Book Reviews by Lynn

From New York Times bestselling author CD Reiss, a standalone romance about a nanny, a Hollywood star, and a love they never expected.

Hollywood bad boy Brad Sinclair always gets his way, whether it’s the role he wants or the bikini-clad model he has to have. But when a bombshell gets dropped in his lap in the form of a dimpled five-year-old from a forgotten relationship, he knows his life is about to change forever.

Cara DuMont isn’t exactly thrilled when she gets assigned to be the nanny for the latest box-office king. She has one rule: no celebrity fathers, especially single ones with devilish good looks and rock-hard abs.

But as soon as Cara meets Brad and his adorable little girl, she knows she’s in for a world of trouble. Because there’s something about the way Brad looks at her that makes her believe that some rules are meant to be broken…

Review 4*

This is an entertaining read. I enjoyed it.

Cara DuMont is a character that I fluctuated between liking and being annoyed by her. She works as an agency nanny, but has a rule about not working for celebrity parents. When she meets a distraught five-year-old, her heart melts. However, her father is a completely different matter.

Brad Sinclair is an interesting character. I must admit that I liked him a lot more than Cara. He is a successful actor who has made it to the big screen, is in great demand and loves to party. He suddenly finds himself facing the daunting prospect of being a father to a little girl who he had no idea had been born. After a messy incident creates an instant bond between his daughter and Cara, he finds himself intrigued with the woman and tries to hire her as Nicole's nanny. But she's reluctant, which only increases his curiosity and desire to get to know her better.

I love reading contemporary romances, so when this book was offered on Amazon Prime to members first (before it's release), I purchased my copy. Unfortunately, due to my large reading list, I was not able to read it immediately.

I started to read this book and was quickly hooked. The story is told through the view points of both Cara and Brad. The characters are well developed and lifelike. I loved Nicole. She comes across as a bright and precocious child. I also liked Blakely, Cara's room mate and friend. She is working as a nanny but hoping to get a break as an actor. Unfortunately, due to a mistake in judgement, she finds herself in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons.

This is a rather formulaic romance, but I loved watching the relationship between Cara and Brad grow. As I said above, I found myself annoyed by Cara's character. This is because she comes across as a bit of a hypocrite at times. She doesn't want to become involved with gossip surrounding celebrity families, but can't help but fall for Brad almost immediately. I know, forbidden fruit and all that jazz, but I still found myself wanting to bop her over the head and tell her to wake up and get her head out of her butt.

Another reason I became annoyed with this book is the way the word 'bombshell' was used. It can be a bombshell to find out that you have a daughter you never knew you had, and you can be a beautiful bombshell, but the way the author used this word over and over again had a negative connotation that made me want to scream. Whether she did this on purpose or not, I do not know. However, by the time I reached the end of the book I was heartily sick of the word. Other readers may not have this reaction, so I will leave it there.

The story itself was sweet and the ending satisfactory.

CD Reiss has written an entertaining stand-alone contemporary romance. I enjoyed her writing style, which was fast paced enough for me to keep turning the pages and the flow was good. I have never read any of this author's books before, but I would consider reading more of her work in the future.

Due to scenes of a sexual nature that are a little on the explicit side, I do not recommend this book to young readers. I do, however, recommend this book if you love contemporary romances. - Lynn Worton