Lang Camden has the daddy of all dilemmas! He just found out he's a dad…of a rambunctious two-year-old. He's now the sole guardian of said toddler and he's never pulled diaper duty in his life! What's a man to do?
Enter Heddy Lanrahan, the widowed baker who's as luscious as her cheesecakes. Lang's on a mission to help her business, and Heddy willingly lends a helping hand with his child. The chemistry between them is off the charts—but the history between their two families is complicated, and if Heddy lets herself love this man and his little boy, she could lose everything. Is it a risk she's willing to take…for love?
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Titles like It's a Boy! are Harlequin's bread and butter - and for good reason. Both Heddy and Lang are very likeable interesting characters, who are trying to work through a heap ton of emotional baggage and life upheavals. For the most part I enjoyed the whole story, though I do think that there are a few too many romance tropes used at once.
I think if the only back story going in had been the feud between Lang and Heddy's families the romance between the two still could have sustained the book; instead we throw in the surprise baby and recovering widow plot devices and while they didn't really detract from the whole, I wouldn't say they added anything either. Maybe I'm a bit of a traditionalist, but I'm ok when the romance is the focus - the extended family/small town vibe is great, but in a shorter format all the extras became background noise. Pade has crafted strong enough personalities for Heddy and Lang (and Cam to the extent that's plausible, lol) that readers want to know keep reading about their HEA, myself included.
I'd still like to backtrack and get a feel for the rest of the Camdens though, since family series are some of my favorite to read.
Overall Feeling - C+
Series - 1) Corner Office Courtship 2) A Baby in the Bargain 3) It's a Boy!
*Title requested from NetGalley*
