What do you think?
Rate this book
Rediscovering Family
Sometimes life gives you a second chance.
Bruce Dawson and Todd Greene had it all. A happy marriage, fulfilling careers and a brand new baby girl. When their nanny of three days kidnaps their daughter Olive, their world falls apart.
Two years later, divorced and working himself to death, Bruce gets a call that will change the downward trajectory of his life forever. Just three words: they found her.
Now Bruce and Todd must work together to provide the home their daughter deserves, and not only their own daughter, but the little girl found with her as well. To make matters even more complicated, Todd has a son on the way.
Join Bruce and Todd as they reconnect and rediscover what it means to be a family.
Bruce Dawson and Todd Greene had it all. A happy marriage, fulfilling careers and a brand new baby girl. When their nanny of three days kidnaps their daughter Olive, their world falls apart.
Two years later, divorced and working himself to death, Bruce gets a call that will change the downward trajectory of his life forever. Just three words: they found her.
Now Bruce and Todd must work together to provide the home their daughter deserves, and not only their own daughter, but the little girl found with her as well. To make matters even more complicated, Todd has a son on the way.
Join Bruce and Todd as they reconnect and rediscover what it means to be a family.
217 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 25, 2021
30 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Sean Michael
652 books1,209 followersOften referred to as "Space Cowboy" and "Gangsta of Love" while still striving for the moniker of "Maurice," Sean Michael spends his days surfing, smutting, organizing his immense gourd collection and fantasizing about one day retiring on a small secluded island peopled entirely by horseshoe crabs. While collecting vast amounts of vintage gay pulp novels and mood rings, Sean whiles away the hours between dropping the f-bomb and persuing the kama sutra by channeling the long lost spirit of John Wayne and singing along with the soundtrack to "Chicago."
A long-time writer of complicated haiku, currently Sean is attempting to learn the advanced arts of plate spinning and soap carving sex toys.
Barring any of that? He'll stick with writing his stories, thanks, and rubbing pretty bodies together to see if they spark.
A long-time writer of complicated haiku, currently Sean is attempting to learn the advanced arts of plate spinning and soap carving sex toys.
Barring any of that? He'll stick with writing his stories, thanks, and rubbing pretty bodies together to see if they spark.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 15, 2021
This is an amazing story and heartbreaking too. Bruce and Ted are divorced after their baby girl was kidnapped by their nanny. In an beautiful turn of events these two rediscover their love for each other never went away. I absolutely loved this story and highly recommend it.
January 5, 2022
This was a very sweet read. At times almost too sweet to be honest, but then again it's not unexpected in a Sean Michael story. And I did say "almost", so while it went to the edge, it didn't quite tip over, lol. To be fair, whenever I start a story by this author, I know I have to suspend reality somewhat and that's fine by me. I am very aware what I'm going into, and this one definitely was a great story.
These two guys simply stopped being together, not because they didn't love each other, that never stopped. No, because neither of them knew how to deal with their own and each other's pain and grief after their little girl was kidnapped. So in this case, the second chance isn't about falling in love again, it's literally about being given a second chance at both their marriage and raising their daughter.
In fairly typical Sean Michael style a lot of things that could become problems seem to disappear or be easily solved, but it was still really enjoyable and a lovely way to spend a few hours.
These two guys simply stopped being together, not because they didn't love each other, that never stopped. No, because neither of them knew how to deal with their own and each other's pain and grief after their little girl was kidnapped. So in this case, the second chance isn't about falling in love again, it's literally about being given a second chance at both their marriage and raising their daughter.
In fairly typical Sean Michael style a lot of things that could become problems seem to disappear or be easily solved, but it was still really enjoyable and a lovely way to spend a few hours.
May 26, 2021
Sweet family!
