‘Hard Time (Responsible Adult Book 2)’ by C.F. White #Audiobook #LGBT #Review #MM

Erryn reviews ‘Hard Time (Responsible Adult Book 2)’ by C.F. White. The ebook was published August 5, 2021 and was 220 pages.The audiobook version of this story was narrated by Piers Ryman, released October 22, 2021 and is 7 hrs and 44 mins long. A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Why I read this book: Book 1 ended on a cliffhanger and I NEEDED to know what happened next.

Love isn’t always responsible.

After Micky O’Neill is remanded in custody for breaching his court order, his already tempestuous relationship with Dan Peters is tested to the limits.

Having to battle their way through a court case that could end with Micky in jail, social workers breaking up the family home, and the return of Micky’s deadbeat father, it seems everything is set to destroy their relationship before it even had the chance to start.

With such high stakes involved, not just for Micky but for once-burned, twice-shy Dan, they both have to learn that falling in love isn’t always responsible.

This is the second book in the re released Responsible Adult Series. It has been edited with new content added to make for a new reader experience.

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My review:

When I finished the first book in the series, I was left with a true cliffhanger. I was like, uh, gimme gimme gimme the next book. NOW! I got it and listened voraciously, basically in a day. I wanted to know how Flynn was. Sure, finding out Micky’s fate was good, but Flynn was the one I had to know about. Flynn is Micky’s younger disabled brother who Micky has been caring for since the suicide of their mother. Micky is barely into adulthood himself and is carrying a ton of responsibility. When he’s brought in for questioning by the police, obviously someone was going to have to step up and take care of Flynn. I admit it – I panicked.

I should’ve known better. In a nice twist, the situation was resolved to my satisfaction, and the panic receded.

As to the rest of the book…I enjoyed it. Micky and Dan are complete opposites. Dan holds down a job as a manager in a grocery store. His job is to keep the chaos to a minimum. Given some of the people he manages, this often proves to be a challenge.

Micky is trying to complete his high school. He wants to better himself so he can provide for his brother. But with caretaking and working at the grocery store, life’s a challenge. Add it mates who may or may not have his best interests at heart, and ex-so-called-girlfriends to boot, and life is a mess. Oh, and his father. The deadbeat Micky wishes would just stay gone.

Somehow, though, the men make it work. They start planning for a future. A future that will conclude in the third book and I’m off there now…

Quick note – I adore Piers Ryman. He and Ms. White fit together beautifully and I love that he always delivers such amazing performances.

My rating:

9.5/10 Pots of Gold – Compares to 4.75/5 Stars

Website | Twitter: @CFWhiteUK| Goodreads

Brought up in the relatively small town in Hertfordshire, I managed to do what most other residents of the town try and fail. Leave.

Going off to study at a West London University, I realised there was a whole city out there just waiting to be discovered, so much like Dick Whittington before, I never made it back home and still endlessly searches for the streets paved with gold; slowly coming to the realisation that it is mostly paved with chewing gum. And the odd bit of graffiti. And those little circles of yellow spray paint where the council point out the pot holes to someone who is supposedly meant to fix them instead of stare at them endlessly whilst holding a polystyrene foam cup of watered down coffee.

Eventually I moved from West to East along that vast District Line, and settled for pie and mash, cockles and winkles, and a bit of Knees Up Mother Brown to live in the East End of London; securing a job, creating a life, a home, a family.

Having worked in Higher Education for the most proportion of my adult life, a life-altering experience brought pen back to paper, having written stories as a child but never having the confidence to show them to the world. Now embarking on this writing malarkey, I cannot stop. So strap in, it’s a bumpy ride from here on in.