Uniquely Average

By: Susan Hawke

Narrated by: Michael Dean

Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

A 20-year age gap, a neurodivergent "boy" and a gray ace of a "Daddy", both lonely and unable to find their match...until now.

Ethan Humboldt is a cocky, confident chef with zero filter and even less humility. He’s also a very good, neurodivergent boy who’s been searching far too long for the perfect Daddy. At 30, Ethan knows what he wants - and what he needs. The only problem? Finding a caregiving type of Daddy to provide it.

Danvers Jones has more money than he knows what to do with and nobody to spend it on. He’s not looking for a fling, Dan needs someone to pamper. To romance...to adore. As a romantic gray ace, nothing else will do it for him.

Newly retired, Dan has one final mission - to find his former best friend's long-lost son and deliver a trust fund. After that, Dan’s determined to start fully living his life, which starts with the right partner. Only problem? Dan requires the type of person who’ll need his unique brand of Daddy.

Danvers and Ethan aren’t expecting to meet their perfect match in a random meet-cute gone wrong, but when does life ever go according to plan?

This stand-alone novel is a full-length, 43,000-word non-age-play Daddy romance. The core of this story was previously published as a 15,000-word short in the USA Today best-selling Dirty Daddies 2021 Anthology. It’s now been reworked and lengthened to provide the tale as originally intended.

©2022 Susan Hawke (P)2022 Susan Hawke

Sweet story

Uniquely Average was a short sweet story. I really enjoyed the uniqueness of both Ethan and Dan. Narration was spot on but that’s nothing new with Michael Dean.

Really good

I really enjoyed Uniquely average by Susan hawke.
It was well written. The story was unique and romantic. The narrator Michael Dean was perfect for this story. I truly enjoyed myself. This is a short story not to be missed.

Uniquely Average

While Dan is in the midst of dealing with his old friends last wishes he comes across a name that he is unfamiliar with. It seems his friend had a secret and Dan must find out just what it is. Ethan is more than happy to never have to deal with anything to do with the man who gave him life, yet he finds himself with a man in his restaurant bringing up that very subject. One thing leads to another, and the two men find themselves with an attraction that cannot be denied.

Dan and Ethan’s story is an engaging one. Both men are dealing with their own quirks that others see as problems. Yet these so-called problems are never a bother either of the men. It was sweet to see the understanding that they each have for the other. The two are good together and it was nice to watch their relationship take shape. I loved the way Ethan’s mind works and the care and understanding that Dan has for Ethan makes this a beautiful story. Narrator Michael Dean does a good job of bringing life to these characters and bringing out the emotions and I quickly became engrossed in their story.

Not such thing as normal

There is no such thing as normal. Each of us is unique and this story tells that fact from two different perspectives. Then add in a Daddy/boy story and you have something wonderful. I did read this when it was a short as part of anthology, but I am really loving the "extra adds" from Susan Hawke. They really made the story. And Michael Dean - an amazing narrator - does a fantastic job of voicing Ethan. He truly portrays the nuances that make the character. I see myself listening to this again and again. So wonderful!

“What’s normal anyway?”

A sweet and different daddy/boy story. I only read a small handful of books where an MC considers themselves on the ace scale, and they’ve all been presented differently so this was a nice change of pace for me. Hawke presents the listener with 2 men who, just as the title suggests, are unique. On the surface they seem like total opposites but they blend together beautifully and really balance each other out. The story covers one week in which they have a trial Daddy/Boy (no age play) contract to see if they click and would want to pursue a more serious relationship. I really enjoyed the story and wished it were longer.

Michael Dean gives an excellent performance as per usual. He does a great job distinguishing the voices of the 2 MCs (and supporting characters) so I was never unsure who was talking.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this audiobook.

Different in a Good Way

Great book. What I liked most was how was able to learn more about the sexual spectrum and understand. How could anyone not enjoy Ethan’s sweet, unique, outspoken and funny self.

a good story

This is a good story with likable characters. I enjoyed the development of Dan and Ethan relationship. And, of course, Michael Dean is always a pleasure to listen to.

