Review: Angst-y and Heartwarming all at once.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 18, 2013
I have to admit that even though the whole "secret-baby trope" has been done over and over, I still can't not read them. I like to read what the heroine's reasons are for not telling the "baby-daddy" that they had a child together. So reading this book was just another one of my many, many, many guilty pleasures. It was very reminiscent to the Harlequin books I (am) was very into once upon a time.In this story we see the heroine, Megan Young who is a young, single mother who has recently opened up her own private veterinary practice in her hometown... wait, I feel like I've been here before. Not. No, this isn't like the other book I just read and reviewed. This one had the kid and a super-hot but super-troubled ex-marine, Adam Waters. Rawr, but I digress.Adam and Megan were college sweethearts but to Megan it always felt like more, where for Adam it was substantial but not enough to keep him away from his supposed "true love" - The Marines. And it also didn't keep him from breaking up with Megan - and breaking her heart - on two occasions. Count em, two times! I'll admit that when I read that part I was all: Hell to the no, he ain't just gonna waltz back into (my) her life and get another chance at hooking up. But see, he was very attractive and Megan still loves him and wants him, even though she tells herself that having just a "physical relationship" is enough. But it can't be like that because she's still emotionally invested in him and plus, she had his baby. Damn it.However, Megan does try her best to keep her emotions in check because she doesn't want her son to be hurt - the way she was by her own father - and she always knew that Adam never wanted kids of his own. So what's a girl to do? Tell him she had his kid due to the last encounter they had when he came home a couple years ago for a funeral and they still weren't an item? Or not tell him and save her son the heartache of feeling unwanted by his own father? Rock, meet hard place.I have to admit that I was a little peeved at Adam and him expecting to just walk back into Megan's life - for a time - and expect no strings attached. They had a serious relationship once upon a time, they weren't just a fling or one night stand. But then it was revealed through bits and pieces what the reason was for Adam not wanting kids and feeling less-than a man for Megan, which was a big reason for why he broke up with her in the first place because he felt like he couldn't give her the life that she wanted, that she deserved. He felt like he was too messed up to be what Megan needed and that he didn't deserve anything good in his life... wow, I actually do feel sorry for the guy as I write this.Overall, it was a very solid bit of writing. A quick read for someone in the mood for a little angst, romance, heartwarming scenes, and definitely some sizzle, because, let's be real, he's a hot ex-marine who is now in the business of high profile security work. Also, I loved the kid. Not every author can write a child into a story and still keep it natural but I felt like the author was able to do this for this book and I appreciated that immensely.An Advance copy was provided by the publisher.