ABOUT THE BOOK

Can a man evolve from arrogant ass to Father of the Year?

Doug Winston looks into his newborn daughter’s eyes and vows to become the kind of man and father worthy of her. But he first must navigate the mess he’s made of his life.

Doug’s wife has left him. The teenage son he raised despises him, the father he worships disowns him, and a child Doug never knew he’d fathered arrives on his doorstep.

After his baby’s mother dies, her sister, Josie, wants to prove him unfit and attain custody.

As Doug embarks on his quest to live authentically, to make amends where he can and build relationships with his children and with Josie, he discovers that the father for whom he was never good enough is part of a vast criminal network.

Just as Doug and Josie cross the line from hate to love, and Doug has cobbled together the family he always wanted, can he bring the man he once idolized to justice in order to protect them all?

MY REVIEW

Another of my favorite authors has done it again and produced a truly heartwarming story about finding forgiveness, finding family, and finding love again.

The current mayor of Red Bud, Iowa, Doug Winston, is a recovering asshole. He burned his bridges with pretty much everyone in the whole town, including his son, when he ran a scathing campaign (and winning by default) against a new resident of the town and former porn star.

Now karma has come back to bite him. The woman he loved and betrayed twice is now dead due to complications during childbirth and he is left with raising his new baby girl.  With the heartbreak of his loss and the wonder of a beautiful new baby, we see the most despised man of Red Bud become a loving and giving father for the first time not only to his new born baby, but to his estranged teen age son and to his twenty year old daughter he knew nothing about until a few months ago. He also wins the heart of his dead lovers cousin, Josie, which is a feat in itself.

I know the story sounds cheesy and hard to believe, but the writing is incredible and the characters are real and tackling very difficult issues.  Watching this former raging douche raised by a racist pig and a coward of a mother become the man and father he truly wants to be, is an amazing accomplishment. 

I absolutely love this sequel to If You Knew. It is an uplifting story of taking your life back and trying to undo the mistakes of your past. It’s about doing what’s right no matter how difficult.  It’s about loving yourself first in order to love others.  It’s one of my favorite reads of 2020. Give this book a try, I guarantee you will be moved. Recommend highly!

Thank you to Ms. Meyers for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A few of my favorite things: My family and my dear, dear friends.

My addictions/vices: Books; wine…white zin or pinot grigio; coffee…an every morning must have; popcorn

What I do when I’m not writing: I read or I might be working at the local Starbucks, hanging out with the above-referenced friends and family; bicycling around my neighborhood; taking a nap.

I’m originally from Southwest Missouri, but I grew up in a bunch of tiny towns in Illinois and Idaho before I arrived in Florida where I currently reside. Want to know more about me? Read my blogs which you can access through my web site.

Follow Barbara on her website, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and Goodreads.