Customer Reviews

Marriage For Baby (Harlequin Romance)

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McClone does an expert job of building the conflict. Even though I knew the couple would be together in the end (I don't think this is a spoiler - it's a romance after all) I had no idea how they would work out their differences. I really liked how McClone doesn't sugar coat the baby in the story. A lot of babies are so perfect and sweet in books (and movies) you wonder if the author had ever been around real kids that really keep you up all night. Not so here - this story felt very real and the romantic obstacles were formidable - making the payoff in the end even better!

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Jared and Kate are separated and on the verge of divorce when their best friends are killed in a car accident. Now Jared and Kate have been named guardians of their friends' baby girl, but only if they stay married.

Kate convinces Jared to stay married strictly as a marriage of convenience so they can keep guardianship of baby Cassidy. Jared agrees, but he has realized he doesn't want to lose Kate and has decided this arrangement is perfect for convincing her they belong together. Can he prove to her they are meant to be together?

Marriage for Baby is a short, charming read to fill a couple hours. However, it is a typical "marriage of convenience for the sake of the baby story." Well, except for the fact they were already married but getting divorced anyhow. Admittedly though, I don't read a lot of marriage for convenience books so I could be wrong on how common this plotline is. It's not necessarily a book I would recommend everyone to rush out and buy this very minute though, unless they are huge fans of this type of story. Baby Cassidy is suitably adorable and I like how McClone used her moods and behavior as a barometer for how well Kate and Jared are adjusting to the changes. Kate and Jared are both very stubborn and proud individuals so they butt heads on more than one occasion over their living arrangements and what exactly is best for little Cassidy. I also like that Jared makes such an appealing Mr. Mom and isn't an overbearing alpha male but is instead more of a beta male.

However, I did think Jared was entirely too stubborn. Kate has a very successful career that required her to stay in Portland rather than moving to Seattle like Jared wanted, which is what caused the rift in their relationship in the first place. I thought Jared was a bit too selfish to try and force Kate to move to where he wanted to be when he has a job he can do from just about anywhere, even if his primary office was in another city. Then, when they gain custody of Cassidy, rather than stay in Portland where they have a nice big house with plenty of space to accommodate a baby's needs, and they have a solid support base since Jared's whole family is there, Jared talks Kate into trying living in Seattle for a while. This didn't ring true for me and I had a hard time accepting that aspect of the story.

In short, fans of marriages of convenience and surprise babies will absolutely fall in love with Marriage for Baby. However, this story may not appeal to fans outside of that niche.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, October 2007. All rights reserved.