The contract was straight forward, no obligations. But there was something he hadn’t planned on…Jon Becker, divorced father of teenage daughters, is dedicated to his job and looking forward to a sabbatical.René Munro longs for a baby. Thirty-five and single, her options are limited. Except…her colleague and trusted friend, Jon, seems ideal genetic material! Dare she ask him to help make her … to help make her baby dream come true?
On paper Jon agrees to René’s proposition and is prepared to offer moral support through the experience. But his straight-forward plans to keep the agreement strictly clinical get derailed when he finds the radiantly pregnant doctor irresistible. Is he ready to be a father again? A husband?
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Pleasant read. I was so rooting for Rene and Jon, and I was not disappointed! Lovely story and HEA ending. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.
Her mother would always say; “Be careful what you wish for…”
Thirty-six and unmarried, Dr. Rene Munroe wants to be a mother. Granted, in her practice she’s delivered more babies than she can count. But her clock is ticking and she can’t wait on the right man to come along. So, she’s going to ask her friend at work to make a contractual DNA donation. Why does her mother’s words keep coming into her mind.
Forty-two and divorced, Dr. Jon Becker wants freedom. He’s raised his family and suffered through an unwanted, messy divorce. Now it’s his turn to pursue a new path. So should he grant his colleague and friend her one true wish? Can he even trust her to keep to a contract? After all, love is not part of the contract!
I adore a really well written character-driven story that touches my heart. Such is the case with More Than He Bargained For by Lynne Marshall. As with her first book in the Santa Barbara Sunsets series, this one also has believable but flawed characters who are in the same medical practice together. Dr. Munroe is an OB/GYN and Dr. Becker is a cardiologist. They are good friends who like and respect one another. So, it is not outside the realm of belief that Rene would ask Jon to make a clinical donation to her efforts to become a mom. What happens next, although predictable, is also a sweet and tender story of unexpected love. The road to their happy ending will be bumpy, but their story is definitely worth reading.
Content alert: For the most part this is a fairly clean book. It does have a few mild swear words (h*ll, d*mn, g*d), a frank discussion of medical procedures, some passionate kissing and mildly described desire.
Disclosure: I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review.
All he wanted was to pursue his ideal of freedom, to travel to new destinations and to be free of the type of relationships that tore him down. With her biological clock ticking, all she wanted was to hold her own baby in her arms. The solution? René does the totally unexpected and asks Jon to make a donation at the sperm bank in order that she might have his baby. It was the perfect compromise: she would satisfy her longing for a child and he would be free of all obligations. Only it wasn’t that easy. As Jon and René interact with one another in this delightful warmhearted romance, their feelings for one another grow to the point that they can no longer ignore what is happening between them. I love both the main characters, Jon with his quirky sense of humour and René’s warmth and generous spirit. The story is well written and clean without sacrificing the growing passion between Jon and René. The novel comes to a happy conclusion and is a standalone. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.
Have you ever been ready to bid farewell to the life you have known so that you can begin something new? This is Jon Becker’s plan now that hIs teenage daughters are about to leave for college and he is no longer married; he will finally be free to take a year off from his cardiology practice and travel the world. One of his colleagues is planning a major life change also. At almost thirty-six obstetrician Rene Munro wants to experience motherhood herself but she isn’t romantically involved with anyone and her prospects are slim to none that she will be any time soon. Artificial insemination appears to be her answer and Jon Becker seems to be the perfect candidate but how will she convince him to help her?
More Than He Bargained For follows Rene and Jon during this journey and author Lynne Marshall perfectly describes their emotions. Jon wants to be carefree but as they continue to work together in their medical practice he discovers that he wants to be involved in this baby’s life. Rene’s desire to have a baby is overwhelming but she realizes that she may need Jon to be more than just a donor. We are allowed to experience their mutual doubts, their feelings of wonder as the baby develops, and their increasing awareness of each other as someone other than a work partner. And just when it seems that their legal arrangement has been fulfilled will Jon realize that he is now involved in something more than he bargained for? Can Rene really be satisfied being a single mother after getting to know the true Jon Becker?
