Daddio by Mickie B Ashling takes up where Taste, book two of the Horizon series ended. It's six month later, and architect Lil Lampert and wannabe interior designer, Grier Dilorio are living in Chicago and trying to make their life together work. This is an entertaining and delightful read. Lil and Grier are a sweet couple and some of the scenes between them are steamy hot.

In Daddio, Ashling addresses the mechanics of making a loving relationship work. How does a couple deal with the daily crises that come up in the course of joining one life to another? How do you keep the passion burning under the onslaught of daily routine?

It has only been six months since Lil and Grier met, so they are still working out the kinks of their relationship. Ashling is genuine in her relationship-building. Watching Lil and Grier come to terms with the obstacles facing them in Chicago is great fun. These are two very fine guys. Grier is the bad boy with the tattoos, leather and jeans, while Lil is a California sophisticate with the penchant for fine clothes and sleek cars. Seeing them interact with each other as they confront the issues that a gay couple raising a young child faces is heartening.

Grier's young son, Luca is an engaging secondary character. He has good insights for a boy so young and precocious. Luca serves as a foil in some of the tense moments in Daddio, particularly between his two sets of parents. Daddio focuses on the family-life of Lil, Grier and Luca. At the same time Ashling is forging ties between Lil and Grier, she reintroduces Clark and Jody, the main characters from Horizon and their efforts to keep their sexual relationship fresh. Clark and Jody have been together for five years. While they love each other and share a commitment, their love life is suffering. The inspired bedroom antics Clark and Jody get involved in-- with some prompting from Grier and Lil-- are fun and sexy.

Ashling is not afraid of confronting important issues. In Daddio, the main characters run head-on into religious opposition to homosexuality. While this issue could have overwhelmed Daddio, Grier and Lil deal with the situation with honesty, some righteous anger and even humor, the same way they deal with other troubling situations that arise in their life.

I like Ashling's writing style and her focus on character building and plot. Daddio, like her other novels, is not a series of sex scenes loosely connected by a skeletal plot. There's some thought behind the story and some understanding of what makes an entertaining tale. I loved Taste, and Daddio is a nice continuation of the Horizon series.

Reviewed by Creative Ink Romance Reviews ( )

3.5 stars ( )