Review: Waited So Long by J.M. Dabney

What happens when your best friend’s son comes home and he’s all grown up?

Devon Hoffman has a secret. He’s wanted a Daddy all his own, but when you’re pushing fifty, you’re completely over the hill. Newly divorced and trying to be single again after an almost thirty-year relationship, he’s lost and needs someone to ground him. Except he’s anxious and his depression intensifies until Bern returns after leaving the service and the younger man suddenly takes interest. Can he let his guard down and risk losing his best friend or should he do whatever is needed to keep his secret safe?









It's established that SRAL enjoys reading Daddy kink!

After reading Waited So Long's blurb, I nearly screamed out Skittles into the air because the buzz words from the blurb are all of my kinda buzz words...

  • Daddy kink
  • Younger Daddy
  • Older MC who has baggage and is submissive
  • Father's Best Friend
  • Unrequited Crush/Love


Plus, the cover features a ginger BEAR main character:


It was like it was written just for me. (Pardon me as I coo.)


Told in dual 1st POV, Waited So Long jumps right into heat of matters, Bern is in his late twenties, a Marine, dominant and lusting after/in love with his father's best friend, architect Devon since he was fifteen years old.Devon's horrible marriage was the only thing keep Bern from admitting his feelings. As the blurb states, the marriage is no longer and the story starts as the divorce papers are signed.

It's my first time reading Dabney and I like that what was pretty much presented in the blurb is offered in the story. For readers who prefer to a quick and fairly easy read, Waited So Long shouldn't disappoint.

And though this is definitely a contemporary fantasy romance, there were some quibbles for me. Nothing major, because I demolished the book in like 2 hours.

For me, I wouldn't have minded if there was a little more delay into the Daddy-ing. I get the unrequited love angle demands payment in the form of the ginger Daddy bear Bern finally getting his man after over a decade of lusting/pining/loving his man. But Devon has only been with the one man prior to Bern. He's newly divorced and the book skips over any sort of healing/rebuilding himself on Devon's part.

Yes, Devon's marriage was shitty--it's told to the reader. But I wouldn't have minded some personal growth from Devon's chapters.Bern takes charge pretty much from the get of the book and I wouldn't have minded more internal struggle from Devon.

Another thing was the parallel to Bern and his mom... eh, it was little iffy on Bern being a 2.0 Dom version of his mother who he really never met. It was too perfect that it took me out of the story. Everything just fell too easily into place for Bern and Devon and was wrapped up in a neat bow.

I'm uncertain if it's just an ARC issue or maybe the way Dabney tells a story but I found myself having to reread certain parts to figure out what was going (like ages). It didn't happen a lot and overall all the main points were answered.

There's decent smut: light age play and domestic discipline, nothing too extreme. So if you're looking for those kinky tags, you won't be disappointed in that scope.

I'll check out Dabney's back list. I liked my first taste of their work-- quick, smutty romance with younger Daddy/older sub...just as promised.





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