Judith’s review of Pregnant by Morning by Kat Cantrell

One magical night in Venice brings two lost souls together–until a positive pregnancy test changes everything.

What was meant to be a one-night affair has turned into much more for Texas businessman Matthew Wheeler. Something about Evangeline, the mysterious woman he met at a masquerade ball, propels him from his self-imposed exile. He’s finally able to forget his tragic past and lose himself in this incredible woman.

But letting go has a price…

Evangeline’s pregnancy announcement brings reality to their Venetian villa. Are they ready to take their secret affair public? Or will their romance end with the morning light?

This is a light read and one that won’t take up a ton of time to enjoy.  However, it is built on a foundation of hurt and loss so that both Evangeline and Matt are trying to heal from the loss of important elements in their life–the loss of a career in Evangeline’s case, and the loss of precious loved ones for Matt.  Their meeting seemed to be providential for them both and their affair certainly distracted them from their grieving.  Now a baby is on the way and both must make some important decisions about the direction their relationship and their lives will go.  Most importantly, they must decide how they will parent this child–together or living distant lives from one another.

This short novel is the kind of book that is made for a restful evening at home.  It’s not a complex story although there is no lack of pathos or deep feelings involved.  It is a romance, after all.  Yet it is disappointing in that these two seemed unable to move on with their lives.  Admittedly they had serious issues–one’s loss of a promising career due to someone else’s mistake can engender some serious bitterness.  Obviously Evangeline had legitimate reasons for feeling robbed of all that the future might hold.  Matt had lost the people most dear to him–his wife and his father, the two people who resided at the center of his world.  Yet these are the kinds of happenings we all hope will never happen to any of us, knowing that they will sometimes occur.  All of us have the coping mechanisms within ourselves, and even in a fictional situation as in this novel, it saddens me when people get emotionally “stuck” and are unable to move on with their lives.

The one important response I had to this novel was that even in a so-called “lightweight” novel such as this, there is a deeper lesson to be learned.  We all learn from the experience of others and perhaps we know people whose lives have been upended by death of loved ones or by accidents that have changed the course of one’s life.   Perhaps I am the sort that finds these lessons or that I’m being too introspective.  Yet I often continue to think on these issues after finishing the book and the story has reached its happy ending.

Sorry to be so somber, but I really found some deeper worth in this story.  There have been reviewers who have not liked the book and others who have been over the top about it.  I’m somewhere in the middle yet I found it worth reading and enjoyed it.  I guess each reader will have to judge its worth for themselves.  I hope you will read it and make that judgment.

I give it a rating of 3.5 out of 5

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This title is available from Harlequin.  You can buy it here or here in e-format.  This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Judith’s review of The Baby Deal by Kat Cantrell

In this Billionaires & Babies novel, award-winning author Kat Cantrell presents an offer that can’t be refused

When billionaire entrepreneur Michael “Shay” Shaylen becomes guardian to a baby boy, he knows there’s only one woman who can teach him how to be a father–his ex-lover, child psychologist Juliana Cane. So he makes her a deal: if she gives him two months, he’ll give her a boost in her career.

She says yes. Suddenly, Juliana has everything she’s ever wanted: a home, a child…Shay. But she knows this seductive situation is only temporary. Because even as desire burns between them;so do the reasons Juliana has to say goodbye.

He’s a forward thinking astro physicist who has the funds to make commercial travel to outer space a reality.  But his two best friends, the two people he needed most to help all this happen, were killed and on top of everything else, they gave him guardianship of their only son.  He knows that Juliana has broken his heart and he is not prepared to EVER let her get to him again, but he needs her expertise.

She’s a child psychologist who has never really gotten over Shay but he’s way to much of a risk-taker, putting himself in danger just for the adrenaline surge and the sense of temporary high he gains by tempting the fates time and time again.  No, she wants stability and a solid, grounded lifestyle and that’s why she left her relationship with Shay years earlier.  She wanted a man who would give her what her parents never could.  So she will help Shay with his new, soon-to-be-adopted son, but no, no, NO!  The heart will be guarded and the emotions not engaged.

This is an interesting love story that has some underlying issues.  Most of all it is about two people who are still longing to be together if the other could just accept them for who they are and not for what a lover would like them to be.  It is also about two people whose ability to trust has been seriously damaged by their break-up years earlier when they both knew the other love them deeply, yet their fears could never move them to a safe and long-lasting relationship.  Now there’s a baby and there are grandparents who are suing for custody of their son’s son, and there is frustration and anger deeply buried, so there’s lots going on in this story.    Shay and Juliana are not really at odds in an open adversarial way.   But the issues that drove them apart initially are still there, and no matter how strong their attraction continues to burn, neither feels safe in exploring those feelings.   Sex, maybe;  love and trust, you’ve got to be kidding!

Throughout this story there is a pervasive sense of sadness over the loss of two very good friends, the loss of a love that Shay and Juliana are afraid to resurrect, and the sense that this little boy may not end up with people who can give him the kind of life he needs.  There is also Juliana’s deep sadness over her inability to have a child, a desire that became almost obsessive and which drove her away from her husband.  She’s alone now and her only family are the troubled teens she treats in her psychology practice.  There is almost a sense that there is just too much for Shay and Juliana to conquer and one wonders if a HEA is even possible.  So the author doesn’t give you an easy read with a formulaic resolution.  A reader is going to have to stay the course to find out how this all comes out.

I found this to be a very good romance novel and one I enjoyed immensely.  I also wish to add that it is one of those “new” Harlequin publications that has re-energized their reader base and made us all delighted with the various directions and themes that are now a part of the Harlequin publishing.  It’s a good read and deserves to be enjoyed.  I hope you’ll check it out.

I give it a rating of 4 out of 5

You can read more from Dr J’s Book Place.

This title is available from Harlequin Desire.  You can buy it here or here in e-format.