Decidedly with Baby

By the Bay #2

by Stina Lindenblatt

One-Night Stand Rule #1: always check the condom’s expiry date.

Oops.

As a career-orientated woman, I have a plan, and being a mom is not part of it. My not-quite-a-fairy-tale childhood involved being brought up by thirty nannies (yes, thirty!), so what the heck do I know about being a mother anyway?

Yes, the news about Granny dying is a surprise. But not as much as what happens after, when I have hot sex with Mr. No Commitment himself, Josh Hoffer, as a way to deal with the grief.

Is it worth it? Definitely.

Or at least it seemed so at the time.

****

I have no room in my life for a family or steady girlfriend. My hockey career comes first. Life is tough when you’re on the road more times than you’re not.

Besides, what do I know about diapers and baby yoga and fairy-tale princesses?

When Holly Whittaker, with her sexy Aussie accent and mile long legs, wants to blow off a little steam after receiving bad news, hell if I’m saying no. She’s my friend, and friends help friends in need.

But sex is never without consequences. And now we need to figure out how to find room in our hearts for each another—plus one.


Warning: Contains naughty texts, shower sex, and enough profanities to fill an oversized swear-word jar.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Sports, Sports Romance, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary Romance, Hockey

ebook

First published September 12, 2017

About the author

Born in Brighton England, USA Today bestselling author Stina Lindenblatt has lived in a number of countries, including England, the US, Finland, and Canada. This would explain her mixed up accent. She has a kinesiology degree and a MSc in sports biological sciences. In addition to writing fiction, she loves photography, and currently lives in Calgary, Canada, with her husband and three kids.

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Reviews

[Heroesinbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. It's the second in the By The Bay Series but can easily be read as a standalone.
I liked Holly and Josh in the first book and I was delighted that they got their story. It's sweet, sexy and sassy with an adorable ending plus not too much angst. It's fun!
HEA? Yes
Cheating? No

[Jo - •.★Reading Is My Bliss★.• · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awwwwwwww I just love a great unexpected pregnancy story!

Okay, so Josh and Holly meet through mutual friends and even though they are both very attracted to each other they push that aside and become really good friends.

Holly is very career focused and she does manage to fit in moments of having fun with her friends on occasion. However, she is not interested in dating anyone or settling down anytime soon, much to the chagrin of her mother.

Josh is just as driven as Holly, he is an NHL player and has had a very successful career thus far. Some of his friends have begun to settle down with serious relationships but he is yet to feel the need to do that. He loves the freedom of being single, especially because the option being traded at any time means upheaving his life and moving cities at any given moment.

On one drunken night out with friends Josh and Holly give into their attraction and have a very hot night of smoking hot sex. A one off though, their friendship is more important and they agree not to speak of it again. However Josh forgot a promise he made to Holly and they end up repeating that night a few more times.

And then comes a positive pregnancy test.

Funny how your priorities and thoughts can make such a huge shift when you are living in a moment. You often think you know what you would do or how you would handle it until it becomes your reality.
What will happen to their friendship? Are either of them ready for this huge life change? Will the things that were important to them before being parents be just as important after?

This was such a sweet story of how Josh and Holly navigate their way through pregnancy and parenthood.

[Donna Was A Scandal · Rating 4 out of 5]

TJ gave this one 4.5 stars over on Scandalicious Book Reviews - follow this link to see her full thoughts:
http://bit.ly/2wY3vik

[Letícia · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know the feeling when the characters are good, the story line is good too and overall its good but somehow lacking ...yeah this whole book was like this to me..

[BookSmackedMel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my very first book by Stina Lindenblatt and I absolutely enjoyed this read.

It was light hearted with a bit of heavy but not too much but it was just absolutely adorable.
The two main characters Holly and Josh are friends and both of them are very career orientated not looking for a relationship.

The give into their attraction for one fleeting moment and that moment turns into another and another. Without getting into the storyline these two find themselves expecting and how they handle it definitely had me engaged and wanting to see what would happen with these two.

Josh, well 1. He's a hot hockey player and me being Canadian well I am programmed to love hockey players. 2. He's a stand up guy and made my heart swoon at some of his sweet gestures throughout this book. 3. Hot hockey guy with baby

Holly is a fiery red head that had a good head on her shoulders, wasn't the hockey groupie that you hate and she was independent.

There were moments in this book where I chuckled and moments that I had to fan myself because her and Josh's chemistry was pretty freaking hawt.

For me this was a feel good read that gives you the warm and fuzzies all over.

Definitely won't be the last book of Stina's that I read that's for sure.

