manny | Open Skye Book Reviews

Audiobook: A Fool and his Manny by Amy Lane Narrated by Kenneth Obi

Dreamspinner Presents

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/a-fool-and-his-manny-by-amy-lane-9714-b

Blurb

Seeing the truth and falling in love.
Dustin Robbins-Grayson was a surly adolescent when Quinlan Gregory started the nanny gig. After a rocky start, he grew into Quinlan’s friend and confidant—and a damned sexy man.
At twenty-one, Dusty sees how Quinlan sacrificed his own life and desires to care for Dusty’s family. He’s ready to claim Quinlan—he’s never met a kinder, more capable, more lovable man. Or a lonelier one. Quinlan has spent his life as the stranger on the edge of the photograph, but Dusty wants Quinlan to be the center of his world. First he has to convince Quinlan he’s an adult, their love is real, and Quinlan can be more than a friend and caregiver. Can he show Quin that he deserves to be both a man and a lover, and that in Dusty’s eyes, he’s never been “just the manny?”

Review

I adored this couple! I loved the idea of the younger guy who falls for his “nanny” but ends up getting him! He was just the right amount of contrite and then bossy to really flip all my switches and he felt authentic to me.

The romance moved at a very low angst, steady pace and I loved seeing all the familiar faces. While this is definitely a good standalone, it’s better if you’ve read the others before it.

Watching Dusty move from kid through to adult was just right, too. Enough of the kid stuff for him to feel “real” but not so much that it was weird seeing him as an adult.

If you’re a fan of the author, the series or “mannies” this is for you! If you’re in the mood for a sweet “coming of age” book – I think this is wonderful for that purpose, too.

As for the upcoming audio: I don’t want this to sound like John Solo isn’t good – he is! – but I sure do wish we could have Nick Russo or Gomez for this series as well – I’d love that so much!

5 of 5 stars

Audio

I guess Dreamspinner must have a contract for this series because Amy’s usual taste in audiobook narrators doesn’t seem to be able to continue here.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Kenneth Obi does a perfectly fine job – I just love her choices for her other books a lot more.

In the end, he was easy to listen to and does a nice job with timing, characters and emphasis.

3.5 of 5 for the audio

Overall 4 of 5 stars

Copy Generously Provided for Honest Review

Release Day Review: The CEO’s Christmas Manny (Beyond the Boardroom #1) By Angela McCallister

release day review

Dreamspinner

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/the-ceos-christmas-manny-by-angela-mccallister-10040-b

Blurb
Anything but business as usual.

Billionaire CEO Nic Price lives for his job. With sales down and grumbling from the board of directors—including Nic’s permanently dissatisfied father—the last thing Nic needs is distraction from the new manny, whose freewheeling approach to childcare is outlandish… and who makes Nic feel things he’s never allowed himself to feel.

Ex-teacher Sasha Lindsey is all about fun—that’s the reason people love him, so he has to be. After a bad break-up leaves him jobless and homeless, the live-in manny job with Mr. Price seems like a windfall. But his chemistry with Nic is off the charts, and he can’t afford another workplace romance disaster.

Can Nic leave his dominance in the bedroom and open his heart to the best thing that’s ever happened to him? Or will Sasha’s leap of faith backfire and ruin his chances at the family happily ever after he’s always dreamed of?

Review
I love stories where the single parent falls for the governess/manny, and even more so when it’s a holiday romance. The Sound Of Music is one of my favorite Christmas movies, so I’m all for aloof, closed-off workaholics who could use a little help reconnecting with their family and desperately need someone to love and be loved by in return. So okay, the kids are already teenagers and the single parent is their uncle and not their father, but the magic is still there.

Sasha is very much a people-pleaser, a warm-hearted, giving person. Not only by nature, but also out of necessity as he fears that people will not want him around otherwise, which was quite sad. He needs someone to love him even when he’s not being all that upbeat and to really see him.
It seems unlikely that uncle Scrooge could be the one to give him that, but there’s more than meets the eye to Nic as well. Though Nic definitely has some issues that need dealing with and shackles to throw off before he can be there for Sasha, or Lucy and Ben, for that matter. He makes some pretty awful mistakes along the way, unfairly blaming Sasha and pushing him away when things start going south with his business and his parents from hell. Not well done. Luckily, he has Lucy and Ben to talk some sense into him, as well as his friend, Percy.

I really like slow-burn stories like this one and I loved seeing the connection form between Nic and Sasha, the feelings that grew stronger alongside their physical attraction. I also enjoyed the scenes with Lucy and Ben, who are an integral part of the story and not just part of the décor.

This was a well-written, heartwarming romance, the perfect read for the season.

Number of stars out of 5: 4.5

Copy Generously Provided for Honest Review

Review:

I enjoyed this story- it’s a mix of hurt/comfort, mild angst balanced with dashes of humour and heat.
Nic is a workaholic, only because he feels the need to live up to his parent’s expectations (I disliked them ☹). He has custody of his niece and nephew, but because he’s so busy with work, he emotionally neglects them leading to them acting out. After the kids drive away the last nanny, Nic hires Sasha – (assuming Sasha is a ‘she’) – sight unseen. Sasha is sort of an unconventional nanny – for one, he’s really a very well qualified teacher in math and other subjects and for another, he has ‘think-out-of-the-box’ ideas for approaching learning.
When both men meet there is an instant attraction, both fighting it for different reasons.
I was a little surprised at how quickly they gave in to their initial lust and mildly peeved at Nic for blowing hot and cold with Sasha. When Nic blows cold the final time, all hell breaks loose, leaving Sasha pretty much out in the cold.
What I appreciated is that even when Nic gets Sasha back, it’s not all sunshine and roses – he really has to prove to Sasha that he won’t bail when things get tough, nor will he shy away from Sasha’s issues.
I really enjoyed the story – the kids were nice and Percy (Nic’s best friend) was a good secondary character – I hope he gets a story ☺

4 stars out of 5

Copy Generously Provided for Honest Review

Time for the Holidays: Dreamspinner Advent Calendar Story Holidays Are Where Your Heart Is By Bru Baker

Dreamspinner Presents

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/2018-advent-calendar-daily-delivery-package-warmest-wishes-10067-b

Blurb

Jared’s been all over the world as a traveling manny with Holiday Helpers, and the itch to put down roots is is starting to eclipse his wanderlust—especially since his current family is a handful.
After culinary school, Wes did some wandering of his own, exploring Central America before settling as a resort chef in his mother’s homeland of Costa Rica, a place he loves and plans to stay. If he’s learned one thing, it’s to be wary of flings with vacationers. Still, he can’t stand to watch two little Swiss kids lose their belief in Saint Nicholas, so he’ll lend a hand to the manny assisting the family. It won’t be easy to recreate a traditional European Christmas in a tropical paradise.
Between a snowball fight on a sunny beach and sledding down an active volcano, Jared and Wes discover some renewed holiday magic of their own. Can they make it last a lifetime?

Review

This was a story that just didn’t have enough length to work. We got an idea of where this was going to go and just about when it seems like it gets it’s legs, it’s over.

While I appreciated the need for brevity and technically the story is all there, what it felt like was a lovely lead in and a brief exploration of the meet cute, then pow – it’s over and a maybe HFN.

I’m not sure how much longer it needed to be but I really just didn’t feel our MCs connecting much and I learned way more about the family/kids than the new boyfriend.

In any case – there were some cute moments but I wasn’t satisfied in the end.

2.75 of 5 stars

Copy Generously Provided by Publisher for Honest Review