This was such a good book! In the beginning you just want to hug both Bruce and Todd because of what they have gone through. Neither has completely moved on from Olive being kidnapped then their divorce. They still love each other but have no idea how to help each other. Then the call comes in that changes everything again. Not only has Olive been found alive and okay at two years old but she has a "sister" that is four named Delilah. The parents for all the other children have been found but not baby Lila. Todd knows immediately that she is their oldest daughter agrees to take her. While Bruce is okay with this and agrees to go back to their old home to help with the girls, Todd tells him their son will be born in around two months! With three babies under five and two sets of grandparents that seem to be underfoot everyday can they reconnect and make their love and family whole again? With the sweet little girls and the pending birth of the precious little boy, they know they have to try their best. It is a super sweet second chance as well as bringing home the baby girl taken from them soon after she was born.
This was such a good book! In the beginning you just want to hug both Bruce and Todd because of what they have gone through. Neither has completely moved on from Olive being kidnapped then their divorce. They still love each other but have no idea how to help each other. Then the call comes in that changes everything again. Not only has Olive been found alive and okay at two years old but she has a "sister" that is four named Delilah. The parents for all the other children have been found but not baby Lila. Todd knows immediately that she is their oldest daughter agrees to take her. While Bruce is okay with this and agrees to go back to their old home to help with the girls, Todd tells him their son will be born in around two months! With three babies under five and two sets of grandparents that seem to be underfoot everyday can they reconnect and make their love and family whole again? With the sweet little girls and the pending birth of the precious little boy, they know they have to try their best. It is a super sweet second chance as well as bringing home the baby girl taken from them soon after she was born.
June 2, 2021
Bruce and Todd have a wonderful life. Jobs they love. A comfortable live style. A beautiful infant. And then their nanny steals their baby and their lives, and marriage, crumble.
Two years later, their daughter is found and they're given the opportunity to start anew. Neither man has moved on. Both still love the other.
It's heartwarming reading about this couple. This is a second chance at love novel as only Michael's can bring us. A sweet, warm story about two good men. And the love of family. A must read.
Two years later, their daughter is found and they're given the opportunity to start anew. Neither man has moved on. Both still love the other.
It's heartwarming reading about this couple. This is a second chance at love novel as only Michael's can bring us. A sweet, warm story about two good men. And the love of family. A must read.
December 20, 2022
I will remember this wonderful story aboout 2 men that survived the worst horror any couple can weather. Their daughter had been kidnapped and like many other couples marriages, their relationship did not survive, but their love did. When a miracle occurred, Bruce and Todd discovered that family was the most important thing in the world. I have re-read Unlikely Hero by this author and I believe that this story will be another re-read for me for many years. Definitely recommend.
October 12, 2021
Bruce and Todd had a happy marriage, jobs they enjoyed and a brand new baby girl they adored. Their lives – and marriage – fell apart though when the nanny disappeared with their baby girl and although Bruce and Todd still loved each other, they couldn’t find a way to make things work. Two years later Bruce receives a call from Todd, one he never expected to receive with the fateful words “they’ve found her”. Can these two men patch up not just their trust and relationship once again, but build a family with their two new girls and each other?
I often find I’m a bit hit and miss with such deeply emotional storylines as this one portrayed. I often feel like it’s difficult to believe a committed couple who had been driven to the point of divorce could come back together and renew their relationship again. I was delighted that for the most part the author balanced these concerns of mine and the story managed to be both optimistic and emotional while still not negating the very deep and complicated issues Bruce and Todd faced. I found this to be an emotional read, yes, but not drowning in angst or recriminations which was lovely. The characters of Olive and Delilah also lightened the tone and feel of the story significantly and created an amazing balance I feel between the issues lying between Bruce and Todd.
Readers looking for a mostly sweet, second-chance style of story should find this ticks a number of the good boxes. I was pleased that from the very beginning both Todd and Bruce were committed to the two girls and determined to make their non-traditional family work. There was a strong cast of secondary characters – with both sets of Todd and Bruce’s parents as well as Todd’s sister and brother in law being fairly closely involved with the newly recreated family. There was a lot of emotion and a lot of rushing to get everything settled for the two girls but I felt the author really did a good job of balancing the hectic side of getting organized with the two men trying to wade their way through to what would become their new normal. I was particularly pleased that while their past issued weren’t ignored neither was it drawn out or made overly angsty. I thought it was a realistic and sensible balance that I enjoyed reading.
With some exceptional characters, a lot of realism and no shying away from the emotional aspect of the situation, I thought this was a lovely and interesting full length story. While there are a number of explicit scenes between Todd and Bruce this isn’t a full-on erotic romance story – more of a reconnecting and rebuilding a family style of story with plenty of craziness and antics from the children and a solid “feel good” sort of atmosphere. A lovely family story and one I enjoyed.
I often find I’m a bit hit and miss with such deeply emotional storylines as this one portrayed. I often feel like it’s difficult to believe a committed couple who had been driven to the point of divorce could come back together and renew their relationship again. I was delighted that for the most part the author balanced these concerns of mine and the story managed to be both optimistic and emotional while still not negating the very deep and complicated issues Bruce and Todd faced. I found this to be an emotional read, yes, but not drowning in angst or recriminations which was lovely. The characters of Olive and Delilah also lightened the tone and feel of the story significantly and created an amazing balance I feel between the issues lying between Bruce and Todd.
Readers looking for a mostly sweet, second-chance style of story should find this ticks a number of the good boxes. I was pleased that from the very beginning both Todd and Bruce were committed to the two girls and determined to make their non-traditional family work. There was a strong cast of secondary characters – with both sets of Todd and Bruce’s parents as well as Todd’s sister and brother in law being fairly closely involved with the newly recreated family. There was a lot of emotion and a lot of rushing to get everything settled for the two girls but I felt the author really did a good job of balancing the hectic side of getting organized with the two men trying to wade their way through to what would become their new normal. I was particularly pleased that while their past issued weren’t ignored neither was it drawn out or made overly angsty. I thought it was a realistic and sensible balance that I enjoyed reading.
With some exceptional characters, a lot of realism and no shying away from the emotional aspect of the situation, I thought this was a lovely and interesting full length story. While there are a number of explicit scenes between Todd and Bruce this isn’t a full-on erotic romance story – more of a reconnecting and rebuilding a family style of story with plenty of craziness and antics from the children and a solid “feel good” sort of atmosphere. A lovely family story and one I enjoyed.
November 15, 2021
Two men who are professionals, when a phone call changed their world. After two years has past, their kidnapped baby has been found. The woman was caught and the other children she had stolen.
Olive, 2, white blonde hair, blue eyes,
was going to come home, but also another girl, 4 yrs. old, dark haired Delilah.
All of a sudden our divorced men were knitted back together, as they are now Daddy and Papa, and were in adjustment mode.
Bruce is an accomplished designer, who works himself relentlessly.
Todd, on the cover, is a ginger, red curly hair, blue eyes, is in finance, can work from home, and has a son on the way through a surrogate.
Family was huge here, helpful and caring, the girls are in therapy, furniture was needed, clothes and groceries supplied, and the tender care they all needed.
The strong willed men, not with out flaws, are reconstructing their feeling, lives and planning their much anticipated new life.
They reconnect now, a year from the divorce. Each man failed the other after the kidnapping and divorce, and are ready to fix that and get this second chance.
Much is happening and our epilogue is pure happiness.
ENJOY !
=====
Olive, 2, white blonde hair, blue eyes,
was going to come home, but also another girl, 4 yrs. old, dark haired Delilah.
All of a sudden our divorced men were knitted back together, as they are now Daddy and Papa, and were in adjustment mode.
Bruce is an accomplished designer, who works himself relentlessly.
Todd, on the cover, is a ginger, red curly hair, blue eyes, is in finance, can work from home, and has a son on the way through a surrogate.
Family was huge here, helpful and caring, the girls are in therapy, furniture was needed, clothes and groceries supplied, and the tender care they all needed.
The strong willed men, not with out flaws, are reconstructing their feeling, lives and planning their much anticipated new life.
They reconnect now, a year from the divorce. Each man failed the other after the kidnapping and divorce, and are ready to fix that and get this second chance.
Much is happening and our epilogue is pure happiness.
ENJOY !
