General Misconduct

De: L.A. Witt

Narrado por: Greg Boudreaux

After a Marine roughs him up at a gay bar, Ensign Aiden Lange has some cuts and bruises on his face that are sure to raise questions at work. At the urging of a sympathetic cop, he spends the next day hiking to Okinawa's Hiji Falls where he'll claim he hurt himself in a fall. But at the end of the trail, he's in for a pleasant surprise - a gorgeous young guy in a pair of swimming trunks.

Connor didn't come up to the falls to find a man, but when the ensign with the bandaged eyebrow finds him, he's instantly intrigued. A hike turns into dinner, and before either of them know it, they're inseparable. Connor's experience with men is limited, but Aiden is gentle and - in spite of their mutual hunger for each other - infinitely patient.

It's a small world, though, and an even smaller island, and when Connor's father catches the two of them together, he's more than just an overprotective dad - he's one of Aiden's high-ranking bosses. With a few phone calls, he can derail the Naval Academy grad's carefully planned career trajectory. The ultimatum is simple - stay away from Connor, or kiss his dreams of advancement goodbye.

Aiden's not so easily deterred, though, especially when it comes to someone like Connor, so the two continue seeing each other in secret. But there are only so many places to hide on a tiny island, and sooner or later, Aiden's going to have to choose - Connor or his career.

This 63,000 word novel was previously published.

©2017 Lori Witt/L.A. Witt (P)2017 Lori Witt/L.A. Witt

Unexpectedly Bad

Normally, I love this author but this is really, really bad. I love cars. I like car movies. I was expecting a gay Fast and the Furious and I got a book about a mysoginistic trash bro and his equally mysoginistic meathead broFF sucking at every human thing besides driving a car, and the lack of writing around that is a let down if you like cars.

The offhand comments about "being a woman" or "acting like a woman" whenever the main character has an errant feeling that isn't anger or smugness is annoying, but I rage quit the moment the main character sees a woman driver and looses his mind. This is a grown man in the indy race scene. If he's never even heard of a woman driver, he's got medical problems.

Not even Greg Boudreaux can save this thing.

Boudreaux is a master

We met Aiden briefly in Conduct Unbecoming, when he’d been roughed up by a hook-up gone wrong. At the suggestion from the cop that took his statement Aiden hiked up to the Hiji Falls to post some pictures and use it as an excuse for the bruises come Monday, after all, the hills up there are very steep and telling everyone that he’d taken a tumble was far preferable than the truth. On this hike he met Connor, a mesmerizing young man. They had an instant attraction to each other and they started dating. Their happiness didn’t last long as they were discovered by Conner's dad - the general, one of Conner’s superiors. The general forbids their romance and orders them apart, unless Aiden wants to be transferred off the island. However Aiden and Conner can’t and won’t stay apart, so instead they started to sneak around.

Again, there is a strong presence of the military in this book. Not so much the daily duties and obligations, but more in the sense of restrictions and how it impacted the lives on those stationed at Okinawa. Who they could interact with, or rather not interact with. I don’t only mean in a romantic sense, but also genuine friendships that are apparently not allowed outside one’s own rank. As for Connor and Aiden, I really don’t see why it was such a big deal as it was, I mean Conner wasn’t the one in the military, rather his dad was. I know that we don’t live in a perfect world, and many aren’t free to love whomever they want, it just hits me sometimes, the unfairness of it all.

Anyway, Aiden and Conner had to sneak around. Hide from everyone. They were caught by Conner’s father, so there was some back and forth – should we or shouldn’t we, is it really worth it and so on. Some of that I could get behind, it fit, but after a while it got a bit repetitive and where I just wanted to tell them to make up their minds already and stick with it, preferably talking it out and deciding together would also be a good idea. Then there was the ending that was a bit abrupt, in a way. I mean after all this back and forth, everyone makes a 180 and suddenly everything is alright and will work out.

In the review for the previous book I said that I was surprised at Greg Boudreaux’s narration, that the voices weren’t distinct. In this book I didn’t have that problem, it was easy to follow along and the voices were easy to separate. Boudreaux is also a master of adding feelings to his narration, making you feel what the characters feel and adding that extra level of connection between the listener and the story unfolding.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

Loved!

For some reason, I have a soft spot for military fellas so I’m certainly biased with this book. Nonetheless, this author always gives solid, enjoyable stories and she’s an auto-buy for me. And this narrator, too, never disappoints me. HEA all around!

