The Baby Bargain

The Baby Bargain
by: Jennifer Apodaca

Buy on Amazon

Rating 4/5

Blurb:

Seeing Adam Waters is the last thing veterinarian Megan Young expects. Ex-Marine. Ex-boyfriend. And still extremely dangerous territory. But Adam doesn’t know the secret Megan has been keeping from him. The secret that was created three years ago, after their last night together...

Adam returns to Raven’s Cove to sell his home in a final break with the town and memories that haunt him. The problem is that his attraction to Megan is as blazing hot as it ever was. But when a vicious smear campaign against Megan turns ugly, Adam learns the truth he never knew—he has a son.

Now the only way Megan can protect her child is to strike a bargain with Adam. And it’s a bargain that looks a lot like blackmail...

Review:

So this book was a tougher review for me.  I finally decided that although there were aspects of this book that I found unappealing, I did overall like the book.  I just had a nagging feeling about specific parts.

What worked for me?
I thought the characters were great and had enriching back stories.  They had both dealth with some fairly rough parental problems in the past, but had it affect them in an opposite way.  This totally makes sense to me.  When a person deals with trauma in their past, they can grow from it, or let it swallow them.  Meg grew from her terrible parential history, and wanted a family of her own.  She was a great mother to Cole, and sacrificed everything for him.  Adam went the opposite route.  His history taught him that he should never have a family that he will eventually let down.  I think both characters were fleshed out well, with believable reasons for why they had grown to be the person they were.

The "bad guy" worked for me.  I really liked the aspect of the missing show dog.  I thought it was an adorable way to bring some suspense and mystery into this romance.  The addition to animals in this story helped show Adam's soft side, and that was really necessary in this story, since he wouldn't show it himself.  Without Ellie in this story, I doubt that I would have enjoyed the book as much as I did. 

Marines definitely worked for me.  Maybe it's just my guilty pleasure, but I love a man in uniform. ;)

What didn't work for me?
Adam's hot and cold behavior really irritated me.  I understand that he had a traumatizing life, but pick a side already!  It's like he just couldn't decide whether or not to be upset with Meg.  One minute he'd blow up on her, and the next he'd want in her pants.  It was highly annoying to me, and subtracted from his character.  It wasn't annoying enough where I didn't like the story, but I really feel that if he had a more consistant character, he would be easier to like.

The story started out very slow for me.  Although it picked up after the first third of the book and was quickly devoured after, I just had a lot of problems getting into the story.  Perhaps it's the idea of a secret baby is a little more cliche than I normally would like, but there just seemed like there was something lacking.

Okay, so I know I have two negative points to the book, but I stress that I did overall like the story, it just wasn't perfectly suited for me.  It's was worth the read, and if you don't think that my negative points would bother you, this book would be an awesome way to spend a rainy afternoon.

~~
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”