And Manny Makes Seven

Title: And Manny Makes Seven

Author: Sean Michael

Publisher: Torquere Press 

Publisher URL: www.torquerebooks.com

ISBN/BIN: 978-1-61040-840-0

Genre: {M/M} Contemporary Series

Rating: 3.5 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Dragon Minx

The last three years have been tough on Adam. He’s only twenty-one and trying to stay in college while caring for his five siblings. Now the person he depends on, his academic mentor and his mother’s best friend, Helen, has died. He desperately needs help. Then he learns Helen left him her house, three million dollars, and two shi tzus in her will. He has money for a nanny.

Hutch has been a nanny since age nineteen, and has taken care of numerous children from a wide variety of families. Five kids are more than he’s used to but he’s confident that he can handle Adam’s siblings. They need him and stressed out Adam does too.

And Manny Makes Seven is the newest release in Sean Michael’s Mannies Incorporated series. There are no recurring characters, so this should be considered a standalone.

When I started this book, I was in the mood for something sweet, and that’s what I got with this fun and entertaining romance.  It’s a story of a family that’s been through some rough times and there really aren’t outside conflicts. It’s about Adam and his relationship with his younger siblings and how they deal with each other—and for the three littlest ones, he’s more of a father than a brother.

I liked that Adam continued his education despite his inheritance. Hiring a manny was his big step and the author worked it into his life seamlessly. Their personalities gelled nicely and I enjoyed the scene where they first met and it was so obvious Adam needed help. The chaos was written so realistically I could easily visualize what was going on, pulling me into the story. I really enjoyed the little kids—they were scenes stealers and the two teenagers were just that—teenagers. 

As Hutch settled into the family, the dynamics changed and so did how the various people interacted. He and Adam didn’t start their personal relationship immediately, which I liked but once they did, the sex was a little too frequent for a book with so many kids playing prominent roles. A couple of my other niggles involve some editing problems and the fact that there were so many nicknames thrown around. It was difficult to follow in the beginning and I had to go back several times to figure out who was being referred to. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy this old fashioned love story...I did…and I’ll likely read it again.