Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Unmanageable
SERIES: In Vino Veritas, Book 3
AUTHOR: Leslie McAdam
PUBLISHER: Heart Eyes Press
LENGTH: 268 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 13, 2022
BLURB:
I’ve never been romantic. Just ask my ex-wife.
Since she broke up with me, I get my needs met any time I want, without putting my heart on the line. Exactly how I like it.
But when she is called overseas and leaves me with our child, my bachelor lifestyle ends faster than you can say, “Daddy, I want a pony.”
I need help.
Problem is, help’s come in the form of an incredibly hot nanny.
My employee.
Who is much younger than me.
And also … a guy.
I watch Scott care for my kid and can’t help feeling like he clicks into place in her life.
When he looks at me, though … I get an entirely different feeling. One that makes me long for things I can’t have.
Like him.
Unmanageable is a contemporary m/m age gap romance about a starry-eyed nanny who wants hot-air balloon rides and singing telegrams and a grumpy single dad who most definitely does not.
REVIEW:
Leslie McAdam’s Unmanageable manages to deliver a well-rounded, delicious, sweet, sexy romance based on a familiar trope: the Mary Poppins-esque manny for the single overwhelmed dad. Unsurprisingly, McAdam manages to turn what could be trite into something delightfully new. Here, Scott is the “Mary Poppins” manny for Luke, a single dad who’s taken on sole parenting for a couple of months while his ex-wife takes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live her professional dream of covering an international story as a journalist.
Unmanageable is the third book in the In Vino Veritas series, a spin-off series from the multi-author, shared universe series Vino & Veritas, both set in Sarina Bowen’s True North world in Burlington, Vermont. You may recall that McAdam penned Undone, the final book in the Vino & Veritas series – an exceptional M/M romance that landed on my best of 2021 list. That book features the effervescent, ever loveable Davey Murphy (“Murph”), a failed hookup-now close friend of Scott. Like Murph and Jason before them, Scott and Luke are colorful characters who are complex yet relatable and authentic. Luckily, we get lots of Murph goodness in Unmanageable as he encourages Scott in life and love. He’s a downright terrific friend to Scott, buoying Scott’s resolve as well as his spirit. It’s not an understatement to say that Murph is a crucial driver of the events in Unmanageable. That said, you don’t need to read Undone to read Unmanageable. However, I would anyway because Undone is a fantastic story.
Notably, Murph and Scott’s relationship started as a hookup gone wrong – the very same aborted hookup that finally forced Jason to confront his feelings for Murph. Unfortunately, that meant Scott, yet again, found himself as the proverbial bridesmaid, not the bride. Scott is a 23-year-old dreamer who “want[s] to be someone’s world”. Maybe that makes him try too hard or causes him to read intentions or feelings into situations even when they aren’t there (hence the disastrous opening scene of the book.) Ironically, it’s when Scott lets go of trying so hard that he finds what he’s looking for in Luke.
It’s not immediately evident to Scott that he’s found his man, though. Notwithstanding their affinity for and attraction to each other, it seems this relationship is one that is doomed not to progress past friends with benefits. Luke is the antithesis of romantic. He’s a harried man who’s thrown himself into his job and doesn’t know how to prioritize anything else. Perhaps the loveliest part of this story is watching Luke embrace his feelings, his role as a father, and his acknowledgment of Scott’s importance to him. He discovers that he wants to put Scott first. That means romance and big gestures, and Luke doesn’t have a problem pushing past his comfort zone to give that to Scott.
I highly recommend this sweet, easy, low-angst romance. Unmanageable will give you all the feels. McAdam creates two irresistible men with an irresistible precocious child within a compelling storyline. While nothing shocking happens, McAdam still makes it feel refreshingly different. So manage your TBR and your time to make room for Unmanageable.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: