I really love reading Kate Goldbeck books because even when I’m annoyed by the characters, they feel real and messy and make me feel like I’m reading about real people who are flawed rather than characters in a romance novel. Her scene writing and character development are exceptional, even with the secondary characters. I did think there could have been a little more development of Sam and Nick’s emotional connection, especially if it was going to take them from physical attraction and convenience to lasting love, and teaching her how to drive made her immaturity feel a little too much at times. I thought the daydreams with the comics were not something I personally related to but felt like excellent added depth to the development of Sam’s character. I appreciated seeing someone who is young and single struggle with figuring out how she might fit into a relationship with a single father. I’m a huge fan and this will stick with me for a while.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars – charming in parts, but too many emotional loose ends)

Thank you to Dial Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

After absolutely loving You, Again, I went into Daddy Issues with high expectations—ready for the wit, emotional complexity, and smart banter that made me fall for Goldbeck’s voice the first time. While the setup had promise—age gap, single dad, stuck-in-life heroine—it didn’t quite land the way I hoped it would.

The premise is solid: Sam is floundering post-pandemic, still living at home, creatively blocked, and stuck in a holding pattern—until Nick, her mom’s stable and sensitive new neighbor (and, yes, an older single dad), enters the picture. Their romance had its charms—Nick’s calm energy was the perfect counter to Sam’s chaos, and their emotional openness made for refreshing communication. But that’s where my enjoyment mostly stopped.

My biggest struggle was with Sam as a protagonist. Immaturity can be part of the character arc, but Sam often felt willfully self-absorbed and reactive, in ways that were frustrating rather than relatable. Her refusal to see her father for who he really was dragged on for far too long—and even when she does begin to confront the truth, the lack of a real emotional payoff or resolution made the entire father-daughter storyline feel unfinished. And don’t even get me started on the mom. The idea that she didn’t want Sam dating Nick to “protect his life” because she couldn’t get hers together? Wildly irritating and dismissive. Not exactly Mom of the Year material.

The pacing sagged in the middle, with Sam spinning her wheels and resisting growth until the final few chapters. The romance—while sweet—felt overshadowed by Sam’s emotional stagnancy. And when the “I love you” finally came, it felt too fast and too easy, especially considering all the unresolved tension around her family and personal direction.

That said, Kate Goldbeck’s writing still shines. Her dialogue is sharp, the banter is great, and Nick is a very lovable MMC. I just wish the story had given us a more grounded, emotionally evolved heroine—or at least more time for her to earn her growth.

Read this if you enjoy:
📚 Age gap romance
🍼 Sweet, stable single dads
🧠 Mental health & trauma themes
💬 Banter-forward writing

A compelling concept with thoughtful themes—but for me, the emotional depth didn’t match the potential. Here’s hoping for more in future works from Goldbeck, because the talent is definitely there.

I loved this one!!! This was my first read by Kate Goldbeck and I will definitely be picking up more by her! I devoured this book, I couldn’t put it down. If you like single dad romances and age gap romances, this is the book for you!! It was so well done. Nick, Sam, and Kira were so lovable and I loved seeing both the romantic and familial relationship develop. Definitely check this one out!

Thank you Dial and NetGalley for the advanced copy! All opinions are my own.

My favorite romances are Single Dad and Age Gap, but only if there isn't miscommunication which is usually hard given there's an age gap and one is almost always much less mature that the other. But Daddy Issues didn't have any miscommunication and I ate this up and left NO CRUMBS! You couldn't pry this book out of my hands for anything! Kate Goldbeck has a hit on her hands with this one! Sam is 26 and Nick is 39 so it's not taboo, even though I love taboo romances too. This is an absolute MUST READ this fall and the cover is gorgeous and super unique! Can't wait till my preordered physical copy comes in 5 months!! I might have to do a reread before I get it!

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book on NetGalley. This review is honest, unbiased and completely my own.

This book was decently refreshing for the single dad, age gap tropes! I do wish it had been dual POV instead of being exclusively Sam’s perspective. The fact the characters had different experiences and were in different stages of life, yet still connected and meshed together so well really showed maturity and healthy communication. They talked to each other and didn’t beat around the bush and that only benefited the relationship even more. The ending conflict was a bit quickly wrapped up but overall I found this to be a fun read!

This was a good book, different from what I thought it was about. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. Thanks for letting me read this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
4⭐️

A sharp, funny, and deeply thoughtful romance about being down-and-out and still deserving love.

Daddy Issues is a gem of a contemporary romance that takes the often overplayed age-gap trope and does something genuinely refreshing with it: it centres not on the age difference, but on the people involved. Sam, our unemployed and anxious heroine, and Nick, a divorced dad trying to co-parent his daughter, are written with warmth, wit, and care. The voice in this novel is what truly makes it shine—sharp, funny, intimate, and totally distinct. Sam’s narration crackles with life, and readers will feel like they’re sitting inside her head, watching her flail, fall, and fumble through the messiness of life and love.

The romance itself is fantastic—realistic, well-paced, and full of banter that feels earned, not forced. Nick is the kind of love interest we rarely get: upfront, emotionally intelligent, and genuinely kind, which plays beautifully against Sam’s chaotic spirals and sarcastic deflections.

