Dinca’s review of Claiming King’s Baby (Kings of California, Book 4) by Maureen Child
Contemporary Romance published by Silhouette Desire 13 Oct 09
Okay. So I read another of the Kings of California series. Of all the pigheaded oafs in the world, this hero has to be the king. There are so many adjectives I could use to describe him. Most of them I would not put in print for fear my mother would turn over in her grave. Arrogant, self-serving blankity blank will have to suffice. I am beginning to think Maureen Child needs new role models for her heroes.
Maggie leaves her husband because he did not want children and children are important to her. Justice King, her husband, refuses to sign the divorce papers, so she shows up on his door step with a fresh copy. They have one last weekend fling and he promises to sign the papers. By the time she gets the papers in the mail, she discovers she is pregnant and does not file them with the courts. She has what she wants. Well, at least part of what she wants.
Maggie grabs at the chance to get her husband back in the picture when a freak accident offers her an opportunity to spend some time with him as a physical therapist, which is her profession. So when the job is offered to her by her brother-in-law, she takes it and shows up unannounced with baby in tow.
As far as Justice is concerned, that part of his life is over. He signed the papers and he is done with wanting what he can’t have and facing the failure of his marriage. Above all, he does not need any help, even if his leg is healing from four different breaks and is as weak as a new-born calf. He does not want Maggie near him, much less touching him.
When he discovers strange new sounds coming from down the hall, he is more obstinate than ever when coming face to face with the child he denies is his. Maggie has to be lying. He calls her a cheat. And she’s still around? When he can deny it no longer, he puts that poor little baby through all kinds of poking for a paternity test, instead of manning up to be tested himself to see if he can have children. Especially since the other test takes a lot longer than a sperm count.
This marriage has nothing going for it but chemistry. He doesn’t care about her wants or needs out of the bedroom at all. It is all about him. No wonder she left. The book starts with Justice having dark brown hair and continues with the baby looking just like him with his black hair. Other things I wonder about is if they used birth control before she left, since he would not give her a child. If he would have manned up to having a problem in the first place, that would have solved all his problems to begin with. So I repeat, pigheaded oaf. Yep, that about sums it up.
This will be the last Kings of California I read by Maureen Child. I have enjoyed her work in the past and I will venture on to another one of her projects. I do not enjoy writing unfavorable reviews, so I will pass on the rest of this series.
Grade: D
Summary:
It was supposed to be a last meeting to sign divorce papers. Then passion overtook them and Maggie King walked away with more than just a legal decree–she was pregnant with the child Justice King had always refused to give her. A fact she would never dare reveal to him.But when circumstances forced her back to the King ranch, she could hide her secret no longer. Justice had a son, one he desperately wanted to deny was his own. Because admitting the boy to be his blood kin would mean he’d made the biggest mistake of his life.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
