LynneC’s review of A Baby Between Friends (The Good, the Bad and the Texan, Book 2) by Kathie Denosky
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 3 Jul 13
This is part of Kathie Denosky’s series about six men from troubled backgrounds who were adopted by a philanthropist and regard each other as brothers. Each has a different problem to overcome. They are Texans, bred if not born, and one of the best aspects of the stories are the authentic-seeming backgrounds. The fact that they’re all wealthy isn’t particularly realistic, but hey, this is Harlequin.
Ryder and Summer have known each other for a while. He’s a safety guy in the rodeo, and she is an organiser. They consider themselves best friends. But Summer, although only twenty five, decides she wants to start a family. She’s prepared to go to a clinic, but she’d prefer to know the man she’s making the baby with, even if his donation comes in a cup. That man, she decides, is Ryder.
Ryder is a deeply honourable man, scarred by an event in his past which makes him into a nurturer and a protector, but he abhors violence. He owns a ranch and travels with the rodeo in season, working as a safety man, the people who used to be dressed as clowns, but worked to keep the bullriders from being hurt. He’s a basically nice guy; in fact, so nice and considerate that he hasn’t made a move on Summer. When she asks him to father her child, he decides he will, but only if he can keep in touch with the baby and share its upbringing, and he doesn’t want to do it in a cup. He wants Summer, although he’s willing to let her go when she’s pregnant. That’s what he thinks.
Summer has been traumatised by her past, but I don’t find this event, a rape, as realistic as the one Ryder has to face. However, neither character, although facing deep problems in their past, seem to be too bothered by their traumas until it matters to the plot. She doesn’t seem to have much of a personality, to be honest, and could be interchangeable with any number of Harlequin heroines. She copes. Her breakdown, when she finally confesses that she’s shy about sex because she’s been raped, is sweet, but again, not too convincing, although Ryder’s endless patience with her, once he learns of her background, is adorable. I would have thought that he might suggest counselling, even years after the event, just to help her, but she gets over her problems fast enough.
Ryder is a really nice, dependable guy, verging on the beta, and I like him. He doesn’t fuss, he just gets on with the job. However, his habit of putting weird similies on to everything does get annoying, things like, “Maybe if he stood beneath the icy spray until he was colder than a penguin’s tail feathers on an arctic ice floe.” While this can be a Texas trait, it’s a bit of a cliché one, and I don’t find it added to Ryder’s personality. It just seems to turn him into a stock Texan, and it goes with his Resistol and his ranch to make him the kind of Texan romance readers have read time and time again. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some rancher, but I do like a little variation in them.
The sex is sweet and not particularly hot, but it does have a nice romantic feel to it. In fact, everything is going swimmingly until the black moment. While this is predictable, I don’t find it particularly believable and suddenly Ryder turns from a really nice guy into a complete jerk. It is very disappointing that this has to be imposed on them, and Ryder has to behave so much out of character that I don’t believe his turnaround. All through the book he’s talked to her, been open with her, and now he clams up and does what he does? No. He had no edge earlier in the book. I can’t believe that he’d do that.
I enjoyed the read, but it is a quieter, less exciting one. A good airport read, this one, solidly written but not innovative or exciting.
Grade: C
Summary:
More than anything, Summer Patterson wants a baby. What she doesn’t want is a husband. Thankfully, her best friend, Ryder McClain, makes the perfect sperm donor. Ryder is loyal, undeniably sexy and the one man she trusts—the only reason she agrees to conceive their baby naturally.When baby-making nights with Summer blaze like the West Texas sun, Ryder feels the heat. He never expected Summer to say yes to sharing his bed. Now he’s falling for her—and the prospect of fatherhood—while hiding a secret that could destroy her faith in him forever.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
