotion that flowed between them. They were hot, lovely and a little bit sad. I can’t decide whether this is a gay-for-you story or just one of someone finding their soulmate very young. Either way it was lovely.
There was two secondary characters in the story and, although I liked the sisters’ role in the story, the other felt like nothing more than a plot device. I found her presence to be a distraction, her role seemingly only to be a sounding board for characters to make decisions aloud to drive the romance forward. I’m not a fan of the secondary-character plot device but it is nothing more than my pet peeve; she wasn’t in there for me to get to know as it wasn’t her story.
Overall, this was a very emotionally confusing read for me. I didn’t know I wanted to see happen but I sure enjoyed reading it!
Reviewed at http://www.scorching-book-reviews.com/a-nix-mm-review-high-and-tight-by-vanessa-north-3-5-stars/
FTC : I requested this book for a fair and honest review. The author has been on the site a number of times.
Wow, this book was an emotionally challenging read. For such a short story, it certainly packed in a lot of angst and, with a mixture of flashbacks and present day scenes, the author did a good job in making sure that the love story didn’t feel rushed. I’m not sure I liked Adam’s methods, or his timing, but it certainly made for a compelling novella. I read it in one sitting… yes, it hooked me in with its angsty goodness :)
Adam comes back to tell the man he has loved ever since he was a teenager that he is ready to come out and have a proper relationship with him. Unfortunately, that very same man has since moved on to a new, and very happy, relationship. Completely disregarding this fact, Adam, arse that he is, decides to pursue Harris anyway. I was torn at this point. Although I knew whose love story this was, and who I was supposed to be routing for, I couldn’t help feeling Adam’s course of action was crappy. Jason (the new boyfriend) was a nice guy and, although it was blatant that Harris didn’t love him, it was such unhero-like behaviour it made me question what I wanted from this romance. I was so bloody confused!
I completely understood why Harris was so mad. I’d have been mad. In fact, I think I’d have been completely unforgiving. He expected Adam to come back when Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was repealed. When that barrier to their relationship was lifted, he expected to be able to be with the man he loved and whom he thought loved him back. Instead, Adam stayed away. Honestly, this alone made me question what I, as a reader, wanted for Harris. I knew Adam was sorry, and I knew that Harris loved him desperately, but I didn’t know if it was too little too late. I liked Harris, respected the way he dealt with the things life had thrown at him and I just didn’t know that Adam could redeem himself enough. It was a very clever decision by Vanessa North to write this tale with Adam as the dominant voice; it made it very difficult for me to hate him, even a little, even when he was the one completely in the wrong.
The sex scenes are all completely on the page and I enjoyed the desperation and bittersweet emotions that flowed through them. Adam was touching the man that he loved for the first time in years and Harris, whilst trying to resist, was completely helpless to resist the chemistry and emotion that flowed between them. They were hot, lovely and a little bit sad. I can’t decide whether this is a gay-for-you story or just one of someone finding their soulmate very young. Either way it was lovely.
There was two secondary characters in the story and, although I liked the sisters’ role in the story, the other felt like nothing more than a plot device. I found her presence to be a distraction, her role seemingly only to be a sounding board for characters to make decisions aloud to drive the romance forward. I’m not a fan of the secondary-character plot device but it is nothing more than my pet peeve; she wasn’t in there for me to get to know as it wasn’t her story.
Overall, this was a very emotionally confusing read for me. I didn’t know I wanted to see happen but I sure enjoyed reading it!
lauraadriana78's review
4.0
This was lovely. Seriously packed the stuff I love in a story, it had the angst, the “latch on to your heart and don’t let go” characters, and it had STYLE. Yeah that’s right style, those boys were smoking, those tattoos!! *swoons*. What’s more these heroes were approachable and present from the word. I was IN IT with them from the moment I started reading. Even when fuckery ensued-because there WAS angst-I was still with them. Harris and Adam had long hard history together. They’d had a lot of good, but there was lots and lots of bad and sad. Adam had to step up and show Harris he would be the man he deserved, and Harris had to to trust this time it would be what he had always wished for.
Adam Walker has been a Navy pilot for the last 12 years, he LOVES his job. He loves his experiences in it, he loves what he’s achieved. It’s cost him dearly though. It cost him 12 years in the light with Harris. Harris King who he met at 17 and fell madly in love with, he was locked in heart and soul with Harris from the first and it never abated. Harris loved him back too, gave Adam EVERYTHING he had, loved him like he needed. But never in the light, always a secret, because Adam couldn’t risk his career.
Harris was understanding with Adam all those years as much as he could, because he knew as soon as it was OK for them to be together Adam would come for him. The loved each other so much, fulfilled each other so completely it was like they were inside each other. Harris KNEW they were meant to be together forever, even if it hurt to hide, he believed in their happy ending. But once Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed and there was nothing from Adam but radio silence that belief turned into anger. Adam broke Harris’ love.
When Adam shows up for the holidays unexpectedly, you’d think Harris would relish the chance to throw just how how far he’s moved on…Except the only thing that has never worked for him is denying Adam. Being the one person that can give him just what he needs has always made Harris whole. He wishes he could stomp on Adam’s heart just like he did his. He wishes a lot of things…But Adam isn’t taking NO for an answer and Harris never could turn his back the love of his life.
I don’t have much more to say other than I completely enjoyed this novel, the heroes were layered and surprisingly flushed out for such a short book. There were layers upon layers of feeling, things were tough for these guys to work out, but I stuck with them, because I believed they had earned their happy ending. The erotica was top notch, the humor kept things from getting too angsty, and the tougher moments felt warranted and integral to their journey. No gratuitousness here, and I really appreciated it.
I totally recommend this one will be looking for more from Vanessa North in the future.
Too see the delicious wine I paired this lovely story with go to The Tipsy Bibliophile
Adam Walker has been a Navy pilot for the last 12 years, he LOVES his job. He loves his experiences in it, he loves what he’s achieved. It’s cost him dearly though. It cost him 12 years in the light with Harris. Harris King who he met at 17 and fell madly in love with, he was locked in heart and soul with Harris from the first and it never abated. Harris loved him back too, gave Adam EVERYTHING he had, loved him like he needed. But never in the light, always a secret, because Adam couldn’t risk his career.
Harris was understanding with Adam all those years as much as he could, because he knew as soon as it was OK for them to be together Adam would come for him. The loved each other so much, fulfilled each other so completely it was like they were inside each other. Harris KNEW they were meant to be together forever, even if it hurt to hide, he believed in their happy ending. But once Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed and there was nothing from Adam but radio silence that belief turned into anger. Adam broke Harris’ love.
When Adam shows up for the holidays unexpectedly, you’d think Harris would relish the chance to throw just how how far he’s moved on…Except the only thing that has never worked for him is denying Adam. Being the one person that can give him just what he needs has always made Harris whole. He wishes he could stomp on Adam’s heart just like he did his. He wishes a lot of things…But Adam isn’t taking NO for an answer and Harris never could turn his back the love of his life.
I don’t have much more to say other than I completely enjoyed this novel, the heroes were layered and surprisingly flushed out for such a short book. There were layers upon layers of feeling, things were tough for these guys to work out, but I stuck with them, because I believed they had earned their happy ending. The erotica was top notch, the humor kept things from getting too angsty, and the tougher moments felt warranted and integral to their journey. No gratuitousness here, and I really appreciated it.
I totally recommend this one will be looking for more from Vanessa North in the future.
Too see the delicious wine I paired this lovely story with go to The Tipsy Bibliophile