With four girls, single dad Ryan Withers has his hands too full to look for romance. He’s not complaining—he loves his daughter and the three nieces he adopted when their parents died, and he would do anything for them. He’s caught off guard when his mother and daughter decide to play matchmaker.
Alex Bernot works in disaster relief, his job taking him all over the world, helping others, for extended periods of time. He’s staying with his aunt while he’s home, and she sets him up on a blind date. Finding a special someone isn’t really on his mind, but he goes to make his aunt happy.
Ryan and Alex enjoy each other’s company more than either of them expected, and they soon make a second date. Their lives are complicated, though, in very different ways, and soon family needs and their jobs conspire to pull them apart. They’ll need to figure out how to work through the things keeping them apart, but first they’ll have to decide if they even want to….
Title: Daddy Needs a Date
Author: Sean Michael
Release Date: December 18, 2017
Category: Contemporary, Holiday
Pages: 200
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Dreamspinner Press
Kobo Books
I went into Daddy Needs a Date with no information other than what I got from the cover. Kids and a dad who needs some adult interaction. These are things I understand, so I dove in.
Ryan definitely has his hands full with not only his own child, but also the three little girls he adopted when his sister died. From page one, I loved Ryan, because he has a huge heart and it’s so apparent he will do anything for his girls. Including facials with ranch dressing, which I’m not sure I fully understand or am brave enough to try, but it has to be love to let that garlicky goodness soak into your pores.
I wanted to be upset with Alex, or maybe the meddling women who set him up on a blind date with Ryan, when he found out Ryan was a father of four. But it was a realistic reaction and he didn’t bolt away from dinner. He won my heart when… okay, not telling you that, because it’s a HUGE part of the story and I don’t see how anyone wouldn’t love him.
But then he left. And I was more angry with Ryan, his mom, and his oldest daughter (the women being 2/3 of the set up crew) for being upset that he left. Yes, it sucked and the timing was horrible, but they knew ahead of time what he did for a living. It was unrealistic for them to think he could just stay.
When Alex came back, we got to see their growth as a family. Was it too fast? Probably. Would it happen in real life? Probably. Like I said above, something happens that makes it nearly impossible for Alex to not be part of their lives. And it proves that he’s a good man through and through. I love the fact that one of the girls became just a little more special to him than the others. I even liked that the teenager didn’t always love him.
Daddy Needs a Date was a great read. Some angst, but not as much as there could’ve been. My only complaint is that the book ended.
4.5 pieces of eye candy
This is on my Dreamspinner wish list. 🙂