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Last month, I got the sudden overwhelming urge to reread Heartless by Elsie Silver, which sent me on a path of wanting to read so many single dad trope books and I read four before the fourth led me on a detour of some romantic suspense books that we may examine at a later date. For now, I’m really excited to talk to you about why I think the single dad trope works for me and my thoughts on Heartless by Elsie Silver, Coach by Devney Perry, The Nanny by Lana Ferguson, and Love Me Today by A.L. Jackson.

Why I Think I Like This Trope

I think sometimes I lean into this trope when I’m thinking about how much I love my niece and nephew, tbh. I adore them so much and I love their personalities. They’re so wild. But I know kids can be difficult so there’s something for me about watching kids open up to adults. I really don’t like when kids are just in the plot when it’s convenient because a kid is actually like an extremely massive responsibility obviously and I love watching a family come together. So basically, I love kids, but am not sure if I want to have any for myself so reading about kids is the next best thing. As for why single dads over single moms? I don’t actually think that’s the case for me normally, it’s just what I wanted after having read Heartless. So maybe I’ll have to do a follow up with single moms soon too!

Heartless by Elsie Silver

Look, I’m not sure if Heartless sets the gold standard for what I’m looking for in a single dad romance, but I can tell you that I love this book with every fiber of my being even though this book is not perfect. There are a couple of throwaway lines in this book that I could do without, but mostly, this book created characters that come alive and make me want to insert myself into the larger Eaton family. Just, maybe I could be the kind of family member who doesn’t really ever wander into the fields. You know?

This book is spicy and so focused on the romance without even once forgetting that Luke is integral to the success of the romance working. Willa and Cade might have an instant physical attraction that they both ignore, but Cade really starts to fall for Willa as he watches the way she loves Luke and visa versa. As I also fell in love with Luke and his antics, I was just right there in the story with them, falling in love right alongside them. I just really, really adore this book and am so grateful that it came into my life this year.

I will say too that the one thing about this book that I think will be a huge turn off to some people is that Cade’s ex-wife just sort of abandoned Luke and Cade in favor of living life in a big city. She’s incredibly absent from their life. I didn’t feel like it reached the caricature of an evil villain ex, but it’s definitely worth mentioning because I know that’s a hard limit for many people.

**That said, I do hope Elsie Silver evaluates her stance on AI being used in art because, well, we really need to hold the line regarding stolen work.**

Coach by Devney Perry

Speaking of villainous exes, I really feel like Perry leaned into that stereotype in Coach, though at times she did seem to attempt to humanize her. But ultimately, Millie is just so competent and steady that it felt like it almost exaggerated the villainy of the ex even more. Anyway, I really did enjoy Coach, though it doesn’t reach the level of love I have for Heartless by any means.

Essentially, in this book, Ford and Millie were best friends. He had broken up with his long-time girlfriend in college and the two of them shared one magical kiss. And then the ex showed up and whoops, she was pregnant. Ford was determined to do “the right thing” so he married the ex and they moved to Seattle where he played for (presumably the Seahawks, but she may have made up a fictional team) for years until an injury. Now he’s divorced and is back in Montana coaching at the same college he and Millie met and she works in the athletic department.

What I loved about this book was the relationship between Millie and Joey and Millie’s initial reluctance to let Ford back into her life. I thought that the way that was handled was pretty well done. However, if/when I think about this book objectively, I do get a little (a lot) annoyed by things like the way that Millie is willing to risk it all for Ford and I felt like the person who should actually make that big gesture was 1000 percent him. But, I really love Perry’s writing so even though I didn’t necessarily adore all of her plot decisions, I had a really great time with the book.

The Nanny by Lana Ferguson

First of all, this book is the floppiest paperback and it gave me an intense amount of joy to read it. Everything about how the book felt in my hands was great. I know that’s a super weird way to start this review, but it seemed necessary because honestly, I wish all books were made like that one. (It’s Berkley and even all Berkley titles aren’t so if someone wants to explain, I’d appreciate it.)

But more importantly, this book was really quite fun! The fun of it is what made me dock a star because I don’t like going from having such a fun, happy time to suddenly deep diving into emotions because that feels like whiplash. In some ways this book subverts expectations and in others, not so much. But anyway, basically, this book is about a dad who had a kid with a woman who he was friends with and they hooked up like a couple times and oops, a baby. He’s a chef at a restaurant and chefs have demanding schedules that are incompatible with being a single dad (mom passed away). Meanwhile, his daughter is prickly and has led to the dismissal of several nannies and mom’s sister keeps showing up criticizing him and acting like she should have custody. So anyway, he winds up hiring a nanny and neither of them realize that they’ve actually spent lots of time together via Only Fans, basically.

I really did enjoy this one. Sophie (prickly daughter) is slow to warm up to Cassie, but I loved watching their relationship grow. I loved, too, how Cassie manages to win over Sophie’s aunt. And the physical chemistry between Cassie and Aiden was pretty fire. Plus, I liked the way Cassie would gently point things out to Aiden who would seriously consider her position and change his behavior. And there’s this feisty grandma type figure whom I adored. What I didn’t love is what I’ve already mentioned. The third act break up in this book felt like a complete tonal shift compared to the rest of the book and I struggled a little bit with that. But ultimately, I’m definitely planning to pick up Ferguson’s next book and that’s really all one can ask for, no?

Love Me Today by A.L. Jackson

This book is interesting and very different from the three books I’ve already talked about. Where all three of the men in the above books are really obsessed with their daughters and their daughters know how loved they are, in Love Me Today, the relationship dynamics are a little harder to parse. Caleb is damaged in a way that leads to quite a bit of distance between him and Evelyn. At the beginning of the book Caleb really does leave all of Evelyn’s care to a nanny who isn’t even the best. Paisley enters the picture only because Evelyn really wants to learn to ride a horse.

While I really did love the relationship between Paisley and Evelyn, I felt like it happened so quickly and then the romantic suspense plot line really took off and… Well, I don’t know. There was just a lot going on. And, actually, I think it was the way the book was written that had me struggling sometimes with the book itself. If you’re in the mood to combine romantic suspense and a single dad trope and you don’t mind writing that feels a little over-written, then maybe pick up this one.

Closing Thoughts

I asked on Instagram and got a few responses, but please feel free to share with me your favorite single dad (or single mom!) romances! I’m still in the mood for them so I wouldn’t be surprised if my wrap up features a few more.

xx