Book Review: Made For You (Love & Family) by Anyta Sunday

Made For You is the second book in the Love & Family by Anyta Sunday. Each of the books in all of Sunday's series can stand well on its own, but fans and returning readers will be glad to see old friends make themselves know in each new book.

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. 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.

Made For You is an emotional story about people finding themselves, family, and home. Ben is doing everything he can to raise his younger brother, but he is struggling and has some growing up of his own to do. Jack has a dream, remodeling a specific home for himself and building his own family. Sometimes what you really need is right under your nose, and terribly inconvenient or ill timed. Watching Ben and Jack build a friendship and everyone trying so hard to do what is right for Milo and each other, while ignoring their own needs, was amazing. Sometimes I wanted to jump into the book and give them all hugs, because they were all trying so hard and struggling. Other times I needed to take a break and cover my face in sympathetic embarrassment for mistakes, assumptions, and floundering explanations. There is just so much honest sweetness and growth in this book that I really still wish i could meet the characters befriend them. Of course, that holds true for all of Sunday's characters so I am not surprised.

Made For You is yet another lovely story by Sunday with a great deal of heart and character growth. I love that their stories are as much about the characters coming into their own as it is about them coming together.