4.5 stars ( )

3,3 stars

Anyta Sunday is one of my go-to romance authors, but something about this just wasn't working for me. First of all, 1st person present is my least favorite narrative tense. For some reason it always manages to distance me from the story and feels really unrelatable, unless done really well. The tense is naturally just a personal preference thing, but in addition to that the writing also felt a bit choppy here and there. The actions of the characters were pretty abrupt and I had a hard time really seeing them in my mind. So, not my favorite writing from Sunday, especially considering what I've come to expect from her.

I did really like the slow burn relationship and the focus on family and the growing pains of this tragically reduced family specifically. I always appreciate a story where the characters actually get to know each other properly before falling in love and getting smutty. In this instance, I would have preferred the book with no sex scenes, because the story was much more love than lust centric, in my opinion.

I did like the characters, although they weren't as fleshed out as Sunday's characters usually are.

I guess my main gripe is how sort of forced this story felt. Like it wasn't organically stemming from the author's brain but she had to build it around a flimsy premise without any real burn behind the writing. The scene that really stuck to my brain as a frustrating example was Ben calling Jack to hear his answering machine and the stupid drama that unfolded. Such an artificial conflict to spring. ( )

3.5 stars ( )

Re-read 28/03/2021
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taskgmr#/@>/:I need more. Are there some extra scenes somewhere? :O

The torture of repressed feelings! Ah! Soo good! Poor Ben. Amazingly slow burning romance between 24-year-old Ben and 39-year-old Jack, who is the teacher of Ben's 11-year-old brother.

Ben is cheeky, always flirting with Jack since the moment they met. It starts out innocently, but then due to circumstances, Jack gets tangled up in the boys life, and ends up spending all his free time with them. Both boys are a little lost, they needed an authority figure in their lives, and Jack slowly but gradually became a part of the family. It just happened.

Milo is just as bad as his brother. I loved reading about the siblings. Always teasing each other. Ben didn't know the first thing about parenting, and he was beating himself up over not raising Milo right. It didn't help that the teachers at school were doubting his abilities. Jack helped (though not intentionally), but mostly he let Ben handle each situation as he saw fit, which was quite hilarious.

I loved the mutual longing between the men, the anticipation. This is what slow burn should look like! Well done!

I only rolled my eyes once at a cliché scene. lol Overall awesome!
4.5 stars ( )

This hit the spot - I haven't read Anyta Sunday for a while and I forgot how much I enjoy her writing. Ben and Milo are both so vulnerable and strong and Jack was such a right fit for them. I loved reading about them. This book has just the right (for me) balance of fluff and emotion and fun. ( )