Mack Daddy by Penelope Ward Review
Smooches
Synopsis
They called him Mack Daddy. No, seriously, his name was Mack. Short for Mackenzie.
Thus, the nickname. Perfect, right?
So was he: perfect. The perfect physical male specimen.
At the private school where I taught, Mack Morrison was the only man around in a sea of women.
Everyone wanted a piece of the hot single father of the sweet little boy. I was riddled with jealousy, because they didn’t know that—to me—he was much more.
They didn’t know about our past.
He’d chosen my school for his son on purpose, because Mack and I, we had unfinished business.
As my friend Lorelai so eloquently put it: “Unfinished business between two people who are clearly attracted to each other is like an eternal case of blue balls.” And I was suffering in pain from my case.
I was still intensely attracted to Mack. I tried to resist him, immersing myself further into a relationship with another man just to protect my heart.
Not to mention, getting involved with a parent was strictly against school rules. But seeing Mack day in and day out was breaking me down.
And soon I might be breaking all the rules.
Author’s note – Told in alternating points of view, Mack Daddy is a full-length standalone novel
Review
WOW! With a title like Mack Daddy I was expecting something fun and light but I should have known better. Penelope Ward loves to dish out the angst and she loves to make some years passed. Somehow second chance romances (something Penelope ward seems to specialize in) are favorites of mine while years passing wasted is also something that gives me extreme anxiety. My heart hurts for what could have been during all that time apart and yet when it all works out it feels like it is deserved even more.
“You feel that?” I asked. “Feel how it’s beating for you right now. Every time I even allow myself to think about you , it beats like this. And I don’t know how to make it stop.”
I do feel like Penelope Ward has a formula and it is one that works for her really well. So saying that I saw elements of Jake Undone, My Skylar and others in Mack Daddy. But the overall story, the nitty gritty and details, was very unique. She is not the first author whose books have similar feels and this is not something I personally would hold against her.
Mack and Frankie’s love is hard fought but in the end worth it all. Penelope Ward never lets me down and despite the fact that I was not in love with this title and found the teaser to be slightly pornographic, this to be an impossible to put down. I was hooked from the start of these two former best friends who have so much pain and hurt but clearly are destined to be together. I highly recommend giving this a read.
~miranda
