His Forever Family Lib/E: W/ Bonus Short Story: Never Too Late

by Sarah M. Anderson, Adenrele Ojo (Reading), Will Damron (Reading)

Found: one baby ... and the boss' future bride? Tiny and helpless--the abandoned newborn that venture capitalist Marcus Warren finds during a morning run takes him by surprise. So does the sudden longing for his capable assistant, Liberty Reese, who reveals her tender side with the baby. But Liberty must resist her gorgeous boss' advances. Her secrets could destroy his trust, her career, and the chance to care for the foster child they are both coming to love. Even so, she can't deny the heat between them--or the fear that her past will end their chance to create a forever family.Enjoy a special bonus short story from Brenda Jackson: Never Too Late, read by Adenrele Ojo.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Audiobook, Harlequin Desire, Billionaires, Category Romance

Audio CD

First published February 1, 2016

About the author

With over 1.2 million copies published in over twenty-one countries, Sarah M. Anderson has published over 45 books. Sarah's book A Man of Privilege won a RT Book Reviews 2012 Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award. The Nanny Plan was a 2016 RITA® winner for Best Contemporary: Short. Additionally, Sarah has given workshops at national and regional conferences, taught craft classes online, spoken at libraries and book clubs, and published articles in the Romance Writers Report.

When she’s not walking her rescue dogs, reading or crafting, Sarah spends her days having conversations with imaginary people, all of which is surprisingly well-tolerated by her wonderful family. Find out more about Sarah’s books at www.sarahmanderson.com and sign up for the new-release newsletter at http://bit.ly/sarahalerts.

Reviews

[TinaNoir · Rating 1 out of 5]

Normally I would not read a book like this. It is a Harlequin Billionaire with babies book. Not my lane. But I saw that little baby was black and wondered.... 'hmmm' I let my curiosity get the better of me and picked this up.

At the least I figured I'd have a mildly pleasant read full of Harlequin Billionaire with babies tropes. I'd find them a bit tiresome because they are so very tropey, and probably give this a generic 3-star rating and be on my way. At the most I figured I might be surprised and get a cute little story that would subvert my expectations, enjoy it more than I did.

But nope. I got a book that made fall into a rage spiral.

The book starts off pleasantly enough. Billionaire Marcus Warren and his trusty Admin Assistant Liberty are doing their daily jog while discussing the important business of running Billionaire Marcus Warren's billion-dollar empire. Why to I emphasize Marcus is a billionaire? Because he refers to himself as a billionaire about three time in the first chapter. He ruminates on how awesome it is to be a billionaire.

Liberty is super efficient, not only is she jogging with her boss discussing his day-to-day meetings, but she is taking notes while she's doing it. I actually liked Liberty here for about two minutes.

All that changes when they find an abandoned African-American baby boy ear some trash bins in the park they are running in. The two hop into action, save the baby and because of some inner revelations we learn about Liberty (more on that later) Billionaire Marcus makes sure the baby gets placed into a good foster care home.

The general story isn't a bad one. Marcus is a silver-spoon baby whose had his whole life controlled by his parents and is finally waking up and breaking free of their harmful manipulations. The finding of the abandoned baby triggers a change in the relationship he has with Liberty. She has always been his super efficient assistant. But because of her reaction to the baby he sees a softer side of her it shifts his perception of her.

One thing I did appreciate about the characterization of Marcus was that he is unapologetically a rich, trust fund kid. He wasn't a poor kid who had worked himself up into being a billionaire so he is automatically empathetic with people closer to the poverty line. I thought it was an authentic character beat for him to think the foster home the baby gets into is shabby and not very nice. When in fact it is clean and well kept and for someone like Liberty, who has much more experience in what real poverty is like, it is a very nice place. That was a good moment because it illustrated very well how different rich people really are. Marcus has never been outside of the rarefied atmosphere of his Gold Coast lifestyle so he has no yardstick to measure the gradations of lower-middle class to middle class life and what makes something 'nice' versus 'not nice' when it comes to that.

So Marcus wasn't a bad character, he was really rather ok and fairly romance novel typical.

No Liberty was the problem here. A huge problem for me.

