Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Daddy Issues
SERIES: North Shore Stories
AUTHOR: Lynn Van Dorn
NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 10 hours and 44 minutes
RELEASE DATE: January 21, 2020
BLURB:
Marek Wisniewski is a man used to being obeyed, whether it’s by his patients or his lovers. When he’s hired to be an in-home nurse for an extremely difficult old man, he’s certain he can handle it, until he comes face-to-face with Ryan, his client’s son. Both men have reasons to dislike each other, and neither is pleased when they’re forced to live under the same roof. Ryan wants Marek gone, and Marek wants to bring the beautiful and spoiled Ryan to his knees.
Ryan Chadwick seems to live a charmed life, but underneath his polished veneer of arrogance and success, he’s miserable. Ryan feels, increasingly, like his carefully constructed life is spinning out of control. All it’ll take is one little push to bring his world crashing down around him.
Marek and Ryan clash again and again, causing Ryan to further question who he is and what he wants. Marek brings out a side in him he didn’t know existed, a side that wants to please and obey. Marek’s desire to teach Ryan a lesson in humility becomes, over time, a lesson to show Ryan that who, and what, he wants isn’t shameful.
Two very different men come together and discover that what you want and what you need aren’t always the same thing. They find that you need to pace yourself at a Polish dinner, how building snowmen is not rocket science, that a mansion on a lake doesn’t guarantee happiness, and most of all, how important it is to let go.
Daddy Issues is a steamy romance in the North Shore Stories series. This book follows Be My Mistake and Damage Control, but can be listened to as a stand-alone novel.
Warning: The story contains BDSM elements, fisting, a blanket fort, an embarrassing butt plug, lots of food, and a HEA.
REVIEW:
Note: While this is technically book 2 of this series, it can be listened to as a stand alone; however, I recommend listening to Damage Control first as this contains major spoilers for that book and also I think understanding Ryan in context is greatly enhanced by knowing more of the backstory.
Ryan Chadwick is a piece of work. He’s engaged to Stephanie, but has been having an affair with his male secretary Patrick. Patrick loves Ryan, but Ryan cannot be out. He can’t have any public relationship with a man. Why? Because his father Peter is a homophobic controlling asshole. He saw what happened to his youngest brother Tyler. And he’s the oldest son who has always tried to be what his father wants – following in his footsteps to law school, taking over the firm, and next is getting married and having sons. His brother Brad is married and has recently had a daughter, but is talking about not having any more children, so there’s even more pressure for Ryan to produce an “heir” and carry on the family name.
When his father has a second health crisis, Stephanie’s had enough. She refuses to carry on with Ryan particularly after postponing their wedding several times and now possibly again for a man who has no consideration for either her or Ryan. When Peter is release from the hospital, he wreaks havoc with a rehab facility and so they decision is made to have him cared for in his Highland Park mansion with private duty nursing. He’s already been through two when Brad, Ryan’s younger brother who also happens to be a doctor, finds Marek. Marek will brook no arguments from Peter and he’s got a thick enough skin to deal with Peter’s hostility and venom. What he doesn’t count on is Ryan Chadwick. Seems that Marek and Ryan have met once before – when Ryan was trying to convince Patrick to keep seeing him. So his initial impression of Ryan isn’t a good one. Ryan, however, has moved into the house to make sure his father is recovering, so they are going to be thrown together quite a lot.
Ryan is furious and wants Marek gone, but Brad has hired him and Brad says he stays. So he does. What neither Marek nor Ryan anticipate is the white-hot chemistry between them. Marek recognizes pretty quickly that Ryan is lost. He needs guidance, he needs care and he needs to let go and have someone else make decisions for him for a while. And Marek is just the man to do it. While Marek is living in the Chadwick mansion, he observes the abuse the Ryan has apparently lived with for years from Peter. He comes to understand why he’s not been honest about who he is. He sees how broken Ryan is as a result of this abusive controlling relationship with his father. And he knows that he can help Ryan. He can help him by giving him a safe place to give up control and just be. He can help him get out of his head and accept who and what he is. It takes a bit for Ryan to understand who he is because he’s always believed his broken and deviant in his desires which is why he’s never been honest about them.
When Marek exposes Ryan to his loving family, it nearly breaks him. He gets a glimpse of what he’s never had and it pushes him over yet another edge. Thankfully Marek is there to help him. Their sexual relationship is the one thing that seems to be keeping Ryan somewhat sane in the insane world he lives in. And when Peter takes yet another turn, it’s Marek who keeps Ryan from losing his mind. It’s Marek who keeps him safe and grounded and focused on embracing who and what he is and that he is perfect just the way he is.
This book is really a tour de force for Michael Ferraiuolo. The sheer number of characters and accents had to have been amazingly difficult to manage. And then there is all the Polish! I’m not a Polish speaker, but being from Chicagoland and working in both the city and the suburbs for more than 35 years, I’m quite familiar 🙂 His work is nothing short of amazing on this book. The evolving love story between two men who are so very different was breathtaking. The D/s elements of this story are really well done. Ryan’s acceptance of who he really is takes quite a while and a lot of work and convincing from Marek. Ryan’s self-concept of being wrong, broken, deviant have been so ingrained in his psyche because of his awful father that Marek really has his work cut out for him to get Ryan to believe that he is indeed worthy of love. I absolutely adored Marek! Ryan is truly transformed in this story. And Marek is the catalyst. He takes the time to figure out why Ryan is the way he is and throws himself into not so much “fixing” Ryan as supporting Ryan in truly embracing who he really is. His confidence in what he can help Ryan achieve is amazing. The whole story is just beautifully written. Huge shout out to all the accurate Chicago references 🙂 This book is fantastic and I hope that maybe someday Patrick will get his happy ending? I’d love to read more of these stories. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Audible