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Advance & Retreat

The Midwest Series, Book 4

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Advance & Retreat

By: Brigham Vaughn
Narrated by: James Edward Jones
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About this listen

A competitive swimmer and a glamorous drag queen…a love worthy of gold or a crushing defeat?

Openly gay college swimmer Ian Harrington is fighting against a current of tragedy. He's grieving the loss of his parents and best friend, and now he's dealing with a toxic coach and judgmental brother. But he won't let that stop him from chasing his dream: Olympic gold.

Ricky Chavez has almost everything he wants in life: a great career, a supportive family, and a side gig as drag queen Rosie Riveting. The only thing he's missing is a partner to share it all with.

When the two men connect after Rosie’s performance, they're immediately drawn to one another. But Ricky isn't the type of man to hide, and with Ian's coach breathing down his neck, he can't openly love a drag queen without making waves.

They'll have to brave deep waters to make it to the finish line.

Advance and Retreat contains a drag queen with a heart of gold, a swimmer moonlighting as a photographer, meddling friends, and a lesson about finding family where you least expect it.

©2020 Brigham Vaughn (P)2022 Brigham Vaughn Literature & Fiction Romance Sports Royalty

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Listener received this title free

I have enjoyed listening to the other stories and this way no different. I really felt for Ian but Ricky is just what he needed. Hotel manager Ricky is full of life. He is also a drag queen which is so important to him and he has struggled with finding someone who will accept this side of him. I really liked this story and enjoyed the narration too.

aww, great story.

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Listener received this title free

Story: Another great addition to the series! Love the variety of characters we meet! Both the MCs were fascinating and the overall story really immersive. Really good!
Narration: Very good performance. I really liked the voice!

Another great part!

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Listener received this title free

I've loved this series and this one is no exception! Both characters have dealt with loss and grief and are still dealing with it. There are so many ups and down, twists and turns throughout this passionate and real story. I love that they work it all out, Ian and Ricky are wonderful 😍
While I feel this is the end of this series there were quite a few hints and things left open that I can't wait for the Chicago Temptations series to find out those answers!!! I need to know 😜!!

Such wonderful characters!

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Listener received this title free

An Olympic hopeful college competitive swimmer and a drag queen… Having read the previous three Midwest series books, this one at face value seemed like a strange pairing, both for a story and for this series, but I was here for every aspect of this unlikely romance, and enjoyed it as much as the other books in the series, and that is a lot. Swimmer Ian has suffered a lot of loss in his young life, and the connection he makes with Ricky/Rosie after a drag performance is unexpected and powerful. Missteps and external forces challenge their viability as a couple, however, and it is anything but smooth sailing for them. I found compelling their mutual vulnerability as they strove to achieve the trust required to sustain their love, and the uniqueness of the drag component in their relationship. One of my favorite tropes is found family, and this story benefits from the strong presence of the three established couples from the previous Midwest books. LGBTQ+ characters supporting and loving each other through life’s ups and downs, functioning as a surrogate family that complements or replaces actual blood family is an essential message of positivity and community. James Edward Jones provides narration that is appropriate and nuanced for these characters, bringing them to life for the listener. Ricky and Ian are one of those couples that stay with you long after the reading/listening has concluded, and I don’t mind that one bit.

Swimmer meets drag queen romance is MM gold!

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Listener received this title free

I absolutely adored Ricky (and Rosie): he’s a caring, gentle soul who loves hard (often too hard) and has been hurt so many times in the past, but instead of becoming jaded, he remains his kind and fundamentally hopeful self.
Ian is an interesting character… despite messing it up with Ricky more than once, I could never really dislike him, because he’s never mean or ill-meaning; he’s just kind of… dumb? Clueless? He just doesn’t seem to immediately realise that his actions and words have consequences and can hurt people. He’s very young, and in time he’ll learn. You can see the effort and thought he puts in to make things right every time.

I am so sorry this series is over, it has quickly become a new favourite and it will surely be on my re-read shelf.

