Rating: 3 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance
Length: Novella

Hunter, cosmetician to the stars, is in a bind.  His babysitter for his son Chase hasn’t shown up and he is late for his job making actors look like movie stars.  A friend recommends Terry Rayburn and isn’t Hunter surprised when Terry turns out to be a man.

Terry is everything that Hunter’s applicants for the nanny position are not: liked by Chase, competent, and male.  Terry is studying Early Childhood Education and Nutrition and is the perfect candidate, especially since his is sexy and just Hunter’s type.

Newly employed by Hunter, Terry is convinced to model for Hunter’s cosmetics company and reluctantly agrees, with the proviso that young Chase is properly cared for. Hunter and Terry’s attraction to each other after the photo shoot is blatantly obvious and their relationship undergoes the change from employer/employee to lovers.

Chase’s mother, Rebecca, was a close friend of Hunter’s and died in a car accident.  Where Hunter got off the party train, Rebecca kept going until her death.  Now Rebecca’s parents are back in the picture, threatening to sue for custody of Chase and tear Hunter’s little family apart.

I read Nanny Dearest a few years ago when it was released by a different publisher and while I wondered if there would be differences in the new edition I took on for review, I found it unchanged.  I will admit that I was an M/M newbie when I first read it and now that I am more knowledgeable in the genre, I find that it is not the sweet story that I remembered.  I was actually a bit disturbed when I read it this time around.  There were multiple instances of Hunter using his position to get his way and from their first kiss to sex, it was obvious that Hunter was in control.  It struck me as dubious consent when it came to all of Hunter and Terry’s physical encounters.  Terry may not have said “no” but I got the feeling that if he had been more self-confident, he would have taken Hunter’s advances and told him to go to hell.

The dialogue between the characters was choppy with awkward phrasing and quick subject changes. Friend and roommate Joel, was a solid secondary character, but even here, his reference to Terry sneaking girls in to their dorm room was odd. Is Terry gay? Bi? I felt a bit confused since we know he was a virgin.

In the end, the premise was cute but the execution fell flat and I cannot see myself reading this story again when there are so many awesome stories featuring male nannies that hit the mark.  Although it is readable, unfortunately, I cannot really recommend Nanny Dearest.