Mack Daddy by Penelope Ward

Narrated by Andi Arndt and Sebastian York

Fans of single father romances and the second chance at love (or friends turned lovers) tropes will be the most intrigued by Mack Daddy. There is also a minor suspense element that exemplifies how romantic protagonists are often influenced and shaped by their parents and childhoods. While I did enjoy Mack Daddy, and was mildly surprised by a few of the plot twists, I have to admit that this is not my favorite work by Penelope Ward, as it took me a while to warm up to this story. Additionally, for those that find it a turn-off, be forewarned that both the heroine and hero have ongoing relationships with other significant others at different points in this book (though it’s questionable whether any actual physical cheating takes place, there is at the very least an emotional connection at a time when each is in a relationship with another).

Mack Daddy takes place in two different time frames, the present and the past. As the blurb mostly reveals the present, I will also try to limit my background description accordingly.

Lorelei is a teacher at an exclusive school in Boston and is dating a significantly older man (who is in his forties) and is a professor at Boston University. Lorelei feels relatively happy in her life situation until the new school year arrives and she discovers that one of her new students is none other than the son of Mack Morrison, a man who is around her own age with whom she shares history. Even worse, there is no avoiding the attention that Mack is drawing as the mothers and other teachers seem obsessed with him (in fact, they keep referring to him as “Mack Daddy”).

What Lorelei couldn’t possibly know is that Mack’s move to Boston is no coincidence. In fact, he purposefully sought out Lorelei’s school to enroll his son in. This unexpected move is both motivated by Lorelei’s personal experience with anxiety issues (something Mack’s son also struggles with) as well as Mack’s and Lorelei’s past. Lorelei let herself fall for Mack once, how will she ensure he doesn’t wiggle his way into her heart again? And their own personal past is not all they will need to battle as other family dynamics come into play, throwing their weight behind denying Lorelei and Mack any potential resolution.

Both Andi Arndt and Sebastian York are some of my go to narrators who I always know will deliver a good performance. Mack Daddy is no exception, and moreover, Ms. Arndt and Mr. York work well together, complementing each other as they split their renditions depending on whose point of view is being shared (with Ms. Arndt delivering the story from Lorelei’s perspective and Mr. York performing Mack’s POV).

Both narrators are adept at communicating the emotion of the scene and pace their reading to add maximum effect. Additionally, they vary their pitch sufficiently to differentiate the character dialogues from one another so it’s easy to know who the speaker is, particularly in the many scenes where both Lorelei and Mack appear.

All in all, I had expected more of the story given my prior experiences with Penelope Ward’s books (Sins of Sevin, in particular, was one of my top favorite audiobooks listened to in 2016). I can’t necessarily pinpoint one thing – I guess I just wasn’t enraptured by this story like some of her others and it also felt like the focus took unexpected turns at different points. Nonetheless, this story was decent, even if it lacked a consistent feel throughout, and I definitely was rooting for Mack and Lorelei in the end. If you decide to purchase this title, the solid narration by veteran narrators Andi Arndt and Sebastian York make this a good story to listen to in audiobook format.

BJ