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___tamara___'s review against another edition
3.0
Original rating: 4 stars
Re-read rating: 3 stars
A contemporary romance with some darker themes. The "dark" part () made me ache for everyone involved, but I feel the romance part was a bit rushed towards the end, and the ending itself was very neat It just felt too good to be true, too unrealistic and too big a contrast after all of the darker stuff Vin and especially Trey went through.
Spoiler
Trey's mom's alcohol and substance abuseSpoiler
Vin's family was used like a substitute for the magical D - once they got involved, all of Trey's problems seemingly disappeared, and there were a lot of them and they were in no way minor. I know it was probably intended to enforce the "everything is easier with family" feeling, but it really did feel like it was used as a quick way to tuck in loose ends before the inevitable HEA.blessedwannab's review against another edition
4.0
I eyed this book pretty hard when Samain first released it in 2013, but I ended up putting it off. I think I lost interest after reading a few lukewarm reviews. I try not to read reviews specifically for that reason, and especially because I often disagree. Sadly, I think that’s what happened with Family Man. It wasn’t until I saw it was being rereleased by Dreamspinner (one of my favorite publishers) that I knew I couldn’t resist a second time.
Now I’m kicking myself because Family Man was everything I love in one book. Seriously. It was absolutely adorable!
Vinnie and Trey were the perfect opposites. Normally I’m not a big fan of macho, burly, aggressive men, especially with gold chains, but my goodness did Heidi and Marie make me adore Vinnie. He was so perfect just the way he was! The attributes that usually annoy me left me feeling affection, and I think it was because of how sweet and tender he was with Trey. Sweet but prickly Trey. I also loved the age difference between the two men. In other romances I’ve read, with a huge age difference, it’s a problem the couple needs to work through. Or, there’s the whole ‘Daddy’ kink, which is so not my thing. Neither trope could be used to describe Vinnie and Trey. Yes, Vinnie was 13 years older than Trey, but not once did either of them act like it was a big deal. Trey wasn’t turned on by it, Vinnie wasn’t embarrassed by it. It just was, and they both accepted it without it ever really needing a discussion. It was really awesome.
I also adored the ‘no sex’ aspect of the story. It wasn’t about not wanting to have sex, it was about wanting a relationship to be about more than sex. I think it really helped me feel their emotional connection long before the physical. It’s so important, I think, because if I already buy them as a couple than any physical intimacy will automatically mean more. My anticipation built up with them, so when it did happen I’d be giddy. (I need to feel romance first. I’m a romantic in every way.) It wasn’t a slow burn, because the romance progressed pretty easily, but the intimacy level definitely developed slower and I think it made all the difference.
Anyway, basically I loved everything about this read. I loved Vin and Trey, I loved Vin’s family. I loved Trey’s strength. The characters were well developed, with personalities outside of the romantic relationship. It was gorgeous, and I wouldn’t mind getting a little novella of Trey and Vin, married with children.
Thank you to Dreamspinner Press for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Read this review, and so many others like it, on Birdie Bookworm!
Now I’m kicking myself because Family Man was everything I love in one book. Seriously. It was absolutely adorable!
Vinnie and Trey were the perfect opposites. Normally I’m not a big fan of macho, burly, aggressive men, especially with gold chains, but my goodness did Heidi and Marie make me adore Vinnie. He was so perfect just the way he was! The attributes that usually annoy me left me feeling affection, and I think it was because of how sweet and tender he was with Trey. Sweet but prickly Trey. I also loved the age difference between the two men. In other romances I’ve read, with a huge age difference, it’s a problem the couple needs to work through. Or, there’s the whole ‘Daddy’ kink, which is so not my thing. Neither trope could be used to describe Vinnie and Trey. Yes, Vinnie was 13 years older than Trey, but not once did either of them act like it was a big deal. Trey wasn’t turned on by it, Vinnie wasn’t embarrassed by it. It just was, and they both accepted it without it ever really needing a discussion. It was really awesome.
I also adored the ‘no sex’ aspect of the story. It wasn’t about not wanting to have sex, it was about wanting a relationship to be about more than sex. I think it really helped me feel their emotional connection long before the physical. It’s so important, I think, because if I already buy them as a couple than any physical intimacy will automatically mean more. My anticipation built up with them, so when it did happen I’d be giddy. (I need to feel romance first. I’m a romantic in every way.) It wasn’t a slow burn, because the romance progressed pretty easily, but the intimacy level definitely developed slower and I think it made all the difference.
Anyway, basically I loved everything about this read. I loved Vin and Trey, I loved Vin’s family. I loved Trey’s strength. The characters were well developed, with personalities outside of the romantic relationship. It was gorgeous, and I wouldn’t mind getting a little novella of Trey and Vin, married with children.
