Silver (Fox) Linings

by Anna Sparrows

Workaholic retail CEO, Kenneth Tyler, is minding his own business when he receives a plea for help from an unknown number. Unable to ignore it, the last thing he expects is to discover that the number belongs to his best friend's son. (His best friend's very off-limits son.)

Of course, Cody Barratt is infatuated enough with his dad's best friend before the man swoops in and saves his drunken self from a handsy Grindr date. It's even harder to kick those feelings to the curb after that, even if he knows he should. They're just not compatible.

The silver fox won't ever reciprocate his interest. Especially not when 45-year-old Kenneth is a notorious playboy and Cody is, embarrassingly, still a virgin at 26.

But, after unexpectedly bonding over a fantasy TV series, Ken and Cody discover that friendships can come with multiple benefits and, if they get their heads out of their butts, possibly even love...all in time for Valentine's Day.

While Silver (Fox) Linings is a low-angst, sweet & fluffy MM Valentine's Day novella, it does include a brief on-page scene involving an aggressive/demanding Grindr date. There are also themes/discussions of anxiety, self-doubt, and low self-confidence.

PLEASE NOTE - This novella was originally published as part of the Candy Hearts Volume 2 Charity anthology. This has not changed from the original version, but as the anthology is no longer available, it has been re-released as a standalone.

Genres: M M Romance, Gay, Romance, Queer, Audiobook, LGBT, Novella

108 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 14, 2025

Reviews

[Ula'ndi Hart]

I'm sorry but this didn't work for me one bit.

Cody is supposedly 26 years old but he reads like a 16 year old.
Wait.. I'm sure I've read YA where the 16 year olds actually
came across more mature.

How exactly is this going to work in the long run?
I sure hope that fantasy series has a whole bunch of episodes
because it's the only thing besides bumping and grinding
that they've got going on for them.

I like age gap. But age gap needs depth and character growth
otherwise it's really just smut. I'm sorry, I was really looking forward
to this based on the reviews.

[Betty Loves Books Galore]

This is a best friend’s son to more romance, featuring Cody Barratt and Kenneth Tyler, and is a standalone novella.

Kenneth rushes to help someone after receiving a desperate text and is shocked to discover it’s from Cody, his best friend’s son, someone he knows he shouldn’t want.

This was a sweet and spicy little novella. Great chemistry and move from friends to more, and great admission of feelings.

Things to expect in this book are:
Standalone
Novella
MM romance
Anonymous text
Best friend’s son
Age gap (45 / 26)
Opposites attract
Playboy x virgin
Rescue / carries him
Mutual pining & crush
Pet dad: cat (Basil)
Demi rep
Spicy times
Friends with benefits
First times
Not date dates
Jealous
Admit feelings
Valentine’s Day
HEA

[Maureen]

Handsome Ken finds himself unexpectedly attracted to the son of his best friend who he saved from a bad date, then things get wonky when said best friend finds out. A cute short tale, a sweet, enjoyable read.

[Kate Publicover]

Call me an absolute lunatic but I like a little substance to my conflicts. Dad's best friend? Known you since you were born? No way we are solving that shit so amicably 👎 not gonna give it 1 star because I felt it was still well written.

[what_emmareadnext]

I listened to this on audio and loved it!
It has age gap, dad’s best friend and a sexy silver fox who thinks he’s a commitment-phone until he meets his sweet boy. Basically my kryptonite 🤣❤️
This was a quick and cute read!

[Tropes_and_Taboo]

Silver (Fox) Linings by Anna Sparrows
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌶️🌶️
Contemporary Romance * MM * Virgin MMC * Dad's Best Friend / Best Friend's Son * Holiday (Valentine Day) * Age Gap (19 years) * Friends With Benefits * Millionaire * Demi Representation * Opposites Attract
📖115 pages 🎧2h18
🎙️Narrated by Zachary Zaba

This was a short, sweet, and surprisingly heartfelt forbidden age-gap MM romance. I appreciated that both characters were already secure in their sexuality. I have no issue with bi-awakening stories, but it was refreshing to read one where that wasn't the focus. Instead, we get a character discovering he's demi, and the story takes the time to explore that aspect in a way I don't often see represented.

