Strong Signal
Megan Erickson&Santino Hassell
Release date: 15 Feb 2016
Blurb:
I was counting down the months until the end of my deployment. My days were spent working on military vehicles, and I spent my nights playing video games that would distract me until I could leave Staff Sergeant Garrett Reid behind.
That was when I met him: Kai Bannon, a fellow gamer with a famous stream channel.
I never expected to become fixated on someone who'd initially been a rival. And I'd never expected someone who oozed charm to notice me—a guy known for his brutal honesty and scowl. I hadn't planned for our online friendship to turn into something that kept me up at night—hours of chatting evolving into filthy webcam sessions.
But it did. And now I can't stop thinking about him. In my mind, our real life meeting is perfect. We kiss, we fall into bed, and it's love at first sight.
Except, like most things in my life, it doesn't go as planned.
*Strong Signal is a standalone, full-length novel with no cliffhanger*
My Review:
I adore both Megan and Santino and have read all their books. So when I found out that they'd written a book together I literally squealed! My author collaboration wet dream had come true! I had no doubt I'd love anything these two have written. And yet I was still surprised by how much I loved this book.
Silly me. I should have known better.
Strong Signal is about falling in love with someone you've met online. In this day and age we've all made friends and/or lovers online. Some more successfully than others, but we've all done it.
The story rings true to our generation. We seem to have deeper and more meaningful connection with people we'd never met in Real Life than our own families.
In Strong Signal we have the sexy soldier - Garrett - stationed thousands of miles away from home, and the geeky twink - Kai- whose life revolves around gaming. They meet online and eventually develop a relationship deeper than friendship. Meeting in Real Life becomes a matter of 'when' not 'if'. But once they meet, the struggle to learn how to be together threatens to overwhelm them both...
I don't want to say too much because the blurb doesn't give too much away and in my opinion the book is best to be experienced without any prior knowledge of the plot. I was surprised at every turn, never knowing what to expect next and I feel that's the best way to read it.
However, I'll go ahead and say this: Strong Signal is a touching story. It really resonated with me. I have many friends I've met online - and some of them in Real Life later on - and I'm extremely thankful for them. They're there for me when I have a bad day or in a stressful situation or when I go into full meltdown mode. They're also there to share a stupid joke, buddy read a book with me or simply say Good Morning.
Kai and Garrett's story is so real, so moving and inspiring. It touches on with some very real and very scary issues, but the authors manage to deal with them in a sensitive manner. No contrived melodrama here, folks.
Garrett and Kai's story is also very funny at times, and don't even get me started on the sex scenes! Phew, these two can write a sex scene!
Megan and Santino's writing styles complement each other perfectly! Usually when I read a co-written book I can always tell who wrote what, but in Strong Signal the words flow so seamlessly that I had a hard time figuring out who wrote what scene.
I can't recommend this book enough! It's amazing so don't even think about it - one-click and enjoy!
Oh, check out this awesome Tumblr page the authors created for Kai:
Santino Hassell was raised by a conservative family, but he was anything but traditional. He grew up to be a smart-mouthed, chool-cutting grunge kid, then a transient twenty-something, and eventually transformed into an unlikely romance author.
Santino writes queer romance that is
heavily influenced by the gritty, urban landscape of New York City, his belief
that human relationships are complex and flawed, and his own life experiences.Santino writes queer romance that is
heavily influenced by the gritty, urban landscape of New York City, his belief
that human relationships are complex and flawed, and his own life experiences.
Santino's social media links:
Megan
Erickson is a former journalist who switched to fiction when she decided she
liked writing her own endings better. She likes to pretend she has control now,
but usually her characters are the ones who hold the reins. Her romance novels
have a touch of humor, a dash of nerdy, and always a happily ever after. She
lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids, and two cats named after John
Hughes characters. She's still waiting for the party she was promised when she
grew to five feet... maybe because she never got there.
Megan's social media links:
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