Lauren⁷ 💜's Reviews > Real Men Will

Please note: this is an overview of the Donovan Brothers trilogy as a whole, not just this book.

These were my first Victoria Dahl books. And they won't be my last. I overall enjoyed this trilogy. But what kept me from loving it is that the hero and heroine of each book had their own respective set of issues.

Good Girls Don't.
Tessa has the issue of youngest who tries to be the glue that hold the family together. Which leads to much lying and angsting on her part. I can see why she would feel like that and it is explained why, but it's silly. One person can't try to be the glue that holds the family together. It doesn't work. I've witnessed it with my own family. It has to be a collaborative effort.
Luke has the issue of I'm no good for her, her brother doesn't approve of me, I'm damaged goods, blah, blah, blah. His issues are among the weakest of the bunch.

Bad Boys Do.
Jamie has the issue of being the young and viewed as irresponsible brother. He made mistakes in the past, but now he has changed and he has plans. This lead to big fights with his brother. I think quiet and calm communication that involved actually listening to one another would have benefited these two a lot. And saved a lot of angst.
Olivia has the issue of being six years older then Jamie. She's 35, he's 26. Hardly a huge difference. But she agonizes over it. Pointlessly. Her issues are perhaps the weakest of the bunch.

Real Men Will.
Eric has the issue of being viewed as the oldest and most responsible and how his place at the brewery is changing. How his siblings don't really need him as much anymore. And things are still tense with Jamie. I get that's he 37 and he's more or less devoted his life to the brewery and his brother and sister since he was 24. But his brother and sister both passed the point of being able to take more of the responsibility of the brewery a long time ago. He could have given over a little more responsibility and taken time for himself so he wouldn't feel so adrift.
Beth has issues with her sexuality and her self image and she seems conflicted over the old world values she was brought up with which contrast with the fact that she runs a sex shop. Beth's sexuality issue is sad. Very sad. And it's the one issue that didn't seem overwrought. I really can see why it would effect her like that.

I get that real life is very much like this. We all have issues and baggage, big or small, that we bring into a new relationship with us. And vice versa for the other person. But a little less big issues, which aside from Beth's don't really seem all that big to me and more fun would have probably lead to me enjoying this trilogy more. I don't mind angst and drama in my books, but in this case, it simply didn't work so well for me. There's also the complete lack of an epilogue. I wanted one! Issues aside, I enjoyed the characters a lot and Dahl nicely brought the brewery to life. And I definitely appreciated how realistically she portrayed sibling relationships, I'm an only child myself, but my mom and grandma and dad aren't, and it's pretty consistent with what I've witnessed over the years. And she can write a sex scene! I had no issue with those! Every one was very hot and very well written! And I noticed a progression of the steam level. Book one was very roasty and toasty. Book two was sizzling. And book three was volcanic! And there was a decent suspense subplot. And I enjoyed all the characters and seeing how Jamie and Eric do eventually patch things up was so sweet. I rate the trilogy as a whole four stars.