Friday, February 17, 2023

Book Review ~ SIMPLE MAN by Lydia Michaels

Simple Man
by: Lydia Michaels
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 7, 2015

From bestselling author, Lydia Michaels–When Shane, a young, tattooed musician becomes the guardian of a surprise baby, his life and heart are forever changed. Opposites attract when this single dad is assigned to a prissy social worker who dislikes him at first sight.

Months after Shane Martin’s sister vanishes, his world crashes down and he finds himself the sole guardian of a surprise baby. Blissfully ignorant, Shane trades in late nights and fast women for midnight feedings and lullabies. But when Kate McAlester, the prissy, stuck up social worker interferes, his devotion to family is tested.

Kate isn’t impressed by Shane’s messy bachelor pad, rocker image, sarcastic attitude, or showy tattoos. He claims he’s a simple man, but he quickly becomes the greatest complication in her life.

Passion explodes when opposite personalities collide in a touching story of love and redemption.


When I originally read an excerpt from Simple Man, I wanted to read the book. Then when I read a character interview, I really really wanted to read the book. Sometimes, as readers, we set ourselves up to make a book out to be more than what it is. Then when we read the book, we are completely let down. This was NOT the case with Simple Man. I loved the book from start to finish.

At the age of seventeen, with the death of his parents, Shane Martin became the guardian of his eleven-year-old sister, Noel. In order to make ends meet and keep a roof over their heads, Shane dropped out of school and took a job working in construction. Things were always tight, but at least they survived.

Fast forward ten years and the siblings who were once close aren’t really close anymore. Noel reaches out to Shane for help, but he wants answers. Answers Noel will not provide. When she doesn’t get the help she wants, she disappears. For months, Shane looked for her to no avail. Eight months later, Shane receives a knock on his door informing him of Noel’s death. He is later approached by the state and informed that Noel named him as the guardian of her son, a child Shane knew nothing about.

Without hesitation, Shane took in his nephew (Shane Logan). He did a 360 with his life. He stopped drinking, smoking, and partying with women. Shane went from having only Wild Turkey, beer, and week-old Chinese Food in his refrigerator to having a pantry full of real healthy food. He was determined to show the state and Kate McAlister, his caseworker who hated him, that he was the right choice for Logan.

Shane likes to say that he’s just a simple man, but he’s so much more than that. He’s charming, and loving, and will do whatever is necessary, legally, to take care of his nephew. When Logan gets sick, Kate is the first person Shane calls for help. This turns out to be the turning point in their relationship and allows Kate to start to fully see what type of man Shane really is. But alas, sometimes things aren’t meant to be and Shane’s future with Logan gets threatened. It’s going to take courage, strength, determination, and a little humbling for things to work out.

Simple Man is a must-read that will touch your heart and love strings. Shane may think he’s just a simple man and Logan may not have been born his son, but in Shane’s words, he was born to be his father.

**Received a copy from the author and voluntarily reviewed it.**

Rating: 5

Purchase Simple Man from:
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🌟 You can read my character interview with Shane and Kate here🌟

Lydia Michaels is the award winning and bestselling author of over forty novels, including the groundbreaking collection, Write 10K in a Day. She is the consecutive winner of the 2018 & 2019 Author of the Year Award from Happenings Media, as well as the recipient of the 2014 Best Author Award from the Courier Times. She has been featured in USA Today, Romantic Times Magazine, Love & Lace, and more. As the host and founder of the East Coast Author Convention and the Behind the Keys Author Retreat, Lydia Michaels plays a respected role in the book community. When she’s not working on her next novel, she is accepting speaking engagements and using her platform to advocate for positive author business practices and doing whatever she can to empower female entrepreneurs around the world.

Lydia is happily married to her childhood sweetheart. Some of her favorite things include the scent of paperback books, listening to her husband play piano, escaping to her coastal home at the Jersey Shore, cheap wine, 80’s pop culture, coffee, and kilts. She hopes to meet you soon at one of her many upcoming events.

Places to find Lydia Michaels:

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing this again! It was such a fun experience! Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete

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