review

Davey’s Revised Rule #1: A good Daddy will love his boy with all his heart.

Davey Hendrickson doesn’t mind being forever single when he’s got his bestie at his side. It’s not that he wants to be single. He’s spent most of his adult life searching for his own perfect Daddy. Even if he’s not naturally submissive, someone that fabulous is obviously meant to be a boy… right? Over the years, he’s dated every type of Daddy imaginable but not one of them could come close to meeting the requirements from his ridiculous list of rules.

After losing his husband, Sammy Robustelli has learned to be strong while raising two children on his own. No matter what life has thrown his way, nothing seems too hard with his best friend and roomie Davey at his side. When the two friends learn that people believe they’re a couple, they can’t help but laugh. The very idea is a big joke… until it isn’t.

It only takes a few wake-up calls before Davey wonders what happens if a guy might be in love with the best friend he can never have. It could never work for a pair of boys in need of a bossy top, right? Except… maybe Davey doesn’t know himself—or Sammy—as well as he thinks.

This is the final book in a series about not-so-perfect Daddies, adorable “boys,” and one sassy brat with an insane list of rules. Grab your fan and tissues because this series comes with both a high heat advisory and all the squishy feels you’d want from a Susan Hawke book.

Rules to Ignore

Davey’s Rules Series Book 7

Susan Hawke

M/M Romance, Daddy/boy

Release Date: 03.16.20

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Preston finally held my card out, but didn’t release it when I reached for it. “Not so fast, boo. I know you’re going to disappear the second I let this go—and you’ll be too distracted to pay attention when I read the announcements—so I want to run over a few things. We have the tables set up in a row against the far wall, as we discussed. You’ll begin your date by handing this card to the moderator.” 

“Moderator? And who will that be?” Preston looked irritated when I interrupted, but I wasn’t sure I needed my interactions to be judged. 

Preston rolled his eyes. “We discussed it, remember? Pay attention, sweetie. Our regulars have volunteered to act as moderators. They aren’t there to interact, so just ignore them. They will take each of your cards and rate your three-minute date. At the end of the event, we’ll look through everyone’s cards and match couples according to those ratings. You’ll have the same moderator, because you won’t change tables. So I’d suggest picking someone you like before you choose their table. When the bell rings, the boy will move on to his next date while a new one will take the seat in front of you.” 

When he finally let go of the card, I frowned at it for a second. “No wonder I didn’t know what was going on, that sounds complicated. I probably zoned out during our planning sessions.” 

“Right? You did seem to get distracted easily, now that I think about it.” Preston paused and smiled kindly. “Relax, Davey. The only thing different about tonight is the length of the date and the side of the table you’re sitting on. Remember to keep an open mind and have fun. Besides, didn’t I see Sammy walk in with you? If he’s doing the mixer, at least you know you’ll have a three-minute break to bitch at your bestie about what I’m putting you through.” He paused to waggle his eyebrows. “Unless maybe you’d prefer to make better use of those three minutes and explore the chemistry everybody sees between the two of you.”

Okay, so while it’s true I’ve only discovered this series this week, I was so excited to see that Sammy gets another chance at happy because he deserved it so much. It broke my heart when he lost Raph, so I was just waiting, hoping for something amazing.

Then Davey… it’s hard to find words for him. He’s one of a kind, that’s for sure. Determined to find his own Daddy, we’ve gone through this whole series with the hopes that he’ll eventually find him by the end, right? …. Didn’t quite go down like that, did it? Though I’m so happy that within finding himself, he did it with his best friend and beautiful soul, Sammy.
I loved seeing him step up and help Sammy raise his little family. I adored their friendship and I feel like it’s exactly what they both needed, to give Sammy time to grieve and to learn to be okay with moving on and finding love again. He’d been with him since the very beginning and it was perfect.

The only thing that I didn’t quite understand, is that Davey has run a kink club for what, 10-15 years now? And he doesn’t understand the logistics of the different kinks? How? I only know what I read in books like these, and you’re telling me that he thought that big guys were tops and little guys were bottoms and alllll kinds of other stereotypes that are so ridiculous that I’m like, what?

Davey, who was probably as open-minded as they came and had claimed to have seen every kink in the entire world, especially at his club, and had never seen a leather Daddy be a bottom, or the big jock guy be a bottom or a big guy like Sammy, be submissive??? Never? I found that so incredibly hard to believe and his ignorance on the matter was just…. Not right. I don’t know how to explain it, it threw me for a loop. Annnnnnd, while everyone else saw Davey and Sammy as a couple, it never, in all the years, occurred to them that they loved each other? But once they opened their eyes to it, it was like, oh yeah, and they jumped right in? I just didn’t buy it.

Another thing that bothered me was Samantha Jade… that girl, at 12 had one of the world’s worst attitudes, she was a disrespectful, BRAT… one that could’ve given the old Preston a run for his money. Now, I have a 14 and a 15 year old, so I’m not one of those parents that shame other parents, or one of those people with no children trying to tell other people how to parent… but OMG, how can you be so good at disciplining Sammy, but Samatha Jade? That girl deserved a smack in the mouth MORE than once, and she’d have been grounded for about a year, had she been my daughter for sneaking out in the middle of the night at TWELVE…. Wow….

Aside from those two things, I did love seeing Sammy and Davey give each other a try. Not only was it extremely hot seeing Davey flip flop and switch up to a Daddy, though I did have to try to forget how he was in all the other books because seeing him as a Daddy was just…. Weird after 7 books of seeing him as a boy. Diva Daddy also didn’t quite work for me, but… to each their own, I reckon.

I dunno, I hate to be so prickly about it, because I was so so excited for this story, and in a lot of ways, it really worked for me, but in other ways, it just really didn’t. I’m on the fence. I also really hoped to see something great happen with Ethan, though I was glad that Davey helped him, I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a story, whether a spin-off or whatever, I bet he’d be so cute!
So, while this one didn’t work for me as well as the other ones did, I will say that I’m glad that they both got their HEA, I really did adore Sammy so much. ♡

3 pieces of eye candy

As an avid reader and big romance fan myself, I love sharing the stories of the different people who live in my imagination. My stories are filled with humor, a few tears, and the underlying message to not give up hope, even in the darkest of times, because life can change on a dime when you least expect it. This theme comes from a lifetime of lessons learned on my own hard journey through the pains of poverty, the loss of more loved ones than I’d care to count, and the struggles of living through chronic illnesses. Life can be hard, but it can also be good! Through it all I’ve found that love, laughter, and family can make all the difference, and that’s what I try to bring to every tale I tell.

I’m a happily married mom with one snarky teenage boy, and three grown “kids of my heart.” I’m more widely known for my mpreg writings as Susi Hawke; this new name is a departure from that. Whether written by Susan or Susi, the books are filled with that all-important love, laughter, and family I mentioned; the only difference is that this name has no male pregnancy. I look forward to sharing my stories with you, and to bringing more romance and laughter into this world that needs it so very badly.

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