Clayton: Single Dads Club Book 3, Candice Blake

I don't feel that this is a good representation of what the author can produce.  Many of their stories are touching and well thought out.  This story suffered from too quick of a pace and not enough objective thought in how some of it would come across.  Overall it wasn't a bad story, it just really needed more pages and more finesse with creating both men.

Clayton was interesting in the beginning because of his honesty and obvious love and exasperation with his college-bound son, though that relationship was made a focus and then quickly abandoned.  What followed with his interaction with the various men of the Single Dads group was touching in that he was attentive and genuinely enjoyed providing a safe and accepting place for men of all walks of life to cope with, advise, and commiserate with others in similar life situations.  It was his interactions with Westley that had me scratching my head.  I have to admit to becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Clayton's behavior.

Knowing West is straight and yet continually flirting with him is on the edge, less so because of the eyes that West is making right back at Clayton, but the way he pushes for physical intimacy before truly knowing the man and working past the very glaring and obvious emotional impasse is over the line for me.  Using language like, "Come on," when West is saying no in a way that implies no rather than interested hesitance is inappropriate and extremely bothersome.  Many of us who have been pressured into physical intimacy likely have negative connections with those words and those that are similar and I find the entire situation Clayton is pursuing appalling.

West is harder to know because we get so very little of him as a person.  This was likely due to the shorter length of the story and would have been much better if we had more from him.  I can't honestly say that I like him as a person either.  He seems so milquetoast for the vast majority of the story rather than the decisive man we're introduced to.  He wilts as the story progresses, especially under Clayton's pressuring.  While I have a great hope that he gets better there's just no clear evidence that he will.

Maybe the series gets better?  I'll give the next book a shot to see if the series can redeem itself, but I don't really have a lot of hope of that.

*$2.99 on Amazon

Westley: A one-week cottage trip with a group of single dads...what could possibly happen?

I don’t have any expectations for this trip and I certainly don't expect to meet Clayton, an older man with salt-and-pepper hair and icy-blue eyes, who makes me question my sexuality.

Stuck inside the cottage in one of the worst snowstorms in years, Clayton and I don’t have a choice but to get to know each other. We start off as just friends, but Clayton’s charming and able to convince me to do things with him I never thought I’d do. Soon, I start having feelings for this handsome, older man.

But once we go back to the real world, I know things will never work out between us. As one of the top neurosurgeons in the country, I've dedicated my life to my work. It wouldn't be fair for anyone to have to deal with my long and hectic hours at the hospital.

So, do we make the best of our short time together and end it at that? Or do I give it a chance with Clayton when we finally go home?

Clayton:

As the founder of the Single Dads Club, I organize an annual trip to my cottage. This year, I extended the invitation to friends and family of my members.

I meet someone named Westley and he reminds me so much of my husband who died ten years ago. When I catch Westley stealing glances at me from across the room one too many times, I make a move on him and test the waters.

There's something about Westley that drives me wild. But he makes it clear that he's straight. As a CEO, I don't give up easily, and I won't give up on someone I find so special.

I'm still healing after my husband's death and it's hard to love again. With my son leaving for college in a year, I'll be all alone. I want to fall in love again, but just the thought of it terrifies me. Westley has the power to change all that.

Will he though?