Our younger MMC is 26, still a virgin because he's never found someone he truly connects with, while our older MMC is his dad's 45-year-old best friend and very much known as a perpetual playboy.

Even though they've known each other for years, we still get a lovely present-day meet-cute thanks to an accidental drunk text that lands in the wrong, or perhaps exactly the right hands. Watching their friendship develop into something more was enjoyable, and the transition into a friends-with-benefits arrangement felt natural. There are a few bumps along the way, but they all felt realistic and fit the characters well.

For a shorter romance, this one managed to give me enough emotional connection to care about both characters while still delivering a satisfying HEA. Overall, a cute, realistic, and enjoyable read.

[Lady Macbeth]

4 stars
Cody and Kenneth have known each other since before Cody was born: he is, in fact, Kenneth's best friend's son. They meet one night in a club because Cody sends him a sos text (actually meant for his best friend) and Kenneth rescues him from a very bad date.
They start spending time together, after their night, they have the chance to get to know each other as adults and become friends: they also have an undeniable chemistry that will lead them to a friendship with benefits arrangement. Until romantic feelings will force them to take a chance on each other.
Despite Kenneth being in Cody's life since birth, there are no creepy or taboo vibes about it: Ken has always been a good and close friend to Mike, but he has never been a father figure for Cody and they hadn't had any contact for about 8 years before reconnecting.
I loved this story, I wish we could have more about them.

[V.W. Steele]

⭐/ 5

Falling for your dad's best friend is not recommended.

There isn't a lot to say about this short read other than it's a cute palette cleanser. The setup with the mixed up text was different (for me) and while it is pretty straightforward, the narrator does a great job portraying the romance. Ken was good, but Cody came off slightly younger at times.

We don't really spend a whole lot of time developing past surface level emotions and character flaws which was fine. I kind of liked how the sex was distributed because it felt more even with the rest of the story and by doing that, the final sex scene had a bit more oomph. Especially after that early 2000s/10s romcom second hand embarrassment love declaration.

It delivered what it promised 🫡

[Carly (carly_reads_queer)]

I was riveted from beginning to end.

Kenneth and Cody’s chemistry was JUMPING off the page and their relationship evolved so organically. One of the BEST dad’s best friend tropes I’ve EVER read (& that’s even compared to full length novels).

Dynamic characters, great plot, sweet romance, and just the right amount of spice. Also, I’m obsessed with Cody’s best friend Sylvia, as well as his parents. His mom especially gets the blue ribbon for being amazing and hilarious. In the few scenes she had she completely stole the show. I’ll be thinking about these two for a long time to come.

[EM]

A short, sweet, steamy read.. with a little bit of awkward.

There is so much to love about Silver (Fox) Linings, cute, sweet, steamy, funny, wrong text recipient, Dad's Best Friend, age-gap. Finding out the "how" Ken ended up receiving the text message instead of the intended recipient had me in stitches. One scene had me in 2nd hand embarrassment so real (read the story and you will know exactly what I am talking about), but thankfully it worked out for us all!

[Daviddiaries]

This was such a lighthearted and cute book, not too long but too short and yet I still felt giddy reading it. The relationship moved fast while also feeling like it was showcased well enough for me to understand why they were attracted to each other. I loved their chemistry and the spicy scenes…whew. I also loved the hesitation and especially the declaration of want from Cade all for his parents to witness. My first book from this author but it won’t be my last for sure.

[Alexandra]

I get that there’s only so much you can do with a short story, and there was nothing inherently wrong… it was just boring. I came, I read, and left feeling absolutely nothing. Single narration, l listen to anything narrated by Zachary Zaba, though. <3

[D.]

I should like it: may-December romance, dad's best friend, virgin MC, and it was kind of a short story, but too bad I couldn't enjoy it one bit; lack of chemistry and their romance wasn't enough.

[Jona Nightingale]

It was cute and short

[Jai Oni]

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Enjoyment: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Sandy Lazarovici]

This was pretty cute.

[Megan]

3.5 ⭐️

[Emily]

3.5⭐️

[Jordyn Smith]

Quick sweet/spicy read