I haven’t read a whole lot of books by Ana Ashley but I’ve loved the ones that I have read. Antagonist is a wonderful start to a new series. I love single dad stories and this one has two single dads so that doubles the love!

I want to mention that this story takes place in the US and Ana Ashley was born in Portugal but has lived in UK for a long time. The reason I mention that is I think it’s noteworthy that her writing didn’t give anything away about where she might be from. If she hadn’t disclosed this information in that back of Antagonist, I would never have guessed that she didn’t live in the US. I’m probably saying this badly but I mean it as a compliment. I often read stories by non-US authors, set in the US, and little things slip through in their writing that give me a good indication that they aren’t from the US. That doesn’t always bother me but I think it’s noteworthy that Ana Ashley’s writing didn’t give anything away about where she might be from.

Fletcher and Harrison don’t meet under the best of circumstances and misunderstanding ensue. When they meet up again a few months later, under way different circumstances, both of them are quite surprised.

I love how much both of them are devoted to their children. Harrison shares custody of Megan with his ex-wife, who he is still great friends with. Fletcher has a loose arrangement with his ex-lover, Fran, but George has been living with him full-time for several years while Fran lives overseas.

This is a pretty low angst story but the romance between Fletcher and Harrison has more than a few ups and downs. Both men are wary of being hurt. Harrison is an attorney and moved to Stillwater to be near his daughter and her mother. His old job keeps trying to woo him back and there is a sneaky rat of a character working in his new firm that causes some grief.

Fletcher’s ex arrives on the scene and throws his life into a tailspin and he’s not sure what to do. Harrison wants to help but Fletcher lashes out at him for trying to interfere, even though he doesn’t deserve it.

At 342 pages this is a pretty meaty story that I was able to dig my teeth into and at the same time the writing flowed so well for me that I feel like I finished it in no time at all. At the end of this book, we get a pretty big hint about who will star in the next one and I’m looking forward to reading about Ellis and Milo.

Quick Note: I think this series has loose ties to at least one other series by Ana Ashley but I never felt lost while reading this one but it did make me want to go back and read her Chester Falls series.

Reviews for Ana Ashley

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥

“What the fuck is your problem?” he asks in an attempted whisper.

“What do you mean?” It’s impossible to not look at him because he’s so close I can smell his cologne. Why does he smell so good when he looks like he’s just had a round in the paint section at the DIY store?

He lets out a breath and runs his hands over his long hair. The gesture shouldn’t do anything for me, but fuck, it does. Fucking good-looking bastard.

“Look, it’s clear the kids have some lessons to learn. Can you not put aside our differences and focus on them?”

Great, and now I feel like a dick.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting to see you again.” It’s the honest truth. Somehow he brings out the worst in me, but I can’t stop staring at his eyes and wondering what would have happened if I’d said yes to a date.

That’s in the past. I’m angry with myself for even having these thoughts, but he’s right. We need to focus on the kids.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you again either, Harrison. Or find out you’re married. But here we are.”

“What?”

“What. What?”

“I’m not married,” I say.

His smile changes in a heartbeat. “You’re not?”

I shake my head. “I was at a bachelor auction. You do know the definition of a bachelor.”

“You said your friend put you up to it.”

“Why are we talking about this?” I ask.

He takes a slow step back.

“It doesn’t matter. Can I have your number?” he asks.

He must see my confusion because he adds. “So we can arrange a playdate for the kids.”

“Oh, right. Yeah, of course.” I pull out my phone and unlock it, giving it to him. He puts his number in and then calls his own cell.

His finger brushes mine when hands me the phone back. Little hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention…and not in a bad way.

Why do I feel like trouble is around the corner?

Dads of Stillwater Series

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