AJ: I know Dante’s story better than anyone. After all, I was the one who rescued him from his homophobic, abusive father eight years ago. Since then, I’ve kept my distance, but when I run into him at the Marian House gala and he doesn’t recognize me, I can’t resist the incredible, sensitive man he’s become.I would do anything to protect Dante Marian, but what if his past keeps me from being part … past keeps me from being part of his future?
Dante: Every new relationship has obstacles, it just turns out that ours involves my bumbling inexperience (ugh), an octogenarian naughty toy party (don’t ask), and being on the run in an RV with Aunt Tilly (it involves the Secret Service— no really, don’t ask).
When my biological father takes his homophobic views to a national platform, the only way to stand up for what I believe in is to claim my past and confront him. So now it’s time to decide: do I put the past behind me and walk away from AJ for good or face my biggest fear and fight for what’s mine?
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Loved this book and the political commentary
This book was laugh out loud funny at several points, tear inducing occasionally and anger inciting in several scenes. Any book that can drive a reader to all those emotional extremes has to be on your TBR list! There are so many points in the book I literally laughed out loud thanks to Tilly. And one of the best lines in the whole series, that sums up what we’ve come to know and love from the Marian family…”That’s your family. Apparently the Marians were running a buy-one-get-twenty special.”
The youngest Marian brother gets his HEA in this story. AJ and Dante share a unique connection that only AJ is aware of. The path of their relationship journey is strewn with the obstacles posed by Dante’s demons.
This story has a strong social/political backdrop and I absolutely loved Lennox’s way of handling it. My blood boiled at her reference to the Governor of Indiana giving the homophobic reverend an award for his gay conversion therapy work…mostly because of the awful excuse for a human being currently serving as VP of the US. Unfortunately that part of the story isn’t fiction.
The climatic endpoint to the crisis of the story is cathartic for both Dante and the reader. If only America could be saved and get a collective reprieve from the likes of Reverend Lawson.
Oh the feels in this book. They are big. This is not a silly fluff romance. This book is emotional and gives you all the big feels – one minute I was laughing, the next I was swooning, then gasping, and then I was crying. The way the main characters’ feelings for each other were portrayed was palpable and heart warming. Dante Marian helps run a youth program for LGBTQ kids in San Francisco. He’s also gay and was adopted by the Marian family after being rescued from the abuse at the hands of his fundamentalist family. AJ just moved to San Francisco for a new job. He’s also the man that rescued teenage Dante and brought him to Marian House eight years earlier. When AJ and Dante meet at a gala for Marian House, the chemistry between them is immediate and overwhelming but Dante does not remember AJ and AJ is afraid to tell him the truth. There is a lot of painful past stuff that they both have to unpack on the way to their HEA and this is portrayed beautifully with witty dialogue, characters with depth, and an engaging storyline. This was a swoony, hilarious, fun, sweet, steamy, heart warming story with low angst. I just adore this loving, quirky family.
This book was a mix of tenderness and sweetness, angst and reflection, romance and steamy sex, and crazy, hilarious antics. I adore Dante and A.J. and how they overcame some significant obstacles in order to find their happy ever after. I found this to be a very compelling, very powerful story, and one of my favorite books in the Made Marian series.
The narrator was fantastic as usual and performed all the characters superbly.