Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: What You Make It: A Belonging Story
SERIES: The Belonging Series #4
AUTHOR: A. M. Arthur
PUBLISHER: Briggs-King Books
LENGTH: 232 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 9, 2018
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.
REVIEW:
I loved the Belonging series from A.M. Arthur, and when Dani asked if I wanted to read and review this new story in that series, I was happy to grab it. Now I’ll warn you, it had been a minute since I read and reviewed the others since they all came out a few years ago, but I easily picked the story back up. In my opinion it can easily be read as a standalone.
Micah Kelley has recently lost his former girlfriend to brain cancer. When she was dying, he learned that they had a child together, which she never told him. When he takes custody and brings his mixed-race baby back to his prejudiced and judgmental parents, he is disowned, has to drop out of college one semester before getting his degree and is left friendless…with about two thousand dollars in his pocket and his Tesla. He can only think of one place to go. He heads off on a cross country trip to his estranged brother Ezra’s home, all the way across the country in Wilmington, Delaware.
Arriving at Ezra’s front door, he is welcomed in, and life moves on. Now, I have to say, standalone aside, I kind of wish I had had the time to go back and re-read the previous three books in the series before starting this one. Not because I needed to, but I forgot how much I enjoyed this series. I’m sure I’ll go back now and re-read them. Re-reading them first would have made the story fresh in my mind of Ezra’s rejection by his parents and his own disowning. It came back to me as I read, but, yeah, I need to re-read those books at some point.
I always enjoy this author’s tales. The characters are always relatable and I always feel like I fall into the story and can see the characters in front of me. This one was no exception. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Micah and David. Now that she has revisited the ‘world’ of the Belonging series, I hope the author will give us more in this cast of characters…
I highly recommend this one and the rest of the Belonging series, as well as everything else I’ve read by the author. When I went to Amazon to get the link for this review, I noticed other books by Ms. Arthur that I might have missed. I’m off to catch up!
RATING: 
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