Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I get Avery Flynn’s brand of romance. Centered on moments mixed with a little absurdity and coy romance, you move through her stories with relish as the hero and heroine battle their feelings. This ends solidly in a happy ending and the reader pleased with the journey. Flynn’s latest offering, Mama’s Boy, the first of a series of standalones, orbits her series, The Hartigans and Ice Knights. And I liked it. Overall, I found myself sated by the journey of Dixon and Fiona, one of the Hartigan triplets. But…I have to admit, I was also a little bit confused. Let’s begin there.
- I never comment on covers. Really, I never, but I am not a huge fan of the cover for Mama’s Boy because the cover model is not Dixon. He looks like a country hero, not a wealthy, alpha-hole, playboy. Add to that the title, and as I read Mama’s Boy, it didn’t fit. We are told that Dixon is a ‘mama’s boy,’ and I don’t doubt he is, but that isn’t the focus of this story. Instead, “The Bet” or something related to a dating app would make more sense. Even more, within the confines of this story, Dixon makes choices to win a final gift from his grandmother away from his cousins (Griff and Nash). The cover and title miss on encompassing this key aspect of the story.
- The first quarter of the book seemed silly. Honestly, it took me until 40% in before I liked the coupling of Fiona and Dixon. Flynn’s choices for them initially make them seem more cartoonish, less real.
However, with those points being said, after the 40% mark, I found myself settling into the story more. I think this has more to do with Fiona and Dixon finding their stride and moving beyond the machinations of his cousins and further into understanding each other. And honestly, the crux of Avery Flynn’s Mama’s Boy lies in the idea of authenticity. Both Dixon and Fiona learn through the evolution of their story to be true to themselves because people like you just as you are. This is always a worthy lesson in any story, and Avery Flynn’s romance entices you with it.
There were moments when I found myself chuckling, and there were a few moments when I was moved by the trials of Dixon and Fiona. By the end of Mama’s Boy, Avery Flynn shows you why people flock to her romances.
In love and romance,
Professor A
Professor Romance 