Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Over and Above
SERIES: Mount Hope
AUTHOR: Annabeth Albert
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 272 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2025
BLURB:
I’m too young to be a grandpa and too old to fall in love…
Sadly, there’s no What to Expect manual for navigating life after forty. Right when I’ve begun piecing together my life as a widower and single dad to four older kids, my college-age daughter announces she’s pregnant. Oh, baby. And, of course, the other grandfather-to-be is the hot, single bar owner seemingly determined to flirt his way into my locked heart. Magnus is a temptation I don’t need.
When a fire leaves Magnus and his dogs without a home, I offer my carriage house as a solution. Temptation turns into a friendship I didn’t know I needed, and now, Magnus and I are cooking, watching silly old movies, planning holidays, and preparing for grandparenthood together. Things are perfect…until I kiss Magnus.
I’ve never had a friendship with secret benefits, but our chemistry is undeniable, and I cannot resist the chance to explore and reignite my passionate side. I didn’t think I could love again, but the lock on my heart suddenly seems quite loose.
Our families are entangled, Magnus isn’t meant for the shadows, and I’m not sure my kids are ready for me to date. Can I trust my heart to love again? Or will I find myself alone once more?
Over and Above is the fourth book in the Mount Hope series. A widowed paramedic who’s met his match in a cocky bar owner is about to discover that life truly does bring second chances when we least expect them. Over and Above features mature main characters, hurt comfort, grumpy sunshine, love after loss, second chance at HEA, found family, slow burn to spicy inferno, and big feels. Each Mount Hope book contains a standalone HEA, but reading in order is recommended for maximum reader enjoyment.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the fourth book in this series. As such, there are some major spoilers for the previous books, but it can be read as a standalone if desired.
Ok this is my favorite of the series 🙂 I am a huge sucker for love after loss and Eric has been the widower who has been there for his friends who were there for him after his husband’s death. His kids and his job have been his focus of his life, this book starts more than a year into his being a widower. A bunch of his friends have coupled up and he’s not looking to follow them in that path. He is lonely, but he’s got a lot on his plate. Then his daughter Maren’s pregnancy while still a teenager himself pulls him up short. The father of said baby, Diesel, is the son of the local bar owner, Magnus. He’s incredibly upset that his daughter is not going back to college and that the plans he thought she had for her life are now in flux.
He has a mind to give the boy’s dad hell for the situation, but Magnus stops him before he says something he may really regret. Bottom line is these two are legal adults and can do what they want. And they want to have the baby. And they want to get married. Eric is completely thrown. Magnus was a very young father himself and he’s not exactly thrilled at the hard road the kids have set for themselves, but he knows the only way to keep them close is to support them in ways that they can. Eric reluctantly agrees, but he’s still not happy at all about it.
Things are going ok when Magnus loses his house in a fire. Before he can even think about it, Eric offers him the carriage house on his property to rent while everything gets sorted. And eventually they both succumb to the attraction between them. Magnus has not wanted to push Eric at all after the loss of his husband, but he is definitely interested. Thus they embark on a “friends with benefits” fling on the DL. Between Maren and Diesel and the baby coming and Eric’s other kids, he’s not ready to date. Even though clearly it’s what they are doing – just not publicly 😉
As the year goes on and holidays come and go and Maren and Diesel are preparing for the birth of their baby, Magnus and Eric get even closer. The sex is fire and they are both supportive of each other dealing with the ups and downs of life. They cook together. Watch movies together. Etc. It’s clear that this isn’t just a fling, but Eric isn’t ready to date publicly. Is he??
Man I really loved this one. Despite maybe some “glossing over” of the strain having a baby at a very young age can cause and not seeming to have any money worries really, I really enjoyed watching Eric and Magnus step into their roles and support their kids and each other. Neither expected that they would find their own love while their kids were keeping them on their toes. I really adored the way Magnus was so considerate of Eric’s kids at the end of the day. Their other dad hadn’t been gone a long time and some kids never seem to be ready for their parents to move on – whether it’s after divorce or death – so I appreciated the respect Magnus showed. The res of the town and their friends get in in the support too – and maybe some good-natured teasing as well 😉 Everybody is going up and getting their HEAs too. This whole series is a perfect fit for folks looking for mature character romances. First bloom of love is great, but love after loss and a life of some hard knocks just hits the spot these days. Highly recommended.
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