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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Review: Baby Bonanza by Maureen Child.


Hero: Nick Falco
Heroine: Jenna Baker
Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Twins? The startling revelation that his affair with Jenna Baker had produced two little boys was almost impossible to grasp. Tycoon Nick Falco had never considered himself the settling-down type, yet now that fatherhood had been thrust upon him, he was determined to give his sons his name. But their mother wasn't about to let him back into her life…at least not without those three little words Nick had never, ever said.
This book is part of the 60 years celebration going on at eHarlequin right now. If you want 16 free ebooks, you should definitely make your way over there because they're giving away some gems and this is one of them.

This book is about Nick Falco and Jenna Baker. They had a very brief and very passionate affair onboard Nick's cruise ship a year ago and it ended when Nick Falco found out that Jenna had lied about who she really was. I guess he has this rule for himself that he doesn't sleep with the help and Jenna was most definitely the help. She had her reasons for not telling him that she worked for him and I'm thinking that he wouldn't have given her the time or day if he knew that she worked for him. I can't really blame her for her deception since she had fallen hard for him that week and though she hates him now, he gave her two of the best gifts anyone could ever give her.

Her twin boys, Jacob and Cooper.

Now, this is one of those secret baby plots (but not really), not really in the sense that she didn't try to keep them secret from him. She tried time and time again to tell him that he was a father but because he was so pissed off at her, he wasn't trying to hear anything she had to say. So it's a year later and Jenna needs to tell Nick that he's a father because she needs his help in raising them. She doesn't need his physical help but his financial help. Raising two growing boys is really straining her budget and she honestly needs help and she's not afraid of asking for it if it means her boys will have whatever they need. But since Nick isn't talking to her, isn't receiving her phone calls or answering any of her emails, she has decided that her final attempt to get his attention is to book a ticket on one of his cruises and try to get to him that way.

She's really hoping that this will work and work...it does.

She's finally in the same vicinity with Nick and he's got no other choice but to listen to her because she's made it more than obvious why she's there and it's definitely piqued his interest. So, she's finally got a one on one with him and she's finally got that chance to tell him about his boys and Nick decides that a DNA test is in order because she's lied to him before, he wants to make sure that there is no way that she's lying to him now. He's more than a little skeptical but after everything pans out, he finds that he wants to be more than a paycheck. He wants to meet them and he wants to be apart of their lives and he wants to be an actual father to them and Jenna isn't very happy about that. She's not happy about that because she doesn't think that Nick's lifestyle fits in well with the life that she's building for her boys.

His lifestyle slaps her in the face when she comes back to their room and finds something she wouldn't want anywhere near her babies. Something else she's found out while on that cruise is that she's still so horribly in love with Nick, it's not even funny so because she feels like a fool, she runs home.

What I like most about these kinds of stories are they're super short and yet I don't get the sense that things are rushed and I get the added bonus of a story that doesn't really have time to drag. This was one of those books that keeps you in the story, nothing about it took me out of the story and I really enjoyed the setting. Jenna lives in Seal Beach which is not too far from me and Nick buys a house in San Pedro which is again, not too far from me and I could see the house that they bought in my head because I can see the houses in Pedro and I can smell the ocean as I read the book. Maureen Child did a great job of describing life on a cruise and also life in Orange County. It's very laid back and very bright and colorful and I really enjoyed the story.

Jenna was a great character. You could tell that she was a great mother, she was a caring sister and you could tell that her love for Nick wasn't about money. She wasn't that kind of girl and that made her all the more likeable. What I liked about her was that on the surface, she could seem like a pretty generic character but I could see her as a real person, in real life and I could even picture myself going to lunch with her. She was great and she knew she wasn't perfect and I liked that about her.

Nick was a good hero too. I couldn't fault him for being mad at Jenna, I could even blame him for the way that he treated her because she did lie to him but what bothered me with Nick was the way that he was thinking all these bad things about Jenna and doing the exact opposite of what he was thinking, in a way lying to her. Again, I can't really blame him for that but I didn't exactly like it. He was mega rich and his attitude kind of got on my nerves. His attitude about women, about Jenna and just the way that he was all important was a bit much to take. But what softened me toward him was his reaction to meeting his boys and then the way that he jumped into fatherhood. He instantly bonded with his kids and I enjoyed reading those scenes.

Maxie was a great sister too and I'm wondering if she'll get her own story, I hope so...I'd definitely want to read it. Overall, this book is a great quick read and I recommend it to anyone who wants a fun, quick read. This would definitely fit the bill.

This book is available from Silhouette Desire. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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3 comments:

Wendy said...

I miss the old SD line. This sounds exactly like an HP title. Why or why did they have to turn the SD line into Harlequin Presents 2: The Revenge!

Sigh.

Anyway, I did download this one and I might try it. Although from your review Nick sounds like the kind of hero I'd want to castrate. Or at the very least....shoot.

And what is up with that cover? Creepy. I feel really bad for Ms. Child for getting such a fugly cover.....

Rowena said...

One of these days I'm going to sit down and make Holly explain to me about the different lines that Harlequin has because I have no idea.

Nick wasn't a bad hero but he was one of those bullheaded heroes that you eventually end up loving despite how hardheaded he was in the beginning.

LOL, I didn't like the cover either and this shows how much I've grown because a few years ago, I would never have touched this book based on that cover. Holly should be so proud! haha.

KMont said...

I kid you not, I thought that guy looked like Will Ferrell at fist glance. Those wide, wild eyes lol.

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