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The Daughter He Wanted
The Daddy Surprise
Since the loss of his wife, Alex Ryan has been living a half-life. But with one phone call, Alex discovers he's the biological father of a four-year-old girl…and everything changes.
Single mom Paige Kenner preferred to have a family without the man. Now suddenly there's Alex, who desperately wants to be a father to her little girl. A gorgeous, kind and committed father. Letting a stranger into their lives is far too dangerous—especially if his presence stirs a part of Paige that she longs to forget…
Since the loss of his wife, Alex Ryan has been living a half-life. But with one phone call, Alex discovers he's the biological father of a four-year-old girl…and everything changes.
Single mom Paige Kenner preferred to have a family without the man. Now suddenly there's Alex, who desperately wants to be a father to her little girl. A gorgeous, kind and committed father. Letting a stranger into their lives is far too dangerous—especially if his presence stirs a part of Paige that she longs to forget…
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
7 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Kristina Knight
53 books239 followersOnce upon a time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings with local police--no, she wasn't a troublemaker, she was a journalist. Her career took her all over the United States, writing about everything from a serial killer's capture to the National Finals Rodeo. Along the way she found her very own Knight in Shining Cowboy Boots and an abiding love for romance novels. Kristina writes contemporary romance with a smattering of sass, sex and (of course) drama, and she loves hearing from readers. And just like the characters from her favorite books, she's living her own happily ever after.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 17, 2015
Alex Ryan misses his wife, who died of cancer. They'd planned a family, but her illness stopped all that. When the fertility clinic calls and tells him, owing to a mix-up, that he is the biological father of a little girl, now aged 4, he is desperate to meet her.
Single mother Paige Kenner can't believe the news. What she thought would be an anonymous donor is at her house, looking so much like her little girl that she doesn't need the DNA test she has to insist upon having completed. How can she share her daughter's life, especially with a man when all her previous encounters with men have ended disastrously? She has to protect Kaylie, no question.
But what she doesn't count on is how she, too, falls under his spell. She doesn't want to, but can't seem to stop herself and soon sees, in his actions, that Alex has fallen in love with her daughter. His daughter. But can they ever be a real family? Especially when her parents are so unsupportive of her life and are very likely to refuse to accept Alex? Doesn't he still love his late wife and her parents?
The crisis comes out of left field, leaving both Alex and Paige shaken to the core. Thank goodness Kaylie doesn't see the problem. But how will Alex and Paige deal with what neither of them ever expected?
Single mother Paige Kenner can't believe the news. What she thought would be an anonymous donor is at her house, looking so much like her little girl that she doesn't need the DNA test she has to insist upon having completed. How can she share her daughter's life, especially with a man when all her previous encounters with men have ended disastrously? She has to protect Kaylie, no question.
But what she doesn't count on is how she, too, falls under his spell. She doesn't want to, but can't seem to stop herself and soon sees, in his actions, that Alex has fallen in love with her daughter. His daughter. But can they ever be a real family? Especially when her parents are so unsupportive of her life and are very likely to refuse to accept Alex? Doesn't he still love his late wife and her parents?
The crisis comes out of left field, leaving both Alex and Paige shaken to the core. Thank goodness Kaylie doesn't see the problem. But how will Alex and Paige deal with what neither of them ever expected?
April 22, 2015
Did Not Like This Book. A Twist That Ruined It For Me.
I found this story interesting at first and was enjoying the read but after getting into it a little ways it quickly became very redundant. The same feelings and emotions over and over again: wash, rinse, repeat. She wants him...won't let herself have him and we hear/read this continually throughout the book. The only reason for giving this two stars instead of one is because of the HEA...finally.
Alex Ryan lost his wife, the love of his life, to cancer four years ago. He has been merely existing, certainly not living. His in-laws, especially the mother-in-law, makes sure to keep him living in the past, scared to death that he may move on. She is one wacky woman, mentally unstable, and the bane to his existence in my opinion...not his. It was quite sick and sad that she wanted Alex to remain living in the past spending all his time keeping his dead wife's memory alive 24/7. The really aggravating point here is that Alex allowed this. He went to spend the day once a week with the in-laws still, just as he and his wife had throughout their marriage. Instead of speaking his mind and beginning a new life, he did whatever she suggested, giving into her every whim, and he was constantly concerned about her and that fed into her instability. I was so disappointed in him for going along with this craziness until close to the end. They loved him, no doubt, but she was determined to keep her daughter alive in her life as well as Alex's so he would refuse to move on. She thought of him as a son since his parents were dead and was scared out of her wits that she would lose him.