[Gökçe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neden neden neden?
Neden böyle bir giriş yaptığımı merak ettiniz mi?
Şu köşedeki güzel bir kitap okuma ümidiyle bu kitaba başlayan Gökçe'yi görüyor musunuz?
Sıkıldınız mı yoksa sorulardan?

Eğer tüm bu sorulardan sıkılacak bir insansanız bu kitabı okumayı düşünmeyin bile. Çünkü tüm kitap böyle soru geçidi. Bir başlıyor, haltı bize soruyor karakterler. Delirdim! Güzel de başladı aslında ama tüm bu soru deryası, gereksizce uzatılmış hikaye, yazılmış on beş epilog derken içim bayıldı. Yazar iki karakterin ağzından kitap yazmış ama karakterlerin düşünme ve konuşma tarzları aynı. İşte buna başarısızlık diyoruz. Kaldı ki kitabın sonunda ilk kitaptan bir bölüm var ve o da bu kitapla aynı minvalde yazılmış.

Bizımla deyılsın.

[Timitra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rated 3.5 Stars

Decidedly With Baby is a cute and sweet read. While I enjoyed it, it didn't blow me away I believe it's because the humour didn't work for me, it wasn't crass or anything like that it just didn't tickle my funny bone. Will this stop me from reading other books by this author, no it won't.



ARC won in a giveaway hosted by author

[İlkim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it only because it's cover, it's predictable but not so bad.

[Bette Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loved Josh and Holly's story. They were both such great strong characters and I enjoyed watching them change and grow as the story went on. Holly is career oriented and has no clue how to be a good mother. Her role models growing up were all nannies. Josh too is all about his career. He's a professional hockey player and on the road more than half the year. No time in there for a family. Sometimes though the best things in life are a surprise!

Great story. Great characters. Great writing. Don't miss it. I highly recommend.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the By the Bay series but can be read as a standalone. This is a sports romance, friends to lovers, and surprise baby romance all rolled into one. It was such a sweet and hot read!

I adored Josh! He was a no strings attached guy and he didn’t want marriage and children. Oh how life throws you for a loop! He was amazing from the start! He was this strong, sexy hockey player but he was so much more. He was sweet, attentive and supportive. He had me swooning throughout! Nothing better than a sexy man with a baby! Ovaries exploding! He is the perfect book boyfriend!

Holly is in San Francisco from Australia to work. She is waiting to get her Green Card and her life is great. She has a great job, wonderful friends that she loves and she is away from her cold and distant parents. Her brothers are awesome and provided great entertainment throughout the book. She is career oriented and has no intention of getting married and have a family. Her parents were not the best role models. Imagine her surprise when she found out she was pregnant! She doubted her ability to be a loving mother.

This fun, sexy, and sweet friends to lover’s story is just what I wanted. A light read that made me have those tingles and happy feels. Even though they both had a lot going on with their lives and careers, love won out! I highly recommend this sweet and spicy read!

ARC kindly provided for an honest review.

[Fredrika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is pure fun. I don’t know how else to describe it. It has all my favorite tropes: accidental pregnancy, fake fiancée, professional hockey player love interest, etc. I really enjoyed it.

[Josie · Rating 2 out of 5]

12/9: I'm about halfway through and I just had to make a few notes for myself because I'm having a few issues with the book. Firstly, the POV for the hero and heroine is too similar. I am also frustrated by the abundant mentions of the heroine's aching lady parts as though they were a separate entity. This is jarring and repetitive. I also find that the constant questions to the reader jarring, too. This feels like sloppy storytelling to me and its repetitiveness is also very frustrating. My other big issue is that, given the title of the book and the blurb, I didn't need the first 40% of this book to basically be backstory about the lead up to the couple getting pregnant. I think that could have been summed up in the first couple of chapters. It also made certain events, like the hero pretending to be the heroine's fiance on a quick dash over to Australia seem very contrived (the pacing here is also an issue for me). With everything that I'd read about this book and the cover itself, I was expecting to see more of the hero with an actual baby. I am still continuing with this book but I'm not sure if there is enough page time left to make up for the first half.

13/9: So, I finished Decidedly With Baby but overall, it didn't work for me. The rhetorical questions continued to be abundant and so they were abundantly frustrating. I was also frustrated that the baby actually came so late in the story. The blurb and the title were pretty misleading, I felt. I also thought there was just too much extra stuff going on that distracted from any real relationship development between the hero and heroine. In the end, I've given this two stars because I did continue to the end to see what happened, but my rating would actually border on 1.5 stars because I had so many issues with this overall.

