Rating: 3.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
After a bad breakup, Aiden has retreated to his family’s cabin and enjoys the quiet days working at the local library. He has certain needs and dreams about what he would like, but never thinks they can become a reality until a stranger continues to visit him in the library. For several months, Aiden waits for the stranger he calls Daddy, and although he has never seen the man’s face, Aiden longs for him. When Aiden tells the stranger he wants him to take Aiden home, Aiden is shocked the next morning to find out that he knows his mystery man and Aiden’s life is about to take a dramatic turn.
It’s more difficult to review this book without giving away the secret. It doesn’t last long in the book and the reveal does happen earlier on, but it’s more fun to experience it as you read it yourself. You also have to go with the premise here that Aiden allows a stranger to put a mask over his face and to do anything he wants to Aiden at his job after hours. While it turns out that Aiden does know his mystery man, it was six months of an intimate relationship before he knew that. The reveal then sets off other issues as Aiden doesn’t know how his family will feel about him having a relationship with this man that he has been in love with for years.
The first part of the book was more about Aiden coming to terms with who his mystery man is and realizing he can actually have a relationship with him. The men can’t keep their hands off of each other and there are a lot of intimate scenes, but because the men have a long history, their bond isn’t shown developing and there is a certain amount I had to go with there as well to get their connection, as it’s already established. There also wasn’t a lot mentioned about Aiden’s need to have a Daddy. Even when the men get together, Aiden likes to use the term Daddy sometimes and likes to give up control, but there is no discussion of it and at times the use of Daddy came off in name only.
The book also has a lot going on with it. For a good portion of the book, I felt like I was coming into a story already in progress. Aiden’s family has issues with both of his brothers and it’s presented as if I should have already known a lot of the backstory. This book is not listed as part of a series, but I have seen the author mention on social media that more will be written for the brothers. But this story didn’t fully resonate as Aiden’s story and it felt like many stories all in one and they all felt incomplete and unfinished and even the ending to Aiden’s story was abrupt.
The structure of this book didn’t fully resonate with me, but I am always interested in seeing what Gray will write next.
