Review: This was a very light and easy book to read that brought a smile to my face numerous times.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 10, 2014
Originally reviewed at Red Hot Books [...]...I was really unsure of this book at first because I’m not really a fan of kids in romance books and the premise was kind of ridiculous; I feared I’d be reading a book version of “Daddy Daycare”. I’m so glad I went ahead and read because the book was really cute and made me smile.Sam Kercher is trying to keep busy while waiting to find out if he is getting discharged from the Marines for an incident in Afghanistan. While working on his parent’s house, his best friend, Mac Patton, shows up and asks a favor. Mac needs Sam to go to Hawaii for a couple of weeks to help out his sister, Sheridan, with her baby twin boys while making sure her jerk of an ex-husband stays far away all while pretending to be a real nanny. Sam initially scoffs at the idea but he owes Mac big time. There’s also the fact that he’s had a crush on Sheri since college.Sheri is a hot mess. Her confidence is at an all-time low. She’s been a single mom for the last 7 months, since her (now ex-) husband left her and the babies for a stripper. Between the divorce, birth and being a single parent who feels inferior to the other mom’s, Sheri is plain exhausted. When her brother Mac tells her he hired a nanny, Sheri is skeptical, but willing to take any kind of help. She just didn’t expect a nanny in the form of a sexy hulking man. There is an attraction from the start that they both admit to. While Sam tries to remember that Mac ordered him to stay away, Sheri decides that she’s going to get her groove back with Sam.I think any mother can relate to Sheri’s exhaustion and feelings of inadequacy. She is feisty and stubborn in a way that a single mother has to be relying on only herself to get things done. Sheri acknowledges her physical needs, sees Sam as a way to achieve that goal and goes for it. I loved her frank conversations with her BFF, Kelli (she was a nut!) But what I loved most of all was at the end, during the conflict, SHE saves HERSELF! That had me out and out grinning.On one hand, Sam was a military guy with the overprotectiveness but on the other hand, he was such a sweetie with the kids. The way he tackled the things he didn’t know showed his military resourcefulness and was endearing. There was no alpha posturing here – Sam was a complete gentleman and let Sheri take the lead. I really enjoyed both of them as a couple. I could easily picture Sam as a stay at home dad and Sheri as the breadwinner.Now, I did have a few problems. Everything was a bit rushed and lots of holes that were unexplained. The reader is told that Sam and Mac were best friends from back in college days, but there was no acknowledgement of that or sense of familiarity. Some big thing that happens to Sam overseas has him reacting in a certain way, but then is completely dropped in the latter half of the book. I could understand Sam’s rush to love because of his previous feelings, but Sheri’s rang a bit false given the timeline. I could see this being a major book with better character and plot development.I enjoyed the author’s writing. She had a bunch of one liners that had me laughing out loud. This was a very light and easy book to read that brought a smile to my face numerous times. I look forward to reading Kelli and Mac’s book.Rating: C+/B-*ARC provided by Entangled Publishing