Thank you to Dreamspinner Press for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Read this review, and so many others like it, on Birdie Bookworm!
trin's review
2.0
I wanted to read something warm and feel-good and this...almost worked for me. I liked Vince with his big crazy loving Italian family, finally coming to terms with his sexuality at almost 40. But in the same way that the alternating POVs didn't jibe for me -- Vince's chapters in third person, Trey's in first -- I found Trey's half of the story less convincing. It verged on misery porn: poverty, horribly alcoholic mother, supposedly caring grandmother and friends who never do anything to help (either Trey or the plot), and a weird obsession with virginity. I simply didn't buy Trey's reasons for abstaining from sex; it felt to me like the authors just really wanted him to be a virgin, so he had to be a virgin. Vince and Trey fall in love so quickly, and Vince goes from being unable to admit he might be gay to wanting it in the ass so fast -- I don't know, I actually started to feel bad for them that they're each going to be the other's only male lover, especially since For a supposed slow-build, this was too fast, too soon, too sudden, and I didn't believe it.
Spoiler
they get engaged to be married at the end!bitchie's review
5.0
A lot of the reviews call this a light, fairly angst free read. As both the daughter of an addict/alcoholic and mother of a child who spent a year having really bad seizures, it wasn't so light and angst free for me. It dredged up a lot of feelings. I know how Trey feels exactly- the anger, the helplessness, and most of all, the guilt of just wanting it to be over.
While I did have moments of frustration with Vinnie, he more than made up for it when Trey and his gran needed it the most.
I was left with one question- did Vinnie go back to working for his family?
Excellent read, many tears were shed, but it probably won't everyone like it did me.
While I did have moments of frustration with Vinnie, he more than made up for it when Trey and his gran needed it the most.
I was left with one question- did Vinnie go back to working for his family?
Excellent read, many tears were shed, but it probably won't everyone like it did me.
evethingiread's review against another edition
2.0
I mostly found this annoying. I listened to the Audio version. I didn't like either characters. I kept waiting for either of them to become endearing.
bhookjunkhie's review
5.0
4.5 STARS..This was a sweet low angst read and I loved it!..It was refreshing to read about people who for the most part have their shit together and know what they want..without a huge amount of WTF drama:)..I totally enjoyed this and Im looking forward to reading whats next from these two authors..Together or separate...Special Delivery three!...fingers crossed for sooner than later:)
jackiehorne's review against another edition
4.0
Went on a Heidi Cullinan re-reading binge in December, and picked this one up for the first time. Vince Fierro has been through three unsuccessful marriages to women, much to the regret of his extended Italian family. When a plumbing call takes him to the home of a gay couple, and he finds himself admiring the couple's loving relationship, he begins to wonder "if maybe I'm gay." Although he immediately represses the thought ("Because Vince wasn't gay. You didn't marry three women and sleep with how many other sand then decide—with your head under a sink and your eyes stinging of onion—that since you were thirty-eight and single you must be gay. Sex with another man wasn't some random idea to try on when you'd gone through everything else." [Kindle Loc 66]). But after a heart to heart with his sympathetic sister, he goes to a gay club just to see, and meets up with a younger man from the neighborhood and ends up in a sexy dance with him, Vinnie's thrown for a loop.
Twenty-five year old Trey is still in college, having had to play the grown-up for years due to an addict mother. He knows he's gay, but he's a romantic, and has waited for the right guy before making a sexual commitment. Vinnie seems the perfect guy to flirt with: he's not going to insist Trey jump immediately into bed then drop him when he won't put out, as so many of the other guys Trey has dated have done.
There's a lovely dynamic between these two men, at two different points in their lives, yet drawn to each other on both a physical and an emotional level. And great messages about the appeal of support from not just a partner, but from a broader network of family. Kind, funny, and joyful in all the best ways.
Twenty-five year old Trey is still in college, having had to play the grown-up for years due to an addict mother. He knows he's gay, but he's a romantic, and has waited for the right guy before making a sexual commitment. Vinnie seems the perfect guy to flirt with: he's not going to insist Trey jump immediately into bed then drop him when he won't put out, as so many of the other guys Trey has dated have done.
There's a lovely dynamic between these two men, at two different points in their lives, yet drawn to each other on both a physical and an emotional level. And great messages about the appeal of support from not just a partner, but from a broader network of family. Kind, funny, and joyful in all the best ways.
tricia03053's review against another edition
5.0
Don't give 5 stars often, but, boy, was this enjoyable. I need to read more by this team.
tellingetienne's review against another edition
5.0
It's criminal that I'm a fan of Ms Cullinan and never picked up this book until it physically appeared in my hand as a donation for my library! I'm fired as a fan. The co-writing with Sexton is spot on, and this novel is a beautiful and emotional romance. The POV shifts from third for Vinne to first for Trey, but it didn't bother me in the slightest, I found I loved how it played out.
But honestly, this is the sweetest romance I've read in a long while. I love all the unexpected little turns it takes, how it's a slow smolder. Ugh. It's just good. Read it.
But honestly, this is the sweetest romance I've read in a long while. I love all the unexpected little turns it takes, how it's a slow smolder. Ugh. It's just good. Read it.