But this is more than a love story. It’s a novel about regular people in regular jobs—unemployed artists, single dads, struggling daughters—trying to claw their way out of stuck-ness. It’s about feeling unloveable and still being loved. It’s not glossy or aspirational. It’s emotionally honest and, at times, painfully real in a way that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like too much or not enough.

Daddy for sure. I loved this one. It felt so real. And that means that she did piss me off sometimes. But in the same way your sister pisses you off when they do something stupid. You still love her, but she's being dumb. I loved such a realistic love story between two people who are just figuring it out. Who've been walking through the world in a bit of a fog. It feels even more hopeful for us hopeless romantic out there.

I wasn't into this one at all. All of the characters were so frustrating and made me want to rip them through my screen. I couldn't get into this one at all. This is the book for someone, but that someone just isn't me.

Man, oh man, I was not ready for how good this was going to be. For context, this was my first Kate Goldbeck read, so I was not aware of just how phenomenal of a writer she is. But I absolutely devoured this book. Like in a single sitting, I ate this up. I loved the dynamic between Sam and Nick. There were times that I found myself giggling and kicking my feet ("And walk me to my door at the end of the night?" "I can't guarantee that." I WAS BLUSHING). I will be shouting about this book until it releases in November and forever after that as well.

Very solid read! I don’t even remember signing up for this one but it was a fun read! Definitely one I would recommend for those that absolutely adore this trope

If Kate Goldbeck is writing it, I’m reading it. Always. At this point, she could get me to give a trope I usually don’t like five stars.

Another banger from Kate Goldbeck! I enjoy her writing style so much. The characters were annoying at times but I blew through this so fast.

Kate Goldbeck did her big one with 'Daddy Issues'! Read it in one sitting and I'm already missing Sam, Nick and Kira!

I was so excited for Daddy Issues after loving You, Again and while I enjoyed it, it didn’t fully hit the same. Sam’s been stuck for years after the pandemic derailed her life, still living in her mom’s spare room, until Nick, the stable, sweet single dad, moves in next door with his daughter and shakes things up.

I loved how open Nick and Sam were with their feelings, no games, just two people figuring it out. The age gap and Nick’s life experience brought a nice balance. There were also some really good mental health and childhood trauma moments that added depth. But I spent a lot of the book just wishing Sam would finally make moves to change her life.

The pacing dragged a bit in the middle, and the ending felt a little rushed, the “I love you” came quick, and I wanted more resolution with her dad. Still, the banter, chemistry, and Kate Goldbeck’s writing style made it super readable. A few tweaks and this would’ve been a 5-star for me. And that cover? Absolutely stunning, no notes.

Definitely worth a read if you’re into age-gap romance, emotional growth, and easy banter!

Thank you Dial Press for the eARC via Netgalley.

This book hurt my feelings (:

I, like Sam, am painfully, wildly familiar with the “I moved home briefly to gather my bearings and then the entire world imploded and I am still here” situation that comes with being just young enough to be almost gen z but still firmly a millennial.

Also like Sam, I mostly find children sticky and chaotic but, when it comes to the children of the people I care about, I would burn the world down for them (even though they are still sticky and chaotic).

The paralysis of needing to be perfect or not at all, the sharp contrast between being so, so grateful to have a safe place to land but also fear that you will never be able to cut it on your own. Okay!!! Thank you for rubbing my face in it.

I did also love that Nick was real about the complexities of having a kid, and also was VERY involved in her life (and willing to admit that he hadn’t always been so, when it was easier to shirk some of it). It was refreshing to have a dad character who was his own person but also very much a coparent who didn’t have to have a weird antagonistic relationship with his ex. Kira was well-adjusted and a realistically formed kid, and that seems to be hard to convey in books, so I genuinely loved her.

Anyway I’m gonna go marinate in my existential dread now, thanks Kate!!!

I’m not saying this book healed my complicated relationship with my dad and my tendency to date emotionally unavailable man-children... but I’m not not saying it. Daddy Issues is smart, funny, sex-positive, and painfully self-aware. Think Fleabag energy meets single dad romance in a Chili’s parking lot. Yes, there’s steamy minivan action. No, I’m not okay.

With a tongue-in-cheek title and comic styling on the cover, I expected a simple "single dad" trope-filled story with a precocious child and an immediate instant family situation. This book was SO much more and I found myself nodding incessantly at the thoughtful portrayal of trying to survive in the world of academia, the longterm impact that COVID had on life plans, and what exactly it means to be a parent and to be in a relationship with someone who is constantly tied to an ex for coparenting purposes for the foreseeable future.

I loved how well Goldbeck wrote the trials of having to start over in the wake of the pandemic. She nailed the hopelessness of having to pivot your whole life in the wake of the pandemic while battling insecurities and the frightening joy of falling in love. Such a great book.

Daddy Issues is a thoughtful story, with realistic exploration of dating a single parent, and figuring out life after the pandemic. I love Nick, so much. He was the cutest dad and while not perfect, he works hard to be a good parent to Kira. I liked his character so much. I really struggled with Sam. I think other people will resonate with her. It's very much a me issue. I struggled with her personality and her complete lack of empathy/understanding of other people. Again, totally a me issue. I can understand why her struggles would resonate with other people, just not my jam. I did love that she was into comics. Kate Goldbeck talks about it in the acknowledgements and I loved what she had to say. Spice was fun too, though there's not a lot. It is open door.
Overall, cute!