Monday, February 5, 2018

REVIEW/RELEASE BLITZ: The Baby Maker by Lili Valente

Genre: Sexy Romantic Comedy/Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 5, 2018

~Blurb~

Some men are troublemakers or dealmakers. The men in my family? We’re baby makers.

For six generations, the women of wine country have had a saying: don’t bang a Hunter man unless you want a bun in your oven.

Yeah, well. I’ve got a saying too: no thanks. The last thing I need is baby makes three. My business is expanding and the only thing I’m interested in getting knocked up is my bottom line.

But then one night Emma Haverford makes me an offer I can’t refuse—she backs away from the land I have my eye on in exchange for a favor…

A big, fat, baby making favor…

******
When I hear women have gotten pregnant shaking hands with Hunter men, I know I need Dylan Hunter’s…ahem, special skills…way more than I need to expand my vineyard.

I’m ready to give my heart to a child and I’m tired of waiting for my late-to-the-party Prince Charming to make my dreams come true. So I promise Dylan—three months of hot, heavy, baby-making s-e-x and then I’m out of his hair forever.

But what if when it comes time to say good-bye, all I want to do is keep bottling up more memories with this big-hearted man?

This sexy Standalone romance will make you laugh, swoon, and blush baby-makin’ red. Heat level: A risk of getting knocked up during download. Paperback and audio versions are especially dangerous. Handle with care…
~Book Review~
4.5 Stars

Dylan Hunter, 31, has his hands full salvaging his family’s farm, looking after his nephews, and trying to build a life of his own. The last thing he thinks he needs is a baby making job with the determined new neighbor.

Emma Haverford, 34, has left the fast city and career life along with a cheating ex behind in Silicon Valley to purse a less stressful existence in the vineyards. The change is suiting her, but there’s still one thing her heart desires.

First things first because this is one of the biggest things that impressed me about this story and this type of premise—a complicated situation is handled well and while neither party is perfect, they both behave maturely. There are plenty of smutty tales in the romance market that incorporate baby-making or breeding—the misogynist notion of using conception as a means of control where the so-called hero makes a rash decision in the middle of sex to stake a claim. Thankfully this is not one of them. It’s also not a tale of a heroine trying to trap the hero to get the whole baby and baby-daddy package. Both the hero and the heroine are depicted thinking things out, rationalizing their decision, alongside consulting the advice of medical professionals and trusted family members in efforts to make an informed decision about a situation that isn’t ideal or either of their first choices.  I applaud the author for tackling a more modern dilemma in a thought-out and respectful manner rather than to throw out a load of archaic modes of thinking and call it romance.  The difference is a story that actually is romantic and hotter because the main characters are developed and shown falling in love rather than espousing insta-love. 
“‘If I don’t stop soon, I’m going to take you right here….On the ground, in the dirt. It’s been a long time for me, Blondie.’”
 Dylan had a good head on his shoulders, and even though he didn’t think he was ready for fatherhood, it was clear he was a great catch.  I appreciated how he stressed them getting to know each other and how his monologues revealed how he was falling in love. 
“Mental scrapbooking of orgasms is a classic warning sign that love is right around the corner.”
 Emma was a strong and independent female character. I admired how she held firm to her goals.  I didn’t find her desperate; simply that she knew what she wanted and when she saw an opportunity with a man she was strongly attracted to, went after it. I respected the fact that she choose Dylan for the good qualities she saw in him and the hope that her child would have those same genes rather than utilizing a sperm bank, an option that she does keep open. While a little more communication between them would have gone a long way, it wasn’t unrealistic given the short time they’d known each other and their original arrangement. And the story still stayed pleasingly low angst.

Told via Dylan and Emma’s first person POV, the pair had good chemistry. I found them both likable from the start, and the story easy to get into from the opening. By the end, I was swooning over Dylan. All in all, it’s a very sweet, feel-good romance.  The next book, The Troublemaker, features Dylan’s half brother Rafe and Emma’s sister Carrie. The intro to their book that is included has me intrigued. I’m not usually a fan of the manwhore hero, but Carrie looks like a formidable match so as long as it’s safe (fingers crossed), I’ll give it a go. I hope at least one of the twins gets a book at some point too. 

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Narrated by Andi Arndt & Sebastian York

~Character Interview~
Book Boyfriend Data Sheet

Name: Dylan Hunter

Age: 31

Birthday:🎂 May 15th ♉

Birthplace:🌎 Mercyville, California (Sonoma County)

Measurements: 📏
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 180 lbs
Length: More than enough
Girth: Gentlemen don't brag

Turn-ons:
👍 Hard work, good coffee, better beer, kindness, big blue eyes, and sexy librarian glasses (and the fantasies that go with them!)

Turn-offs:👎 Complaining, narrow minds, and cows that bite.

Favorite time of day for “baby making”: We guys wake up ready in the morning for a reason...

Food cravings and aversions: Addicted to coffee and MUST have the good stuff. ☕

First person I call to babysit when we desire couple time:
😗 My nephews. For teen boys, they're great with babies.

Last person I call to babysit when we’re desperate for couple time:
😳 My dad. Who knows what that man is going to do with my kid. Ten months is too young to learn to whittle.

Baby gear item that I couldn’t live without:
Bike seat so baby can hit the trails with mom and dad.

Kids’ toy I wish I had when I was a kid:
Remote control T-Rex. Oh, the ways I could have terrified my younger brother...😱

My favorite childhood memory growing up:
Riding dirt bikes with my brothers.

What to expect when you’re expecting—advice to other fathers-to-be:
👶 Relish every step of the journey. It's all amazing and it all goes way too fast.

A big thanks to Lili Valente for making Dylan available for this feature!


Lili Valente has slept under the stars in Greece, eaten dinner at midnight with French men who couldn’t be trusted to keep their mouths on their food, and walked alone through Munich’s red light district after dark and lived to tell the tale. 
These days you can find her writing in a tent beside the sea, drinking coconut water and thinking delightfully dirty thoughts.
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