Paige Kenner is a single woman who decides to have a child on her own, no help from a man thank you very much. Using a local sperm bank she had a lovely daughter. She had made quite a few bad choices in earlier years, mostly due to her horrific parents. They are the absolute worst book parents I have ever read about. Disgustingly cruel. She can do no right. For me it was over the top for her parents to be so awful and for Alex's in-laws (who he looked to as parents) to be so controlling of him and his life. Just too much for one book. It discolored this story and just made it unbelievable.
Alex and his wife had used IVF to get pregnant but it never happened and then she was diagnosed with cancer and died, Alex having the eggs and sperm destroyed. One day he gets a call from the sperm bank informing him that his specimen had been mistakenly used and as a result he was the biological father of a daughter. He goes to meet his daughter's mother and begins to visit regularly to get to know them. They fall in love and life is finally, after much angst and struggle, very good and love abounds. Then...another heartbreaking tragedy around 80%. A cruel twist of fate that nearly destroys Alex and their relationship. That is when my opinion changed dramatically from a pretty fair book to one I was sorry I read. It ruined the story for me and it failed to redeem itself in my eyes. I am a firm believer that there needs to be a balance in books. It is disturbing when most of the book is angst filled, sad and heartbreaking. How much did this author want Alex to suffer through? Wasn't losing his wife enough? Was it really necessary to have this major twist happen to this family unit that was just beginning? No...for me it was not necessary to add any more heartache. It tipped the book over the edge. The story was much too long and drawn out, frustratingly so.
This is my honest opinion and I am still upset a day after completing the book. It actually left me feeling sick to my stomach and just writing this review is causing more upset. I am sorry to say that I, personally, cannot recommend this book. I see by the few reviews that I am definitely in the minority but this is simply how the book made me feel. I don't like to feel sad, heartbroken and frustrated after completing a book...even taken into consideration that the ending was okay. The last 20% was the ruination of 'The Daughter He Wants.'
I found this story interesting at first and was enjoying the read but after getting into it a little ways it quickly became very redundant. The same feelings and emotions over and over again: wash, rinse, repeat. She wants him...won't let herself have him and we hear/read this continually throughout the book. The only reason for giving this two stars instead of one is because of the HEA...finally.
Alex Ryan lost his wife, the love of his life, to cancer four years ago. He has been merely existing, certainly not living. His in-laws, especially the mother-in-law, makes sure to keep him living in the past, scared to death that he may move on. She is one wacky woman, mentally unstable, and the bane to his existence in my opinion...not his. It was quite sick and sad that she wanted Alex to remain living in the past spending all his time keeping his dead wife's memory alive 24/7. The really aggravating point here is that Alex allowed this. He went to spend the day once a week with the in-laws still, just as he and his wife had throughout their marriage. Instead of speaking his mind and beginning a new life, he did whatever she suggested, giving into her every whim, and he was constantly concerned about her and that fed into her instability. I was so disappointed in him for going along with this craziness until close to the end. They loved him, no doubt, but she was determined to keep her daughter alive in her life as well as Alex's so he would refuse to move on. She thought of him as a son since his parents were dead and was scared out of her wits that she would lose him.
Paige Kenner is a single woman who decides to have a child on her own, no help from a man thank you very much. Using a local sperm bank she had a lovely daughter. She had made quite a few bad choices in earlier years, mostly due to her horrific parents. They are the absolute worst book parents I have ever read about. Disgustingly cruel. She can do no right. For me it was over the top for her parents to be so awful and for Alex's in-laws (who he looked to as parents) to be so controlling of him and his life. Just too much for one book. It discolored this story and just made it unbelievable.
