High praise to L.A. Witt for “Sink or Swim,” the eighth installment in her Anchor Point series, for addressing bigotry in the Navy – anti-Muslim/anti-gay sentiment, plus misogyny. With Witt’s thorough knowledge of military life, she credibly depicts the harrowing choices seamen must make, in this standalone novel.

Alhazar Bukhari has recently divorced the lesbian mother of their two children, who is also a retired sailor. Their marriage shielded them. Now a civilian contractor, and a Muslim electrician retrofitting the USS Fort Sevens, Alhazar attends chapel to perform salat, prayers said five times daily. After a post-9/11 salat assault, he never expects the ship’s Chaplain to be so welcoming.

Chaplain Dylan Pedersen, came out as gay at the end of “Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell,” to set an example as an officer. And Dylan insists the chapel serve as sanctuary for all religions to worship. But he hasn’t kept himself safe.

Dylan has recently left an eight-year abusive relationship, which followed ten-years of denial – a marriage with two children. His conscience chides him for helping others without living freely himself. In fact, his narcissistic ex continues to mentally harass him, leaving Dylan so fearful he can’t even leave base to shop!

When sparks fly between Dylan and Alhazar, they give in, admitting they aren’t perfect models of their religions. Expecting to keep it light, they are pleasantly surprised by the ease of their bond. But both men encounter bigotry surrounding them and those who report to them.
What can anyone do to fight against these odds? And, as middle-aged men, with no success at honest relationships, how can these two overcome their negative pasts?

“Sink or Swim” wowed me by contrasting Dylan and Pedersen’s natural affinity, with the snubs, rude gestures, and endangering acts which various characters endure. Witt demonstrates the hypocrisy of those who speak of a “God of love,” while behaving heartlessly. Yes, Dylan and Alhazar depart from their faith’s norms, but never to justify harming others.

Another important disparity starts with Dylan’s abusive ex. He made Dylan look like the abuser, while victimizing Dylan. “‘He’d spin it so I was the manipulative one. He’d tell anyone who’d listen how I didn’t care about him and never did, and paint himself as the victim.’” Dylan tells Alhazar.

Isn’t that much like the men who harass Alhazar’s female co-worker, then shift the blame, saying she’s so sensitive they can’t work without worry of offending her. “‘It’s like teasing a dog, and then beating it when it finally gets mad and bites you,’” Dylan tells Alhazar. Witt highlights the similar narcissism of domestic abusers and people who demand others conform to their beliefs, and preferences – the very crux of bigotry.

And while these issues are weighty, the sexy sweetness of Dylan and Alhazar’s romance is also a perfect contrast. Readers root their love on, even as dread builds for brewing conflicts. Kudos for Witt’s subtly drawn resolutions and her ability to gently see all sides of issues.

For while the topics seem complex, Witt’s style makes for an amusingly easy read. We learn delightful nautical terms. (Look up “cruise sock.”) There are several giggles, like when Alhazar invites a shy Dylan to coffee, “‘You know-hot bean water.’” And middle-aged romance positively swelters!

“Sink or Swim” is like peanut butter – classically satisfying, and surprisingly healthy for the soul!

I do enjoy this series from LA Witt. This was a nice addition. I apprecitate the fact that both MC were older and established. Also while one was in the closet with his parents, both were out for the most part. This made the conflict more internal than anything else. I also appreciated Witt's inclusion of current issues into the plot line such as sexual harrassment and how different religions interface while living on a ship. The characters were interesting, though Dylan did frustrate me. I needed more information about why his previous relationship was abusive for me to understand his inner turmoil. I did enjoy that as a paster, his character was not perfect. As always, Witt really knows her military stuff. Her books are edited well and it was nice to see some characters from previous books in the series.

Sink or Swim is book 8 in the Anchor Point series. Alhazar needs love, Dylan needs time two men who want each other but will their fears be overcome with their love. I enjoyed this story and it is a great addition to the series.

♥.•*¨)☆♡¸.•*´¨)☆♡¸.•♥*´¨)☆♡♥
♡☆(¸.•♥´Living one's truth is better than living a lie.

Everyone gets to the end of a book and especially if it's a series, deem it, "my favorite". I can personally say, the Anchor Point series have brought me nothing but joy in my reading. It is one of my favorite genres, men in uniform and includes drama, romance and lessons learned.

In this eight book, we meet Alhazar, a Muslim ex officer who is now a Navy contract worker and Chaplain Dylan, who is both present in service and a part of the religious order of the company. What makes this book so good is the fact that both men are gay, in a society that does not believe that a Muslim man or a man of the cloth can be anything but straight. L.A. Witt painted these two to be both thriving men who would do anything to keep peace within their faith and family. Neither hindered, but seemed to compliment the other.

The only fly in the ointment was Dylan's slimy ex who could not get it in his head that no meant no and "hit the road Jack."

Some may have mixed emotions about the roles of faith and sexuality displayed in this book. At one time I would have been on the fence myself. However, after being ally to such a great community and meeting such wonderful people, I am still of the #LOVEisLOVE frame of mine and that is never going to change.

Thank you L.A. for such knowledge you have imparted on us readers. I am forever grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to voluntarily and honestly reviewed this book without bias or persuasion from the publisher through Netgalley

I must say I was very pleasantly surprised by this story. I’ve followed the series and have only given one other book in the series 5 stars, but this one is certainly worthy of my highest rating.

Was it the characters? The topic? The setting? The insight into Naval operations? I think it may have simply been the combination of all of the above. Certainly, these two men are among my favorite MCs and most definitely make an outstanding couple.

Chaplain Dylan Pedersen has recently left his partner of eight years—his very emotionally abusive ex-partner—one who wants him back and is using Dylan’s family and friends to persuade Dylan to come back. When Alhazar Bukhari, a civilian electrician contractor, comes to the chapel to ask for space to store his mat and Q’uran, the two are immediately attracted, but it’s not until they find out that they are both gay that they act on that attraction. And when they do? It’s one of those explosive up-against-the-wall sex scenes that this author does so well.

The thing I liked best about this story is that while there are indeed some mighty hot times between the sheets, there’s so much substance to the relationship development of the two men. And there’s more to the story. Alhazar’s son is gay and has a steady boyfriend, though both are still in high school. We learn of his culture, his prayer times with both children, his unusual past marriage to his best friend who is a lesbian and served in the Navy at the same time as Alhazar. We witness his fear over telling his parents, even though he’s over forty-years-old. And we see what a good friend he is to his coworker, Kimber Fraser, whose dad is Clint Fraser from Afraid to Fly. Kimber is suffering from harassment from her fellow male employees and though the author explores the subject and clearly shows the stress Kimber is under, at no time did I feel I was being lectured or that Kimber’s concerns were minor.

In response to the recent concerns brought to him by LGBTQ men and women as he counsels them in his capacity as chaplain, Dylan organizes an LGBTQ support group for those working at the base and for parents of LGBTQ children. Helped by Alhazar and others we’ve met in the past, including Mark and Diego from Once Burned, the response to the group is overwhelming, leaving Dylan happy and proud. Naturally, shortly after that, he has a face-to-face confrontation with his ex, and Alhazar’s presence complicates Dylan’s attempt to stand up to his abuser. It’s not until he officiates at the wedding ceremony for Diego and Mark that Dylan faces his own needs and realizes he’s had happiness within his grasp all along but walked away from it.

Thankfully, our guys get their HEA, and as a reader, I feel that I’ve gotten so much more than simple pleasure from a well-told story. I learned more about the needs of sailors and their family members and the issues that come up during deployment. Also, I learned more about the Muslim religion from this one story than from any other single source.

I can happily say kudos to LA Witt for bringing this story to life and I very highly recommend it.

