It’s time for this playboy to face the music. He just never dreamed it would be a lullaby…Bartender Nate Hunter enjoys his small-town, no-strings-attached life in Whispering Pines. Then a dying ex-girlfriend tracks him down to tell him he has a daughter he never knew existed. Nate doesn’t know the first thing about being a father, but one look at Autumn and he’s a goner, so he agrees to take … agrees to take care of her until her aunt returns at Christmas.
When Nate asks the town’s librarian, no-nonsense Maxine Abbott, to move in with him and help take care of Autumn, she agrees, but only if he’ll pretend to be her boyfriend and get her mother off her back. Their relationship of convenience works perfectly at first, until real feelings begin to invade their false romance. Then Autumn’s aunt shows up early, and everything changes.
Will Nate and Maxine’s budding love end in heartbreak before the last leaves fall?
If you love small towns, surprise baby and fake relationship stories, and swoon-worthy happy endings, then you’ll love this sweet romance by a USA Today best-selling author!
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Creating a family….Nate Hunter is living a carefree lifestyle co-managing a bar and partying the rest of the time. When a dying ex-fling woman tells him that he is a father, Nate is unprepared to temporarily take care of his daughter. The town children’s librarian Max is getting more pressure from her glamorous mother to gussy herself up and find a man to help her mother’s town council campaign. Nate approaches Max for help and Max agrees to move in to his extra bedroom and pose as his girlfriend. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through Netgallery. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. I love these fake relationships that turn into real ones. I love this is a sweet romance where we only witness kissing. His daughter Autumn is very sweet and I felt very realistic. This is the first book that I have read by this author, but it won’t be the last.
Nate and Maxine are hilarious with how he is such the definition of a bachelor and Maxine is stuck in a rut living at home and needing her own space and time away from her Mum who seems to judge her all the time. The past has now come to visit Nate and provide him with a gift he never expected and we see both he and Max come together and learn how to look after wee Autumn prior to her aunt picking her up which means Max moving in and them all seeing how they go as a family which a lot of of highs, lows, knocked chins, almost kisses, doubts and a little girl who deserves 2 loving parents.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary copy of Autumn Allure by Allie Boniface for the purpose of reading and reviewing prior to publication. A contemporary romance and Book 2 in her Whispering Pines series. My opinions are my own and no one has influenced me.
Autumn Allure is a well-written novel with engaging characters and an emotionally charged plot. The pacing is excellent and kept me enmeshed from the first page to the last. Ms. Boniface paints a lovely picture of the small-town Whispering Pines, giving me enough description without interfering with the story.
Maxine Abbott’s character is a delightful mix of prim librarian, loyal daughter, and friend. Maine, only her mother calls her that, she’s Max to everyone else, is ready for something to change in her life. She’s applied for the prestigious All Bright scholarship for years, but each year, she doesn’t get it. When she offers to help the hero take care of Autumn, she asks if she can move in and be his pretend girlfriend.
Max is an endearing character and stole my heart from the first page to the last. She’s so genuine with everyone and has the patience of a saint with her quirky mother. Her feelings run deep, and while she doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve, she loves deeply.
Nate Hunter is an intriguing hero. He’s lived the life of a playboy, working as a bartender, always ready to party with his friends and has never had a girlfriend. He does love women and enjoys to sleeping with lots of them. I enjoyed his reaction when his past hits him. An ex-lover shows up, telling him he’s the father of a four-year-old daughter. The mother is dying, and she needs him to take Autumn until her sister returns from a mission trip.
Overwhelmed by fatherhood, when Max makes her offer, he’s relieved, but as he gets to know his daughter, and having Max around, he wants a different life. I became vested in his character from the start. He’s such an easy-going guy, but accepts responsibility without any hesitation. I enjoyed his transformation from party animal to Dad!
The romance between Max and Nate develops from a mutual desire to do right by Autumn. As they parent her together, the mutual attraction grows stronger by the day. I loved their sweet love story and wanted them to find their happy ending.
