Book: Made (Manhattan Ruthless) by Sadie Kincaid
Reviewed by Michelles_Cosy_Booknook
Rating: 3.5/5
FINALLY! Maddox James has entered the chat! 🙌
I have been waiting for the mysterious, globe-trotting James brother to get his moment, and I couldn't have been more excited to finally get my hands on his story.
After spending years travelling the world, trying to find himself and come to terms with devastating grief, Maddox has returned home a very different man. He's celibate, teetotal, vegan, conscientious, clean-living and finally looking to put down some roots.
Basically, not quite the James brother I was expecting... 👀
Ellie works for the James family and is pretty happy with her life. She's gorgeous, curvy, independent and successful in her career—the only thing really missing is someone special to share it all with.
Enter Maddox: the mysterious, previously unseen James brother.
Except... they've met before.
Two years earlier. In Morocco. When Ellie was at an incredibly vulnerable point in her life.
And let's just say, Ellie remembers their encounter VERY differently to Maddox.
Where she walked away feeling rejected and worse about herself, Maddox remembers the woman he connected with on an almost spiritual level at exactly the point in his life when he needed it most. He's never forgotten her.
Oh, hello, unresolved feelings. 👋
Made has everything I've come to expect from a Sadie Kincaid book: razor-sharp banter, tension, conflict, flirty innuendo, chemistry and that addictive just one more chapter quality that inevitably turns into "well, apparently I'm finishing this tonight."
And I ate it up.
However... Ellie and I had a bit of a complicated relationship.
As a curvy girl myself, I was SO ready to love her. Give me the gorgeous, confident, curvy FMC getting her smoking-hot Adonis of a man. I'M HERE FOR IT.
Unfortunately, Ellie ended up being my least favourite FMC of the Manhattan Ruthless series, and potentially one of my least favourite Sadie Kincaid heroines. She seemed to constantly flip between absolute confidence and crippling insecurity, and after initially feeling such a connection to her, I found that disappointing.
Maddox, though? Maddox's story surprised me.
Underneath all the trademark Sadie Kincaid spice is a genuinely thoughtful exploration of grief, addiction, unhealthy coping mechanisms and the work involved in rebuilding yourself. I particularly appreciated seeing a highly sexual character whose relationship with sex had crossed over into something damaging.
For an author so well known for writing spice, exploring the point at which sex can become unhealthy felt like an interesting—and pretty bold—direction to take Maddox's character. More importantly, I thought his addiction and the changes he'd made to his life were approached with compassion, kindness and respect.
So, while Ellie and I may never be besties, I still absolutely devoured Made. 😂