Giles Ashby Needs a Nanny

Nannies of New York #2

by K. Sterling

Sometimes, a simple field trip to the planetarium can be an act of bravery. In Giles Ashby’s case, it could also be a second chance with his lifelong crush.

Unbearably awkward and strangled by his anxiety disorder, Giles used surly snarls and abrupt remarks to keep everyone at a distance. As a result and surprising no one, he finds himself divorced and overwhelmed by the demands of parenting nine-year-old Milo —a shy, awkward clone of his father. Not wanting Milo to struggle through life the way he has, Giles enlists the help of Reid Marshall’s new nanny agency.

Of all the nannies in Manhattan… Reid had to send Giles’s childhood crush, Riley Fitzgerald. Still smitten and as flustered as he was in middle school, Giles bungles every encounter with the “new” nanny. But sweet, clever, outgoing Riley is exactly what Milo needs.

Riley thinks he knows what he’s getting into when he accepts a position working for his childhood nemesis, but Milo steals his heart the moment they meet. And “Giles the Jerk” isn’t as bad as Riley remembers. Or maybe Giles was never really all that bad… Riley finds himself swooning as Giles faces his fears in order to help Milo survive the fourth grade and win the science fair.

But can Riley really trust his heart, when all his past relationships have been cursed? Could this time be any different?

Genres: Romance, M M Romance, Contemporary, Queer, LGBT, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary Romance

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 26, 2023

About the author

Author of the popular Nannies of New York and Boys of Lake Cliff book series, K Sterling has self-published dozens of books. K. is known for fast-paced romantic thrillers and touching gay romcoms. There might be goosebumps and some gore but there’s always true love and lots of laughter.

Reviews

[~Nicole~]

DNF . I can’t . I’m sorry but I can’t. And it serves me right because the first book was meh and still I was curious enough to try this one. Well, you know what they say, “curiosity killed the cat”.
Where does this author find inspiration for this whiny, useless rich men? That’s not sexy at all!! How can we swoon with these useless kids in adult bodies? Their inability to ..live is pathetic, really. And I’m not talking about anxiety but about everything else. This guy here (just like the one from the first book) are total incompetent as adults. They don’t function on their own .
As for the nanny, well, if Fin was boring this one here is absolutely obnoxious. Loved him in the beginning, when he got dumped I was close to tears. I thought he was this sweet, gentle guy who wanted to be loved . And then he went to work for Giles and he’s suddenly all fake smiles and taking that condescending tone with his boss and with his goodie two shoes attitude ,a bit too forced and way too chipper to be natural “Look at me how I make friends with all the underdogs and we, the underdogs , like doormen and teachers and maids talk shit behind his back, and look at me gossiping on my first day in the elevator and then look how the maid chides her boss like she’s his wife and call him an asshole and on top of that I announce to the world his mental state and anxiety problems. And look at me how I mend his public relations by telling everyone that he has anxiety and asking forgiveness on his behalf despite the fact that I didn’t ask for permission and he didn’t ask me to make excuses for him . Oh and let’s not forget that he was banned from showing up at school for defending himself and his kid from an aggressive bully teacher yet the teacher still worked at that school while the other parents talk shit about my boss although they saw who was the bad guy.”
Honestly I would have rather found sexy if the Mc would have sued the school .And fired the doorman for talking shit about his family to strangers. And the nanny for telling left and right about my anxiety issues.
THAT guy would have been sexy. This guy is incompetent even at being a grumpy rich man.
And another thing: since when do we have to be sociable and have to indulge the ppl around us? Why is he shamed because he doesn’t interact well with ppl and he is not good at making friends. Or that he doesn’t want to be friends. So what? Why Riley had to excuse his grumpiness to all the neighbors and teachers as if he didn’t deserve respect if he didn’t gossip with the neighbors and the other parents. I hated that he was blamed and shamed and disrespected because he lacked social abilities.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐

[I received a copy from the author for an honest review]

After enjoying the first book in the Nannies of New York series by K. Sterling , I'm happy to say that Giles Ashby Needs a Nanny exceeded my expectations for it!

Riley is a hopeless romantic and no matter how many times he's been dumped and seems to be cursed in relationships, he still holds out hope he'll find his prince charming. The last person he expects that to be is Giles Ashby. Giles is his childhood nemesis who teased him when they were young and left a negative impression on him. Divorced Giles needs a Nanny to help him with the interacting with people part of being a parent. Riley learns that Giles extreme anxiety disorder causes his hostility and that the love he has for his son Milo knows no bounds. Riley was Giles' first crush, and now he has a chance to prove how much he's grown and that he and Milo are the happily ever after he's always dreamed of.

"It feels like I've spent my life wishing I could find the right words to tell you how beautiful you are and that I've always wanted to be closer to you."

I loved all our characters in this one, right from the start. Riley is sunshine and optimism. I love his entire personality, and it broke my heart that he thought himself inadequate. Giles hit close to home for me. I am also someone whose anxiety makes them come off as not so nice. My husband is always reminding me to breathe and try to be pleasant when he knows I'm going to be in a social situation that is going to cause my anxiety to spike. I was so proud of Giles' character for the work he was doing to manage his anxiety and to not let it affect his son Milo. I also appreciate the positive ex-wife representation in the book. Giles' and his son 9-year-old son Milo had the most precious father son relationship in the world. They were literally best friends and every interaction on the page melted my heart.

"Always, I'll always need you"

Romance wise, the two have a slow burn because of Giles' anxiety and Riley's hesitance to trust his worth. A slow burn with not much sexual tension because Riley is in the dark about Giles' feelings the entire time. It's more a one-sided secret pining that Giles does. Giles is bisexual but he felt demisexual with his need to really know someone to be physically attracted to them. I do wish the steam level was a bit higher in this one, but I did enjoy their progression to get there.

Overall, Giles Ashby Needs a Nanny was an entertaining queer romance. A second chance for a single dad with his childhood crush, filled with mental health rep, colorful cardigans, carrot cake, cooking as a love language, space love, making amends, and a happily ever after. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

[MiaReadsMMBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last night I finished an ARC of Giles Ashby Needs A Nanny (Nannies of New York bk2) by Author K. Sterling and my heart is so happy.

This book is both beautifully written and the perfect Grumpy/Sunshine MM romance 👨‍👨‍👦

(I am now also wanting to make/eat carrot cake)

Readers are going to love this as much as they loved the Last Nanny in Manhattan (and if you haven't yet read that book, what is wrong with you?!!)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time)]

This book and soooo many more are free today! I'm posting a ton in my instagram stories
https://www.instagram.com/heatherk_de...

[Amur Thera · Rating 4 out of 5]

The good
    + GROVELING
    + ACTUAL PROPER GROVELING
    + All the apology gifts Giles got Riley! So thoughtful!
    + Giles being a great dad
    + Milo. I don't often like kids in books, but I really liked Milo
    + Giles' complete trust in Riley
    + Riley taking care of Giles and Milo like a pro
    + No miscommunications that were dragged out (but damn, Riley could be very dramatic)
    + Riley protecting Giles from people


The neutral
    o When Riley found out Giles was vers instead of a strict top, he said he'd expected Giles to be more vanilla. Which is confusing. Is vanilla sex with strict top/bottom dynamics only?
    o Riley just told everyone in Giles' building that Giles had social anxiety without asking Giles if it was okay to just tell people that. I understand it made things easier for Giles, but just spreading word about his disability without Giles' permission was a weird move in my opinion


The bad
    - Once they admitted their mutual feelings, it felt like everything was just sex. And I understand that they had time to form their emotional bond beforehand, but it seemed like that part of the book was just waiting for everyone to leave the house so they could have sex all the time
    - Riley never had an on-page conversation with Claire, while she was really important to both Giles and Milo. I think Riley would get along with Claire really well
    - I thought the way the last chapter ended was perfect. And then came the epilogue. It was unnecessary and felt more like an obligatory element of the book than something that actually belonged. I wish the book had ended after the last chapter instead


Quotes

    "Please, please, please tell me you hired him!"
    "I did."
    "Yessss!"
    "And then I screamed at him and showed him my entire naked body."

    "I love you, Dad."
    "Love you too, pal, and I can't wait to hug you in the morning."

    Riley gasped at the clock. "Would you look at that? It's time for us to have sex again!"

Books with proper groveling are so rare. I'm so glad Giles groveled like a pro. I think this is the best groveling I've read so far and would absolutely recommend the book just for that. The rest of the book was fun too.

[Frank Socha (franksforeword) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhhhh back to my favorite squad of nannies...the Nannies of New York doth NEVER disappoint! And neither does K. Sterling. Yet again I became completely wrapped up in this universe!

When Riley is called upon to nanny for a new family, little did he know, it would be someone he had a past with, and not in a good way. But will this be an opportunity for Riley and Giles to mend their tumultuous past and start something new on a whole new playing field?

I love the light this books sheds on maintaining a healthy relationship with an ex! Now trust...I have cut many an ex OFF to wallow in their shitty personalities and unsatisfactory bedroom game themselves, however, I do think there are instances where failed relationships can still produce meaningful friendships, and this book shows that. After all, relationships tend to generate a pretty good understanding of one another. Giles' relationship with his ex-wife proves that! She pushes him to be himself and go for the things he wants. And she truly helps him on his journey. It's so heartwarming!

Forced proximity...YES! I just so love this trope. The setting is winter-time in NYC, so naturally she gets all the snow. And when Riley finds himself scrambling for warmth and dry clothes, where better with than the hottie zaddy he's been grappling with his feelings about?? It's these moments where we spend so much time with these two that we grow so incredibly fond of them. Plus...is it forced proximity without spice?? CHIIIIIILE they got nastyyyyy in the sheets! And like basically every other surface in the house...not mad about it! Be ready to SWEAT!

Riley did so much for not only Milo, Giles' son, but also for Giles himself. Giles had tremendous character development through this story and I absolutely love to see it! Not only is he dealing with tons of regret, but he is navigating a whole new aspect of his life he's yet to experience. It was so cute to see the walls come down, one Riley smile at a time! It also just speaks on the journey a lot of people experience in their coming-out journey. This visibility is so important for readers who are experiencing this same thing to see in the pages they are engrossed in. Giles' journey is just so relatable and it makes us love him even more! Aside from being a complete smoke-show with a big dick...

I also absolutely loved the science bit in this! Being an engineer, we live for the science hennyyyyyy! So seeing Milo so passionate about Pluto and competing in the science fair to bring it justice was such a fun side-plot that meshed so well with the rest of the story! Science nerds unite! Milo was just the cutest kid, and SO wise beyond his years! He is absolutely the brains of the Ashby family! While Giles was unsure what to do, Milo absolutely made his thoughts known to his dad, and they were not wrong!!! Sometimes, we just need a 9 year old to tell us like it is I guess.

It's definitely a slow burn...which I do love, but this was SLOWWWWWW. There was so much back and forth that got a little repetitive and I wish someone would have just bucked up a little bit sooner. Just…KISS THE BOY!!! I think it would have provided a bit more to the story as the romance seemed a little rushed. I mean, there was only about 100 pages for it to unfold. So I would have loved to spend a little more time with them as a couple, as opposed to the bulk of time being spent on their self-sabotaging thoughts.

[Vayl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

❄️ What you will find:
○Anxiety and agoraphobia rep
○Drog use in page
○Bisexual rep
○Divorce single dad, the mom is amazing
○Cooking is his love language
○Childhood ¿enemies? To lovers
○Dual POV
🌶🌶

This story was truly adorable, honestly my favorite in the entire series.
The way it addresses mental health issues is beautiful.
We get to see the perspectives of both main characters, Giles and Riley.

Giles has a son named Milo, whom he had with his best friend. However, she is currently out of the country and unable to help, so Giles is doing his best to be a good father and avoid making mistakes.
Throughout the book, we see him deal with his anxiety and agoraphobia, and I love how it’s portrayed so realistically. You can really see how hard he tries. His efforts with Milo are amazing, and their communication is beautiful.

He also has great communication with his ex-wife. I love their relationship; it gives off strong queer-platonic vibes, and finding out through the author’s social media that Giles is demisexual made me so happy, his character offers a lovely representation.

In the case of Riley, his point of view surprised me a lot. He’s such a sweet character, and discovering all of his insecurities was really touching.
As a reader, even though Giles struggles to communicate and calm Riley, you can see in his thoughts just how much he loves him.
Over the course of the book, we get to see their relationship progressing in such a beautiful way as Riley begins to understand Giles more, and how to share his feelings, and Giles learns how to express himself better and give himself time to find the right words.
I absolutely loved it.

Note: If you think something you read in a book may help your anxiety, talk about it with a mental help professional. Not everyones anxiety looks the same, and some drogs don't mix well with medication. It really depends on everyone's body. We're all different.

[Camila T 🍉]

DNF@p.70 i could not care less for these people.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

We return back to the world of our fav Nannies!

Giles Ashby is a single dad who loves his Pluto loving son, Milo with his entire heart. Although, being the sole parent to Milo after his ex wife takes a job opportunity in Japan. Leaving Giles without a buffer, feeling overwhelmed and anxious with caring for Milo alone because he struggles with leaving the house and being around others as it makes him overstimulated and panicked. With this, he reaches out to the best nanny agency in NYC, duh! Our cardigan wearing, sunshine incarnate Riley is put on the job! Although, the problem is that Riley dislikes Giles because of what went down when they were kids. But maybe that day at the planetarium as kids was a misunderstanding this entire time…maybe he’s always liked Riley 🥹

Things I loved:
-Discussion of mental health and depiction of anxiety and panic disorder.
-Positive depiction of a healthy friendship based relationship with an ex, where the primary focus is on the well-being and happiness of each other and the care they give to their son. We stan healthy co-parenting!
-Pluto loving Milo is so precious and I’ve loved all of the kids in this series so far.
-Milo’s support and love for his dad and Riley. Milo is fan number one in the Riley club and is behind the curtain giving these two men nudges when they are too scared to talk to each other.
-The interest in space and passion for restoring Pluto’s title, #JusticeForPluto! Fun fact: the town I lived in for 8 years in AZ discovered Pluto. So it’s a big deal there and Pluto will forever be a planet to me! It’s so fun when there’s a topic of interest that I get to explore and learn about in a book and my fav topics happen to be space and dinosaurs 😌

All in all, I loved this book so much and I am looking forward to the next book, The Handy Nanny! 🤩

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

Giles Ashby from Giles Ashby Needs a Nanny is demisexual!

https://www.tumblr.com/aspeccharacter...

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a very amicable divorce, Giles Ashby is in desperate need of a nanny to help him manage life as a single parent. He wants what’s best for Milo, his Pluto loving little boy, but Giles’s severe anxiety has gotten him into several confrontations and he does not want his son to be ostracized because of his actions.

Enter Riley Fitzgerald, a local nanny and the man Giles has had a crush on since childhood—not that Riley has ever been aware of that. Giles takes Riley’s presence as a second chance, and tries to make amends for how awful he was as a child. The more Riley gets to know Giles, he realizes that Giles wasn’t a massive jerk to him on purpose, and sparks fly between the two.

Riley, Giles, and Milo are adorable and I loved everything about this book. It was so cute, and I found Giles’s anxiety and its manifestations to be really relatable.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars 🌟

This was such a cute romcom book!! I don’t even know where to start 🥹 Our main characters have known each other since middle school. Riley was literally Giles’ first crush. However, Giles is neurodivergent and yk he just reacts differently so Riley always thought Giles hated him and Riley disliked him right back.

This was v slow burn!! I really liked how Giles had to grovel before they even started dating. THIS MAN LITERALLY PULLED HIS ACCOUNTS FROM THE MAN HE WAS WORKING WITH FOR RILEY!! I don’t know the technical terms but he basically pulled his accounts from the man he’s doing business with. Giles found out that the man’s a bigot and fired Riley after seeing him in drag. Not only did Giles lose millions for that and just didn’t give a fuck about the money HE ALSO STARTED A FOUNDATION IN RILEY’S NAME like this man definitely set the standard for wooing

I also really liked Giles and his son Milo’s dynamic?? He’s such a good dad and these two are literal best friends 🥹 GILES WAS ALSO PREPARED TO BRIBE ANYONE TO MAKE HIS SON’S DREAM COME TRUE (which is to reinstate pluto as a planet) like how fucking adorable is that??

This was such a cozy read with top tier wooing and groveling. Definitely recommend!!

[sunnoah · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was amazing 🙁🙁🙁🙁💗

as someone with anxiety, this book hits close to home and i’m so happy i decided to read it

[Tj · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute sweet read.

Giles was prickly at the best of times. He has severe anxiety and struggles to leave his glorious apartment. The one bright spot in his life was his son Milo. Milo struggles with some of the same issues, and Giles realizes he needs help. He needs a nanny to can manage both himself and Milo.

Enter the cardigan-loving Riley. He can bake a mean carrot cake, turns out homemade pot pies, and navigates Giles' issues while remaining calm. Life should be good...unfortunately, Giles and Riley knew each other as children, and the past has left emotional scars.

This was a good book but could have been a much better one if the characters had gotten out of their own way. It was LONG, needlessly LONG. Too much time was spent with inner ramblings and self-doubt. Conversation....if only they had talked!!

Milo is a super cute kid and smarter than either of the adults. Anyway, the book was cute, and I would read another in the series.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was meant to be cute, but I have to say I didn’t really fell for either character, the romance or the (lack of) plot. Both Giles and Asher fell flat and pretty similar to me—to the point of sometimes forgetting whose POV I was reading.
It was somehow cute but a little unsatisfactory, but it would have been much better rated if not for the “plot twist” that came in around 65% of the book.

The whole storyline (spoiler) of Giles being the one to have outted Fin and Riley as well as cost them their jobs was very strange; but even more so when we got to hear Giles’ point of view and his lack of regret because he got to hire Riley for himself (wtf?). Having him buy them ticket for a show to make it better was even more of a strange decision, just as much as throwing some cash at the situation for the both of them sometimes later, and I do not know what this storyline was for if not for unnecessary drama to push back the romance we were waiting for.

To make it worse, this exact excerpt with Riley eventually blaming HIMSELF for the situation and for having been “a little harsh” when he’s been outted AND fired is seriously questionable.
““It had been frightening, and Giles should have known better than to tell Chad Dexter that Fin and Riley were gay, but Riley might have been a little harsh. He had a feeling it had more to do with his insecurities and his fear of the curse than being outed and getting fired. Neither Riley nor Fin wanted to work for bigots and they were much better off.”“
Grand gestures are fun and games, but the whole settling of this situation felt rushed and incredibly easy and I cannot for the life of me feel satisfied with the whole thing.

I was feeling very annoyed after this whole bit and if i’m being honest, this impacted my rating a lot in the end. And so did the very weird depiction of masculinity in the chapter that followed in which Riley sees his ex again (in all of NYC?) ask his new boyfriend for his hand.
“”He was tall, muscular, handsome, well-dressed… Masculine.
Riley backed away from the rink, cold and so bitter it hurt. He was almost thirty and Riley was still a… Twink.” (…) “Twinks were cute on social media and hot in porn. And they were fun to fool around with and to “try” for a night.””.
I think it’s a bit sad to dive so heavily into clichés about what it means to be gay and deal with your masculinity in a silly little romance that’s supposed to be fun. Not to say that there’s no need for anything deeper in romance—but maybe not as toxically?

Overall, I just couldn’t get into the story and I felt like the ending was extremely rushed and way too easy. Coupled with all of the above, I didn’t really connect with this book sadly.