I love this series

Loved getting to see Okinawa again through the eyes of the characters. It really made me mad that Conner's father just told them they couldn't see each other & threatened Aidan's naval carrier & they just believed him. I'm glad to see that he did finally came around in the end. I can't wait for the next book in this series.

Really enjoyable

This author is a great author and this story was really enjoyable. It is just not as complex as book 1 and therefore I cannot grade them the same. Book 1 will be more memorable for me but this story was nonetheless worth listening to. I did have a problem w/ the narrator who sounded exactly the same for both characters.

Good Story

I reviewed this earlier, but I had a bad audio feed, and thus missed some key details, but I listened to it again today. It was excellent as usual. I truly enjoy your books, especially your military romance novels.
Linda Barr

Awhhhh.... Gushing!!!

Such a tender gooey story.

Loved it!

To find your one true love in your first ever relationship is so romantic. I swear I couldn't stop swooning over this adorable couple.

The Narration was excellent!

Love or a Career, which would you choose?

Where does General Misconduct rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

How many time can I answer this question with, at the top?

What other book might you compare General Misconduct to and why?

Conduct Unbecoming, same Author and same Narrator.

Have you listened to any of Greg Boudreaux’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I generally purchase audiobooks simply because he narrates them. This book did not disappoint. Boudreaux (the spicier alter ego of Greg Tremblay) gives his performances everything he's got, literally. Every nuance is captured, every groan, even sharp intakes of breath can clearly be heard. The characters come to life in a way and their story is clearly conveyed.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I can't say all of them, can I...

Toward the end of the book both men have to really consider what they want from the other. Whether or not their relationship is strong enough to risk everything for. These several chapters were particularly moving and emotional.

Any additional comments?

Tams e-book review July 2014...

This is the sequel to Witt's best selling novel, Conduct Unbecoming. While this book could be read as a stand alone, the sequence of events in this story happen at the same time the events were taking place in Unbecoming, so I'd recommend reading them in order so you can fully appreciate the story and the characters.

Ensign Aiden Lange recently graduated the Naval Academy at Annapolis and has been stationed in Okinawa Japan. Although 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' has recently been repelled, Aiden still keeps his sexuality a secret at work. That is until an encounter at a local gay bar leaves him with a busted up and bruised face. He confides in the officer that is sent to file a report because he senses an understanding in him, and so two days later Aiden is off to Hiji Falls to fake an accident in an effort to explain his face when he's back at work.

Connor Bradshaw lives on the base with his overprotective father, General Bradshaw. His father has no problem with him being gay, he only has a problem with his son dating anyone under his command, which knocks out about ninety nine percent of the male population in Okinawa. When he first meets Aiden at the falls, Connor deliberately doesn't state his last name. He knows the man would run away if he knew. So he and Aiden being a courtship in secret until the General gets suspicious and follows Connor to Aiden's apartment.

The General forbids any type of relationship between his son and his Ensign, but Aiden and Connor decide it's worth the risk and continue to see each other in secret. Stolen moments at the library, escapes to the various castles and beaches on the island, late night drives and dinners to out of the way places they hope they won't be seen at. But the sneaking around and lying will wear anyone down, and when forced to make a decision between his career and love, will Aiden make the right choice?

Okay, I think we all know I absolutely love LA Witt. Conduct Unbecoming was one of my first M/M reads, and is still my favorite M/M book to this day. What I love about Witt's writing is her ability to paint a scene like an artist with a brush. When you are reading this story about Okinawa, you are literally transported to the island in Japan, surrounded by the beauty and the landscapes there. And then woven into that beautiful backdrop is a story of struggle, fighting for what you want and finding yourself with the person you fall in love with. That is the story of Aiden and Connor.

When Aiden is described as infinitely patient it is absolutely accurate. He's had the ability to explore his sexuality as to where Connor has not. They slowly learn about each other as they slowly fall in love. And while Aiden worries about Connor's inexperience at one point, he quickly realizes that that is the reason he fell in love with him in the first place. And good lord above, these two LOVE to kiss. I don't think I've ever read a book with so many variations of kissing and so much of it, but that is the beauty of this couple. They are very tender and loving and the way they are written conveys that love and tenderness for the reader to appreciate and enjoy. The scene on the beach, with the sunscreen... Wow, holy fuck me, Wow!

Oh yes, this is a must read. If you like coming of age stories with ZERO angst (thank god!) and are a romantic at heart, you'll love this book.

General Misconduct, an excellent read

LA Witt, dud it again. General Misconduct, was written, performed with the usually quality that's expected.