Misdemeanor

Responsible Adult, Book 1

By: C F White

Narrated by: Piers Ryman

Life isn’t always responsible.

After his mother tragically dies and his deadbeat father goes off the rails, 19-year-old Micky is left to care for his disabled little brother. Juggling college, a dead-end job, and Flynn’s special needs means Micky has to put his bad-boy past behind him and be the responsible adult to keep his brother out of care. He doesn't have time for anything else in his life.

Still scarred from a past relationship that went bad, Dan’s not looking to complicate his life. Everything tells him he should stay away from Micky, but he’s powerless in the face of his overwhelming attraction to his newest staff member. Especially when he begins to peel off Micky's layers to reveal the true man beneath the façade.

As their attraction builds, revealing more of themselves to one another, each is faced with a stark question: Can Micky allow himself to follow his heart, and can Dan risk falling in love with someone so tempestuous?

Misdemeanor is the first book in the Responsible Adult trilogy and is a rerelease of the previously published version by Pride. It has been edited with new content added.

Author note: Potential triggers include references to suicide, physical assault on a minor, criminal behavior, and bullying of a disabled child.

©2021 C F White (P)2021 C F White

raw and gritty!

I loved flawed characters and this story had in spades, they felt realistic! CF White did an amazing job with world-building, the story felt raw and gritty. I loved Micky; he was attempting to turn his life around so that he could take care of his brother who had Down Syndrome. Dan and Micky had so much chemistry but there was a lot of hot and cold between them. I got the opportunity to listen to the audio version from the author. I loved the story sooo much, I had a hard time stopping it! Piers Ryman did a fantastic narration, he really brought the characters to life!

Enjoyable start to the series.

Misdemeanor is Book 1 in the Responsible Adult series. This is a beautifully written story with such emotion. Micky is trying to attend college while working and taking care of his special needs younger brother, Flynn. The last thing he needs is to fall in love with his boss, Dan. I love Micky and Dan together and can't wait to see how their relationship evolves in the next book. I know some people don't like cliffhangers, personally I don't mind them, the end of this book really made me want to dive right into the next book to see what happens next. I recommend this book, but know it's a bit intense, though I have high hopes for a happy ending for Micky, Dan, and Flynn.
Narrator Piers Ryman does a marvelous job. I love the way he tells this story.

Micky and Dan's Love Story Begins

‘Misdemeanor’, a grittily heartfelt tale of perseverance and love, is the first book of CF White’s ‘Responsible Adult’ series. At the start of the book, Micky is struggling to juggle school, a job and care for his special needs brother after a life filled with abuse and tragedy. In his 19 years, he has learned the hard lesson that self-reliance equals self-preservation and shuts out any resource that might help him build a better life for himself and Flynn.

When Micky takes a job at the up-market grocery store where Dan is a manager, the attraction they feel for one another is instant. Micky, having no previous experiences with healthy relationships, resists Dan’s attempts at lessening the burdens Micky has been carrying alone. Will Micky finally let down his defenses to allow Dan into his heart?

This book delivers some of my favorite tropes. Micky’s story has a bit of a coming-of-age-ness about it. White provides both Dan and Micky with some wonderful character development. The slow-build of their relationship makes sense given Micky’s past. White brings forth just the right amount of angst; it’s not artificial or overwrought. With adorable little Flynn added to the mix, there is a single-dad vibe that I find particularly lovely. This story has me feeling all the feels.

I’m looking forward to Book 2, but I find the cliffhanger ending in this book to be utterly unnecessary. The book is excellently written and doesn’t call for such a blatant attempt to attract readers to the rest of the series. (This is a pet peeve of mine; gotta call it out.)

Piers Ryman’s narration is excellently performed. His interpretation of the deeply emotional aspects of White’s storytelling is brilliant.

This audiobook was given to me as a ARC, at my request, and I am now voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Highly recommended.

Good start to the series

This is the first story I’ve listened to by this author. I read upfront this ends in a cliffhanger. It is a good start to the series. I felt maybe the background could have been a little shorter but overall it is a good story. Mickey is leading a very hard life. He trying to finish college and care for his disabled brother. He is also hiding who he really is so as to not jeopardize keeping his brother.
Dan is strongly attracted to Mickey. Dan isn’t looking to get into any relationship but he can’t seem to help it.
I read a couple reviews that addressed Dougie, a side character. I didn’t feel as strongly about him as I did with Holly, another side character. I think the author did a good job on the character development.
Maybe it is because I enjoyed the narration by Piers Ryman who brought these characters to life but I look forward to the next story in the series.

Great book!

This is an excellent book. It definitely shows the injustices of our current system. A must read for everyone. I cannot wait for book 2 to be out on audiobook! Major cliff hanger.