365 books in 365 days Challenge ... book #223

Bargaining for Baby - Robyn Grady
Mills & Boon Desire 2-in-1
Harlequin UK, 2011
ISBN: 9780263883121






My rating



From the back cover:

"Queensland sheep station owner Jack Prescott wasn't ready to be a full-time father. He'd do his duty and care for his orphaned nephew, but he had no place in his battered heart for a baby…or for guardian Madison Tyler, the woman hell-bent on disrupting his life.
Yet Jack couldn't ignore the attraction he felt for Madison. Their affair was fast and furious…and soon fraught with regret. The city girl's stay in the Outback was only temporary and Jack had a little boy to care for. How could they even consider bargaining for more time when neither was prepared for forever?"


I seem to have read a lot of Desire's recently, but they have been older ones so here's a newer one!

The hero Jack is devastated to learn of his estranged sister's death, and shocked when he meets his sister's best friend Maddy, the heroine, whom informs him he is now the guardian of his nephew. Maddy misses her friend so much and knows she must honour her promise to help Jack with his new role. Jack is not happy about having self confessed city girl Maddy helping him, bit realises that she meant her words to his sister, and that he does need the help. Jack struggles at first with coming to terms with having to be a father to his nephew, it reminds him of what he lost when his wife and child died. But slowly, and with Maddy's help, he gets used to it and opens his heart to his nephew. And surprisingly, he and Maddy become closer and closer, and before long neither of them can deny the passion between them, or feelings much more deep.

This is a really lovely story, and a little different from what I was expecting from a Desire. The setting is so wonderfully described by the author, I felt a real sense of place. The hero and heroine are well matched, there are enough differences in their personalities to create some delicious tension and they really balance each other out. I think the author did a good job of showing the hero's grief and how he is scared of letting go of it, as well as the heroine's bravado despite her sadness. It makes this story have wonderful depth.
My only complaint is that I feel some issues are a glossed over (such as the hero's estrangement from his sister, the ex-girlfriend, Maddy's father issues) and left the book a little bit lacking in my opinion.

This has plenty of passion and emotion, and is a very engaging read.

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