book recs, author services, general badassery
  • Blog
    • Free Romance Reads
    • Our Thoughts
    • 1-Click Wonders
    • Author on Authors
    • Chattin' with Authors
    • So You're New To...
  • Book Recs
  • Reviews
    • 5-Star Reads
    • Contemporary Romance
    • Historical Romance
    • New Adult Romance
    • Paranormal Romance
    • Romantic Comedy
    • Romantic Erotica
    • Romantic Suspense
    • Teen Young Adult
    • Hall of Shame
  • About
    • Contact
    • Review Policy
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Advertising on Romance Rehab
  • For Authors
    • Romance novel blurb help
    • Referral Program
    • Romance Remedy
    • Romance Author Services
    • Online Writer's Resources
    • Proofreading Test >
      • Proofreading Test Answers
  • Blog
    • Free Romance Reads
    • Our Thoughts
    • 1-Click Wonders
    • Author on Authors
    • Chattin' with Authors
    • So You're New To...
  • Book Recs
  • Reviews
    • 5-Star Reads
    • Contemporary Romance
    • Historical Romance
    • New Adult Romance
    • Paranormal Romance
    • Romantic Comedy
    • Romantic Erotica
    • Romantic Suspense
    • Teen Young Adult
    • Hall of Shame
  • About
    • Contact
    • Review Policy
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Advertising on Romance Rehab
  • For Authors
    • Romance novel blurb help
    • Referral Program
    • Romance Remedy
    • Romance Author Services
    • Online Writer's Resources
    • Proofreading Test >
      • Proofreading Test Answers
Picture

Must Love Babies by Lynnette Austin

6/6/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Picture

​CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Publication date: 06/05/2018
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: No

I should have loved this one. Hot guy taking care of a baby. What’s not to love, right? Sadly...lots. There was lots I didn’t love.

First of all, I need to say that there’s nothing at all wrong with the writing. There aren’t a ton of annoying typos, the dialogue all has a nice, natural flow to it, and the characters all are well fleshed out. And I actually liked Brant, the hero, quite a bit. He’s a stand-up guy who always goes above and beyond for his family.

Now, for what didn’t work for me…
Length
I made it to about 50% of the story. That’s when I started thinking, damn, I’m at 50% of the story and NOTHING has happened yet in the way of romance. It’s just been a hot dude taking care of a baby and occasionally running into a woman he has the hots for. I was bored at this point in the story, and started to consider skimming. But you know what? Life’s too short to spend skimming books that are boring the crap out of me. So I stopped. Then I noticed that this book is 419 pages long. Jesus! 419 pages? That’s way too long. If the chapters about Brant taking care of the baby had been condensed, the book had a shot at keeping my attention, but at 419, I would’ve been really bitter had I stayed in it until the end. I’m SUPER glad I quit at 50%.

The heroine
She has a list, y’all. If you’re a regular romance reader (or watcher of Hallmark and Lifetime Channel holiday romances), you know what I’m talking about. Molly, the heroine, has a list of things she wants to accomplish in her lifetime, and a timeframe that she wants to follow for each accomplishment. So, her list says that she shouldn’t be in a serious relationship until she’s 30, and darn it, she’s only 27, so OBVIOUSLY, she can’t get involved with Brant, because it’s just not time yet. (*rolls eyes so hard I have a headache that lasts two hours*) I’m sorry, but that is without a doubt, one of the DUMBEST reasons not to get involved with someone that I’ve ever heard, and I have no patience for that kind of jackassery.

And what’s worse is that Molly doesn’t even stick to her guns. She keeps flirting with Brant, and offering to help him take care of the baby, and cooking dinner for him. THEN she ends up pushing him away because of her stupid list (and past daddy issues, which is yet another annoying trope that I’d be happy to never run into again).

By the time I quit reading, I kind of wanted Molly to get hit by a bus so that the hero might have the opportunity to meet a GOOD heroine.

Hart of Dixie
Did you guys watch Hart of Dixie? I’m not saying the author copied anything from the show because the plot lines were nothing alike, but I got a VERY Hart of Dixie feeling about the little town the story was set in. There were characters named Tansy and Cricket (just like in HoD), a wedding venue called Magnolia House (there was a character on HoD named Magnolia), someone called Jenni Beth (which reminded me of Anna Beth, another HoD character), and lots of little quirky small town side characters, just like HoD. And Brant reminded me a lot of Wade Kinsella from the show. Maybe that was just me, though...  
         
Brant’s family sucks
I feel like Brant’s family totally took advantage of him and left him in the lurch to care for his sister and Jax, the baby. Not ONE of them could show up to help him in any way? And they all just expected him to do it. He did everything without complaining because that’s the kind of guy he was, but the fact that his family so quickly threw him to the wolves, by himself, irked me.

So, long-story-short, I’ve certainly read worse books than this, but I guess I was just expecting more from a book with a hot guy and a baby on the cover.  What’s the world coming to that I can’t trust a book with a hot guy and a baby on the cover?
     
Full disclosure: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It has a vague hint of stigma to it. Like a lingering bad smell.     

Other reading suggestions
I personally really liked Babyjacked by Sosie Frost. And for more reads about hot guys taking care of kids, check out this list. ​

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Romance Rehab newsletter sign up

    FOLLOW US 
    Reedsy Top Book Reviewer 2019

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017

Picture

BLOG
FREE Romance books
​Book Recommendations

Our Thoughts
1-Click Wonders
5-Star Reads
Authors on Authors
Chattin' with Authors
So You're New To...
What Not to Read
REVIEWS
​
Contemporary Romance
Historical Romance
New Adult Romance
Paranormal Romance
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Erotica
Romantic Suspense
Teen/Young Adult
ABOUT
Contact
Review Policy
Guest Post Guidelines
Advertising on
​Romance Rehab

​
FOR AUTHORS
Online Writer's Resources
Proofreading Test
ROMANCE AUTHOR SERVICES 
Romance novel blurb help
Romance Remedy program

Referral program

Romance author services
  • Book cover critique
  • Animated book covers and social media graphics
  • Beta reading
FREE Romance Rehab newsletter: ​Subscribe here
KnockinBooks LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
​© 2020 KnockinBooks LLC