2,5 stars


This was an exclusive presentation for Hallmark Novels!!!! *broadcaster's voice in off*

Okay, on the track we have that:

* Tommy suffers soooo much
* The kids behave soooo good
* The stepmonster is soooo evil
* Bobby's armor is soooo bright
* Fairy Godmother Judy fosters soooo well

All in all, a quintaessential sentimental slush... but I was having a decent level of enjoyment.

And then.... Chapter 15!!!! *screeching doors, scary sounds*

Sorry, I have a good grade of tolerance for said sentimental slush —hey! I can enjoy it, this was an exemplary case— but I don't withstand ultra sugary prose, And I say it seriously, it produces a physical rejection for me: the roll of my eyes acquires epic frequency, my throat closes and I feel nauseate. It's not a joke, I swear it.

That knocked off half a star of my rating.

So then, this book ended in a low note for me, and I cannot help but to conclude that, without discarding them completely, I'll be more cautious with my choice of books from this author in the future. ( )

Review forthcoming. ( )

I loved reading about Tommy and Bobby, this was full of angst, and also full of love. ( )

I'm only giving this 4 stars because it was too much for me. Too many kids. Though they were surprisingly not in the way all that much. But this book was more about them than the main characters' relationship.

I should give 5 stars, because the writing is absolutely flawless and the characters are perfectly flawed... well Tommy. Bobby is more of a good boy. When they have a problem with each other, they talk about it and not go "oh, I'm not gonna tell you what bothers me, just so our story could be longer and more angsty". lol None of that BS.
Tommy is really stubborn. and doesn't want to accept Bobby's or anyone else's help for that matter. For a moment the element of "You're too good for me, I would just drag you down, you should find someone more worthy" springs up, but not annoyingly, and Tommy eventually relaxes around Bobby, and goes with the flow. So this book isn't really about how they get together, but how they manage to stay together. Which is not so common in MM romance.

Also this is such a real book. It portrays the problems in the foster system, which is far from acceptable. The kids are well fleshed out, and I didn't find them annoying. But I would have liked more time with Tommy and Bobby.

Otherwise I'm really impressed. Highly recommended! ( )

Soooo, I started reading this book with the intention of just reading "a chapter or two" before bed and then, before I knew it, it was 2:47am and I was on the last page. Ooops.

I regret nothing.

Tommy O'Shea is twenty-two years old and raising seven kids. His mother is dead, and his father and step-mother are drug addicts who are barely around - and when they are around, things are worse. He works hard, steals some, and tries his best to keep his family together at all costs. He doesn't have time for someone else in his life, especially Bobby McAlister, a do-gooder cop who seems to keep hanging around.

This book. I love this book. It was virtually perfect from beginning to end. The characters were just amazing - you can tell that the author put a lot of thought into their development. The addict parents were done extremely well too. I loved Tommy's accent (which I could "hear" as I read) and their complicated relationship. And the angst. Oh man, the angst was delicious. ;)

I really related to the character of Tommy, having grown up in a situation not too unlike his (thank goodness I only had one sister to worry about and not seven!). I totally got his motivations, his refusal to believe in hope, and his inability to trust Bobby completely. This is an incredible portrayal of how addiction warps families and how it can affect so many different parts of a person's life.

My main complaint about this book is that it ended. ;) I wanted to read more! I wanted to see who proposed and how. I wanted to see Bobby and Tommy's wedding. I wanted to see if Colleen stayed with Wyatt. I wanted more, more, more! Also, I wanted to see Tommy tell his father to kiss his ass even though he was clean, which is probably what I would have done in his shoes (my father never gave a shit about getting clean or making amends and he is dead now, so it's obviously never going to happen), but I can understand why Tommy was willing to let him in the children's lives, even though he freely admitted that he would never trust the guy so long as he lived. I wanted to see if Tommy finally told Bobby about everything he had been forced to do to keep the kids fed, including selling himself. I wanted to see them grow old together. I am seriously attached to this couple, haha.

I really want to read more from this author! I've added everything else the author has written to my TBR pile, but I want more, more, more! ;) ( )