Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
If you read Laurelin Paige’s Man in Charge series, then there is a part of you that fell in love with Brett Sebastian, the man that Tessa, the heroine of that duet, looked past to Scott Sebastian, that series’s hero. And thank goodness because Tessa and Scott were destined (sorry, Brett). Thankfully, though, Paige recognized that Brett needed a story. I mean, he’s all hero and deserves his own space in Paige’s universe of stories. What is shocking, however, is Paige’s choice of heroine for him: Eden, the woman of the Man in Charge series who is caught by Tessa with Scott at its beginning.
At the start of Man for Me, I wasn’t a fan of Eden. Honestly, it took almost half of this novella for me to understand her. In fact, that seems to be Paige’s superpower: taking seemingly unloveable characters and finding them a place to be loved. Eden is self-absorbed through this story, not fully recognizing the gift of Brett Sebastian. Once, however, she begins to see him after a night of unrivaled bedroom antics. When she acknowledges her latent feelings for him, she can’t unsee him anymore. Unfortunately, after years of being “passed over”, Brett isn’t accepting of Eden’s interest. It’s there where the story takes on a more serious tone. Eden must find a way to win Brett’s heart again. However, in order to humanize her, Paige intelligently makes her face her truth. For me, that’s when Man for Me finds its power.
Eden and Brett are indeed suited for each other. Paige has crafted a deep chemistry between these two that runs as hot as her other couple in this world. If you think you’ll be disappointed, by comparison, you won’t. Instead, you’ll probably say that you’d wish Eden and Brett had more space to develop more of their physical relationship. But that isn’t the case, and the space they are given is an inferno.
Just as Laurelin Paige did with Celia in her Slay series, in Man for Me, she asks us to see the vulnerability of Eden. In doing so, she crafts a heroine for Brett that is worthy of his love. From the start to its finish, Man for Me is a great afternoon read.
In love and romance,
Professor A
Professor Romance 