Book Review: The Family We Make by Dan Wingreen

The Family We Make by Dan Wingreen is a contemporary romance. Spencer Kent gave up on love a long time ago. As a twenty-eight-year-old single father with a fourteen-year-old son, Connor, he knows his appeal to the average gay man is limited, and when you factor in his low self-esteem and tendencies towards rudeness and sarcasm, it might as well be nonexistent. But that’s okay. A man is the last thing Spencer needs or wants.Tim Ellis’s life is falling apart around him. After four years of hard work at college, he finds himself blacklisted from the career of his dreams by the professor he refused to sleep with and abandoned by the boyfriend he thought he was going to marry. Even though he was lucky enough to land a job at a bakery, he still feels like a failure.Tim and Spencer’s first meeting is filled with turbulent misunderstanding, but Tim makes a connection with Connor through a Big Brother/Big Sister program, and both men put aside their mutual dislike for his sake. By letting go, they may help each other find their way into a life they never could have imagined.

The Family We Make is a sweet romance that spends as much time on character development as it does the romance. I enjoyed how well developed the major and secondary characters were. I also thought knowing the inner insecurities and anxieties of both Time and Spencer made their relationship and interactions even sweeter.  This book ticked all the boxes for what I enjoy in a slow burn, friends to lovers romance, and a single father romance. I loved getting to know the characters, and thought everything was very well done. However, I have to admit that for some reason I just never connected with the story. At about the halfway point I started to get bored. I kept reading, because I did want to see how it all played out and I wanted to see the HEA- but I caught myself skimming descriptions and Spencer's latest worries until the end. I am not sure if I just was not in the mood for the book or style because I could find nothing actually wrong with the book. It just left me a little uninterested by the end.

The Family We Make is an emotional romance that hits several great tropes, and has very well developed characters. 

Book Review: Sit, Stay, Love (Rescue Me) by Debbie Burns

Sit, Stay, Love is the second book in the Rescue Me series by Debbie Burns. I did not read the first book, but found that while some of the characters were introduced in the first book, I think I was still fully able to enjoy the read without having read the previous book, although those who have will likely enjoy it even more.

For devoted no-kill shelter worker Kelsey Sutton, rehabbing a group of rescue dogs is a welcome challenge. Working with a sexy ex-military dog handler who needs some TLC himself? That's a different story. Kurt Crawford keeps his heart locked away from everyone. Well, everyone except the dogs who need his help and always have his back. But as Kurt gets to know the compassionate, beautiful woman he's been assigned to work with, he can't help but feel a little puppy love.

Sit, Stay, Love is a sweet contemporary romance. Kurt has never been good with words, and is just trying to deal with the loss of the grandmother that helped raised him, and reintegrated to civilian life after losing too many friends and dogs during his tour of duty. Kelsey is more than a little gun shy when it comes to men. The last time she put herself out there it did not end well. When they are brought together to help rescued dogs and fix the house that is housing them, they slowly get to know each other and come together. Each has their faults, and struggle with their inner doubts and demons. I like that they actually talk about things, as much as the taciturn Kurt can, and work things out and trust each other even when appearances make it hard. Family, friends, and helping animals are all key to the story, and I came to love the animals as much as the main characters. I found the secondary characters and the personalities and problems of the pups to be just as engaging as the slow burn between Kurt and Kelsey, and think that the combination of feels and great characters really made this book. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, and need to find the time to go back and read the first.

Sit, Stay, Love is a charming contemporary romance, with characters and animals that tug on the heart strings and leave readers looking for more. I know I will be reading more from this author. 

Book Review: Gemini Keeps Capricorn (Signs of Love) by Anyta Sunday

Gemini Keeps Capricorn is the third book in the Signs of Love series by Anyta Sunday. Each book in the series can stand up fine on its own, however some characters from previous books do have cameos.

Wesley loves annoying his RA, Lloyd Reynolds. He just can’t help it. Lloyd is focused, decisive, grounded. He has this amusing ability to follow rules. Of course Wesley wants Lloyd to break one, or more. But Lloyd doesn’t crack easily. He’s full of principles. He’s unshakable. He’s the perfect friend to have when Wesley needs help. Like with his truant brother and his old high school principal. One little lie is all it takes to find Wesley fake-engaged to his off-limits RA. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Gemini Keeps Capricorn is a delightfully slow burn, and Wesley is a fun but clueless main character that makes the journey entertaining and more than a little frustrating. I loved the banter and friendship between Lloyd and Wes, it made me smile. I found the family drama and hard life choices that need to be made to be on point and realistic. There characters reminded me of people I new in college, and afterward, and felt like people I might run into in real life. The background stories, Wes's brother Caleb and the parent connections, did not distract from the relationship growth, rather they added to it and help build on it. I love that I could get lost in the characters and the day to day issues, and enjoy the developing friendship and more. Sunday's stories are so much about people, life, and getting to know yourself and be yourself that I wish more people would discover her work- particularly those that cannot get past other people being different. I wish I did not have close to two hundred books in my Netgalley queue so I could go read more from Sunday right now, without the guilt. I will get to them though- eventually. 

Gemini Keeps Capricorn is another slow burn from Sunday that I loved. All I could ask for to change here (or any of the books in this series) is to get a glimpse into the other main character's head. I just want more!