=====
July 1, 2021
Unfourtunately, because the premise really intrigued me, the best way I can describe this book is underwhelming and bland. Two years ago, Todd and Bruce’s life was ripped apart when their nanny disappeared with their three-month-old daughter her third day on the job. Unable to cope with the loss, Todd and Bruce ended up divorcing and going their separate ways, having nothing to do with each other until one night when Todd suddenly calls to inform Bruce that their daughter has been found. Alive. What follows this is a lot of slice of life minutia that is somewhat sweet, but largely just uninteresting. Todd and Bruce are reunited with their daughter, Olive, now a toddler, along with another child she’d been kidnapped with who they also take in. And on top of that, Todd is expecting a son with the surrogate who’d carried Olive. The story is mostly filled out with the day-to-day of raising two, then three, children, which is kind of boring, to be honest. The kids are cute, and Todd and Bruce and their parents absolutely love and dote on them, but the whole thing wasn’t enough to keep my attention. Adding to that, the romance in the book was not really there. Todd and Bruce ended up divorcing after Olive’s kidnapping, though they never stopped loving each other even though they had no contact for a year or so. Then they reunite upon Olive’s return and sort of immediately get back together? With no fuss or drama? That didn’t impress me much. Good that the love’s still there, but I really wanted something more. And then of course there’s probably the most annoying part of the whole thing: the kidnapping nanny is barely mentioned in the grand scheme of things. The book even ends without saying anything about what happened to her, or why and how she could go around just constantly kidnapping babies. There were a few mentions about a trial, but that was it. Why have something like this as part of the plot if you’re going to do basically nothing with it? Not sure I would recommend this unless you’re into really mindless fluff.
June 9, 2021
I love the premise of this story. Two men who fell apart after a crisis are brought back by a new crisis. I like how both men quickly go all in to work things out. This is a sweet story of taking advantage of the opportunity to get it back together.
May 15, 2022
Likeable characters and a decent story. However it felt as though Todd still had unresolved issues at the end. They needed couples therapy and/or individual therapy so he stops feeling like he is not allowed to cry.
November 8, 2023
A good family story.
The story was a good one. It had it's bittersweet moments but in the end, it was goid. The problem I had was with Todd. No where in the story dies it explain why he is so insecure. The conversations flowed by they just seemed over the top
The story was a good one. It had it's bittersweet moments but in the end, it was goid. The problem I had was with Todd. No where in the story dies it explain why he is so insecure. The conversations flowed by they just seemed over the top
May 27, 2021
It's tough to write a divorced couple getting back together book. This one works well. Sweet. Not as much steam as this author usually brings, but I think this story required less steam.
May 29, 2021
Sweet
A few tears but basically just 2 guys figuring out how to be a family again. Cute kids, happy grandparents, fun cousins.
A few tears but basically just 2 guys figuring out how to be a family again. Cute kids, happy grandparents, fun cousins.
June 10, 2021
Adorable!!
July 21, 2021
I'm giving this book 4 stars for the war fuzzy feels it gave me. I loved Bruce and Todd. The only reason it doesn't get five is because sometimes I wasn't sure who was speaking.
February 16, 2022
Best book ever ever
This book was so well written made me cry laugh and just feel good all over. It’s a must read
This book was so well written made me cry laugh and just feel good all over. It’s a must read
March 12, 2022
Second chance romance for a couple that had their baby kidnapped. I loved both Bruce and Todd and their family. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the baby's name.
Read
August 7, 2022DNF
August 12, 2021
Rating: 3 stars
This book was cute and light but I wanted a bit more angst to the story. It was a bit too predictable.
Overall, it was okay.
This book was cute and light but I wanted a bit more angst to the story. It was a bit too predictable.
Overall, it was okay.
August 21, 2023
Overall, this was a cute and enjoyable read. I do wish that some aspects of the story had been explored in more depth, namely Bruce and Todd's rekindled romance, and that the character's names had been used more often. The pronoun overload and lack of more distinct voices between Bruce and Todd sometimes made it hard to tell who was saying what.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews