Latte Darling

Darling #2

by S.J. Tilly

I have a nice life - living in my hometown, owning the coffee shop I’ve worked at since I was 16.

It’s comfortable.

On paper.

But I’m tired of doing everything by myself. Tired of being in charge of every decision in my life.

I want someone to lean on. Someone to spend time with. Sit with. Hug.

And I really don’t want to go to my best friend’s wedding alone.

So, I signed up for a dating app, and agreed to meet with the first guy that messaged me.

And now here I am, at the bar.

Only it’s not my date that just sat down in the chair across from me. It’s his dad.

And holy hell, he’s the definition of Silver Fox. If a Silver Fox can be thick as a house, have piercing blue eyes and tattoos from his neck down to his fingertips.

He’s giving me Big Bad Wolf vibes. Only instead of running, I’m blushing. And he looks like he might just want to eat me whole.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Smut, Audiobook, Small Town Romance, Plus Size

388 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 2, 2022

About the author

S.J. Tilly lives in Minnesota with her husband and their herd of boxers. She spends an unhealthy amount of time with her face buried in books, reading and writing. If she’s not nose deep in text, or harassing her dogs, she’s probably playing with her plants, pretending she knows how to garden.

You can find her stumbling around on Instagram @sjtillyauthor

https://www.amazon.com/S.J.-Tilly/e/B...

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

I saw this book recommend for an age-gap romance and I was intrigued right away. SO many age-gaps have such young heroines, and I was excited to see that this heroine was in her early 30’s and the hero around 50. This was a new to me author and I truly enjoyed it. The meet cute between Maddie and Axel was hilarious. He’s your typical alpha male and it had a bit of instalove thrown it but it was so entertaining! I loved this couple together and had a lot of fun reading this one!

[aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

Well, after reading this book I should finally buy "I ♥︎ DILFS" t-shirt.

"I should’ve made it crystal fucking clear that you’re it for me,” Axel’s voice is thick. “You’re all there’s ever gonna be."

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute and super cheesy. Kudos to the author for writing an age gap where the h is in her 30's!

I loved the premise of this book and it started off really fun but then got a bit domestic and didn't really go anywhere. I also found the h to be a bit of a sad sack at the end and the conflict felt very forced and silly.

It was still a fun read and definitely something to try if you like age gap books but you're done with the barely legal h.

Also the cover of the book on here is.... so bad but the cover that is currently on Amazon is sooooo much better, wish they would update cause this cover is really giving me "judging a book by its cover" vibes.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

everyone who recommended this to me is going to hell

don't EVER disrespect me like that again

[buket · Rating 3 out of 5]

i mean he is obviously beekeeping age🫦

[cel · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 ⭐️
this is what happens when i trust booktook

[Bookish Meag 🩵 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so in love with Axel ♥️

“I thought you liked when… I called you something else.” His eyes darken and I know he knows what I’m talking about. Axel’s fingers dig into the flesh at the top of my ass, pulling me closer. His voice quiet enough so only I can hear. “You can call me Darling in public, but it’s Daddy in the bedroom.”

Age gap romance is one of my favorite things to read. I really did enjoy reading this one. I was so disappointed when I turned the page and realized it was over, I was not ready for it to end. I could of read 300 more pages of Axel and Maddie. I wanted more of the relationship development with them. More of them connecting and learning about each other. It left me wanting more. I love how Axel treated Maddie from the beginning. He was so protective and wanted to take care of her.

“All I have to offer is my love. But I’ll give you every last bit of it. Every inch of my heart. All the best parts of me.” Then he slides the ring onto my finger. “Tell me you’ll marry me.”

Would love another book for Axel and Maddie. Them getting married and maybe Maddie getting pregnant and having a baby.

I do highly recommend this and the smut was on point. 🔥🔥🔥

“You’re gonna learn your lesson.” I shift closer until I’m almost touching her lips. “You’re gonna learn that when you misbehave, I’m gonna shove my dick so far down your throat that you gag.”

[Daisy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too insta everything for me. Also please she is 31, but acts like 13 😭😭😭😭
Like what is this? "This guy has gone into full Daddy Bear mode and it’s amazing. If we weren’t in public, and magic was real, I’d morph my clothes into a schoolgirl outfit and climb into his lap. I’ve been skipping classes, too." LOL
That was my last straw and it's only the first chapters 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one is not for me.. As soon as he called her “baby doll” I cringed but still tried to push through. The cheesy nicknames and insta love turned me completely off.

[Kate V · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 - 5 stars!

HOLY HELL. Someone get a fire extinguisher.



Maddie is lonely and needs a date for a wedding and enlists a dating app to help her find a +1. However, the date goes completely different when her date's dad shows up to let her know he won't be coming. But Maddie might be after seeing the grumpy, older tattooed bear of a man.

"This man is an absolute Silver Fox and my libido that’s been slumbering in hibernation for the last decade just woke the fuck up."

Axel never plans for the girl his son was going to stand up and tries very hard to banish the beautiful younger woman from his mind. She is too young, too perfect, and too sweet for the likes of him but fate has other plans for the two of them.

“You need a man.” Axel inhales through his nose, his huge chest expanding further with the action. “You need me.”

Latte Darling was such a fantastic and hot AF read and I loved every second of it. It had an entertaining plot, great relationship development, and fantastic character development. I loved Daddy Axel and his overbearing and possessive personality. I loved Maddie and her sweet yet sultry way of doing life. Did I mention the smut?

"Axel’s fingers dig into the flesh at the top of my ass, pulling me closer. His voice quiet enough so only I can hear. “You can call me Darling in public, but it’s Daddy in the bedroom.”

Overall, just a really great feel-good romance with the perfect amount of kink and angst.

[Intel Chicky Reads Romance (Kara Merideth) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trope: opposites attract
Angst: 😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥

Latte Darling is an absolutely wonderful read!! Definitely a fave of 2022 and a future reread. Ticks SO many of my boxes. We have the grumpy, overbearing hero with the shy, younger girl. He's "thick" and 6'6" and she's just over 5'. Even as a tall girl, I can appreciate how cute that is, lol. There's a 21 year age-gap and their meet-cute is just beyond story worthy ❤️ . All that would be unimportant though, without SJ Tilly's fabulous ability to weave a well written story and tie you up in knots. And the characters! I just loved Axel and his need to be needed by this tiny girl. How protective he is of Maddie and how he'll do anything to see her happy. Maddie is sweet and a hard worker and you feel like this girl SO deserves her happy ending! Really great feel good read - highly recommend!

Latte Darling is book 2 in the Darling Series by SJ Tilly and can be read as a standalone, but best enjoyed when read in series order. It is told in first person, from dual perspective.

⛔️ My bookshelves can sometimes contain spoilers

[Syndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Latte Darling, to be honest is not living up.to the hype. I do like Axel. He is hot for sugar daddy. His character is the only thing that saves the book. But not enough.

I am not familiar with Miss Tilly's book. The writing seems amature. The banter is off. Ecen the first meeting between Maddie and Axel somehow raised my eyebrow. The story is not even interesting. The smutt is not even hot.

3 stars

[tiffany dai jel 🐝✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75/5

I’ll write a longer review later on.

As we all know the second book in a series is ALWAYS the one to read and this book did not disappoint in that sense.
Maddie and Axel
“Daddy Axel If You’re Nasty..😉” takes the cake. This was totally a feel good novel with all the feels I adored everything about this book!
Except for when I wanted to bitchslap a 70-year-old fictional woman.
If you know, you know 🙃

[Gigi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I’m ALLLL for hot daddy, age gap romance. But this was a bit cringey if I’m being honest. I don’t know..It just didn’t really work for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[CriSsStina · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

** 3rd time reading this book, I maintain my rating and thoughts ✌️

.................

This is the second time I have read this one, and I loved it even more since I updated the rating from 4 to 5 stars.

I so looooved these two 🥹🤌🥰🥰🥰💜.

The age gap is big, around 21 years, if I recall correctly, but they definitely fit each other to a T. I love how protective he was and how sensible and loving she was. They just fitted each other perfectly 🥹.

I typically avoid such big age gaps because I'm always thinking that eventually the h will end up alone, without the H 😭 and my heart just can't handle that ... but you know, these two, I just love them, and even though this is contemporary romance, in my mind, they are eternal 😂😂. Call me crazy, but this is how my mind works, and I'm not sorry 🤷‍♀️😂🤭.

The conflict / 3rd act drama llama ... agh, I hated his aunt, and now, at the second read, I hated her even more. Ugh, sadly, this type of people does exist!

She was so real, though, for her insecurities 😢. I got her 100% because I'm similar. I don't have panic attacks, but I often end up in similar situations. Anyhoo, I loved her HEA since she finally found her person. Axel being her person, and what a perfect fit that was 😍.

I wanted and needed an extended epilogue with them down the path of their life. But that's just the greedy side of me 😂.

Maybe Brian or Dean will have their books, and she'll appear in that one as a side character!? That would be amazing 🥹

What to expect
- age gap (31 h, 52 H)
- insta everything, on both sides
- 🥵 these two were hot
- daddy kink, but not overdone
- no OP drama
- no V, but she's inexperienced because of her self-esteem issue and the fact that she's lonely; not a lot of info on him, but I got the vibes that he wasn't a manhoe, he's a chill one and crazy only for her
- not much of a plot, this one is character / relationship driven !!
- HEA

Yup, this is my favorite big age gap romance, and I'm not mad at all. Maybe I'll even reread it again in the future. We shall see 🤭🤭.

.
.
.
.


"“Get in the car, Maddie.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jesus Christ."

-- 🥵🥵🥵



"Her fingertips press into the muscles along my spine and I break.
I drop my arms, encircling her small frame. The second I pull her closer, she relaxes into me.
As though this is normal, and not the most spectacular thing that I’ve experienced in years."

-- she just hugged him 🥹🥹 no, really, they just needed each other 😭🥰



"My Maddie can try to run, but she can’t hide forever.
And when I find her…
The smallest amount of tension leaves my bunched shoulders.
When I find her, I’m going to make sure she understands just how much she belongs to me.
And how much I belong to her."

-- 🥹🥰🥰

[Sammie Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute book!!! Maddie is Elouise’s best friend from Smoky Darling, and I was so excited to see the sweetheart get her HEA! She decides to go on a date with a guy from a dating app, only to be stood up. How does she know she was stood up? Because he dad shows up in his place to let her know that he grounded his son…oh, and that he was a wee bit younger than his profile stated. Luckily for her, his dad is way more attractive to her and they hit it off, in spite of their 20 year age difference. Or maybe because of it…

Axel is the OTT, possessive alpha male that we all love to hate and hate to love, and I really enjoyed reading his perspective. He has a filthy mouth, zero room for nonsense, like Maddie calling herself fat, and lots of love to give, much to his surprise! Maddie is sweet as a gumdrop and the perfect yin to Axel’s growly yang. Maybe it’s just me, but this felt much more surface level than the first book, but I still loved it and had a great time reading it. Can’t wait for Dean’s book!

[Rae (semi-hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so sweet

I loved this. It was wholesome and steamy. Axel was everything you would want in a MMC. Maddie was a wonderful FMC. I do feel at times her insecurities (which we all have) made her feel a lot younger than she was (like early twenties rather than 31). However, I loved that we have a relatively older-by romance world standards-FMC who was realistic.

I did want some more interactions between the MCs, everyday ones, cuddling, steamy, any really. They were so perfect together but it all was extremely instalove. Not a big deal for a mood-booster book tho.

Also, there was a moment where the FMC referred to herself as fat, and the MMC got upset and said “I don’t ever wanna hear you say that about yourself”. While I do know what he meant, fat is not bad. The word fat does not inherently have negative meaning to it. Society has added the negative only connotations. It is a descriptor, and should not be a term of abuse. Granted I know not many have reclaimed/want to reclaim the word, but in this situation she was saying “being fat is fine”. 💛💛

[Valkyrie ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

They were so overly dramatic for literally every single small thing. Oh my GOD.

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Latte Darling is a just don’t read.
This book was bad. I did desperately wanted it to be good but it wasn’t.   I made it to 60% before I just gave up. There are so many things that were wrong with this book.    
The author has chapters that are as short as half a page. 85 chapters in a book with less than 370 pages.  Why? What is the reasoning. It wasn’t stylistic and it did not help the story.  The style of the meet cute was unique.  Maddie is stood up or so she thinks by her date- turns out he is 20 and his dad has “grounded” him and took away his phone.  Here is where it starts to fall off some.
The characters are very flat in this book. They are basic. They lack depth. The potential is there but nothing ever comes of it. I would classify this as PWP however it lacks chemistry and passion. The spicy scenes are awkward. They are written in a way that you are cringing to yourself, I had second hand embarrassment.
This book just had to many missteps for me to forgive. I tried so hard to like it. It has some of my favorite tropes in it. It just did not work for me at all. I don't know if it was the writing style, editing choices or the cringy spice. This book needed more!

CW: Fatphobia

For full Review visit https://bookcaseandcoffee.com

[Ꭿຖᥲ·♡ ྀི · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5✯

°Switching POVs
°He's 52, she's 31
°The h has been celibate for years (she has had sex only once)
°Celibate/non manwhore hero
°Single dad - the H has a 20 y/o son, he wasn't in a relationship with the mother of his son they just got drunk a few times and had sex and she got pregnant, she's now happily married to someone else and they all get along
°No OW drama
°No real OM drama - she went on a date with OM after meeting the H but he interrupted her date
°4 day separation
°Insecure anxious immature heroine (she said she was shy but she was too forward IMO and I'm not a fan of those types of heroines, I especially did not like the way she acted when she met the H, it gave me 2nd hand embarrassment, I ended up liking her though)
°Sweet possessive jealous OTT alpha hero
°Very veeeeery mild daddy kink
°No cheating or scenes with OP
°They used condoms only at first (he had unprotected sex with the mother of his son)
°Lackluster epilogue: 1 month later they get engaged

[Emily Johnston (Booked.Up.With.Emily) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think I can explain with words how much I ADORED this book.

Age Gap ✔️
Overly protective, inked up hero ✔️
Lonely, sunshine heroine who is looking for her HEA ✔️
LOTS of spice ✔️
Daddy in the bedroom and Darling out of it ✔️

Maddie is feeling lonely and wants to find a date to her best friends wedding. So she does what anyone would do - she turns to online dating. She is waiting for her date to show up, only to have his dad show up in his place. Axel and Maddie instantly hit it off and sparks fly.

Maddie doesn’t feel like she’s good enough for Axel and Axel doesn’t feel like he’s good enough for Maddie. But they figure out real quick that they can’t stay away from each other.

This book was HOT 🥵🌶. The spice was off the charts for this one. I thought book 1 in this series was spicy, but this one definitely outdid it.

Can I also make a memorable mention of how I was literally cracking up OUT LOUD in Chapter 2?! What a great way to start the book.

I absolutely loved Daddy Axel. He is the ultimate book boyfriend and he complimented Maddie so well. I related to Maddie so much and really saw myself in her in so many ways.

I have read all of SJ Tilly’s books and this one is my new favorite! The characters were just so great together and the way that the chemistry was written was chefs kiss 💋.

I am looking forward to reading Dean’s book next!

[Jen ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐


This totally could've been done as a novella instead of a full-length novel. 😅

Not much happens in the story; it's really just about Axel (52) and Maddie's (33) relationship and how quickly it moves along, and of course, let's not forget the smut. 🤭🙈 I guess it's cool that they have great chemistry; without that, I think I’d be pretty bored with this story.

Anyhoo, even if it felt like it was going on forever for no reason, I still had a blast reading it. 🤣

But ngl, the ending was meh. I really wish we could have seen a bit of their life in the future. 🤷‍♀️

All in all, it was a pretty good read. No need to think too hard, if you're just looking for something to pass the time.


Book info:
- Age gap (21)
- Loss of loved one
- Curvy h
- Insta-lust then love
- Daddy kink
- No cheating, OPD
- Separation (4 days??)
- No V
- HFN (engaged)

[Samantha (bookgramsaga reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

''Happiness looks good on you''

Safety warnings:
- H 52 / h 31
- No cheating
- No OW/OM drama
- Fatshaming
- Mention of loss of loved ones
- HEA

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

I usually do not read books with this big of an age gap, but I am glad I read it! I really enjoyed it, and I liked it a lot more than the first book of this series.

Maddie and Axel meet for the first time when Axel informs her that his son Brian who was supposed to have his first date with her will not be showing up and he is 20 not 25 as he claimed.

These two end up spending more time together than was originally planned by either, Axel quickly turns OTP towards her and even though he knows he should walk away, he stays and lets his desires run free with her.

Maddie feels a strong connection to him and finds him to be a great guy and extremely attractive. She has her insecurities and they do come and go throughout the book. She does not believe she is good enough etc.

Axel on the other hand is doing everything he can to make her see with his actions he wants her, and she means something to him. They basically spend every day together for weeks and then the truth comes out to his son that his dad basically stole his date lol I actually thought this would be issue in this book but honestly? Brian was so mature about it and highly amused! It helps that he and Maddie barely talked before setting up their date from the dating app and he forgot about her until he realizes she's THAT MADDIE.

That whole exchange was very different than how I thought it would play out.

The actual issue comes from Axel's senile horrible aunt who warns Maddie about earlier on. She literally comes after Maddie calling her horrible things and making disgusting accusations. She fat shames her without a care and this causes Maddie to let her insecurities win and seek space from Axel for days.

He is oblivious and is not going to give up on getting her back, so when he finds out the truth, things do not go as planned at first as she overhears and misinterprets his phone call with his aunt causing ANOTHER set of insecurities to fester.

They spent a few days apart only because she refused to let him find her or see her.

Axel though, this man knows what he wants and what he wants and loves? It's Maddie.

We get them moving in together and getting engaged a short while later. There is no pregnancy in the epilogue but he does tell her he wants all that with her so I guess it will happen later for them.

I really liked these two, Axel was perfect. He was a tattooed silver fox who was larger than life but would crawl for her.

The smut was also incredibly hot! There is a daddy kink here and at first it was just a passing comment from her, but it quickly turned each of them on and was used. It was not overused which I really appreciated cause for some reason when it is used TOO MUCH, I get annoyed and cringe a bit. They both knew there was a time and place to use that term.

I do wish we had gotten a bit more info about Axel’s life as he is 52 and we never find out if he has ever had a serious relationship? We know that Brian’s mother was just someone he hooked up with and they never had a real relationship, so I just wonder if he had something serious in the two decades since he because a father. And why does his son share his mother’s last name and not his own? A few questions I wish were answered or revealed.

We also get a small glimpse of Dean (Maddie's friend and neighbor) and I am guessing we will be getting his book one day!

[Darlene I read WAY to many books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hands downnnn I died and gone to heaven hehe.

Maddie is trying her luck in the dating world and meets Axel who is there to inform her her date his son won’t make it since he lied about his age (he’s 20) and he’s sorta forgot lol. Que him sitting with her making conversation they have a connection and hang out more and we’ll get some dry humping hehe.. but it takes Axel awhile to finally give in he has to see his girl on a date to finally say screw it and go after what’s his.

Once that happens this man is DADDDDYYY!!! He takes care of her even the smallest thing they are made for one another. The steam was so delicious I want a man like him. As for the son there is no drama with the “your dating my date” since they didn’t really speak during that “app” the drama was really Maddie and her insecurities when she was fat shammed and talked down to by Axel bitchy aunt and a conversation she overhears that she hears wrong. Don’t worry that drama isn’t to long our man handles it well.



No ow/om drama, No cheating, slight secondary chars, tiny drama, sexy times, no virgins (there is a date nothing serious)

Recommend-yes
Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat level-🌶🌶🌶

Slowinsta
Age gap
31h/52H
Daddy kink
Fat shamming
Safe sex/no condom
Praise kink
Hea
Epilogue

[Maria Reyna · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Honestly couldn’t get past the first few chapters. This was so cringey! I HATED all the pet names the used. And the age gap was too much for me

[Infinite_chapters_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so confused. I don't have anything against age gap romance, but this one gave me a lot of icks ....

Not to mention the fact that MMC is 52 years old like ... wtf ??? OK, it's not right to judge since they had great chemistry, and I enjoyed the intimate scenes, but

BUT!!!!


So FMC's date's dad is the MMC so the MMC disappears after showing up to his son's date trying to inform FMC that his son left her stranded after that he drives her home she makes him sandwich then they sleep together just sleep together with a little bit spice ... when FMC tells her friend that MMC went AWOL, the friend tells her to text his son asking for his dad's number . Of course, our FMC describes the possible conversation, and she quotes

"So could you give me his number? And if this thing works out between us, we’ll have to decide if you should call me mom or sister because I call Axel Daddy, too. "

WTF is that? Am I overreacting, or is it really disgusting

BUT it just keeps happening now,it's the MMC

*** I relax back in my seat with a nod. I don’t know if she’s my girlfriend, but she sure as fuck isn’t my daughter.***

Well, WE ALREADY KNOW THAT!!!
and this is super weird because he says this after they got intimate ... exactly the next morning.

I love this particular author's book. SJ tilly is one of the best, and I loved the alliance series smoky darling was also so great and there aren't that many of her works to read but this is just not my type so dnf @52%

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and the kind of insta love, insta possessive that I can roll with.

Wish we got the backdoor action that was teased though.

Also.. why did a 300 page book have 85 chapters? Not a big deal, just curious. Haha!

3.5 stars
3.5 on the spice scale

[Sara Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

24 hour read and this one was good. Two words- Daddy Axel 😍

[Cat H · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.8 stars.
*swoon*
I love Axel, so fucking much.
…where are we on the ✨making fictional men real✨ technology? (Asking for me. Fuck my friends.)

Fuck me Axel is so god damn H.O.T.
I loved all of this. All of it.
The way they meet.
The second guessing that Axel does throughout the beginning.
The way there was no age play or really any kink in this ✨daddy✨ romance, but he takes care of her like an actual daddy?! *swoon*
The relationship he has with his son.
The way he reacts when he finds out!

It was funny, it was traumatic, it was hot as fucking hades.

I loved it. So fucking much.

[Presley Hubschmitt · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 50%…just not for me. She’s a 30+ year old woman not a child even though she’s younger than you so chill out my dude 🙄