NR Walker - To the Moon and Back

Gideon Ellery had the perfect life. Nice house, great job, and a long-time boyfriend. Weeks after adopting his nephew, his boyfriend splits, leaving Gideon a single father to a newborn. Overwhelmed, sleep deprived, and unsure how to navigate fatherhood, he’s asked to return to the office. He’s overwhelmed and at his breaking point.
Toby Barlow is back in Sydney after three years of studying, travelling, and nannying in the UK. He needs work and a place to live, and the perfect solution drops in his lap. After all, caring for a sweet baby in a beautiful home owned by a gorgeous single man isn’t exactly terrible.
Gideon isn’t too keen to share his life with a stranger, but his need for help is too great. Sunshiny Toby isn’t prepared for a grumpy Gideon or his utterly adorable son, Benson. Or how easily he slots into their lives. And Gideon’s not prepared for how much he needs Toby.
Or how much he wants him.
Neither is prepared for the complications of falling in love.

Comment: I have read other books by this author before and have liked them, thus why I decided to try this one. Plus, I remember a friend once saying that is was a low angst cozy read... and that seemed good enough reason!

Gideon Ellery is now the proud father of a baby and he loves this new role but it is also a fact that he is way over hid head and needs help. His partner left him because he didn't want to be a parent, and now Gideon struggles to manage which is why he accepts his friends' suggestion to get a nanny.

Toby Barlow has been living in the UK but happily came back to Australia and to work as a nanny, especially since baby Benson is so adorable. His father is as well, but Toby knows there has to be a professional distance between them.

However, as these two bond over how much they care for Benson and on how suitable to one another they are, is there a way for them to be together if Gideon isn't paying Toby to be his employee?

This was, truthfully, a very very low angst story just as I had hear it would be and, probably, this is an element that might seem quite boring to some readers, because nothing really intense is presented here. The relationship develops slowly but in a very considerate way, the characters are likable but not over the top in any way and everything goes smoothly, even when they face some food poisoning. I can understand why it is a little boring to some people.

The story is very sweet and full of considerate elements. Everyone is a good person and that means everything is a matter of polite conversation and decision making. Nothing wrong with this, in fact what a way to convey consideration and consent at several levels, but it does not make for a tense enough read. Even the personal relationship between Toby and Gideon seemed a bit too bland at times, even though we know, from their thoughts, that they have doubts on whether the other one might feel the same.

The set up seems easy enough, but I confess the live-in nanny situation isn't one I'm very familiar with where I am. Still, it helped with proximity and a cozy environment for the guys to learn more about one another. I think the romance was sweet and very easy and the intimacy part seemed fine too. Personally, however, the idea of Gideon having a mustache that is often compared with Tom Selleck's was a bit of a let down, not that I am against mustaches, but it seemed such an obvious physical statement that made me appreciate it less.

The plot goes as easily as one can imagine, with the guys dealing with the little things in an adult way and by having honest conversations,which should be the norm but then it makes for a not as thrilling romance. Gideon has some negative aspects to deal with in his life,namely with how things went on with his ex, and how he got to adopt his sister's baby legally, which didn't happen in an easy emotional process, and I suppose this was the element to offer the necessary tension. Toby's family life was certainly less complicated and his mother, in particular, was a sweet secondary character.

Honestly, there isn't much I can say without simply describing the main events of what the characters did everyday, so the cozy label is definitely suitable. At the same time, it could have been a much more engaging novel if other things had been made to seem more complicated... anyway, it was a nice, simple read.

Grade: 7/10