Title: Made for You
Series: Love & Family: Book Two
Author: Anyta Sunday
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 258 Pages
Category: Contemporary, New Adult
At a Glance: As with most all of this author’s books, I highly recommend this one. It’s a lovely, low-angst, feel-good romance that will absolutely leave you smiling.
Reviewed By: Jules
Blurb: Ben wants to find a new home.
Twenty-four-year-old Ben McCormick is the primary caregiver for his brother Milo after their parents’ death. A year into the job, he’s totally got the hang of it. Mostly. Sort of. Not at all?
Defeated and thoroughly chastised for his lack in parenting skills at teacher-parent night, Ben slumps away with the resolve to finally get his life sorted: be a better role model, and sell their parents’ house for a fresh start.
But first, he needs to spruce up his house to hit the market. He’s no DIY king, but Milo’s hot-as-hell woodwork teacher is…
Jack wants an old home to fix.
Thirty-nine-year-old Jack Pecker is waiting for the home of his dreams to come on the market in the summer. What better way to wait the interim months than working on a small renovation gig?
Only trouble is, the gig is for the McCormick brothers. And working in close quarters to red-haired Ben McCormick won’t be easy. Not with the attraction that simmers between them. Attraction Ben makes no effort to hide.
But Jack’s professional. Dating a parent is highly discouraged at Kresley Intermediate, and he’d never cross the lines…
Ben and Jack. Two guys searching for a home –
– a home that might just be where their hearts lead them.
Review: On the surface, Ben and his little brother Milo seem like they’re doing fine. Other than a minor (ok, it’s major) Fanta addiction, and the fact that painful memories are keeping them sleeping in the guest cottage rather than the main house, they are doing what they need to do to get through each day and keep their heads above water. But when Milo’s woodworking teacher agrees to do renovations on the house to help get it ready for Ben to sell, he sees below the surface. He sees an eleven-year-old who desperately loves his brother, but misses his parents, and needs some discipline and direction. He sees a twenty-four-year old who was prematurely thrust into parenthood and is doing his very best but is also losing himself because of making his brother his priority. It takes no time at all for Ben to realize how much he needs Jack. He and Milo both need Jack’s warm, solid presence. But it takes Jack a bit longer to admit how much he needs them right back.
One of the things I loved about this book was how perfectly Sunday wove together the different elements of the story. There are two distinct love story threads…the familial love between Ben and Milo, and then Ben and Milo and Jack…and the romance between Ben and Jack. And they all flow together seamlessly. Jack and Ben are immediately and intensely drawn toward each other, but Jack also pretty quickly begins to feel a need to support Ben in parenting Milo. As a teacher, it comes naturally to him, and his age and experience give him more confidence when it comes to discipline and guidance. Which is lucky for Ben, who is steadily going broke from bribing his brother to do everything.
The family stuff was fantastic and heart-tugging, of course, but Ben and Jack’s romance was obviously also a major part of the story, and it was so sexy, fun, and sweet. Ben’s relentless flirting and pursuit of Jack in the beginning had me cracking up, and I loved watching them dance around each other as they tried to ignore what was happening between them. I loved how great they both were at communicating and letting each other know exactly where they stood. There was no “big misunderstanding” or anything of the sort here. Thank. Goodness! My one, teeny little niggle is wishing we’d gotten a little more backstory on Jack. Though I completely adored him, I wish we knew a bit more about him.
Anyta Sunday is the queen of the slow-burn romance. As a self-professed lover of writing these types of stories, she definitely knows her way around writing characters who take their time falling in love, or, in some cases, professing their love. And, I mean a lottttttt of time. Which, as a reader, I both really appreciate and hate. Ha! Truthfully, though, it’s much more the former. One of the reasons I adore her stories so much is that she puts her characters through their paces, makes them really work for it, and it always pays off. A love that’s hard-won is so satisfying and often more memorable than some others might be. Sunday’s newest release, Made for You, absolutely fits this mold.
As with most all of this author’s books, I highly recommend this one. It’s a lovely, low-angst, feel-good romance that will absolutely leave you smiling. There is so much good stuff here…Age gap, a funny kid, a sexy contractor, and a ton of UST. But I promise all the waiting is worth it! Definitely check this one out, guys. 😊
You can buy Made for You here:
[zilla_button url=”http://authl.it/B07QQ4TZLW?d” style=”blue” size=”large” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon/Kindle Unlimited [/zilla_button]