Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Mr. Nice Guy
SERIES: Suits & Sevens
AUTHOR: Isla Olsen
NARRATOR: Nick J. Russo
PUBLISHER: Moonwalker Press
LENGTH: 8 hours and 11 minutes
RELEASE DATE: July 29, 2024
BLURB:
Tanner
When you’re staring down the barrel of half a century’s existence on this planet, you tend to think about things…
Like…maybe I should think about retiring? And I guess I could start crossing things off my bucket list? And should I get my colon checked?
Something I wasn’t intending to start assessing too closely at this stage of my life—or ever, really—is my sporadic, complicated, and rather inconvenient attraction to men.
Some people do yoga. Others bake. For me, the only surefire way to release all that tension and anxiety that’s always building up inside me is…well, I’m sure you can figure it out…
But that’s all it is. Stress relief.
Or, at least, that’s all it was. Until I met Deacon Stapleton.
Gorgeous, funny, and great in bed—it only takes one night for me to decide I want him to be my permanent stress ball.
But there are some problems…he’s too young; he’s too nice; and he doesn’t do casual flings.
Oh, and did I mention he’s my daughter’s kindergarten teacher?
Mr Nice Guy is book three in the Suits & Sevens series and features a billionaire silver fox and a rugby-playing kindergarten teacher. It can be listened to as a standalone. Tropes: billionaire, single dad, age gap, bi-awakening.
REVIEW:
Note: Technically this is book 3 in the series, but it works fine as a stand alone and the timeline overlaps with the first book in the series 🙂 There are major spoilers for the previous books.
This is the third story in this series of billionaires and their rugby teammates/brothers/friends finding their true loves. Deacon, the younger MC in this story is Sully’s younger brother (MC from the previous book) is a kindergarten teacher. Tanner, the silver fox MC of this story and father of Deacon’s adorable student Izzy, is and also a business rival of Sully’s. That connection is unknown to both men 😉 Deacon has a crush on Tanner (also sort of a secret). When they see each other at a gay bar in Brooklyn, they are surprised – especially when Skyler, Deacon’s friend blurts that Deacon has a major crush on Tanner. But the real surprise is when Tanner suggests they go somewhere private so that Deacon can pound him. Tanner’s had a bad day and this is his stress relief. He doesn’t do repeats and it’s not personal. He usually uses apps, but hey, this works too.
Deacon is shocked on a lot of fronts. But when Tanner asks for a repeat, they are both stunned. Tanner sees this as just getting off and Deacon doesn’t do casual so they are at an impasse. But it seems like Tanner may need to adjust his idea of exactly what it is he wants from Deacon. Deacon won’t just be his stress relief. And frankly it’s a bit offensive to hi to be treated that way. It takes Tanner a bit to figure out where he’s gone wrong with this whole thing. But a convo with his gay son helps 🙂
Tanner asks Deacon for more and things are going pretty smoothly even though Tanner isn’t out. But when Deacon is confronted by Sully with some things about Tanner that he didn’t know, Deacon goes into a tailspin. He asks Tanner for the truth and Tanner can’t deny what Deacon’s been told. But it’s not the whole story. If Tanner can’t convince Deacon that there is more to things than meets the eye, well he will lose Deacon for good. Which is a shame since he just figured out he’s in love with Deacon 😉
I really enjoyed this story of these two opposites who end up being right for each other. Tanner has a lot on his plate with his daughter, his businesses and a personal life that is anything but calm. No wonders he has anxiety! Deacon is a sweetheart who really helps Tanner in more ways than one 🙂 I loved that he stood up for himself and demanded to be treated like a person and not an object. Tanner has to face up to a lot here. I loved his relationship with Piper and Jasper his older kids. Izzy is a sweetie and I loved there interaction. There is a lot of fun and humor here too – an Isla Olsen trademark. Plenty of steam and sass too!
Nick J. Russo does a great job with this story. The hint of teasing from both men, the stressed and totally flummoxed Tanner, the dominating and sexy Deacon are all beautifully portrayed in this performance. I loved seeing Sully and Drew’s relationship start from the outside in this one too 🙂 All the voices were consistent from the previous books so that is always helpful when there are a lot of characters. Tanner’s older kids were a hoot too in this one – can’t imagine Mr. Russo didn’t have a good time with those two 😉 Skyler, one of Deacon’s besties is a riot and I cannot WAIT for his book next 😀
RATING: 
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