2 ⭐️

[Bethany (Bee_TheBibliophile) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back to New York to spend time with the quirky and sweet nannies!

Riley Fitzgerald is a nanny who is still searching for the perfect family for him. He is so much sunshine in a small package, wearing cardigans that others donated to the thrift store and obsessing over fun cookie cutter shapes. But he’s had bad luck when it comes to relationships, getting dumped over and over and feeling less and less self-confident every time. He’s a little lonely since his best friend Fin fell in love with Walker and moved out of their apartment - he’s ready to find a partner of his own and start a family together.

Giles Ashby is a single dad to 9-year-old Milo, is an introvert and has anxiety and some agoraphobia that all make it difficult for him to deal with people outside of his home. After an amicable split with his ex-wife, he’s struggling to keep it together while managing the aspects of life that she used to handle, especially when it comes to Milo’s school activities. Giles may be an introvert, but he loves Milo and being a dad more than anything and will do anything to make sure his son knows he’s loved, supported and cared for. Their relationship made my heart happy - it was the sweetest! Once Riley comes into their lives and their apartment, Giles’ character growth is incredible and he really shows off the endearing side of his personality.

Riley and Giles grew up living down the street from each other and had a thing for each other but Giles’ social awkwardness got in the way. Now that they’re all grown up and working in close proximity to each other, their feelings came back with a vengeance. The way they fit so easily into each other’s lives and support each other through their lowest lows was so sweet and adorable to read. Riley made Giles feel less alone and less like his anxiety and agoraphobia made him less than everyone else and Giles made Riley feel like he mattered, something he’d been missing for too long. And the two of them with Milo were seriously the sweetest! My biggest complaint here was that the slow burn was a little too slow - with their history, I wanted them to have a conversation or really just kiss sooner than they did.

Milo is seriously the cutest kid - his honesty with Giles about his feelings and opinions was adorable and his love for Pluto made me smile. Also loved Giles’s healthy relationship with his ex-wife and the way their relationship was depicted was perfect. Really excited to read more about these New York nannies soon!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a slow-burn, tentative, and well-earned love story. Giles and Riley have known each other since middle school. They also crossed paths in high school and once in a while as adults. Riley feels that Giles is his nemesis. He has consistently been rude to Riley, causing Riley to hold grudges, although Riley has also always found Giles attractive. It's a feeling that bisexual Giles secretly felt, too. Now, Riley just feels cursed, as all of his relationships have been short-lived and ended in break-ups. Riley just wants a partner of his own and a family to love.

Giles is an extremely wealthy man who sold his business and retired early. He has just gone through an amicable divorce with his wife, who is spending several years in Japan. Giles is a person with high levels of anxiety that cause him to be uncomfortable leaving his home due to overstimulation, unwanted approaches by strangers pitching their ideas, and conflict with difficult persons. With his ex-wife gone for a while, Giles is now solely responsible for his son Milo's care. Overwhelmed, he reaches out to an LGBT+ nanny agency to hire someone to assist him and his son. He's surprised, but very pleased when Riley shows up at his door. He is quickly honest with Riley about his disability and his regrets at how he treated Riley when younger.

Both men want each other, but they lack the confidence and communication to proceed. Meanwhile, they deepen their friendship and begin to heal. Riley connects strongly to Milo, too. Can Riley and Giles find a new future that makes room for each other and their special love? This book has connections to Riley's friend group and supportive family members. It has a beautiful love, passion, and hope for a bright future.

[Nicola Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giles Ashby Needs A Nanny by K Sterling
(Nannies of New York Book 2)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🫑

✍️My Synopsis: Giles, the handsome rich reclusive dad, needs a nanny to help him as a buffer between the world and his role as a parent for his kid. With his recent divorce, he’s struggling to figure out how to be there for his son Milo while navigating his well hidden anxiety. Riley to the rescue! He’s here to be the middle ground these guys need so they can live more peacefully during this transition. But Riley and Giles have a past that could affect their future as employer and nanny.

👩‍💻My Opinion: One of the damned sweetest relationships I’ve ever read. Riley and Giles mutual pining put me on the slow burn edge from early on! I loved the attention to detail with the struggles people with anxiety or anxiety related disorders face. There is a common misconception and shame cycle that comes with anxiety (and related disorders) and Kit’s ability to take away that shame cycle in this book was fantastic. Another glorious point, anxiety doesn’t just go away even when you’re having a good day, even when you’ve calmed. Triggering events, even small, can make it flare up. But it doesn’t mean you can’t still have a full life, no matter how you choose to live it. 💕

What this book has:
👨‍❤️‍👨 MM romance and spice
❤️ Sticking up to Bullies and Misunderstandings
🤝 Hand Holding Pining
☺️ Low Angst but Sexual Tension

Kit knows how to write amazing and unique stories. This second book in the Nannies of New York series is similar in the premise of the story to the first book, but stands on its own! Giles and Riley’s story is different but adorable and I think you’ll love it!

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unbearably awkward and strangled by his anxiety disorder, Giles Ashby used surly snarls and abrupt remarks to keep everyone at a distance. As a result and surprising no one, he finds himself divorced and overwhelmed by the demands of parenting nine-year-old Milo - a shy, awkward clone of his father. Not wanting Milo to struggle through life the way he has, Giles enlists the help of Reid Marshall’s new nanny agency. Reid sends Giles’s childhood crush, Riley Fitzgerald. Still smitten and as flustered as he was in middle school, Giles bungles every encounter with the “new” nanny. But sweet, clever, outgoing Riley is exactly what Milo needs. Riley thinks he knows what he’s getting into when he accepts a position working for his childhood nemesis, but Milo steals his heart the moment they meet. And “Giles the Jerk” isn’t as bad as Riley remembers because he sees Giles facing his fears to help Milo survive the fourth grade and win the science fair. Can Riley trust his heart, when all his past relationships have been cursed? Could this time be any different?

I loved this story and Riley turned into Gile's protector and enabler so that he can go out and help Milo with the science fair. I loved how awkward Giles was around Riley and how everyone worked to help bring the two men together. I love that there is a constant in these stories as that awful woman tries throwing her nephew Jonathan at wealthy men. A lot of feelings and emotions in this story which are both historical and present-day. Easy to read, feel and understand. This was an MM story with mature content.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t wait for this book arrive. I absolutely loved the first of the series, and had to know what happens to Riley.

The more I read the series the more I just realized it’s not about the nannying to the kids. Lol, Reid should just run a matchmaking company for single parents looking for their other half to complete their family. So I’m totally looking forward to reading Penn’s story!!

Will we also get a story about Reid and Gavin?!?!?!? (One can hope)

The author’s disclaimer that the anxiety disorder in the book mirrors her own process, and due to that fact, it feels a lot of emphasis was put on making everyone comfortable. Which I think make parts dragged a bit, but since that was an important factor in how the two main characters can make it work, it just slowed down the plot a bit and not ruin it.

This second book of the series was less racy than the first, both main characters were very intimid in showing affection in outrageous way, but in accidental knee touching or glances at naked bodies, as it was only towards the third half of the book where the two confirmed their affection for one another.

There was also no big drama in the middle which broke them apart, it seemed just to be an over-reaction… but honestly what big drama is not an over-reaction.

As always I love the side characters and the found family. And can’t wait to read Penn’s story!!!

Question for the author or who else has read this far. I’m curious as when Claire’s sister says she can be surrogate, does that mean it’s just her bun and random donor egg or will they ask her or Claire for donor egg?

[Jared (jareadforfilth) · Rating 5 out of 5]

K. Sterling does it again!! There are not enough words to express how much I loved this book. The characters are so lovely, the second-chance romance is so fun and sweet to watch unfurl, I cant say enough good things. I thought that the initial dynamic between Riley and Giles would come from a place of genuinely not getting along as kids, but it was so much more that that in all the best ways. And as always, I adore the passion and love that our Nannie’s have for what they do and the families and kids they help. I honestly thought after the first in the series that it couldn’t get better, but somehow I think this has done it! The romance is so sweet and the spice is UNFFFFFFF so good!