Newly retired attorney meets neurodivergent chef

Danvers was a successful lawyer who got a bit of a wake-up call when his thrill-seeking ex-best buddy and law partner died in a parachuting accident. They were ex-best friends in the sense that they’d been friends since childhood. But Danvers coming out as gay, and his law partner’s homophobic reaction ended their friendship and, to a large part, any professional partnership they had. As executor of his estate, Danvers discovers that his partner had a neurodivergent child whom he’d abandoned but for whom he’d left a trust. However, after meeting him, Danvers realizes that he may have found his perfect companion in Ethan.

This audiobook is rather brief, clocking in at just under four and a half hours, and is not intended to be a lengthy depiction of a relationship. In truth, it barely covers approximately a week’s worth of time. However, it does an amazing job of portraying what it could be like to start a daddy-boy relationship with someone who is neurodivergent. Some have unfairly criticized this story for its insta-love aspects. Both characters ARE decisive and both are used to taking action. Both are comfortably well off and at points in their lives where quick action doesn’t carry tremendous risk. To me the guys attractions to each other and the reasons behind them felt perfectly natural and credible.

In many respects, the two are made for each other, and the story swiftly becomes a fantasy come true. The story is portrayed from Danvers’ and Ethan’s perspectives. Both of the main characters having their own different speaking styles. In the audio-book version of this Michael Dean’s yoeman-like narration and voice acting make it a fun adventure.

Some readers have criticized how Ethan portrays neurodivergence. I gotta disagree. I’m a big admirer of the TV show Atypical, which stars Keir Gilchrest as a neurodivergent character. The similarities are obvious here. So are the distinctions that one might expect. After all, there is a reason that this is referred to as a spectrum.

It’s also kind of a light treatment of the whole daddy-boy scene focusing on the two’s vertical relations more than their playtime which is fine by me as that’s one kink that sometimes feels a bit silly to me.

There’s also been some criticism in reviews of how the neurodivergent character is portrayed. I believe both the author and the narrator did an excellent job. One tiny aspect that I did consider a bit off-putting was the way that chapter 2 starts with dialogue from Jordan, one of Ethan’s employees with a significant stutter. Jordan plays no real role in most of the story but, particularly as voiced by Michael Dean, does “get in the way” of us learning more about Ethan early on. Once introduced, I kept wondering if we’d ever get more details about this guy, and fearing it a bit as stutters CAN so easily be overdone in audio-books. Somewhat to my relief he never re-appears but I would be curious about his story and how he came to work with Ethan.

I tend to be drawn to any story where the main character sees the world differently than I do. Perhaps it’s because I see my own upbringing as happy but a bit boring in the way that only a late boomer white midwestern male might do. While that fostered a sense of entitlement in many of my contemporaries, in me it fostered a curiosity and a love of diversity. I’m always curious about new experiences whether they be new foods, new cultures or new viewpoints and perspectives.

Michael Dean not only does a great job with the basic narration and the voice acting for the primary characters but gives voice to Ethan’s mother, one of Ethan’s friends, and one of Danvers’ friends and they’re all distinctive and “in character” whilst remaining innocuous enough to not detract from the story. Overall this is satisfying audio encounter.

I’d recommend this and will probably re-visit it from time to time. It’s a short work and doesn’t dig as deeply as I sometimes wish it had, so it’s probably not bound for my most frequent re-listen list. But it’s still a pleasurable trip.

*** Note: I am voluntarily reviewing this after receiving a complimentary copy ***

SWEETNESS OVERLOAD!!!!

This was a sweet and emotional read.

Such a cute sweet loving direct boy.

I kept asking and smiling and laughing at his antics
Loved Ethan!

And Dan was his perfect Daddy.

ALL YHE FEELS ❤

The Narrator captured the emotions of the character perfectly. I was completely invested.
Amazing work!

Ethan and Dan

I read this in its original inception and liked it a lot but this version is fantastic. Dan and Ethan both have very specific needs and desires, both have struggled to find a partner until coming together. I loved that they meshed so well, but it was Dan's focus on Ethan's needs that really caught my attention. He doesn't see or treat Ethan as broken or needing to be fixed, he finds what works for them both within Ethan's boundaries.

Audiobook: decent narration