Liberty had a horrible childhood, her mother had been a drug addict who died in prison and Liberty lived in a succession of foster homes. If that had been the sum total of it, I would have been ok with Liberty. But no, Liberty has a whole host of problems.

First, she is a bundle of utter insecurity and neurosis wrapped in a blanket of no-confidence in herself. She was a mess:
"I am a nobody"
By herself, Liberty was utterly worthless
The last three years have been a gift I don't deserve

So basically Liberty has zero sense of her own self worth. Like, zero!

Oh but it gets worse. Liberty's mother was black. And Liberty has been passing as white all this time. And it has been her dirty little secret.

There is a whole passel of "oh fuck no" that needs to be unpacked with Liberty here. Look I get it that she had a bad childhood and is probably fair enough to pass as white, but why does she need to? The author never, ever gave a reason why Liberty felt the need to utterly and completely deny her blackness. Sure I get why people would be ashamed of a drug addicted felon of a parent. But why specifically was admitting to being black so damn difficult for Liberty? At one point she says to Marcus 'have you ever tried being a black woman in this world?' (yeah this came out of Liberty's mouth). To which I mentally responded "Bitch, please. Have you?"

What is even worse, is that over and over again as Liberty mentally hand-wrings over her big secret the 'being black' part is consistently conflated with her mother being a drug addict, convict and a hooker (because of course she was). Liberty doesn't just feel shame about her mother being these things, they are always always mentioned in conjunction with her being black. It is as if being black is just as bad as being a drug addict and a hooker. I could not even with this.

And then we get to the whole lies part. Apparently Liberty not telling Marcus any of this falls in the realm of her telling lies and not being truthful. Unless part of her employment with him depended on her 1) being white and 2)being from a pristine background and 3) these things were explicitly asked and answered on her job application/job interview then how exactly are these lies? How much of her childhood is she required to disclose to her employer? At what point did he look at her in her three years of employment as asked her 'Hey, you're not black or anything, right?' And she said "Nope, not black. All white meat here. Damn near albino, that's me!"

When the relationship moved from Employer/Employee to lovers, of course this all comes out very dramatically and Marcus is shocked and Liberty is ashamed. He is all "Her mother was African American? An addict? And a hooker? Why hadn't she told him?" Again with the black part being given equal weight with the criminal parts... but whatevs. At that point, they'd only been boning for about a week and hadn't actually talked about where they were relationship wise.

My big problem with this is the idea that denying race is a requirement to remake yourself into something worthwhile. There are so many other ways to reclaim self worth. There was literally nothing about Liberty's lifestyle that required her to reject her race so blatantly. She was a fucking Administrative Assistant! It isn't like she's an actress trying to get an Oscar worthy role (snerk!).

Finding a black heroine in a Harlequin romance outside of the Kimani line is like finding a tooth on a hen so it is a damned shame that she doesn't even want to be black.

So very not here for this.

[The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears]

Thankfully someone else saved me from doing damage to my Kindle. The male billionaire trope is done, dead and should be allowed to rot in peace. A female billionaire though...that the Fountain Pen Diva can work with.

However, it's the attempt at "diversity" while admirable, is still heavily problematic and makes one wonder if the author had a diverse group of beta readers or an editor of color to keep from committing race fail here. For the record, the idea of a Black character passing as White, especially in this day and age, would make for an interesting storyline - just not in the context of a series romance in which little time can be devoted to the socioeconomic and political aspects of navigating race in this country while still being "romantic". Then equating blackness with criminality and shame? Just no. That is a huge don't go there without proper knowledge and understanding.

[Steph's Romance Book Talk · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars / 2 Steam Fans

OH BOY ARE THERE THINGS WRONG WITH THIS ONE!!!

Video review available in Week 17: Apr 19 – 25 weekly book reviews.

For other video book reviews, check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.

[Paula Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marcus Warren and his executive assistant Liberty Reese are jogging, part of their morning ritual, when they discover an abandoned baby. Seeing Liberty with the baby makes him see her as a "real woman" (groan), and he soon finds himself acquiescing to her requests to ask about the baby's welfare in the foster system. Soon, Marcus is also seeing her as the woman who only wants what's best for him, urging him to go for what he really wants, rather than just another "yes" person. As for Liberty, she's obviously got a thing for the hot millionaire, but fears her past may only bring him hurt and embarrassment.

And what is Liberty's past? She's half African-American (her mother was African-American, and she assumes her unknown birth father was white), and her African-American mother was a drug addicted hooker who eventually died. Liberty grew up in foster care, but studied hard and passed herself off as white in order to make a better life for herself. While I can understand that Liberty's own insecurities might lead to her being ashamed of this cultural heritage, I can't understand how this would be seen as shameful by others in today's society. A person who has made something for themselves despite the odds is the type of success story you're constantly seeing in the media. Yet, in Sarah M. Anderson's view of modern society, everybody will ridicule you for it, and reality TV show producers will bring it up in a meeting and say it's a reason you can't be cast!

What the hell? Has Sarah M. Anderson even watched television recently? Even back in 2016, when this was published, TV shows across all genres were being encouraged to be more diverse, and rightly criticised if they weren't. Anybody who sought to publicly humiliate a person of mixed race because of their background (as Marcus' mother and ex-girlfriend, and a whole board meeting of reality TV executives do here) would be pilloried by users of every social media platform under the sun! None of it rang true.

More effective was the class differences between Liberty and Marcus. That, I could understand. Liberty does not feel at home in Marcus' privileged world, and the book does a decent job of highlighting this difference between them. If only Anderson had stuck to exploring class disparity, instead of trying to drag race into the mix as well, this could have worked much better, because it did keep me involved in the proceedings and I read it in one go. But Anderson's ideas of race and the way people react to it seemed that of a, well, privileged white woman author.

My other beef would be with what happens to the antagonists. Characters like Marcus' vile mother and ex-girlfriend get no comeuppance. I find this happens a lot in category romance and I don't understand why! Along with the fantasy of a millionaire wooing me is the fantasy that evil rich people get what's coming to them! I want to see Marisa Warren (H's mother) falling off a cliff and Lillibeth (H's ex) getting a nasty case of syphilis. Or something. Give me a little retribution! Nothing wrong with a little justified karma in my romantic fantasies.

All in all, this kept me hooked, so 3 stars. I believed in the romance between h and H, even if the h got on my nerves with her total lack of self-esteem and shame over her cultural heritage. I was invested enough to care about what happened to Marcus and Liberty and the abandoned baby that brought them together.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 Stars ~ Liberty has worked hard to overcome her childhood of foster homes and a drug addicted mother. She's poured herself into her job as billionaire tycoon Marcus' executive assistant for the past three years, even going so far as joining him for his early morning jogs. She views keeping her past private as a matter of survival, including that she is part African-American.

Marcus was born into a wealthy family and though he manages the family money, he's also worked hard to build his own business and earn his own billions. He also prefers to distance himself from his parents influence. Marcus has his own hangups from his childhood; a failed kidnapping attempt has scarred him, and the way his parents have always had to control his future. Trust to him is the most important thing, and he has come to completely trust Liberty.

On one of their morning jogs, Marcus finds a baby in a box and their lives from that moment are irreversibly changed. Marcus is profoundly affected by the way Liberty soothes the baby, just watching her rocks him to his core. This is a Liberty he's never seen before, a fierce protector and yet there's a vulnerability to the way she cries over the child. With both their emotions out in the open, they allow themselves to believe their future can be more than a business relationship.

This is the first book I've read by Ms. Anderson. From the first pages she had me liking Marcus and Liberty and their quirky comradery. Both have childhood traumas, and some real present day obstacles. The black moment when Marcus learns about Liberty's true upbringing is an emotional one and Ms Anderson had me chocking up over Liberty's devastation. The HEA is a sweet one. I'd have loved to have epilogue with this one. Perhaps Ms. Anderson will revisit these two in a future love story.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, something of a Cinderella story. Liberty has been Marcus's admin assistant for three years, even going so far as to run with him in the mornings. On this morning they discover an abandoned baby while on their run. Marcus is amazed by the different side of Liberty that he sees, and it awakens unexpected feelings in him.

I mostly liked Marcus. He came from money, but branched out on his own and made his own fortune. He has tried to distance himself from his parents, who are self-absorbed and concerned only with appearances. His father is also known for having affairs with his secretaries, which is the main reason that Marcus has suppressed his attraction to Liberty. I loved the way that fulfilling Liberty's wishes about the baby becomes so important to him.

I also mostly liked Liberty. She has worked hard to make a good life for herself, She grew up as the daughter of an African-American drug addict and hooker who ended up going to jail. Liberty then went from foster home to foster home. she thinks her father was white because she passes for white. She keeps her background very private, and has never told Marcus anything about it.

Their mutual interest in the baby brings them together as they hadn't been before. I loved seeing Marcus fall so hard for Liberty. She falls for him too, but is insistent that she "isn't good for him". There is a fair amount of conflict because of what she sees as the vast gulf between them. Marcus doesn't care about it, he's secure in his world and doesn't really care what anyone else says about him. It's interesting to see him admit that he really has no idea how the other half lives, but it shouldn't matter to the two of them.

Running through the story is a wedding that Marcus is supposed to attend. It is that of his ex-fiancee and his mother is insisting that he go and take a date, because it makes him look bad if he doesn't. He really doesn't want to go, and certainly not take any of the "suitable" women she suggests. I loved how Liberty tries to make him see that he doesn't have to cave in to her pressure. Instead he takes Liberty as his date because she's the one he wants to be with. There are rather nasty confrontations with the ex and his mother, but Marcus finally sees Liberty's point and grows a backbone when it comes to his mother. However, there are consequences that come out the next day, during a meeting that Marcus and Liberty attend. Marcus doesn't react well and Liberty gets all her fears confirmed.

In her last words to Marcus, in a note, she told him "If there's one thing life has taught me, it's that you have to save yourself. No one else is going to do it for you." That is an eye opener and game changer for him, and I loved the effect it had on him. It was great to see him fight for Liberty and I loved his big moment at the end. I also loved the appearance of Trish Longmire from The Nanny Plan, and the part she had in Liberty's own epiphany. The ending was really sweet and made me like Marcus even more.

[SmartBitches · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

His Forever Family by Sarah M. Anderson is a billionaire/boss-assistant/Cinderella/adoption story (please let that be a category on Jeopardy someday) that features a pretty substantial conversation about race, class, and privilege. All of that is packed into 256 pages, but somehow it works. Also it’s about finding your family which is a theme that almost always works for me.

Right from the opening of the book, it’s clear that Marcus and Liberty are both dancing around some romantic feelings for each other. When the story starts we know that they’ve both been having pants feelings for each other for awhile, although neither has acted on it. Marcus won’t go there because his dad slept with every secretary he had and Marcus doesn’t want to be even remotely creepy or make Liberty feel like she has to date him to keep her job.

Since so much of the conflict is based on race and class, it would be easy for Marcus to (inadvertently) get painted as a racist or an idiot who cannot understand how the other half lives. He’s neither of those things, but he does acknowledge that he can’t possibly understand poverty in a meaningful way because to him, money is like air. It was always there and always would be and he didn’t have to think about it. He’s never experienced anything different. That acknowledgement keeps him from feeling shallow.

So if this book is so remarkable, why didn’t I give it an A? Because a lot of the plot hinged on Marcus and Liberty not talking. They had good reasons for not talking, sure, but there were plenty of opportunities for them to have an honest discussion before the moment of crisis in their story.

I really liked His Forever Family. I was engaged in the romance and in the found family theme (which I love). And I loved so much that it addressed tough subjects, stuff that can be really difficult to talk about, and did it within the context of a romance novel that was still happy and satisfying. I thought the conflict needed some work and so did the end, but overall it worked for me.

- Elyse

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

While a romance, this Chicago-set story explores some interesting modern issues and contrasts. A rich business owner is jogging one warm day and calling occasional notes to his long-suffering PA when they discover a baby dumped among trash in a park. The baby is African-American and while he gets good care on the spot and is taken over by reassuring authority figures, his outlook is bleak if the unfortunate mother can't be found.

The lady PA feels responsible for the child's continuing welfare and her boss helps her keep track of the baby. But he's got a price - he wants her to help him out with a wedding date. She's determined that no such event will occur, because she doesn't move in the rich, entitled society.

There are no easy answers for this potential couple and their respective backgrounds seem to be obstacles that they cannot overcome. I enjoyed seeing the characters unfold and the events develop. Chicago is shown as a city of beauty but also of two halves. Sarah Anderson writes well about women with layered identities who make their own ways in the world.

This is an adult romance and my copy came packaged with a short story adult romance, Never Too Late by Brenda Jackson. This is a complete contrast and a bit predictable but nice easy reading.
I downloaded a copy from Net Galley for an unbiased review.

[Jess O. (From Jess to You) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"4.5 out of 5 stars! Liberty learned at a very young age that the only person she could depend on was herself. So, instead of waiting around for someone to save her and rescue her from her life, she fought hard for what she wanted and carved out her own path. That path led her to being the best executive assistant Marcus, a billionaire businessman, could have ever asked for these past three years yet soon that all seems to change when on their typical early morning business run Liberty and Marcus find an abandoned baby. From then on feelings that both Liberty and Marcus had constantly held back come to the surface and life as they once knew it becomes nonexistent. But with “good meaning” relatives trying to keep them apart will they be able to keep the new future they both hope to keep creating together or will everything blow up in their faces?

This novel is like a strong women’s fiction novel with a side of heavy romance. It captured my attention from the beginning with its magnetic characters and their formidable personalities. I was intrigued by..."

Read more of this review and a TEASER here: https://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2018/01/feasted-on-his-forever-family-by-sarah.html

[CJ - It's only a Paper Moon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

I thought that the descriptions could've been better, the story could've been better fleshed out and the reason why they separated was thin.

It wasn't bad but it wasn't great and as a mixed person I think I would've liked to see Liberty accept her race instead of being ashamed.

* This was an ARC given to me by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange from an honest review *

[The Book Junkie Reads . . . · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two stories. Two authors.

[Merry Miller moon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book from Goodreads. Thank you, Goodreads! I haven't read a 'Harlequin Romance' book since high school and I read a lot of them when I was younger. Since then, I've lived a little and have expanded my reading tastes. The book is part of their 'Billionaires and Babies' series of books. The book's main character is Liberty Reece, a twenty-something who grew up with a drug addicted, hooker mother and never knew who her father was. She had a baby brother, but he was born addicted to drugs and sadly died after a couple of weeks. Liberty also has a secret, she is actually of mixed ancestry. Her mother was African-American and her father she assumes was white because Liberty has been living her life as a white person. She has worked hard for everything that she has earned in life. Her mother died young, Liberty was bounced from foster home to foster home. But, she wanted more for herself and to live a better life. She is the admin. assistant to a billionaire named Marcus Warren. Marcus is rich beyond belief. His parents are wealthy and he has set up his own company that allows him all the spoils of higher society living. Liberty has worked for Mr. Warren for three years now. She also runs with him every morning. And she is able to TAKE NOTES WHILE THEY RUN! What? Who can take notes while they are running? That brings multi-tasking to a whole new level! One day on their run, Marcus discovers a baby that has been placed near the garbage can. Liberty's mothering instincts kick in and she is able to rehydrate the baby. They call the paramedics who take the baby to the better of the hospitals in town-Marcus insists only the best hospital for the baby. He sees Liberty Reece in a whole new light as she is caring for the baby. He was already attracted to her-but now! And she is just as attracted to him. SPOILERS! Stop reading if you don't want any spoilers! As you can see from the cover, the baby is African-American and Marcus is white. But, wait a minute, is that really Marcus on the cover? Because on page 81, Marcus is described as 'a blond god with blue eyes....' The guy on the cover has brown hair and brown eyes! Did the person who did the cover page even read the book? That is not what Marcus looks like! And then there is the rest of the book, in which every other page is Liberty explaining how she had to work so hard at getting where she is today, basically pulling herself up from her own bootstraps, and that Marcus is too good for her. Over and over again. She doesn't run in his social circles, she couldn't live in his world of the rich, but the end of the book, she will because she loves him so much. Can't you just feel the love/lust? By page 173, there is this 'But she'd flown too close to the sun and what went up had to come back down' ARGH! That same sentence is used even earlier in the book. Why is the author repeating sentences? Was she just as bored writing the book as I was reading it? If you want a real story of suspense, romance, action, adventure, read the 'Outlander' series of books by Diana Gabaldon. She knows how to write great books! The only saving grace to this book was that it was only 188 pages! I do not recommend this book to anyone....

[Trin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay. So I read this because Smart Bitches Trashy Books said it was an unusual beast: a category romance that actually tried to deal with issues of race and class. And...it is. Unfortunately, I found that having something be sort of, almost interesting just made me want it to be actually interesting. This book's aspirations toward goodness made me even more aware of all the ways it was not good.

Marcus Warren is sort of Tony Stark-lite: he's a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist...yeah, he's basically just a billionaire with no personality beyond a whole bunch of mommy issues. Liberty Reese (seriously) is Pepper Potts but with no spine or spunk; she grew up horrendously poor and is biracial but passing for white which is potentially a really, really interesting premise. Unfortunately, I felt like this book's white author treated "blackness" as if it were synonymous with "poorness" and...it's really, really not. Setting that aside: it was really frustrating that Liberty doesn't give as good as she gets; so much of this book is just her long angst-ridden internal monologues about how everything is going to go so, so wrong. This could be in character for someone with her background, but it's not used effectively and it's really, really boring. Worse, it means she and Marcus have no banter, no spark.

They are both cute with the adorable abandoned baby they find; this book is tropetastic, and I suspect that if kidfic is super your jam, you might get more out of it than I did. But the tiny tastes of something provocative and interesting here only left me hungry for something more substantial.

I commend the author and publisher for trying to deal with these topics in a romance novel; I hope such things are attempted more often, and more successfully.

[Books and Spoons · Rating 4 out of 5]

The one line review would be - it surely was different. And that it is, in a positive way different. The billionaire stories are not normally my thing, so I was hesitant with this story, but I am glad I read it.
Marcus is a different kind of billionaire, from many other stories. He was born into the money, from both sides of his family, and then made even more on his own. He comes off as a confident and bold person, but he seems to be run by his parents. Parents that are not that pleasant, especially his mother, but his biggest battle in life is to try to avoid them, trying to do his own thing, and not following his mother's iron fist. And just when I thought he managed to achieve that, do something he wanted, only for him, not to any other reasons, plot twist!
Liberty is also trying to reinvent herself, after her disaster of a mother. They had that in common, at least! But she went even further, completely hiding her past, her mother's criminal past, even her race, and Marcus thought she was the only one he could really trust.
Marcus and Liberty are fun together, they have a connection, and the special kind of equality between them, that is rare, especially in their position. The attraction between them was undeniable, the deeper feelings a bit more questionable at such fast pace.
The story is thought provoking, made me think about the power we give to other people in our lives, and how we let them influence our thoughts and actions, or don't let them, in some cases.
A delightful and lovely story, where past tries to steer the future, where characters have to go deep, to find what they really want out of their lives, and where little baby changes everything..
~ Four Spoons

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's not the typical boss/secretary romance. Even though there are some Pretty Woman moments, the characters have real depth. The differences in their backgrounds was sure to lead to a rocky relationship, but I was pulling for Marcus and Liberty to find a way to work it out. And the baby is precious, of course! I laughed, I was spitting mad, and I cried. This story had it all.

The bonus short story by Brenda Jackson was a great story too. A couple who are about to be divorced get stranded at a remote cabin during a blizzard. Maybe now they can finally talk about what went wrong.

[DelAnne Frazee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: His Forever Family - Billionaires & Babies Book 66
Author: Sarah M Anderson
Publisher: Harlequin Desire
Published: 2-9-2016
Pages: 186
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sub-Genre: Family Life; Series
ISBN: 9780373734382
ASIN: B01OLDKb36
Reviewed For NetGalley and Harlequin
Reviewer: DelAnne
Rating: 4.75 Stars


Found: one baby…and the boss's future bride?

Tiny and helpless—the abandoned newborn that venture capitalist Marcus Warren finds during a morning run takes him by surprise. So does the sudden longing for his capable assistant, Liberty Reese, who reveals her tender side with the baby.


But Liberty must resist her gorgeous boss's advances. Her secrets could destroy his trust, her career and the chance to care for the foster child they are both coming to love. Even so, she can't deny the heat between them—or the fear that her past will end their chance to create a forever family.


From the start you will be held captivated. A baby to capture your heart and a romance to make it beat faster. With characters that are witty, independent and fun to read about. The well thought out story runs smoothly and is short enough that it can easily be read in an afternoon. A light romantic read to warm your heart and brighten your day.


My rating of "His Forever Family - Billionaires & Babies" is 4.75 out of 5 stars.


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[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished the audiobook version of this book. I thought the cover was interesting and needed something to listed to on my daily commute.

Never Too Late by Brenda Jackson was GOOD. I wish it was longer. It was the last hour and a half of this audiobook. Brenda Jackson was the main reason I selected this title, had her name not been attached to this book I probably would not have bothered.

His Forever Family by Sarah M. Anderson was FAIR. I will say this, if race were not a factor in this story I may be a little more inclined to like this book BUT race is a factor in the story. My issue is with the character of Liberty Reese who is passing for white BUT is she really. She is a bi-racial woman so does that not make her just as white as she is AFRICAN AMERICAN. In actuality I would say Liberty was more white than she is African American since her mother was bi-racial and her father was probably white. Why is the one drop rule still applicable in this day and age?

Furthermore we, as individuals, do not get to decide our race it is those around us that do. If the people around you think you are white then, guess what, you are white. If those around you perceive you are black, then you are black. This is not a lie by omission. Who walk around with a signs that says "but my mama is black," no one. So, to my way of thinking Liberty did not lie about her race. She allowed people to think what ever they wanted to think and rolled with it.

[sjoyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Past To Forever!!!

His Forever Family is an interracial romance that's a bit different. Liberty Reese is an biracial woman passing as white. She has no self esteem and works as Executive Assistant to Marcus Warren. He is the white billionaire heir to his father's investment financial company and his mother's hotel empire. Plus, he owns his own capital venture company. His parents are the typical, extremely wealthy controlling parents. They also are trying not find him a suitable wife, and he's beginning to rebel.

Liberty and Warren find an abandoned African American newborn on their morning run. They turn the baby over to the proper authorities after naming him William. They bond over the baby and fall in love. Will her secret past come back to ruin any future with him? Will his mother's cruel plan to reveal Liberty's secret work to derail their burgeoning relationship? Will the baby, William, play a role in their forever.

It's a quick , fairly enjoyable read.

[Ann Edwards · Rating 1 out of 5]

***Thank God! I read this before I purchased it. Something made me stop as I was about to click the button. I came across this review and you saved me anger and frustration and the strength it would have taken for me to not ask Brenda Jackson why she would cosign this mess. I love most of Brenda's work and have watched her come close to the color line of self-hatred, but if this review is anything to go on - Brenda allowed that weakness, flaw to write with her and her white co-author. I understand second generation removed from "the projects mentality", but will never understand self-hatred.

Case in point. This chick passing for white... why wasn't her mother "white" and father black? Isn't that the popular trope these days? No. When they want to send the ugliest message on Blackness they always dog the Black woman.

I'm so glad I didn't hit the "buy button". ***

[Kate Vale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of the Billionaires and Babies series in which we meet Marcus Warren handsome magnate of the Chicago Warren's and his personal assistant, Liberty Reese.

She's made herself into someone she'd like to be after being born in poverty, drugs, and a Chicago ghetto. Marcus wants to feel cared for for himself rather than his wealth and privilege, and Liberty does, but she's not high society and when he asks her to go with him to his former fiancee's wedding--at his mother's insistence--he has no idea how badly that is going to turn out.

Back home Liberty decides to adopt the baby they found in a box near a trash can--something Marcus can't do or at least shouldn't--until he tells her how he really feels, about her, and about that abandoned baby. What will his mother think?!