I also really appreciated the mental health rep in here, I know the debilitating anxiety Giles experiences comes from a personal place for the author, and I think it was communicated with so much grace and success. I love Giles so much, and I love Riley and Milo too!!

Thank you so much to the author for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for a slow burn (in page count, not actual days in the book lol) with anxiety rep, childhood enemies (?? more like what are these feelings I’m feeling) to adult lovers, and a single dad, pick this up!

🚨Spoilers ahead!!!!🚨
My only negative about this book was the slow burn was sooo good pacing wise, but I could have used about more pages/scenes and discussion after they got together since it felt super rushed. Also the spicy scenes felt very rushed and the first one did give me whiplash when it happened. I will gladly read a longer book with more build up after they are lovers than a quick bing bang boom they are engaged and then are planning to have a kid together in the epilogue 😂

My absolute favorite part of this book was the Pride and Prejudice references. I literally highlighted every single one and literally SQUEALED at the ending dialogue. My little Austen heart couldn’t handle it😭

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

[Raluca (hedonicbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful book. 🥰
It's no secret that I wasn't a fan of the first book in the series (those triplets were absolutely horrible), but since I enjoyed the writing so much, I thought I should give the second book a chance. I'm so glad I did because it was beautiful and I loved it.
I have 3 nieces and 1 nephew, and 3 of them are around Milo's age, so of course I loved him to bits. That kid was the best.
I also LOVED the anxiety and agoraphobia rep. It's pretty darn perfect. The subtle demisexual rep as well.
Both main characters were so well constructed. I can't really decide wich one I liked more.
And the writing was exquisite.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nannies of New York by K Sterling is quite simply one of the most delightful series I’ve read. It’s like reading literal sunshine and rainbows. I adored the first in the series, The Last Nanny in Manhattan, and my high hopes for the second were well and truly met. Giles Ashby Needs A Nanny was wonderful! These are the books I’ll read again and again as I impatiently await the next. Im dying to read the other character’s stories as I already adore them! If you are in need of low angst, beautifully written love stories with adorable mini-mes and a perfect HEA look no further!

[Jess.bookrecs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly I was not expecting to feel seen and cry when I was reading this. Gils Ashby needs a nanny is so unique because Milo(the kid) wasn’t the one in need of a nanny, it was his father due to issues with mental health(mostly anxiety).
The romance story was refreshing in every way. Funny, cute, fucking adorable to the point where tears actually stung my eyes and honestly I’m just so glad Riley found his forever family.
The book is really slow at first. Like really slow but I found I really enjoyed the slow pace, it made the love between Giles, Riley and Milo MORE.

[Kari · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t get into the story, the writing was good but I felt like things kept getting repeated over and over, especially regarding Giles' thoughts or actions, or how he felt about certain things. Then all of these things happened to him when he left his apartment that I couldn’t understand. I’m not sure I liked Riley too much either, I didn’t like that he told people about Giles’ anxiety problems, like some neighbors. Milo was very mature for his age.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

His first love!

Wow, what a love story! Riley thought he was not lovable, how wrong was he. Giles Ashby a multi millionaire needs a Nanny for his son. Riley has known Giles since primary school thinking that he knew all about him but found out that Giles was a recluse by choice and needed Riley to help him with all of the expectations from people around him.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute book in this series. There was some serious pining in this one by both Riley and Giles. Milo was such an adorable kid and I loved the relationship he had with both Giles and Riley. Fin, Gavin, Reid, and Penn all had appearances and I love them all. I’m looking forward to the other guys getting their HEAs.

[Krys (spicy.spine.breaker) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you have severe anxiety with agoraphobic tendencies, come off as arrogant, brash, and aloof, but you just don’t know how to people right, but your DREAM MAN takes the time to get to know you and falls in love with all of it?

*Hilary Duff voice* THIS IS WHAT DREAAAMMSSS ARE MADE OF🎶🎶🎶


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