Sink and Swim is another great book from the Anchor Point series. I love L.A. Witt books. She shows the fears, love, and lifestyle in all cultures. The interaction between Dylan and Alhazar was sweet and on point. I was looking forward to the interaction between their kids and their reactions also. It was a great read and I’m looking forward to book number nine.

3* I had to skip the tons of boring, repetitive sex to be able to read this. Good tale in parts, but utterly unrealistic in others.

I read this with interest from an ethnic perspective, wanting to know how a Muslim could reconcile his religion/beliefs/faith and his sexuality, especially his being gay. I think the author 'got away' with it, as she did with the chaplain character who, yes, whilst not ordained or bound by not being allowed to have sex whilst unmarried, managed to bend stuff to suit him.

The result was that I didn't like either character for being so shallow in many ways, but, I did like the Muslim guy's backstory. I unfortunately didn't buy his parents being so with it, so accepting and welcoming even, because I'm roughly his age and I know that my Asian mother would have struggled with a gay child and grandchild. It'd have been lovely to have been able to suspend disbelief and go with it, but I couldn't - and this is me in liberal London not buying it.

As for the tale? Not much depth to it, and tbh, I skipped the last in the series, but I did skim read Diego and Mark's tale. So, it was disappointing to see so much uncertainty and so many nerves being expressed by Mark in this tale. To me, it feels as if this series is now really tired and I can't see myself picking up another book, though I will still read the author's works, because she does do quality reads.

ARC courtesy of Riptide Publishing and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

As always with this series, I loved the story and the character's. Honestly, this one wasn't what I was expecting but the story of acceptance of both religious differences and sexuality, was written very well. I even got a little teary eyed a few times. Another great read in this series that I hope never ends!

Another great story in the Anchor Point world but this one is more than just your ordinary military world MM story. It bridges so many painful, abusive stories with the fear of coming out along with the reconciliation with your religious beliefs and inter-religious relationships. Those who fear what they don't understand tend to lash out and many of the characters in this story must deal with the backlash of that fear. It is a story about learning to love yourself enough to grab the happiness that is right in front of you and healing from the pain by those who say they love you but choose to hurt you emotionally.

Book number 8! Whooeee. It doesn't seem like there's been that many already, but I've read every single one.

In Sink or Swim the characters are older, in their forties. But I don't think they act any different than if they were in their twenties. Aside from both of them having a past, it seemed a pretty typical, "can't keep my hands off of you", romance.

Alhazar's past marriage made me a little squeamish. Especially since they had kids. I didn't particularly enjoy thinking or reading about that. It had a squick factor.

I would normally be turned off by any religion in a steamy romance novel, but I was able to just skim right over most of the mentions in the book. They were not in depth portrayals of religion. Just passing notice of the many different types of worship with an overall feeling of we're all alike.

There was a surprise reveal about prescription meds around the 50% mark. It really came out of nowhere and I don't think it had anything to do with the story. It was jarring for being so out of place.

My biggest problem was not being to see Dylan as a victim. He came across as too assertive for me to really believe he'd let himself be emotionally abused for 8 years.

The very best part was Alhazar's parents reactions at the end of the book. But the teenage boys cuddled up asleep on the couch came in a super close second. *melty 💓*

3.5 stars

and a big thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC via NetGalley.

Sink or Swim is the 8th book in the Anchor Point series, this story concerns Dylan a Protestant naval Chaplain and Alhazar a Muslim retired from the navy but now working as a civilian electrician on the navy base. Both have previously been married with children but now divorced from their wives. When Alhazar asks Dylan if he may use the chapel to say his daily prayers he is impressed that Dylan has no hesitation in agreeing and is an open minded caring Padre, Alhazar has faced much prejudice since 9/11 and coming out as a homosexual.
They are both immediately attracted to each other and a relationship develops. For me there was much more depth to this story and the difficulty faced by people be it their sexual orientation or religion was dealt with very well.
A well constructed story and an enjoyable read.

ARC Review: Sink or Swim by L.A. Witt (Anchor Point Series)

Reviewed for Netgalley

This is my second favorite read in this series by Witt. I enjoyed the freshness of the characters and the unusual obstacles they faced between their closeted pasts and their religions. When I first read the blurb, I wasn’t sure a romance between a two religious men could really hold my attention, but Witt’s Chaplain was un-chaplainlike enough to remain interesting, and Alhazar was a well written character with a very unusual family dynamic. I found that I especially enjoyed the chapters written from his point of view.

I did think that Dylan’s family was a back-burner, rather unnecessary plot. His kids got so little ink that their only point seemed to be to give Dylan one more way to relate to Alhazar. Whereas Alhazar’s children and ex-wife gave him depth and had a rather sad but necessary reason for existing, Dylan’s seemed to fall far short of that and didn’t add enough to the story to make a difference.

Though Witt’s usual style of repetition was still present, it was nowhere near as prominent as it has been in passed books, which made Sink or Swim a much more enjoyable read.

Alhazar walks into to the Navy chapel unaware he just changed the course of his life. Dylan, the chaplain, has never seen a more beautiful man. When Alhazar asks if it is ok to say his daily prayers in the chapel Dylan immediately say yes.

They strike up a friendship. It's enough at first. Both are divorced, both have children. Alhazar lives next door to his ex wife, raising their kids together. Dylan's family is further away but he is close to them.

Dylan is a few months out of an abusive relationship. The man took every bit of Dylan's soul and crushed it. He is so unsure of everything. Afraid to leave the base because he doesn't want to run into him. The man was such a master manipulator that even Dylan's mother is urging him to go back.

When they discover an interest in each other they dive into the deep end. Soon spending every moment possible together. When they run into Dylan's ex everything starts to fall apart. Alhazar doesn't see a way to repair the break. Dylan finally does what he should have done months ago. He wants Alhazar, and it's time to take control of his life back.

This was an interesting book to read. I've never read anything (or researched) the Muslim religion so Alhazar’s devotions were new to me. I liked how the author made their different religions basically a non issue. Treating both men a human beings who should be worlds apart but are instead able to set aside religious differences and be together. I thought it was a nicely done story.

This was my first book from L.A. Witt and my first in the series. It did not disappoint. Great characters development. Good pace. The two leads came from different cultures and it was refreshing to read. I'll definitely check out the other offering in this series.
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review. Thanks.

Alhazar, retired from the Navy and now a civilian electrician working on the USS Fort Stevens, hopes to find a relationship that will mesh with his Muslim faith. Dylan, a Navy chaplain, is recovering from a longterm abusive relationship when Alhazar asks permission to say his prayers in Dylan's chapel. The two men are instantly attracted to each other, but their relationship is tempered by Dylan's fears of running in to his ex.

L.A. Witt's latest military romance is a joy to read. Both men work hard to communicate their feelings, fears, and hopes with one another, and it's incredibly touching to see how they incorporate their faith into everything they do. I especially loved how Witt provides glimpses of other couples from earlier series titles; issues haven't been magically resolved, but with love, patience, and counseling, people continue to grow. Witt's workplace harassment subplot is realistically handled, and both Dylan and Alhazar's actions embed them in a wider community. "Sink or Swim" addresses loneliness and faith within the queer community in a way that's especially kind and gracious, and the story's resolution is the stronger for it.

Dylan and Alhazar meet in the chapel aboard ship. Alhazar looking for a place to do his daily Muslim prayers and Dylan the Protestant chaplain on board. What starts out as secret longing turns into the real thing when both admit their feelings. But can love override their obvious differences? This was the perfect book and the perfect dynamic to display not only loving yourself for who you are but also loving others that are different. Acceptance of our differences no matter if it is race religion or sexual preference is the key to finding happiness. This was an incredible read.

Hands down one of my favorite books in this series. I loved Dylans's character. I am sad we did not get to see his daughters just heart about them in passing unlike Alhazar's kids who we saw interact with the couple. They are the cutest couple i have read about in a while and the ending was so satisfying.