Life isn’t always responsible.
After his mother tragically dies and his deadbeat father goes off the rails, nineteen-year-old Micky is left to care for his disabled little brother, Flynn.
Juggling college, a dead-end job and Flynn’s special needs means Micky has to put his bad-boy past behind him and be the responsible adult to keep his brother out of care. He doesn’t have time for anything else in his life. So Micky’s not sure if it’s a good thing or not when his new boss at the local supermarket, Dan, starts crushing on him. Micky can’t deal with that. For so many reasons.
Dan, older, and burned from a past relationship, can’t help his instant attraction to his new recruit. It doesn’t get any better when he starts to peel off Micky’s layers, revealing the true man beneath his well-guarded façade. Micky hits all of Dan’s buttons and he finds it so hard to stay away. No matter how many times he’s told to.
Micky can’t afford to allow his heart to rule his head and Dan can’t take another broken heart.
Misdemeanor is the first book in the Responsible Adult trilogy and is a re-release of the previously published version by Pride. It has been edited with new content added.
Author note: Potential triggers include references to suicide, physical assault on a minor, criminal behaviour and bullying of a disabled child.
- age gap, m/m relationship, disabled child, heavy subject matter, violence
Misdemeanor is the first book in C.F. White’s series – The Responsible Adult Trilogy. Beware! This first book ends on a cliffhanger… if you’re okay with that then have a read. I found this book to be engaging and interesting. I read some reviews of it prior to reading and it seems that the author has taken heed of some feedback from readers and changed up the book quite a bit. I have only read this new version and would gladly recommend it.
This book is a lot more than a m/m romance. Micky lost his mother, his father is an alcoholic and absent most of the time which leaves Micky to take care of his little brother, Flynn. Flynn is living with a disability that means he requires a lot of care and time. Micky adores Flynn and is trying to get his life on a better track so that he can provide a good home for his little brother.
Turning over a new leaf… leaving his rough and tumble past behind him, Micky gets a job at a local supermarket. This is the point at which Micky meets his new boss, Dan.
Dan is a bit older than Mickey. He’s had bad luck in relationships, but he’s instantly attracted to and intrigued by Mickey. As they begin to get to know one another, the plot becomes more complex.
Mickey is looking after his little brother, but he’s not Flynn’s legal guardian. This means that he’s avoiding the teachers and social workers who are attempting to catch up with the family. White really brings a sensitive issue to this story. What happens to children when the parents are out of the picture? It’s not always possible for a sibling to take care of a younger person…and this means that families can be broken up. Mickey is heart broken when he thinks about Flynn being taken from him.
In addition to looking after Flynn, Mickey is struggling to escape his “bad boy” past. He’s been in a lot of fights (most of which don’t seem to have been his fault), his friends are on the tougher side. It can be really difficult to change the course of your life, particularly when you have to deal with the assumptions people make based on the past. White really illustrates the way that people can become mired down in their own past and completely unable to get out from under people’s assumptions that they will fail.
The relationship between Flynn and Mickey is certainly a challenging one. They both have a lot of baggage and there are some harsh arguments. I was uncomfortable, at times, with the way that Mickey lashed out at Dan. But, as the older person in the relationship I felt as though it was believable that he would be more patient.
There are a lot of things going on in this story; I found it very engaging. I was a bit unprepared for the cliff hanger at the end. There’s no HEA in this volume of the series. If you don’t like cliffhangers, then you may want to pick up the entire series at once.
Things You May Want To Know: Please be aware, I’m by no means an expert on what may or may not have the potential to disturb people. I simply list things that I think a reader might want to be aware of. In this book: (SPOILERS) Potential triggers include references to suicide, physical assault on a minor, criminal behaviour and bullying of a disabled child, violence, depictions of substance abuse and alcoholism.
I received an ARC of Misdemeanor (Responsible Adult #1) by C.F. White from the author in exchange for an unbiased review.
Kinzie Things 