Daddy's Obsession is the first novel in the new Crime Boss Daddies series by Laylah Roberts, and is lengthier than many of her other novels, but once again, Ms. Roberts has peopled it with great characters, some new and some familiar, and, as always a new, sexy, hero Daddy Dom, Gray Hawkins, to fall in love in love with, and a sassy Little, Maeve, whose dialogue repeatedly made me laugh out out loud. This was a 5-star read.
Gray is second in command to and a bodyguard for Markovich, a crime boss we've already met in a previous novel. Gray is as grumpy, grunting, possessive and protective as it gets, and after watching Maeve and her strange dancing style at Markovich's club, The Edge, she leaves alone and is dragged into an alley by three would-be rapists and is attempting to fend them off when Gray comes to her rescue. While she doesn't show her Little to Gray immediately, her silly names for her attackers and snarky and hilarious remarks to them give her away. Gray cleans her up and sees her home, mostly grunting at her and telling her how foolish she was to be at a club late at night, tipsy, and alone. Although she gives him her name, he calls her "girl" throughout most of the novel--I found it annoying at first, but it did become a term of endearment as the story progressed.
When Maeve shows up at the club again a week later, the sparks start to fly when Gray takes her up to the well-protected and private VIP section, where these two act on their attraction, and agree to one-time, no-strings sex, when Gray is interrupted by a call from his boss, but first, escorts Maeve home, and this time, gets her phone number, because their story is just beginning, and if you're new to Laylah Roberts novels, prepare for a good dose of sizzling heat, a good dose of humor, and plenty of danger from a murderous mystery stalker.
Of the Laylah Roberts novels I've read thus far (I've been binge-reading many of her previous series for the past 5 months), I'd rate this as one of her best yet. It had all the steam, humor, character development, sass, angst, quirkiness, and danger I've come to expect, and each of the secondary characters, Maeve's unofficial family of Littles and Daddies alike, were well-drawn, and I can't wait to see which of these characters she'll feature in her upcoming novels in this series. If you're new to this author, Daddy's Obsession is a great place to start, and I recommend it.
I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.