[Anuradha Cherukuri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a romance about a billionaire Marcus Warren and his secretary Liberty Reese. Liberty adopts a small baby called William. Marcus falls in love with her and offers to marry her, willing to adopt William. Liberty is offered a bigger job in San Francisco, but accepts Marcus' s proposal and settles with him.

[W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Reading

I enjoyed the original story as well as the bonus book. Quick, easy reading that was entertaining and fun. Definitely worth reading.

[June Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this bit of light reading.

[Corynne Person · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok read.

Wished this had more character development but that's why I stopped reading Silhouette and Harlequin years ago. Nice to see characters of color though.

[Di Schlenk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love story of a millionaire and his executive Assistant.

[Megan Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting conflict with a heroine finding her way while hiding herself and her past. Hero very structured and upright (uptight?). Then a baby changes everything.

[Nida Danish · Rating 1 out of 5]

So not good!

[Simply Love Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leigh's review posted at Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

It’s been a while since I’ve read a straight up romance, and I sometimes wonder why I don’t reach for them more often. His Forever Family is a perfect example of how good this type of book can make you feel and was a sweet and enjoyable story of two people from different worlds, both wanting the same simple things out of life. This story did have some issues for me, but on the whole, it was really a delight.

I liked Liberty. She was a woman who came from less than modest beginnings, and she struggled for everything she had in this world. She had a good heart, good intentions, and I wanted to see this woman who played by the rules succeed and get her prince charming.

And Marcus truly was a prince. Smart, wealthy, driven. He was handsome and kind, and only wanted a normal family life to be happy. These two people fit perfectly together and I wanted to see them create the perfect family and live happily ever after.

What I had a problem with was the conflict, which seemed to be manufactured and too simple. On Liberty’s part, she fought the attraction to her boss by clinging to her “you deserve so much better than me” attitude. She looked to circumstances of her past that she had no part in creating and felt that they defined her. I was sad that she didn’t have enough trust in Marcus to be honest with him from the start. And on Marcus’ behalf, I didn’t feel that a successful and wealthy businessman should be letting his mother dictate every aspect of his life. At some point, the apron strings needed to be severed, and Marcus’ mother, as the villain in the story, came off as simply too Cruella de Vil to be believable.

These issues aside, I truly enjoyed this story. It made me smile and cry and hope that Marcus and Liberty got the family they deserved.

Review copy provided for an honest review.

[Monica Cardoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a read that is sweet, romantic and with characters that will make you fall in love with this story then look no more. I love Ms. Anderson’s writing style and how I am transported into the story when I’m reading her books. I love when I am able to feel the characters emotions with the authors writing. This was one of those reads that I just couldn’t stop smiling with at least until Marcus made me so mad that I started to cry. These two characters were meant to be together from the moment that I started reading this story but there always has to be a big dark secret that tears them apart. Liberty is a great woman that has been in love with her boss but couldn’t come to that understanding until William came into their lives. I couldn’t believe how Marcus just wanted to make Liberty happy and if that meant they would adopt William then they would adopt. But then all that comes crashing down and he learns not only the truth about his childhood nightmare but also the true identity of Liberty and he crashes and burns. He was being pig headed and wouldn’t listen to her and when he didn’t have her he knew he royally screwed up. So if you want to know more about this incredible read then pick it up and enjoy.

I totally recommend this read!!

Received ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an Honest Review

[Georgette Moore connell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lost Me

I was drawn to this book by the cover. I thought it was a huge twist for a white character to be caring for an African-American baby. I made the mistake of reading the reviews and I saw that the heroine was herself African-American. And that was where the author lost me.

I was so sick of the heroine telling the Hero that she wasn't good enough for him. I don't know how many times she said it, at least 6! She said over and over that she was beneath him. And it was because her mother was an African-American drug addict who was also a hooker. SHE was none of those things, she even "passed" as white, so I can't understand what the dilemma was all about. It irked me to no END that Marcus accused her of passing when I don't remember there being one description of her at all. It was also unrealistic that he, a billionaire, hadn't run a background check on Liberty when she became his executive assistant.

I wanted to rate this higher, but I couldn't. The racial theme was not what I wanted. The author was reaching and fell shy of the mark.