The Secret Baby by Leddy Harper is now available!
A one-night stand becomes much, much more in this sexy, lighthearted romance.
Maid of honor Kelsey Peterson is disappointed when the bride-to-be bails on her bachelorette party—especially since Kelsey’s already ordered the stripper. Desperate for a break from her romantic woes, Kelsey goes through with the party. After all, why let a good stripper go to waste?
Dr. Aaron Baucus is definitely not a stripper. He’s a legit doctor with a PhD in neuropsychology. But when his friend calls him over to a bar to meet a bunch of tipsy, flirtatious bridesmaids, they assume otherwise. After all, their stripper was supposed to be dressed like a doctor. Aaron isn’t much for pretending, but with Kelsey, he’s willing to be whatever she wants him to be. At least for one night.
But fate has a wicked sense of humor: Aaron and Kelsey are the maid of honor and best man at the same wedding. And after their one-night stand, Kelsey’s pregnant, but she doesn’t know how to tell him. Aaron wants to start a relationship, but he doesn’t think Kelsey wants something long term. Can their fragile romance survive all the half truths and secrecy?
Review:
3.5 stars
***
The Secret Baby was an entertaining read, but I felt it had a few issues. This book is Aaron and Kelsey's story. Kelsey's best friend is getting married. She plans the bachelorette party at a local club for her friend, but when the friend gets sick and bails at the last minute, the party must go on. Kelsey steps in and pretends to be the bride to be as a joke. When the "doctor" stripper she ordered doesn't show up, the club owner calls her friend Aaron, a real doctor, to pretend to be the stripper. In a funny turn of events, Aaron and Kelsey end up having a wild one night stand, only for her to find out later that she is pregnant and she doesn't even know the father's name. Things get really awkward when Aaron turns out to be best friends (and best man) with the groom who is marrying her friend. To make things even more crazy, Kelsey has volunteered to rent out a room to Aaron, before she knows that he is her "stripper" baby daddy. Now, she has to figure out how to break it to him that he's going to be a father, and try not to fall for him along the way.
I love books with the secret baby trope. They are my catnip so I couldn't help reading this one, but I didn't totally love this book. I felt like it was trying a little too hard to be funny. The comedy of errors became a little ridiculous. Also, the characters were only okay for me. Kelsey's personality was a little abrasive. She was a well-known "manhater" because her ex boyfriend broke her heart. As for Aaron, he was very embarrassed about his job. He was a neurophsychologist, and apparently he was teased that it wasn't a "real doctor", but it sure sounds like a real doctor to me. So I did not get that at all. I also did not like that Aaron pretends to be a big player, bragging about getting all sorts of women, but it is not true. It is just an act. He came off as desperate and lacking confidence. So I didn't love either character at first. I also felt like the book had too much telling vs. showing. We are told that they have gotten to know each other and feel so comfortable it feels like they've known each other forever. But we don't get to experience that ourselves as readers, so it falls flat. I also felt like key moments were skipped over, like Kelsey first thinking she could be pregnant and how she felt or Aaron moving in. Those were missed opportunities to feel a connection to the characters, I felt.
As the book went on, though, I did enjoy it more and more. It became more serious and emotional along the way, as Kelsey and Aaron developed strong feelings for each other, while she is hiding her pregnancy from him. There were some silly miscommunications, but I found the last 20% of the book to be the best. Aaron and Kelsey turned out to be really sweet together and I did feel the love between them.
Overall, I am glad I read this book. It was entertaining and had some sweet moments. I enjoyed the way that Aaron and Kelsey's relationship developed. Even if I had a few reservations, I do think this book is worth reading. I will try this author's books again in the future.
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