BOOK REVIEW:
Boardroom Baby Surprise
So another review, another baby story…
Also another romance by Jackie Braun—who seems to love
babies as much as I do (or maybe I just keep ending up with all her
pregnancy/baby stories)…
But I enjoyed her last book and unlike that book, Boardroom Baby Surprise has a pretty
crazy hook: the heroine, Morgan Stevens goes into labour in the hero, Bryan
Caliborn’s conference room/board room.
What?!
I thought that was crazy clever…and also very, very awkward
and painful and memorable in the Fates-don’t-let-that-happen-to-me way. xD
So Morgan gives birth early on and the baby is in the
picture in most of the scenes after. Though between babies and children, I find
those readers who don’t like kids (or at least don’t like reading about kids) need not worry because the infant doesn’t have
any lines…
Baby Brice is just sorta there as a really, super cute prop.
Like an extra! A really, super cute extra…
Once again, warning: this story is a sweet romance. Usually
babies indicate a sweet, wholesome-type romance. And this story was more
wholesome than some of the Harlequin Romances I’ve read.
There is no sex in this one at all. It’s not even hinted at.
There is none. (I don’t think it’s a spoiler, just a forewarning). Of course
there’s plenty of well-written sexual tension. Bryan and Morgan have chemistry
and it works—they work as a couple!
And the trick is their internal conflicts mesh really well
to create those charged scenes, even if Morgan is actually very mellow and
temperate, and Bryan is level-headed and a plan-before-he-speaks type of guy.
I loved that they were thrown together, even if it is a
little over-the-top where Morgan’s pregnancy, delivery and new baby were
rivaled against the fact she has no job, very little savings and was a state
away from home with no family, which was the only thing that endangered my
suspension of disbelief throughout the story.
IRL I believe a young mother would live at a women’s shelter
of some sort until she could find some stability in terms of shelter and a job.
BUT because this is a romance and a very short one at that Morgan just needs
Bryan to swoop in and rescue her financially.
I don’t blame the author for this. For love’s sake, Mills
& Boon’s logo is “pure reading pleasure” and I don’t think as a reader I
would love to read about how Morgan struggles, fails, struggles some more,
succeeds…it wouldn’t be romance anymore. Surely not short, category romance.
Still it pissed me off. I’ll be honest. It seemed too easy…
And maybe the whole secretary/receptionist/assistant-fiasco
with Bryan and his ex-secretary/receptionist/assistant also added salt to that
wound.
Let it be known: I don’t like stories where jealousy is not done
well; where a woman—and it’s usually a woman—is bashed or something really dumb
happens like the jealousy begins to take over the other priorities in someone’s
life. And I know. I’m not naïve, I know there are crazy people out there in the
world who take that jealousy to a whole new level of ‘WTfudge’, but I don’t
want that craziness in my romances.
For instance I give props to Ms. Braun for working Bryan’s
brother Dillon into the picture without making him look like an arsehole who
mooched off of mummy, daddy and his more responsible older brother.
The story ends as expected with a HEA and yeah, a lot of
feel good moments with this one.
So if you want to graduate to a book with more baby scenes,
give Boardroom Baby Surprise a
chance! You’ll love Morgan and Bryan—and baby Brice’s story.
I couldn’t help myself…
:)
My verdict:
✮✮✮✮.5
(4.5 stars)
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