Rating: 4.5🌈
The Last Nanny in Manhattan, the first in the Nannies of New York series by K. Sterling, is a snappy, sexy, sweet contemporary romance by a author that’s new to me.
I enjoyed this journey immensely. It’s got age gap, wickedly intelligent 6 year old triplets , a widower who’s overwhelmed by work but most by a sense of failure when it comes to fatherhood and parenting. And , importantly, a gay, effervescent, highly competent Mary Poppins of a nanny in need of a family to fix and fall in love with.
It helps that Fin the irrepressible, remarkable nanny has a thing for gorgeous SavageFenty underwear as well as the ability to bring the chaos the demon triplets have caused to a heartwarming close through understanding, and love.
Finley Marshall comes with an entire faction of fantastic people to support him and to act as main characters in the succeeding novels. There’s Reid, Fin’s oldest brother. Reilly, his best friend. Pennsylvania aka Penn the Gandalf of nannies. And more. The LGBTGIA nanny network of New York and the solid basis for this series. Each one a highly intelligent, and star of the nanny network of the Manhattan wealthy clientele.
What a fabulous start!
Walker Cameron III is the other side. He brings his amazing bisexual sister who I’m hoping we see a great deal more of. Plus his butler, who slowly unbends to Fin, his unusual style of doing things and welcomes Fin into the household. But it’s really about Walker. And his dysfunctional relationship to his children. Walker is a tightly wrapped bundle of pain, stress, mourning, and fear.
Sterling does an excellent job in making these characters and their relationships with all the people around them clear, layered with history and emotional, and relatable.
Walker maybe wealthy but he’s a father who’s inability to connect with his girls is hurting them all. He’s lost his way and the reader hurts for all four of them even as we might be snickering at the ingenious damage the triplets are inflicting on the household.
Watching Fin come in, assess the situation, amidst the turmoil and incoming weapons the children hurl, is amazing. So is the journey the girls and Walker start on back to being a family and normalcy. With one special addition.
It’s got obstacles of course, some drama, but there’s a HEA at the end that so wonderful and heartwarming.
Nannies of New York Book series:
✓ The Last Nanny in Manhattan #1
◦ Giles Ashby Needs A Nanny #2 – January 26, 2023
Description:
Walker Cameron III might be one of the most feared men in Manhattan, but he’s no match for his six-year-old triplets. After exhausting all other options, Finley Marshall is the grumpy widower’s last hope.
Luckily for the Camerons, Fin is a master of chaos and can calm even the most beastly of children. But Fin soon learns that the girls aren’t the problem; it’s their father. Still grieving and easily overwhelmed, Walker leaves the servants to cope with his little hellions. Fin wants to prove he’s the best nanny in the city and that his older brother, Reid, should start his own agency. Is Fin willing to risk life and limb to do it, though?
Afraid to lose the most competent caregiver to ever cross his threshold, Walker agrees to an unusual set of terms. He’ll give the girls more of his time and practice better parenting with Fin as his guide. But Walker finds himself with a new and unexpected problem. For the first time in years, he’s having very improper thoughts and can’t stop thinking about Fin. Can he keep his feelings to himself or will Walker fall for the last nanny in Manhattan willing to take on the cursed Camerons?
*The paperback edition will include additional illustrations by Jayla, a short story featuring the Camerons, recipes from the book, and a soundtrack!
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 