Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: American Fairytale
SERIES: Dreamers
AUTHOR: Adriana Herrera
PUBLISHER: Carina Press
LENGTH: 352 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2019
BLURB:
Fairy-tale endings don’t just happen; they have to be fought for.
New York City social worker Camilo Santiago Briggs grew up surrounded by survivors who taught him to never rely on anything you didn’t earn yourself. He’s always dreamed of his own happily-ever-after, but he lives in the real world. Men who seem too good to be true…usually are. And Milo never ever mixes business with pleasure…until the mysterious man he had an unforgettable hookup with turns out to be the wealthy donor behind his agency’s new, next-level funding.
Thomas Hughes built a billion-dollar business from nothing: he knows what he wants and isn’t shy about going after it. When the enthralling stranger who blew his mind at a black-tie gala reappears, Tom’s more than ready to be his Prince Charming. Showering Milo with the very best of everything is how Tom shows his affection.
Trouble is, Milo’s not interested in any of it. The only thing Milo wants is Tom.
Fairy-tale endings take work as well as love. For Milo, that means learning to let someone take care of him, for a change. And for Tom, it’s figuring out that real love is the one thing you can’t buy.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the second of Adriana Herrera’s Dreamer’s series. There are some slight spoilers for the first book as this takes place after the timeline of that book, but works perfectly fine as a standalone.
Milo is a social worker in NYC. He meets Tom at a charity function and their chemistry is off the chart. When they meet next, it’s at Milo’s work because Tom is donating a LOT of money to renovate a domestic abuse shelter. Milo is assigned as the contact for the project. He’s worried that he will jeopardize his job and his reputation if he screws this up or oversteps a professional relationship. He loves his job and he wants to keep it! He is a devoted son to his single mom, who came to US from Cuba as a young woman. She has suffered from anxiety and depression after Milo’s father passed away many years before and Milo does what he can for her.
Tom can’t believe how attracted he is to Milo. He does something totally out of character when he meets him and he’s surprise that Milo is his contact for the shelter renovation. He’s a single dad to a fire-cracker 4-year-old daughter who has been divorced for a number of years and co-parents with his ex-husband. He’s half Dominican, but he looks like his American father. He’s a self-made millionaire who lives in a gorgeous brownstone in Harlem. His best friends are close as well. Having met in Grad school, they started a company that took off and Tom is semi-retired. He wants to donate to the shelter in the memory of his Dominican aunt who came to NYC and was a victim of domestic violence and abuse.
The more time Milo and Tom spend together – initially under the auspices of the shelter project, the more they are drawn to each other. Tom tells Milo things he’s never shared with anyone – not even his closest friends. He shares the inner conflict he feels being part of two cultures and the privilege that has afforded him in so many ways. Milo shares with Tom the issues he’s had with relationships in the past and also is honest about his mother’s issues and the responsibility he has for her. Tom’s friends are THRILLED that he has finally found someone that he really is in synch with and that he really pays attention to. Milo’s mother is thrilled that he’s found a guy that he really seems to like and that he’s not changing himself for. And Milo’s friends (each are getting their own story in this series 🙂 ) are tasked with keeping him focused and not running off the rails at the first sign of trouble.
Milo and Tom continue to grow closer and bring each other into their entire lives – meeting friends, meeting family, etc. But there is one overriding issue with the imbalance in their financial status. Milo is very proud and he really doesn’t want Tom throwing his money around for him. When things get a bit desperate and Milo is running himself ragged, Tom once again oversteps. He knows he really fucked up and he’s got to figure out how he can show Milo that he really does listen and he really does love him.
I really enjoyed this book and the title is perfect. This truly is a bit of a fairytale – I mean come on – falling in love with a self-made multimillionaire? There are a lot of great moments in this story that deal with and expose a lot of the intersectionality of race, culture, sexuality, class, etc. Milo and Tom are both products of their immigrant backgrounds. They have had quite different experiences though and it has shaped them. They both have reservations about certain things in life and Tom has a pattern of making decision for those he’s with rather than listening to them. He learns that will NOT work with Milo. And he learns it the hard way a couple of times. Milo is very worried about being controlled or possessed as he’s had numerous relationships where he’s not been able to be himself. He’s tired of that and he’s amazed that Tom seems to actually like the real Milo! They have a lot of obstacles to get over – especially around Tom’s money and Milo’s pride and resistance to taking help. I was so happy to see them work it out and I especially LOVED Tom’s big romantic gesture. What a lovely ending! Recommended and a great example of the wonderful diversity in our world. Kudos to the author for writing the kinds of characters that we need to see more of.
RATING: 
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