Safety info, content warnings and tropes down below.

I don’t think this author is for me. The writing is so flat — like reading a recipe. A step by step description and explanation of whatever the main characters are doing, saying or feeling at all times. Although he’s not terrible, I don’t think the narrator helps, as he takes really awkward and long pauses mid paragraph all the time, making you wonder if the audio stopped.

Beyond the writing not working for me, I had a lot of issues with the plot as well, mainly — spoiler alert — Matty saying he wants to adopt the children shortly after getting FAKE MARRIED with Antoni, before they’ve admitted having feelings for each other, before even acknowledging they want a real relationship, and Antoni said yes. Which means he essentially said yes to someone he has known for a couple months at most, someone he’s sleeping with and who he married because a teenager lied to a social worker, to ADOPT. THE CHILDREN. Hell no. Don’t get me started on one of the kids wanting to call this new person in their life ‘papa’ before they call Antoni — who they’ve known their entire lives and is now their legal guardian — anything other than uncle.

I’m in a reading slump so it was a tall ask anyway, but this really was flat. No tension, chemistry or angst. I need a lot of those things right now, I think. There’s also no need for this book to be almost 600 pages.

Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
Professional hockey player
Lots of kids
Divorced MC
Teacher MC
Demisexual MC
Set in Canada
Tattooed MC
Fake marriage/marriage of convenience
Slow burn

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Legal guardian of kids after parents dying (MC’s friends)
Chronically ill parent (MS)
Reckless driving
Mention of past homophobic comments
MC struggling financially
Power imbalance
Alcohol consumption
Bigoted comments and actions from child’s grandparents
Explicit sexual content
SC misgendered on page
Custody battle
Homophobia

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, dual
Genre: Contemporary romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile - no switching
Main characters’ age: 28 and 33
Series: Interconnected standalone
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 582
Happy ending: Yes