His twins might be wild… But she knows just how to tame them–and their father Earthquake expert Dax Calder brings his eleven-year-old twins to the Serengeti to fulfill a promise to his late wife–never leave the girls. Meeting free-spirited teacher Pippa Harper feels like serendipity. She’s the perfect nanny for his mischievous twosome, even if her definition of rules is slightly different … slightly different than his. But there’s one rule Dax never expected to break…falling in love again.
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Dax Calder is in over his head. He’s taken a job in Kenya, far from the U.S., where he lives with his eleven-year-old identical twin girls, Ivy and Fern. While in Kenya, Dax is desperate to find someone to look after his girls while he works on a new project for the oil company that’s employed him. Upon observing a young, attractive woman, Pippa Harper, patiently giving a tour to six children, he makes her an offer she can’t refuse. He’ll pay her an inflated wage if she’ll watch his girls until he can find a nanny to replace the one who just quit. Did I mention she is nanny number seven (or eight)? Pippa is no fool. The money will help her to expand and accelerate the education program she provides to village children who wouldn’t otherwise be given an opportunity to learn how to read. But these twin girls are no ray of sunshine in the behavior category. They’re starving for attention, as Pippa will soon learn.
Having grown up in Kenya with her mom on the Busara Elephant Research and Rescue Camp, Pippa’s all about preservation and environmental conservation and all that. Meanwhile, Dax is selling his soul by abandoning his true love of researching seismic activity in exchange for the large paycheck he’ll receive developing subterranean maps so that the oil company can drill or frack in Kenya’s wilderness, which could stir up earthquakes. Dax is cautiously withholding that information from Pippa, but his heart is another matter. What will she think of him if she finds out who he’s working for and what he’s doing? Can feelings supersede principles?
I loved this book!! Rula Sinara is an amazing storyteller who knows how to develop a convincing love story. The evolution of Dax and Pippa’s relationship was so beautifully orchestrated. Ms. Sinara is also very good at educating us about foreign affairs and unfamiliar cultures. I am always enlightened and fulfilled by her stories.
There is only one book left in this series beyond The Twin Test, and I will be so sad to see it end. The first book in the series, The Promise of Rain, was the first Harlequin Heartwarming Book I ever read and I haven’t looked back since.
I highly recommend this book, and the entire series. I look forward to the sixth and final book, The Marine’s Return.
The twin test
Eleven year old twin girls, so cute. This book was so much fun to read. When I started it I wanted to keep reading until the end. Loved Pippa and loved the reference to the movie pippi longstocking became it brought back memories when my daughter was young. Dax and his twin girls are in Africa for his job and he needs a nanny, he convinces Pippa to take care of them. I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this book. I received an complementary copy of the book from Prism book tours. I was not required to leave an positive review. This is my own opinion.
Enchanting scenery, precocious children and a sweet love story! If you’ve been reading along with Rula Sinara’s From Kenya, With Love series, you will recognize the heroine of this story. Pippa Harper is the all grown up version of the child we met in Book 1, The Promise of Rain, a few years back. It’s always fun to see someone we’ve met previously come into their own and find their very own happily ever after. The story was intriguing with lots of emotional depth, as well as some humor mixed in with those trickster girls! Very enjoyable read!
The promise that Dax Calder made to his late wife to always be there for his twin daughters has him uprooting them often to go along on his work expeditions. This job in Kenya lets him not only earn the money he needs, but also be close to a historical area that intrigues his seismologist by trade heart. Circumstances might have forced him out of that field right now, but studying earthquakes is his hearts passion.
Teacher Pippa Harper happens to be in the right place at the right time to help Dax out of a fix. Seems his nanny has abandoned him, and he needs someone to entertain his daughters. If this unexpected job can earn her more money for the school she’s saving to build, she’s willing to help out … but she’s not so sure about these wild child girls of his … they seems to be out to run off everyone but their father!
I love to travel, but I’m also a realist and know that there is no way finances and time will allow me to see everything I want to. So, the next best thing is escaping to new and exciting places within the pages of a book.
The Twin Test is several books into Rula Sinara’s From Kenya, With Love series, but it’s the first one I’ve been able to pick up. And what an adventure ride it was!
From the wildlife (including an elephant rescue) to the dangers to the environment due to the practices of an oil company, there is a lot to absorb in this story. And I haven’t even mentioned the eleven-year-old twins who are intently focused on driving away outsiders.
It’s going to take a special person to get through to these two girls who have already lost too much and their father. But Pippa is willing to take the challenge head-on. She’s straight-shooting and doesn’t mind stepping on toes while a free spirit whose heart for the children of the Masai villages is admirable.
In Dax’s determination to keep a deathbed promise to his wife, he’s lost sight of what his daughters need most from him. When Pippa agrees to watch the girls, his world is shaken in more ways than he could have imagined. But will Pippa leave them all behind when she finds out why he’s in Africa?
A fantastic read that brought me to another world. One where nature rules lives and love conquers loss and fear. I hope to return to Sinara’s Africa soon.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
This is the first book I’ve read by the author and in the Heartwarming line of Harlequin books. It was quite enjoyable. Although this is book 5 in the series From Kenya, with Love, it can definitely be read as a stand-alone. It looks like all the previous characters from the series make appearances in the book, but you don’t need to know their background history to enjoy this particular story about Pippa and Dax. If you like sweet romance set in a faraway place with irresistible twin girls, you will love this book.
Dax is a scientist specializing in earthquakes who moves his family to Kenya to work for an oil company. He’s made mistakes in the past which he is trying to correct but has a difficult time with his ten year old twin girls as a single father. Pippa is a teacher, raised in Kenya, who is carefree and free-spirited. Despite her spontaneous and light-hearted ways, she harbors deep-seated hurt from her past. Two opposite personalities collide and attract as Pippa agrees to homeschool the twins while Dax and the girls are in Kenya. The girls, Ivy and Fern, are hysterical and fun. Pippa and Dax’s friendship and romance bloom slowly and sweetly.
The author incorporates the beautiful landscape of Kenya and thoughtful descriptions of Maasai life and culture into a nicely paced and crafted plot with multi-dimensional characters who are lovable and also throws in a serious issue concerning environmental protection to deliver a well-written contemporary romance that is memorable and enjoyable. And the epilogue! Oh, what a tear jerker.
I received a copy of the book from the author/publisher through Prism Book Tours and was under no obligation to post a review. Opinions expressed are solely my own and subjective.