Reviewed by Lesley

TITLE:  Where There’s A Will

SERIES:  Dads & Adages, Book 1

AUTHOR: Anna Sparrows

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 300 pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 4, 2023

BLURB:

…There’s A Way.

Connor and Will are at vastly different points in their lives.

At 32, Connor Stark’s life is pretty great. With a handsome boyfriend, a thriving business as an Events Coordinator, and a vibrant social life set against the stunning backdrop of Australia’s Gold Coast, he has very few complaints. Hell, he even has eye candy in the form of his uniformed silver fox upstairs neighbour, not that he’d ever do anything more than perv on the guy.

Then one day tragedy strikes, and Connor is thrust into single parenthood as he is handed a newborn baby and what feels like zero lifelines.

Meanwhile, at 49, perpetually single firefighter Will Bradford’s life is also pretty great. Though his hair might be more silver than brown these days, he has a rewarding job, amazing grown-up kids, and an adorable downstairs neighbour he probably shouldn’t be checking out as often as he does. So sue him; he’s only human.

When Connor’s life is turned upside down overnight, Will finds himself helping the younger man navigate his new reality. He has no intention of falling butt over teakettle for Connor or his kid, but somehow it happens anyway.

With Connor a broken man, and Will concerned about restarting the whole parenting gig from scratch, how can they make a relationship work, especially when life seems intent on throwing even more hurdles their way?

CW: Despite the bulk of the romance being tooth-rottingly sweet, this book does touch on some potentially triggering topics. These include: death of close family members (both through terminal illness and also sudden means), traffic accidents, fire trauma, homelessness, mild homophobia, and the stress/trauma of raising children, including sleep deprivation, self-doubt/anxiety, custody negotiations, and the fear of losing one’s child.

REVIEW:

I know Anna Sparrows from her Littles & Lace series. This series is very different . Still really enjoyable but very different . The are no Littles and the daddies in the book are daddies to their offspring.  It feels like Anna has matured as an author in this book with it’s emotional storyline .

This book is so full of heartbreak and hurt yet somehow is still so sweet . It is about real , true love. The love of a non biological parent , the love of biological fathers for their children, the love between siblings and the love of two men who just fit perfectly.

Connor and Will the two main characters are at really different points in their lives. Will’s kids are 30 years old and even though he works with one of them, his sons are both grown men with their own lives. When we meet Connor he has a career as an event planner and a boyfriend who does not want kids at all. Unfortunatly life goes tragically wrong for Connor and he finds himself as a single parent. This is where Will steps in and helps Connor.

I am not sure if it was because I was reading late in the evening ( I didn’t want to put this book down and who needs sleep anyway!! ) but I didn’t see all the twist & turns coming, although in hindsight I am not sure now how I didn’t.  Maybe it’s because I was so caught up in finding out more about these characters and I felt so invested in them getting their happy ending.

The character development in this book was really good . Even the smaller characters, some of whom I am sure will play a bigger part in future books, were well rounded and you felt like you understood what drove them . The only exception to this was Connor’s boyfriend at the start of the book , but  I did not feel like I was missing anything by not finding out his motivation.

I am really looking forward to the next book in this series.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon