👰♀️👰♀️1/2
The Stand-in Dad
Alex Summers
Publication Date: April 24th, 2025
Avon Books UK
368 Pages
Amazon | Goodreads | Bookshop.org
Genre: General Fiction | Women’s Fiction
There’s no doubt that the story in this book is very heartwarming, surrounding issues of found family and acceptance. But in my book, it fell short of the potential the premise had. I loved the character, David. He was such a kind soul after everything he went through. Meg was very vulnerable, and I enjoyed her journey of self-acceptance and self-love. The book is an amazing tale of the pain parents can cause their children if they are different, gay in these cases. These parents made me so angry.
What the book lacked, in my humble opinion, was how sickly sweet the plot was. The resolutions were too simplistic and felt fake and not realistic at all. It was a bit melodramatic for my liking and too much like a soap opera. These are serious issues, so it lacked in that regard, and David and Meg ended up like caricatures.
The pacing was very slow, and the book is way too long. The plot unfolded very predictably, too. I wish there was drama and not everything tied up into a nice neat bow. It just diminishes the importance of the challenges the LGBTQ+ community faces on a daily basis. Even though the book is feel-good at its heart, it could have added more depth to the plot if it was more realistic.
Overall, this book was more of a comfort read than one that tackles issues, and I felt that lessened the overall moral of the story. So, even though it is heartwarming, a more realistic ending would have made me round up instead of down.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
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