If you enjoy contemporary romance with characters that will tug at your heartstrings, then you will love Autumn Allure as much as I. I can’t wait to read the next book in this fantastic series. This is the third book I’ve read by the talented Ms. Boniface, and she’s becoming an auto-buy author for me. Happy reading!
Nate graduated from college, but he’s having way more fun working as a bartender and sleeping his way through the female population of Whispering Pines. He had a spring-break fling several years ago, no promises, no commitments. Lexi found out she was pregnant, and has been raising Autumn on her own. But she’s dying, late stage breast cancer, and brings Autumn to stay with Nate until her sister can come back from a missionary trip. He asks Maxine to help him out. They’ve known each other around town, and she knows about kids – she’s the children’s librarian. She agrees to move in if he’ll be her pretend boyfriend so her mother will stop nagging. I loved the first book in the series, so I knew this one would be good as well. It really tugged at my heart – lots of sweetness, a little sadness, the hint of sexiness, a new family in the making. Nate and Max are both really good people by themselves, but together, they really work hard to make a home for Autumn. I love how Autumn calls them Mr. Nate and Miss Max, but the first time she calls him Daddy – OMG, cue the waterworks! Bethany, Max’s flighty perfectionist mama is a bit too over the top for most of the book, but she pulls it together and turns out to be full of great advice just when Max feels like everything is falling apart. I’m so looking forward to the next book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Max and Nate decide to stage a fake live in relationship, she to get her mother off her back about her lack of boyfriends and he to have someone who is good with children around to help him with the four year old daughter he just found out he fathered. I felt for Autumn and her mother Lexi dying on cancer. They were each other’s world until Lexi was forced to leave Autumn with her father, a man’s she’s never met before until her sister can assume custody. Nate just thought it was a temporary situation, but that didn’t stop him from falling for his little girl. He wasn’t very responsible before Autumn came into his life. He frequently went to parties, drank too much, and slept around. And even though he steps up and gets a real job and is home to spent time with both his girls, he still acts irresponsible and reckless at times, so I can understand why Max wasn’t sure about their relationship. Max’s mother, a former beauty queen, trying to run for political office is a riot. Little Autumn with her love of books and stuffed animals is a sweetheart. I love books so much I considered being a librarian like Max. There weren’t any sex scenes, but it was a sensual romance with plenty of funny, sweet, and some sad moments.
The fourth book in the Whispering Pines Sweet Small Town Romance series a well written story of a man not knowing he has a daughter. This is Bartender Nate Hunter, his daughter Autumn and the town’s librarian, no-nonsense Maxine Abbott’s story. I enjoyed seeing everything they went through to get their happy ending. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
2.5
What I liked:
The writing style
Part of a series: Whispering Pines Sweet Small Town Romance
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue
I had a hard time staying interested in this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from Booksprout.
Nate learns he’s a father when Lexi, the girl he had a Spring Break fling with, shows up dying and needing him to watch Autumn. At Christmas, her Aunt Penny will come and get her. Maxine is the librarian at the Silver Valley Library. Max’s mom is always on her about doing better, how she dresses, dating, etc. Max and Nate come up with the plan to solve both their problems. Max will move in with Nate and help him out with Autumn and that will get her mom off her case. I’m not going to leave any spoilers, but if you love small town romances, you will enjoy this. Single dads are one of my favorites to read and I wasn’t disappointed with Autumn Allure.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was such a sweet and wonderful romance. This is my first read by this author and definitely won’t be my last. Nate lives the bachelor life until a lady from his past comes and tells him that he has a daughter, Autumn, he knew nothing about. Nate asks Maxine the local librarian if she will help take care of Autumn, she agrees, if Nate will be her pretend boyfriend to get her mom off her back. Will their pretend relationship become more than friendship? This book was so good, the characters have depth and are likable, the storyline is compelling and it’s one I definitely recommend.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.