This last book in the series was absolutely amazin

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Listener received this title free

I was given a free arc copy from the author for review.

Story 5 stars
Narration 5 stars

Ian is openly gay. He is a competitive swimmer. His coach is an ass who said he was fine with Ian being gay if he didn't mention it. When Ian starts getting media attention for it though he starts treating him like crap. On top of that Ian has lost not only his parents but his best friend to tragedy in a relatively short time span. He wants to win to make them proud. Also, his brother who raised him for the last couple years is kind of a dick too. He has so much on his plate but he also has an added secret. He only wants drag queens (esp one in particular) but he is scared that will be too much for the people in his life to accept.

Ricky aka Rosie is a hotel manager by day and Rosie a drag queen performer by night. He has great friends and family who support him but he's lonely and he too has lost someone close to him.

When the 2 meet there is instant fireworks. Rosie is aware from the start that nobody can know that Ian is with someone into drag and Ian knows he shouldn't have started something he can't finish but it's impossible to resist.

I enjoyed this book the most in the series. Though Touch and Go was great as well. I loved the addition of drag that you don't see all too often.

The narrator did a fantastic job. They had a very pleasant reading voice. They expressed all the emotions wonderfully and brought the story to life with different voices that suited each character perfectly. Including distinct voices for both the Ricky and Rosie personas.

Wonderful story and Narration

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Listener received this title free

I've been waiting for the bittersweet ending to this series and I was not disappointed.
Ian and Rosie/Ricky were so sweet and tender together.
Both have been tremendously hurt in the past and both had some growing to do in order to be the best version of themselves and for each other.
Honestly, I wanted to knock them around a bit at times.
There's just such a multifaceted depth to the author's characters that makes them so realistic and relatable that you tend to immerse yourself in their world and they almost become friends you could imagine in your life.
A beautiful story about being yourself no matter the cost and recognizing your own self-worth.
James Edward Jones is an unknown narrator to me.
He did a decent job narrating and bringing these characters to life.

Tender and realistic

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Listener received this title free

Advance and Retreat is the fourth book in The Midwest series, but it can be read as a standalone very easily. This was an enjoyable book that featured some well-loved tropes like coming out and age gaps, but done in a unique way that made the story feel fresh.

Ian is a college swimmer with his emotional life in turmoil. Ricky is a drag queen with a popular show, but stuck in a rut when it comes to love. The story of these two men falling in love and taking the steps to unpack their baggage is really sweet and kept me hooked. There was angst and drama with a very happy ending.

The audiobook was narrated by James Edward Jones who does a great job. James voiced each of the characters perfectly and had great narrative pacing. The audiobook production was well done.

Sweet

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Listener received this title free

Gorgeous age gap romance. A jock falls in love with a drag queen, I love that Ian is already out to his family, friends, and team and that the conflict is with him accepting his attraction to both Ricky and Rosie.
This book was in turns fabulous, heartbreaking, infuriating, and hopeful. The drag club and Ricky's housemates were engaging, while Ian's brother and coach were infuriating and hateful respectively. The love and support Ricky/Rosie receives is a stark contrast to the vitriol and pressure heaped upon a young Olympic hopeful.
There's plenty of scenes with the couples from the first 3 books, all of which felt natural to the story progression. And I love that Micah is the one that Ian turns to for advice. Catching up with Micah was a joy because his story was by far the hardest to read and seeing how far he'd come was satisfying.
Excellent job by the narrator, especially with the drag queen's.

Gorgeous

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Listener received this title free

MM, Insta attract, Age Gap, Opposites Attract, Contemporary, Romance. Stand-alone Listen/Read although part of a series. Quite a bit of angst and struggling to cope with grief. Unfortunately I found it hard to concentrate on the story as the narration seemed rather monotone to me and I have ended up replaying quite a lot of the audiobook multiple times to be able to fully understand and enjoy the story. Guaranteed HEA.

Being True To Himself.

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