Alex and his wife had used IVF to get pregnant but it never happened and then she was diagnosed with cancer and died, Alex having the eggs and sperm destroyed. One day he gets a call from the sperm bank informing him that his specimen had been mistakenly used and as a result he was the biological father of a daughter. He goes to meet his daughter's mother and begins to visit regularly to get to know them. They fall in love and life is finally, after much angst and struggle, very good and love abounds. Then...another heartbreaking tragedy around 80%. A cruel twist of fate that nearly destroys Alex and their relationship. That is when my opinion changed dramatically from a pretty fair book to one I was sorry I read. It ruined the story for me and it failed to redeem itself in my eyes. I am a firm believer that there needs to be a balance in books. It is disturbing when most of the book is angst filled, sad and heartbreaking. How much did this author want Alex to suffer through? Wasn't losing his wife enough? Was it really necessary to have this major twist happen to this family unit that was just beginning? No...for me it was not necessary to add any more heartache. It tipped the book over the edge. The story was much too long and drawn out, frustratingly so.
This is my honest opinion and I am still upset a day after completing the book. It actually left me feeling sick to my stomach and just writing this review is causing more upset. I am sorry to say that I, personally, cannot recommend this book. I see by the few reviews that I am definitely in the minority but this is simply how the book made me feel. I don't like to feel sad, heartbroken and frustrated after completing a book...even taken into consideration that the ending was okay. The last 20% was the ruination of 'The Daughter He Wants.'
February 2, 2015
Paige was an elementary school art teacher. Her parents had never been supportive. She had a four year old daughter Kaylie. Paige had gone to raise fertility clinic for a donor and Paige had made herself a happy family. Alex was a park ranger. He wanted a family with his wife but she needed IVF so Alex had made donations for her at the fertility clinic. Human error was the message given by the fertility clinic when they explained to Alex and Paige about the sperm mix-up. For five years Alex had grieved the loss of his wife and now he had a daughter? Alex and Paige start a tentative relationship where Alex would get to know his daughter. Fate had other plans.
Read
January 12, 2016"Knight’s novel is a sweet story about the power of unexpected events bringing pleasure to our lives. Paige’s determination to build a family on her own after her cold upbringing and Alex’s decision to live in solitude after his wife’s death are both happily derailed by happenstance" (RT Book Reviews, 4 stars).
January 15, 2015
Cute story full of well developed characters. I connected with Paige and Alex right away. Their connection was full of heart and heat and it was a treat to see them both care for the little girl. One thing I really enjoyed was how the author handled love, loss, and moving on. I found myself scanning ahead, anxious to see what happened next!
March 21, 2015
I'm sorry but this book took me forever to get into it and even still it was not a good read for me.
I feel like everything was to drawn out.
I did like the story line though. The little girl was cute but The mama kind of graded on my nerves.
I feel like everything was to drawn out.
I did like the story line though. The little girl was cute but The mama kind of graded on my nerves.
August 7, 2023
Much more slow burn than I was expecting. Characters were just as infuriating as I expected though. It’s nice that the story is trying to break “traditional family norms” but I felt it could have done so in a way that normalized it more. Like it felt a bit judgmental of families that are not biological, even though it was trying to be supportive. I was also reading in a very judgmental and frustrated mindset though, so take my criticism with a grain of salt.
November 1, 2016
Fun
Holds you from the very beginning to the end.Makes me laugh,and had me worried there for a while.A good read.
Holds you from the very beginning to the end.Makes me laugh,and had me worried there for a while.A good read.
April 9, 2015
If your looking for a sexy and sweet romance this book is for you. I thought the characters were great, I especially loved Alex...wow...he's sexy as hell, sweet as can be and still mourning his late wife but when he meets Paige his life turns around for the good and he gets back to being Alex the sexy as hell park Ranger, the guy who wants to love again and have a family. Paige I loved her personality, I thought she was a great mom and loved how she loves her job and excepts the changes in their lives. Kaylie is sweet and so damn smart you can't help but love her too. But what I loved the most was the getting to know each other stages, the sweet kisses the holding hands and the dysfunctional family, wow Paige's mother is a witch (with a B)..lol but I love how Paige and Alex rally together and not take crap from either family. I loved their hot as hell sex too. I loved halloween ok ok I know there are a lot of things I loved about this book, But I did want to know what happens next for these two though, like how did alex's in laws take the future and will their be another baby...lol.. I love a sexy as hell happily ever after...oh yeh and Tuck wow, I hope he gets his happily ever after too. great story ...4.5 to 5 stars review by Nanee at upallnightreadallday.blogspot.com
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews