Book safety, content warnings, and tropes & tags down below.

“What’s all this?” Caden’s arms were overflowing with stuffed animals. “Brave Heart needs to meet his family!” Caden informed him. “That way he knows he’s not all alone anymore.” Lincoln had been a cop for over twenty years. He was good at putting pieces together, and Caden’s worry of the lion being lonely spoke volumes.

I’m pretty sure Athena Steller wrote the first age play book I ever read, and now she’s started a new series that I can imagine being one of my future favorite age play series. This one was different from a lot of the ones I’ve read in that the dynamic was basically 24/7, and Caden was sort of floating/flipping between big and Little regularly. They didn’t have set times for him to be Little, no set ‘play times’. It seemed like he was Little more often than not. I didn’t have a problem with that, and actually enjoyed seeing a character fully embrace that. Caden isn’t anywhere near the youngest MC I’ve seen being a Little. He’s 24, but he seems very young mentally at times, even when ‘big’. Thankfully, he was able to kind of drag himself out of that headspace and be ‘big’ whenever it was needed and important. The book also had a slightly suspenseful plot, with the Daddy MC trying to solve a case as a detective. We all know by now that any book with a little added action or suspense is a win for me (unless it’s shit, lol). I’m also really excited for the other two books planned in this series. I’m intrigued by all of the characters that are gonna be in them, even the MMM book, which I normally stay clear of.

This won’t get all the stars from me. I obviously can’t speak to the author’s thoughts and intentions for the characters, but I would love to see Caden in therapy. It was mentioned briefly I believe, but not followed up on. I think working through some of his past trauma would make the kink exploration feel less like a crutch, and more healthy. Not that everyone needs to use kink ‘perfectly’ (whatever that would be), but it seemed like a lot of the reason why Caden was drawn to being a Little was because of how he didn’t have those things as an actual child. I wanted that to be taken more seriously, I guess. It didn’t feel creepy thankfully (to me), but I could imagine that being problematic in the future. We’ll get to see Lincoln and Caden more in the future books though, so I’m looking forward to seeing how they evolve.

“He’s absolutely perfect for me.” “Hell, I could tell that the first time we were in the coffee shop and you about tripped over air when you saw him.”

If you enjoy age play, a more fluid 24/7 dynamic, intimate scenes while in ‘little space’, and a touch of suspense, then this would be a great choice.

Side-eyeing Lincoln, he tried to figure out how to get what he wanted. Finally, he gave up and tugged on Lincoln’s shirt. “What do you need, baby?”

Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Barista
Detective
Age gap (24/42)
Daddy kink
Age play
Suspense
Traumatic past
24/7 dynamic
Virgin MC
Suckling
Found family

⚠️⚠️ Content warning ⚠️⚠️
Explicit sexual content
Details of being homeless
Mentions of parent with a drug addiction
Mentions of sex work (parent)
Sex while in ‘Little space’
Violence
Mentions of a narcotics investigation
Age play
ABDL (no wetting)
Anxiety
Panic attacks

⚠️⚠️⚠️ Book safety ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Cheating: No
OM drama: No
Third-act breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, dual POV
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles