A sweet, sexy and a little kinky romance, yet so much more; A.M. Arthur proves that life is What You Make It….The entire time I was reading What You Make It, I was thinking about this group of people from all walks of life, different ethnic backgrounds, and some surviving horrible situations that have become more than friends, they’ve become a family or a tribe as they refer to one another and how much we in real life can learn from them. ~ Slick
Blurb:
Can a Dom with a broken heart find what he needs with a single dad fourteen years his junior?
Micah Kelley’s life turned upside down when he discovered he had an infant daughter he never knew existed. A college drop-out and single dad with no support from his parents, he turns to his older brother, with whom Micah has a strained relationship. Living with Ezra and his partner gives Micah the freedom to admit he’s bisexual without the threat of their bigoted father’s wrath, while starting over and looking for work.
After losing his husband and sub to cancer, David Milano is stuck in an endless cycle of meaningless hookups and emotionless scenes with men he has no desire to see twice. But after an explosive encounter with a bratty, blond twink at a bar, David realizes he has room in his heart to love again after twelve years of grieving. When his unforgettable hookup walks into David’s office for an interview, David can’t think of a single reason not to hire him. Too bad their sizzling chemistry didn’t get the memo that Micah is now an employee and therefore off-limits. Micah didn’t get the memo either, and he’s intrigued by David’s style of BDSM. They begin a secret affair that gives Micah the freedom to explore new sides of himself, and it gives David a chance to open his heart again. But secrets have a way of coming out, and Micah has to put his daughter first. Always.
Even if it means losing the first person he’s ever truly loved.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This book contains mild BDSM elements including restraints, blindfolds, and spanking. While the story uses characters from other interconnected series of mine, this can be read as a standalone.
Being a huge fan of A.M. Arthur’s Belonging series, I was thrilled she decided to revisit that world in What You Make It. The entire time I was
reading this book I was thinking about this group of people from all walks of life, different ethnic backgrounds, and some surviving horrible situations that have become more than friends, they’ve become a family or a tribe as they refer to one another and how much we in real life can learn from them. I’ve never in my life understood parents who can turn their children out and disown them for any number of things and in the case of this book, not only turn away from your child but your grandchild because of the color of her skin. Years ago Micah Kelley watched his parents disown his brother for being gay and in a relationship with a man and now Micah turns to his brother for help when his parents refuse to help him with the biracial daughter he didn’t even know he had in this story that is so much more than a romance (even if that part is really good).
My heart broke for Micah who at 21 years of age not only finds he is a dad, but watches his child’s mother die from cancer, and then is forced to leave his parent’s home when they cut him off. With nowhere else to go he drives cross country and lands on the doorstep of his older brother Ezra and Ezra’s partner, Donner. Forced to quit school one semester before graduating and now needing a job to provide for his daughter, Micah is shocked when he walks into a job interview and finds the man he had an encounter at a club with the night before. Just coming to terms with his bisexuality, Micah can’t understand the way David Milano makes him feel and how easily he finds he enjoys David’s dominance. David is not without baggage, but Micah makes him feel like a new man and he soon finds he wants more than he even thought possible with someone again.
I loved these two together despite their big age difference and the fact that David is one of Micah’s bosses. I think they did a great job separating their work life and their personal life and while they did fall pretty quickly for one another, it was easy to see the growing love between them and the love they both had for Brianna, Micah’s daughter. I do want to address that there is a bit of D/s play in this book, but it isn’t anything crazy, in fact it was pretty tame so if you are worried about that please don’t be.
While the burgeoning relationship between David and Micah was front and center this book would not have been the same without the rest of the Belonging crew, I can’t express enough how much I loved seeing everyone rally around Micah and work to help him adjust to not only being a dad, but exploring his bisexuality, and gaining understanding of a bigger world than the one he was raised in. I LOVED the message of friendship, acceptance, love and support that was weaved throughout this books pages.
A sweet, sexy and a little kinky romance, yet so much more; A.M. Arthur proves that life is What You Make It.
4.5 stars
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