REVIEW: Creek by Nora Phoenix & EM Lindsey (Honorably Discharged #1)

CREEK

Honorably Discharged - Book One

by Nora Pheonix & EM Lindsey

Release Date: February 22, 2024

Review

Each person’s tragedy/loss/pain isn’t a competition. Except maybe in physio rehab!

Creek and Heath are very different men yet they have something significant in common. Which connects them, but also highlights their differences. Creek is struggling to come to terms with the ways in which his life has and will change. He’s grumpy and surly (I would be too). In contrast, Heath is a glass-half-full, let’s make the best of it kind of guy. And nothing makes a grump more grumpy than a positive, smiling person!

Their journey (personal and together) is touching and emotional. It felt real. It was painful and beautiful all at the same time. Both men were incredible and I loved their similar yet so different journeys. It was also swoony and sexy. They had me so wrapped up in their story, I didn’t want it to end.

I know I’ll see more of them in the stories to come, but they really were amazing. And I’m so intrigued to find out more about the others.

This is going to be a fantastic series and I couldn’t be happier to have EM and Nora pairing up.

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Synopsis

Accepting my career in the Army is over after losing my leg is hard.

But the obnoxious, good looking, glass-half-full surfer in my physical therapy sessions is worse.

And god help him if he doesn’t stop trying to give me advice.

Living in a home with three of my closest veteran buddies is a challenge as we all have our crosses to bear and wounds to heal from, but mine only seem to be getting deeper with every step forward I take. I already have to adjust to a new life as a civilian. I don’t need a sexuality crisis to go with it.

But Heath is making me question everything I thought I knew about myself. And while that should terrify me, somehow, he’s helping me feel braver than I ever have before.

Creek is the first book of the Honorably Discharged series, featuring a grumpy veteran with a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas, a sunshine surfer who can bring out the best in almost everyone, a bisexual awakening, found family, hurt/comfort, and a steamy happily ever after.

About Nora Phoenix

Would you like the long or the short version of my bio?

The short? You got it.

I write steamy gay romance books, and I love it. I also love reading books. Books are everything.

How was that?

A little more detail? Gotcha.

I started writing my first stories when I was a teen…on a freaking typewriter. I still have these, and they’re adorably romantic. And bad, haha. Fear of failing kept me from following my dream to become a romance author, so you can imagine how proud and ecstatic I am that I finally overcame my fears and self doubt and did it. I adore my genre because I love writing and reading about flawed, strong men who are just a tad broken..but find their happy ever after anyway.

My favorite books to read are pretty much all MM/gay romances as long as it has a happy end. Kink is a plus… Aside from that, I also read a lot of nonfiction and not just books on writing. Popular psychology is a favorite topic of mine and so are self help and sociology.

Hobbies? Ain’t nobody got time for that. Just kidding. I love traveling, spending time near the ocean, and hiking. But I love books more.

Where to find them:

About EM Lindsey

E.M. Lindsey is a bisexual, agender gay romance writer currently living in the S.E. United States. They're a full-time writer, Classics scholar with a penchant for Ancient Greek, and an avid collector of shoes they will never wear. When they're not found creating happy endings on their laptop, they're either walking their dogs, going on hikes, or enjoying their new home.

Where to find them: