*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - The Family Man by Kelly Eadon

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: The Family Man
Author: Kelly Eadon

Publication Date: July 5th, 2016

Publisher: Forever Yours

TEMPTATION NEVER TASTED SO SWEET...

When life hands lemons to Beth Beverley, she makes mouthwatering lemon squares. Mostly because they're coveted by the sexy single dad who owns Belmont's most popular coffee shop. But that's where her crush on Griffin has to end. Her sweet treats are selling like crazy cakes in his shop, and she doesn't mix business with pleasure. Too bad his sinful smile has her flirting with the idea of forever.

Griffin Hall definitely needs to keep his eyes--and his hands--off Beth. Since he's traded in late-night gigs and partying for bedtime stories with his little girl in his arms, he doesn't have time for anything else. So why does Beth's big heart and easy way with his daughter make him finally feel alive again? But there's a little secret Beth doesn't know, something he can't bear to tell her . . .

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon 

I would:

• Befriend: Beth
• Go out on a date & kiss: Ryan
• Take to a desert island and leave behind: Angela
• Travel to Vegas and let Elvis Presley marry us: Griffin

4.5 “Incredibly sweet romance” STARS

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Forever Yours

You guys, this book... this cute, romantic, sweet and amazing book. I’m so in love with it!

To be more specific, I’m so in love with these characters, because that’s what this book is all about: amazing cand relatable characters making you fall in love with them while you read about them falling for each other and becoming a family.

The plot is super simple – Beth and Griffin like each other and want to make things work. Griffin has a little daughter, so dating is a tricky business for everyone involved. See?! Simple. That’s why I can’t really say the plot was the thing that made this story unputdownable. It was all on the characters.

So who are these lovely people who, by the end of the book, made me feel so close to them that I had a hard time saying goodbye?

If you read Kelly Eadon’s debut, The Wedding Date, then you met Beth as one of Kate’s closest friends. Now, Beth gets her own story and OMG, thank you Kelly so much for that! Beth was absolutely phenomenal. I loved every single thing about her – how compassionate she was, how quirky and honest and unconventional. Beth isn’t your girl-next-door type of friend. She’s that person you call when you had a shitty day surrounded by awful people and you want evidence that there’s still good in this world. She’s that pure soul that somehow has escaped the claws of capitalism, and still sees beauty in doing what makes her happy instead of living the life everyone else is supposed to live – one molded by money and power. She’s enthusiastic about life and the things and people she loves. She’s great with kids, she’s great with people and she’s great at cooking. She rocks, in my honest opinion!

I love Beth because she reminds me of who I should be. Of how I wished the world allowed more people to be. I really, really love Beth.

You know who else I loved? Griffin. When you give me a former rock star (that’s always sexy as far as I'm concerned) who dropped everything to become a coffee shop owner in a small time in order to take care of his little daughter, I say you’re after my heart.

Griffin is this super responsible guy who loves his daughter more than anything in the world and wants to make sure she’s happy and healthy so badly that he’s willing to sacrifice the other things he loves for her. Now tell me, how can you not love this guy?

Add his respect for Beth and her life choices, and you have me kidnapping him to take him to Vegas so Elvis can marry us (see My Life as a Book section above).

Last, but definitely not least, we have Mabel, Griffin’s four-year-old daughter. Dude, that little girl is funny! I’ve read about enough kids that sound like “adult representation of kids” to know writing kids isn’t an easy task, but Kelly Eadon did an amazing job with Mabel. She was smart, funny and sweet in an age-appropriate way. She made me smile and laugh enough to leave a lasting impression. Don't believe me? Here are some examples:

• After a heavy metal song about cannibal starts playing (one of Griffin’s friend’s practical jokes):

“In the backseat, Mabel was giggling. ‘You can’t eat someone’s face! They’re silly, Daddy. There’s no such thing as a can animal.”

• Because she’s a creative person:

“He slammed the phone down on the counter, once again thankful for the military grade cell phone case he’d bought after Mabel threw his phone out a third-floor window in an attempt to make Angry Birds fly farther.”

• Because she has great taste in music:

“Mabel stood in the middle of the living room with Black Kitty clutched tightly to her chest. She was singing “It’s Raining Man” to him. Where on earth had she learned that song?”

• While explaining what an air mattress is:

“‘The floaty bed?’ he asked.‘You know. With the air. Like in the pool. And you put your mouth on it and puff, puff, puff, then magic. It’s a real bed.'”

Mabel, you’re just too adorable for this world.

So you might be thinking I’m describing two perfect people falling in love and taking care of an adorable child… that might be boring, right? It could’ve been, if Kelly Eadon didn’t make the whole thing so funny and adorable that you have no other choice but to love and wish these people were real so they could be your friends.

The author created relatable characters and added just enough drama to keep things going, but she didn’t prolong the drama in unnecessary ways. As the blurb hints, Griffin keeps a secret from Beth and, obviously, it comes to light at some point. Instead of making it into this huge deal, she lets the characters handle it in a way that feels reasonable. No overreaction. No making the problem bigger than it needs to. Same goes for a difficult situation involving Beth and Mabel and kitten. I was so glad the author understood the story she had and didn’t try to make it into something else.

What about the romance? It was sweet! From the way Beth and Griffin showed their interest in each other early on, how they moved their relationship to the “we-should-be-more-than-friends” field, how they realized a relationship in that situation meant accepting and loving Mabel too, and even when they were making love; everything was sweet, organic and not rushed at all. They took their time and I loved reading every second of it.

Bottom line, this was me the entire time:

Goodreads

I’m so, so thankful the author and publisher allowed me to read this book before the rest of the world. If you’re into sweet and well-written romances, then please, do yourself a favor and buy a copy. Even if you aren’t, there’s a good chance Beth, Griffin and Mabel will make you fall for them as hard as I did.

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