Marshall has used her immense medical knowledge to add some authentic details and the result is a sweet, enjoyable medical romance. I recommend More Than He Bargained For to those who enjoy romance and drama and I look forward to reading the next book in the Santa Barbara Sunsets series.
I received a complimentary copy from the author but I was under no obligation to write this review. These are my honest thoughts.
“MORE THAN HE BARGAINED FOR”, by Lynne Marshall, introduces us to Rene Munro, a successful obstetrician, who at age thirty-five is single and longing to become a mother. She sees her colleague, Jon Becker, a top-notch cardiologist, as the perfect candidate to father her baby. While working together as members of a highly-regarded medical clinic, Rene and Jon had formed a friendly, respectful professional relationship that had not included a romantic involvement. Jon had been greatly hurt when his wife of many years had surprised him with a divorce, and he had immersed himself in his work while remaining close to his two teen-aged daughters. Earlier in her life, Rene had been deeply in love with someone whom she thought would marry her and give her the family she so wanted. Instead, he left her broken-hearted and alone, and Rene had focused on her career of helping others bring their children into this world. When Rene asks Jon to father her child, he is stunned, and his whole world is turned upside down. After much discussion and thought, Jon agrees with Rene’s plan, and they form a contract. However, hidden longings and unexpected desire soon come into the picture, and a practical arrangement becomes an emotional roller coaster. Have two competent, intelligent and reasonable people made a mistake with unforeseen, lasting emotional consequences? Lynne Marshall’s medical expertise and skill as a storyteller draw us into the dilemma of two hearts who thought they knew exactly what they wanted, but are shaken to find that they need much more.
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Quick to grab my attention, Lynne Marshall’s latest is superb! A sweet story of going after your dreams, but being open to change along the way. With her descriptive, authentic voice carrying you through, you will feel like you are in the scene with the characters around each turn. Great depth to the story line made for a fast-paced enjoyable read. The ending was slightly abrupt, but I have faith we will hear a little more from this couple in the next book in the Santa Barbara Sunsets series. Looking forward to it!
Divorced cardiologist Jon Becker is counting down the days until his teenage daughters are both on their way into the big world of higher education. He’s dreaming of his plans for a year-long sabbatical to travel the world and explore different medical cultures. He’s not looking to be tied down to anything ever again.
Obstetrician Rene Munro is ready to move forward with her future, regardless of if she has found the man of her dreams yet. Her true destiny is to be a mother and she’s ready to make that move on her own. She knows her friend and colleague Jon has big plans for his future, but she’s hoping she might be able to convince him to help make all of her dreams come true before he walks off into the sunset!
This is the first book that I have read by Lynne Marshall. It is the second in the Santa Barbara Sunsets series and absolutely a stand-alone. This one dives right into the heart of the story. Rene is thirty-six years old and her biological clock is ticking. She is an OB/GYN in a private practice group and she is tired of waiting for Mr. Right, who she is beginning to realize is never going to show up. She has a plan. Now all she has to do is convince her chosen sperm donor to donate. Jon is the chosen donor. But two years ago, he went through a very painful divorce after seventeen years of marriage. He has turned into somewhat of a recluse. His two daughters are just a couple of years away from college and then he’ll be unencumbered. He has plans. Those plans definitely do NOT include starting another family. That’s OK with Rene. She doesn’t need anything but his donation, she even has the contract to make it all easy-peasy. Does anything like this remain simple with partners who work closely in a medical practice?
More Than He Bargained For is a quick, sweet, and entertaining story that you can easily read in an afternoon.
More Than He Bargained For is the second book in Lynne Marshall’s Santa Barbara Sunsets series. From the opening pages I was drawn to this book and couldn’t put it down. Dr. René Munro wants to start a family and reaches out to her co-worker Dr. Jon Becker for help. Jon is a divorced father who can’t wait for his teenage daughters to leave the house. He’s unsure whether he wants to become a father again.
This story takes us through various twists and turns as we watch Jon and René go through their own emotional turmoil: Jon on whether he wants to start his life over again with another child and René as she awaits his decision and then falls helplessly in love with him.
I absolutely loved this book. It is a standalone but I also suggest reading the first book in the series too because it is so good. I highly recommend reading More Than He Bargained For, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. I received an advance copy of this book which I chose to read and review. This is my honest opinion.