Review: Made For You by Anyta Sunday

Made for You (Love and Family #2)
by Anyta Sunday

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: MM

Blurb:
Ben wants to find a new home.

Twenty-four-year-old Ben McCormick is the primary caregiver for his brother Milo after their parents’ death. A year into the job, he’s totally got the hang of it. Mostly. Sort of. Not at all?

Defeated and thoroughly chastised for his lack in parenting skills at teacher-parent night, Ben slumps away with the resolve to finally get his life sorted: be a better role model, and sell their parents’ house for a fresh start.

But first, he needs to spruce up his house to hit the market. He’s no DIY king, but Milo’s hot-as-hell woodwork teacher is…

Jack wants an old home to fix.
Thirty-nine-year-old Jack Pecker is waiting for the home of his dreams to come on the market in the summer. What better way to wait the interim months than working on a small renovation gig?

Only trouble is, the gig is for the McCormick brothers. And working in close quarters to red-haired Ben McCormick won’t be easy. Not with the attraction that simmers between them. Attraction Ben makes no effort to hide.

But Jack’s professional. Dating a parent is highly discouraged at Kresley Intermediate, and he’d never cross the lines…

Ben and Jack. Two guys searching for a home –
– a home that might just be where their hearts lead them.

~ – ~ – ~

Set in New Zealand, Made For You (Love & Family #2) is an MM gay romance featuring two guys at very different places in their lives – but both finding out they are looking for the same thing.
Can be read as a standalone.

Tropes: friends-to-lovers, slow burn, age gap, found family
Genre: New Adult, light-hearted contemporary gay romance

My Review

I received a free copy from the author through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I have to admit I wasn’t sure at first that I wanted to read this one, but when I was reading Taboo for You I got curious about Jack’s story and then decided to give it a try. And I am so glad I did as I really enjoyed this sweet MM romance book. I enjoyed it even more than Taboo For You. It’s a slow burn romance and I loved seeing the characters grow closer together as the story progressed and it’s just full of these sweet and touching moments. And it was a joy to read about these characters.

Made For You is told from dual point of views of both Jack and Ben. Jack is a woodworker teacher and he meets Ben one day when Ben shows up for teacher parent evening at the school where his younger brother goes to school After that chance encounter things are set in motion. Ben’s house needs renovations and he hasn’t had the heart to go back there after his parents died and Jack is a house flipper and he ends up renovating Ben’s house. Due to this situation they start spending more time together and growing closer. Then there is Milo, Ben’s younger brother who is a big part of the story too. And who doesn’t want Ben to sell their house, he wants to stay there.

So what made me hesitant about this book at first was the whole age gap thing, I wasn’t sure if I would like that. In the end I can say it didn’t bother me at all in this book. It is brought up a few times, but I never felt like Jack was way more mature or didn’t fit with Ben. Ben had to grow up fast when his parents died and he had to take care of his younger brother and Jack can be very carefree at times too. To be honest most of the time I didn’t think of their age and it wasn’t brought up that much in either text or behavior that I was conscious of it. Also they just fit so well together that the age gap just wasn’t an issue at all. These two just belonged together.

I really liked the romance in this book. The way Ben and Jack meet and they way they interact, their banter and the way they are there for one another. They are so perfect together and I liked how this book was low on the physical intimacy and focused much more on the build-up and slow burn of their romance. It’s full of sweet scenes and I enjoyed seeing these two grow closer and closer. It’s about getting to know each other and being there for the other. There is an instant attraction, but they don’t act on it at first with the whole Jack being Milo’s teacher thing. So instead they have this whole growing closer, but not that close thing. Till quite late at the book when it progresses to more and there is a little bit of heat at the end.

Jack and Ben were both great characters to read about. I liked how Ben was trying so hard to be a good parental figure for Milo, but he also is his brother and that really shows too. They are so similar at times and interact in a different way that shows their brotherly bond. It felt realistic how Ben was struggling with the burden, but he always kept trying and he felt like he was failing and when Jack tells him that he is doing great and he finally gets those words of encouragement, that moment was awesome. He also slowly starts making time for himself and what he wants. I also liked how he could be shy and overwhelmed at times and it felt very realistically done. I also really liked seeing him interact with Milo and it’s obvious how much he cares about his younger brother and how much he would do for him. Their brotherly bond really was well done.

Then there is Jack who has a career he liked and he’s getting closer to getting his dream house, but he’s a bit lonely. He wants a family and he has so much love and care to give. I liked seeing how he slowly became part of Milo and en’s family and how the three interacted together. Jack was great with Milo too, but mostly I liked how he supported Ben and how that helped them both being better parental figures for Milo.

Made For You is the sequel to Taboo For You, but can easily be read as standalone as this book follows a different couple. There are only a few scenes with the previous couple in it.

I also wanted to mention the setting. Just like Taboo for You this book is set in new Zealand and I liked how I got a bit of a feel for the country in this book. There still isn’t a lot about it, but the setting came more alive here than in the first book. Mostly due to all the mentions of birds that I never heard about. The bird watching was a fun addition too.

To summarize: I really enjoyed this book. It’s such a sweet slow burn MM romance book with a bit of heat at the end. I really liked the two main characters and they were so good together. I liked seeing their relationship progress throughout the book as they grew closer and closer. It was great to see much much they came to care about the other and how they were there for one another. I liked Ben’s younger brother Milo, who plays a big role in the story as well. I was afraid the age gap romance wouldn’t work for me, but once I started reading it turned into a non issue, their ages just seemed irrelevant as they were so good together. While it’s a second book in this series, it can easily work as standalone as it follows a different couple with only a few scenes involving the previous couple. I also liked how we got to see a bit of new Zealand and learn about the native birds there. All in all I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it if you enjoy slow burn MM romances.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon

You can also read my review on Goodreads, Bookbub and Amazon.

Do you like slow burn romances?