There were actually quite a few aspects of this book I liked but unfortunately I realized pretty early that I just did not care that much and then I spent much of the rest of the book oscillating between being bored and actively hating it.

Sam is a 20 something living in her mother's office, on a tiny futon. Where she's reminded every day as her alarm goes off that her life and dreams ended when the pandemic ended her dreams of continuing her PHD. And since then, she's done the same thing every day. Bartend at a crappy Tiki Bar, masturbate at exactly 9:15 am when her mother leaves the apartment, and go to pool of her mother's elderly infused complex to watch YouTube on her phone. Until one day she meets Nick, a single dad who's moved in right next door.

Sam deals with her baggage of failed dreams, her love for comics that only came from trying to be important in her own fathers life, and seeing how the people around her are moving on while she seems to be stuck in one spot.

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I can't decide if I liked this because it reminded me of myself and my own "daddy issues", being a 20 something during the pandemic, or Sam's general feeling about children mirroring my own. Or if I didn't like it for those exact reasons...call it "Triggering"...

I also can't get past Nick being the general manager of Chili's.....I'm sorry it's just not hot to me. And his daughter was annoying as hell, yet he excused her attitude at every turn. It seemed Nick and his daughter's relationship really only pointed out how bad of a Father Sam had. All in all, Sam needed to go back to Therapy to deal with her daddy and mommy issues. In my opinion her mother is just as much of a "villian" as her dad. The romance aspect felt bland and lack luster. That car scene??? First she wants to give him a B. Job and then she's uncomfortable?? Make up your mind!

I did read this very quickly though. I think I was holding out hope that maybe I would like the ending, but it never really happened.

I read this one and liked liked it. It was a romantic age gap that I felt reading. The emotions were touching to me.

Giving this author a second chance since I wasn't really a fan of 'You, Again' and I'm starting to think this style of writing is just not for me. I felt like this book lacked depth and the characters were dry, sarcastic and didn't make me feel anything emotional. The storyline has great potential as a woman navigates life after putting hers on pause during the pandemic and falling for a much older man, despite her mother being unsupportive.
There were a lot of parts in this book that I didn't feel were realistic, like conversations between adults and a child. Overall I wouldn't recommend this book.

Not for me! Less of a fun, witty rom-com and more of a somber romance focused on a woman in her twenties reaaally trying to figure her shit out. I wouldn't handsell this to everyone who loved You, Again -- the tone feels completely different. You have to really be interested in an age gap relationship and the step-child equation in its success.

After loving You, Again, I had high hopes for Daddy Issues, and Kate Goldbeck absolutely delivered. There is something about the way she writes that just clicks for me. Her characters are complicated, messy, and often make choices that frustrate people, but that is exactly why I find them so believable. Real people are not always likable, and Goldbeck leans into that in a way I really respect.

In Daddy Issues, I was fully drawn into Sam’s world from the start. Her struggle to move forward after being emotionally stalled by the pandemic felt incredibly relatable. Her relationship with Nick, a single dad trying to figure out how to open his heart again, was tender and layered in the best way. Their dynamic felt refreshingly adult without losing that spark of charm and chemistry.

Goldbeck continues to prove that she understands character development better than most. These people felt like they could walk off the page. I laughed, I winced, and I rooted for them all the way through. I know some readers may not love her brand of realism, but for me, it is what makes her stories shine.

I am already looking forward to whatever she writes next. This one is a standout.

The way a few tweaks and this would've been a five starrer. So much potential!

𝘿𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙮 𝙄𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚𝙨 follows Sam who's not moved out of her mother's spare room I five years or started living her life fully.
She's been existing in monotony for the past half decade until a very stable single dad moves in next door with her sweet but very nine year old daughter and shakes up both her heart and the way she concieves her precarious relationship with her own dad.

All that I loved:
The open discussion of feelings!!! He likes her and she likes him back! Truly what is the need to hide what's in our heart? The contrast of experience between Nick and Sam both in bed and life, made for a balanced dynamic which is usually missing from most stories I've read recently. I think the age gap plus the dad experience added up to it.

What I think the story missed:
Very un-confrontational. It definitely needed some heavier discussions on the dad front. Maybe a call or something!
For how much I liked the romance, I didn't like the way it was very quickly wrapped up, needed a little more stretch and figuring things out. And it was certainly an insta love (for any, who don't like that trope).

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3.78 / 5 ★

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, this one was not for me. I really loved Kate's book, "You, Again" and was so invested in their characters but for some reason I could not connect with Sam and Nick,

DNF. I really wanted to like this book! I just couldn't get past the personality of the main character or Kira, the daughter. Also, it didn't seem like the main characters would be interested in each other if this was real life. This book felt forced to me with too many issues that I just couldn't get past.

I liked this book. I liked Sam’s journey. Nick—I loved him. I love how he was direct sharing his feelings with Sam. Kira drove me a bit crazy at times (as 10 year-olds sometimes do), but then the dialogue and relationship between Sam and her was pretty cute. I will say, as a parent, I got annoyed a few times with how Nick responded to his daughter’s behavior. I liked the acknowledgment of step parent struggles and people starting relationships with single parents.

I am not a comic book reader, so it took me a minute to understand the comic book panel format. I did love the “in-between the panels” idea and how the author juxtaposed that with real life moments.

The end seemed a bit rushed and I would have loved an epilogue!!

3.5 stars for me…extra .5 for the cover!

I like that you get both sides of "daddy issues". This book made me laugh, made me cry, made me feel incredibly heartbroken. I loved it!

While I thought this book was okay, I wanted to like it more than I did. And since I’m not into comic books, I couldn’t appreciate the comic book tie-in as much as others might.

Quick summary: Sam is a 26 year old who, after getting a degree in art history, struggled during the pandemic and is now feeling stuck in her life. She hasn’t committed to much in the last five years under the guise she will be leaving for grad school at some point. That is until she meets 39yr old Nick, a man who used to be a free spirit but now is separated and has shared custody of his 9yr old daughter. Relationship drama ensues, Sam also finally takes steps to further her life including learning to face some hard truths from her childhood and getting back into art.

While I liked the premise and writing, the pacing was inconsistent - resulting in a lot of the story that felt like it dragged on while other parts could have used more focus to give depth (e.g., Sam getting into drawing and her experience in NY was really compressed).

As I said, I never read comics so I didn’t appreciate the sections written like comics that reference other comic-like things. That said, I thought it was a cool idea and I wish I could have gotten it a bit more!

Thank you to Kate Goldbeck, Dial Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first single parent/dad’s girlfriend book I’ve read that I felt actually talked about the struggle and also joy of fitting into an already established family. It was beautiful and messy and so incredibly real. Loved this and especially love the cover! So excited to recommend this to readers.

I really liked parts of this, but the pacing of the romance didn't work for me even though I liked the characters together well enough! The pacing was really 0 - 100 and I didn't understand how they fell in love? Most of Sam's internal thoughts were about herself and her baggage so not sure how she fell in love? What I love in a romance is seeing those small moments where they fall in love so the omission of those parts made me not that invested in the relationship.

I did enjoy Kate Goldbeck's writing and how Sam and Nick are pretty normal people. She is flawed and makes mistakes and I always love seeing imperfect people in romance.

This book deals with the existential crisis of being in your mid twenties in 2025(ish) and it felt very real and accurate.

To be honest I'm bummed I didn't like this one more. I didn't give it a star rating bc I'm not sure what I would rate it. I enjoyed parts of this A LOT but a Romance with a relationship I'm lukewarm on is always disappointing.

*thanks to the publisher for the eARC; all thoughts are my own*

A gorgeous cover that perfectly emulates the personality of the FMC, who has a background in comics! While the mention of covid was a jumpscare, Sam's hopelessness in feeling stagnant in her life is extremely relatable. And her relationship with Nick is interesting and a blast to witness. I love a good single- dad trope, and Kate Goldbeck really cashes in on the Daddy Issues of it all. (Literally those first few pages is just an onslaught of daddy issues that hits a little too deep.)

I’m so sad. I super wanted to love this since I adored You, Again, I loved the premise of this book and adored the cover. Unfortunately it really missed the mark for me. I didn’t find the relationship to be believable and didn’t sense their connection strongly and didn’t feel like the couple would make it in the long run either. I wasn’t giddy at any point or excited for them to hook up or end up together. It just felt like there wasn’t enough relationship establishment on why they compliment each other. In addition, I liked the comic book angle bc that’s not seen often but found the integration of it into the writing (ex. The panels) to be distracting not complimentary.

This was the first single dad age gap book that I have read and I don't think any book will be able to top how much I enjoyed this book. Typically this would not be my trope as children often times aren't always written well. That is NOT the case here! Kira is written so well and it was fun to watch her use more modern ways such as Discord to communicate with Sam.

The romance was so good between Sam and Nick. I craved Chili's several times throughout this book thanks to Nick being a manager at a Chili's. Who doesn't love a 3 for me!? It was so interesting to me that they were literally only a wall space apart. If they needed each other, all they had to do was knock SOS. The author did such a wonderful job separating the romance from the parenting/child time. As someone who probably has a very similar mindset to Sam when it comes to children, it was so fun to watch Sam interact with Kira and bond with her.

I didn't really care for Sam's mother. I felt like she was so negative towards Sam's growth and just viewed her as a failure. While she was kind enough to let Sam live in the office space of her apartment, she was cruel in every other aspect of parenting. She did try to line up jobs for her, but she also tried to hook the neighbor up with one of her friends just because they were both divorced. She just felt so pushy and wanted things to constantly go her way.

The cover for this book is absolutely stunning. I love the layout, the colors, the character art, everything! I really like that its not your typical cartoon-style characters and I think the cover really sets this book apart from other romances. Thank you to Netgalley, Random House, and Kate Goldbeck for an ARC of this book. I absolutely devoured this book and I can't wait to read more books by this author! This review is my own honest opinion.

Oh this was SO GOOD! Kate Goldbeck writes characters that are so earnest and real and I love every word of her books because of this.

This is romance without any unnecessary drama or dragging out of a resolution - it’s the story of two separate humans with their own separate gifts and struggles and joys and sadness - and how they grow as individuals and together.

I was so moved by so many beautifully simple but impactful moments - the gift from Kira?? The family drawing and note from Kira?? Ok as someone who does not want children apparently the communication from the kid in this book was very impactful for me 😂

It is such a gift to get to read books where an author puts some of their own experience or inspiration into the story, and I loved the two essays following the end of the book that got into this more deeply. I felt how genuine the emotions were throughout and the validation of a romance story as real and inspired was refreshing and such a gift.

This was funny, fun, silly, earnest, emotional and everything in between. I had such a great time bingeing it all in less than 24 hours 😂

Thanks to Dial Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thirty (close enough), flirty and thriving is how I'd best describe the vibes of this book. I normally hate an age gap and was nervous but pleasantly surprised with how well done this was!

This is a serious book -- I know that isn't a word that we often associate with romance, but I really like the way the author tackles some very intense issues within the romance framework. I love watching the heroine come to terms with what's happened in her life, and make the (yes, serious) decision to do some self-work, come to a state of acceptance, choose to move forward, etc. The characters felt very human to me, in the best possible way.