Advance & Retreat

The Midwest Series, Book 4

By: Brigham Vaughn

Narrated by: James Edward Jones

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

Great narrator and MM contemporary story

I've read this author before. I've read book 1 of this series too. I listened to the audiobook. This is a MM contemporary story set in the USA. Main characters are Ricky a Hotel Manager and part time drag queen and Olympic swimming hopeful Ian. Great story with a slow burn for Ricky and Ian. I really enjoyed the road blocks they faces together and alone. Great side characters as well. Can be read as a standalone.

Pretty Good

They say opposites attract. This is no more true than in. this story. Ian, a closeted-ish gay man who happened to be an Olympic hopeful, lived and breathed swimming. He was drawn to men dressed as women, but still attracted to the man underneath. Ricky was a sassy drag queen, unlucky in love, as men tended to treat him like someone to use once, lured by the illusion of womanly beauty, and quick to run when faced with the man Ricky ultimately was underneath. Ian and Ricky were fated to be together, although it took awhile for them to make it work. But anything worth keeping is not meant to be easy. After they get out of their own ways, they learn how good the are together.

I really enjoyed this book. The narrator was good, although he tended to trip over some of his words when he spoke quickly. But I enjoyed listening to his voice and he read the story very well. I highly recommend this book.

Advance and retreat

I really enjoyed listening to this book the narrator did a great job and the story was really interesting I enjoyed how Ricky and Ian met and though they had some rough times with their relationship they worked together to make everything work and I’m happy with how things ended up with them

Just might be my favorite of the series!

I have loved every book in the Midwest series so far but Advance & Retreat might be my favorite! Ricky was such a fun character when he appeared in previous books but not much was known about him and I loved getting to see all the different sides of Ricky and Rosie. Ian's backstory was so incredibly heartbreaking but you couldn't help but want him to find all the happiness after everything he had been through. There were so many sweet moments between these two men, the whole story felt like an emotional but warm hug! Its always fun to see characters from previous stories and see what they are up to in the future and I love that we got to see all the MC's from the first three books in this story. The narration was absolutely fantastic and I love that the entire series has the continuity of the same narrator. James Edward Jones brought the characters to life without distracting from the story and to me, you can't give higher praise than that to a narrator! Hope more of Brigham's books will be available in audio soon!

A good story if you stick with it.

I did enjoy this story but parts of it were hard to read. Some of the flashbacks felt awkward it’s the way they were stuck in there. The dates being out at the beginning of each chapter make you think everything is set during one time during the story but it really isn’t. It made those parts kind of difficult to figure out. I loved everything about Ricky. He is fabulous, both as himself and as Rosie. Ian just had to get his head out of somewhere dark and see how toxic his swim coach really was. He also had to wake up and realize that everything wasn’t about him, not that he was too terribly arrogant to begin with thanks to the personal losses he had suffered in his life. But he does have privilege and he knows it. I love the other drag queens and their friends too. The audiobook of this was ok. Again the story was good but I didn’t really care for the narrator. His voice kinda put me to sleep.

an unlikely match

Advance and Retreat is Book 4 in The Midwest series but can easily be enjoyed as a standalone. This is an enjoyable story about Ian, a college swimmer, and Ricky, a hotel manager and drag queen. Through an unlikely chain of events Ian and Ricky find themselves in a relationship working on their baggage together. I liked how Ian grew as a character. For awhile there I didn't like him much but I tried to understand where he was coming from. Ricky helped him a lot. I liked how Ricky never lost who he was. There was a lot of trust issues these two had to wade through but in the end the love they had for each other was bigger than other people's ideas about whether or not they should be together. Ricky and Ian made unlikely pair but they really are sweet together and I'm glad they got their happy ending. 
Narrator James Edward Jones has a nice voice and does a wonderful job.

Accepting All of Someone!

I very much enjoyed James Edward Jones as Ian and Ricky! I believe he narrated this entire series, so I am definitely
going back for more! This romance can be read as a standalone. Ricky could be a bit of a drama queen but that was all part of who he was and all his previous disappointments. He was worried about not being accepted as Ricky and Rosie, as no one had ever accepted all of him. Ian has struggles of his own trying to balance his feelings to Ricky and his chance at the Olympics. This was a very realistic and emotional slow burn story, but don't worry Ricky does finally get his own true love!

Such a great story of growth and love.

Ian knows what he likes and who he wants to date but how can he align that with the rest of his life. But he wants to have Ricky in his life and needs to grow up and be true to himself and the man he loves. This is a fantastic story of love, family, and standing up for yourself.

A unique and lovely relationship

Ricky loves being a drag queen, but he’s tired of being alone. Ian is a swimmer bound for the Olympics, who’s learned he’s attracted to drag, and especially Rosie.

Their first night is a dream come true for Ian, but he’s not sure how to feel, then figures out he wants to get to know Ricky, not just Rosie.

Their romance builds, and they share their losses and passions, finding they have more in common than at first blush.

But Ian wants to hide Rosie from those that will judge him, his coach and his brother. It all comes crashing down, and he hurts Ricky, loses him, and realizes he’s screwed up. He makes some big changes in his life, acknowledging how abusive his coach is, and how his brother isn’t helping his career.

Ricky won’t let himself be hurt, but also sees how difficult things are for Ian. With Ian’s efforts to come out as loving him, all of him, it gives them another chance to make things work.

Quite an interesting perspective on the marginalization of drag, another divide in the LGBTQ+ community. I love the healthy view Ricky has of himself and his uncompromising nature when it comes to his identity.

Really good read.

I received this ARC for free, and am pleased to provide an honest review in appreciation for this book.

Audiobook

Found it difficult to fully immerse myself

I have enjoyed the entire series but I found it hard to embrace Ian for some reason. I did however liked seeing Ricky get his HEA. I did question sometimes on what a 35 year old would see in a 22 year old for a long term relationship as there are plenty of times where his immaturity and lack of relationship experience shines through. Especially in how he handles his brother and coach. And on the other side, Ricky is an emotionally mature man who has a strong sense of self. The narrator gives a strong performance yet again. I have enjoyed his work through the entire series. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this audiobook.