[Livros A Go-Go ~Joyci ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

bonitinho, mas não tem muito conflito. É só ler e ler e acompanhar uma gravidez e um início de namoro.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Under the Covers Book Blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Stina Lindenblatt read and I was lured by the cute baby pic on the cover.  I mean, seriously?  Who can resist that?  So while my ovaries were bursting, I cracked this open.  Holly and Josh have been attracted to each other since they met, but because they are both so career oriented and not interested in dating, they decided they were better off as friends.  And good friends at that.  But that hasn't stopped the attraction and things came to a boiling point one drunken night.  After that there might've been a few more nights of a convenient no-commitment arrangement.  And then the positive pregnancy test came up.

I really liked Josh and how he handled everything, despite his young age and the unplanned responsibility.  This was the second book of the month I read with almost this same scenario and the heroines have turned out to be the ones with more issues.  Holly definitely has some of those to work through.  But at the same time she's a very confident woman.  I struggled with connect with her the most in this story.

While this was a sweet, feel good romance, I don't think there's much about it that will make it stand out for me and remember down the road.  It lacked a certain something that made this somewhat overused plot and simple characters go to the next level.  But it was still an enjoyable read.

*ARC provided by author
Reviewed by Francesca❤ ♡ Don't want to miss any of our posts? Subscribe to our blog by email! ♡ ❤

[bobamami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god I think I'm in love with this book!

It was so lighthearted and sweet with very mild drama, I'd say, but interesting enough to keep me going and invested. Or maybe because I came across this book without reading the reviews beforehand or having any expectations whatsoever. Either way, I really like this book.

The chemistry between Josh and Holly was explosive from the very first moment, even from just the mere mentions of one another, and it bloomed stronger and stronger throughout the book that it was very satisfying when they finally admitted and declared their love for each other, and also tried to make their relationship work. I felt like a proud mama!

However, the thing I like best about this book was the writing. It was amazing!
Like you know in Emma Chamberlain's videos, she uses “you” instead of “you guys” to address her audiences, I think it is a brilliant way to connect directly and keep their focus on her, it's like we're catching things up with her as an actual friend.
The writing of this book gave me the same feeling as well. Like the characters were actually spilling me tea instead of just narrating the story. So homey and friendly yet every word, every sentence was so belletristic that lured me in and till this day, I'm still in shocked at how well-written they were.

Overall, this book was so good. Some might say it was too good to be true and somewhat lacking, but I think it was perfect for me, I enjoyed this a lot and had a really great time!

[Lisa :) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope, not for me!


First of all I found the H and h POV way too similar. Sometimes I couldn't tell one Person from the other. And no, that does not make them a great couple, it just shows lazy writing and character developement.


I also could not stand Holly! She was cold, selfish and plain unlikeable. And what was her deal with her Job? I get that she loved her profession and that it was a bit more difficult for her since she wasn't a citizen. But she never even considered applying somewhere, although that would mean she and her daughter would be closer to Josh.

I just didn't feel the love between the characters. Every interaction between Josh and Holly felt kinda awkward.

But what bothered me most was the endless repetitiveness. The rhetorical question on every other page GOT. ON. MY. LAST. NERVE! Was it really that bad you ask? Does the sun set at night? (And it went on and on and on like that).

Not a DNF but close to and I deleted it from my kindle as soon as I finished.

I honestly don't know where all these great reviews came from :O

[Antonella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly well it was.....
Predictable and somewhat lacking.

It was an okay, readable and entertaining book. I like sports romance especially hockey, put there an unexpected pregnancy and well I will read it.

[Kimberly / Love Notes Book Blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. Quickie review because it's been months since I read this. I liked this book. It was cute and sweet, if not terribly memorable. I did think it was lacking a bit in chemistry and it was a bit long winded. Still, I did find it light, funny and entertaining.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always a sucker for accidental pregnancy books, especially when we get the full story from pre-pregnancy to post-birth, and I just really liked Josh and Holly.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book.

[Sherry Vitaniemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a yes!

This is definitely a yes book to read. Nothing like a sexy hockey player. Who has no problem being a daddy . And loving every minute of it. And loving her mommy to.

[Francesca the Fierce (Under the Covers Book Blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Kristen Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply adored Holly and Josh's story.

Full Review to Come.

Decidedly with Baby was a fun, swoony, romance story involving a surprise pregnancy between two people who didn't think they had this commitment in them.

Holly had plans, she knew what she was doing and where her life was going, but on the one night she decides to live a little outside of those plans, she finds herself in an unexpected predicament. But even though she never planned for a baby, she finds herself working this new reality into her life and future plans.

Josh is happy with life as it is, he loves his hockey career and isn't ready to settle down any. But when Holly tells him the news of his impending fatherhood, something about it draws him in too.

I really enjoyed watching these two grow both apart and together as they worked thorugh what this baby meant to both of them and their lives. They are both strong willed characters who have found their plans disrupted and it takes a few to get it all together and rework their plans. As they work through this with banter and friendship, I fell in love with them both as they of course figured out their true feelings for each other. Though it was not always easy or smooth sailing, these two brought a lot of heart to this story and I found myself all in with the emotions of each scene and rooting for them to work it all out.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big hockey fan and enjoyed that aspect of this book. I also like that Josh and Holly were friends before they became lovers. That said, I didn't think there was a lot of chemistry between the two except for the sex.

I was disappointed with the resolution to their dilemma. As a hockey fan, I hated that Josh gave up his hockey career because Holly "loved her job." Yeah, she loved it so much that she ended up job-sharing. She should have supported him for reaching the pinnacle of a lifetime of effort to get into the NHL. Days later, I'm still mad at the ending. But there was a HEA.

[Canadian Girl Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

                 

                             

Josh and Holly both put their careers first and have no time for a relationship but when they decide to throw caution to the wind one night their relationship changes. Holly lies to her family about Josh being her fiancé, he agrees to go to Australia with her for her granny's funeral and they figure while they are out of the US they can have fun until they return home. Only they did not expect the surprise that popped up two months later. Decidedly with Baby is a surprise baby hockey romance in the By the Bay series which is told in the dual first-person point of view.

Josh and Holly's relationship starts from a friends to lovers and quickly changes when she finds out she is pregnant. I thought this was a fun and lighthearted story and did hit on a lot of areas that most first time parents face. I did find myself laughing out loud a few times through the story but had a permanent smile on my face the whole time I listened to the audiobook. Tim Paige has become one of my favourite male narrators and Isabelle had me convinced that she could be from Australia. I look forward to diving into the rest of the By the Bay series.

*Audio code was generously provided in exchange for my honest review.*

                             

                      

                           

[Jae Mod · Rating 3 out of 5]

***ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review***

Adorable, all around feel good sports romance with one handsome hockey player in Decidedly with Baby by Stina Lindenblatt. This was a sweet read by a new author for me that I was pleasantly surprised by her engaging storyline and heartfelt characters. Holly and Josh are characters to be consumed by, swept up in and fall madly in love for.

Both married to their careers; Josh to hockey, Holly to business, neither one is looking to settle down for marriage, family, etc. Becoming friends through Trent & Kelsey is perfect for one another, but when Holly’s grandmother passes and a night to forget goes farther than what they both want, where will that leave their friendship. When the sunshine's the next morning and the reality hits, both will have to face their lusty temptation for the next 18 years.

Earth shattering sex was a great stress reliever, and that was a win for Junior.
“Yes, the offer’s still on the table.”
“Then I accept your offer.”
I’d worry about the consequences later…

Josh Hoffer is your no commitment NHL hockey player, but desires for more off the ice. All his friends are settling down, maybe it’s time for him too. He is care free, loving and wants the best for Holly in the long run. The way he handled the news of the pregnancy was completely endearing and my heart melted a little in that moment!

Aussie Holly… now, she was a little tougher nut to crack. She is career driven to the max, so when the pregnancy test turned positive her world shifted. Coming from a family where nannies raised you she was at a loss, mind you also she was also only in the US on a work visa to obtain her green card. But throughout the story, you see her come into her own, it was remarkable and I like how Ms. Lindenblatt wrote her journey and contemplations.

The writing style of this book was unique. I felt like someone was sitting across from me telling me a love story. Both in Holly and Josh’s POV but then it also had their “street sense” opinions thrown in. Very interesting in a good way! Decidedly with Baby is the second novel in the By The Bay series, but it can be read as a standalone.

3.5 Stars

[books are love · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received in exchange for a honest review.

I fell in love with Josh. I love how he begins as the no commitment guy but when you read his POV you do see that he is tired of the one night stands. You see him struggling with his emotions about hockey too. He loves the sport but he is beginning to see he wants more than just to travel. He is growing up and maturing before our eyes and it is wonderful to see.

Josh is a teddy bear. Sweet and precious. He is respectful and kind. He treats Holly with such respect and love. With each reveal from her, Josh is easygoing and accepting. You can even see he has excitement and joy. Josh throws himself into Holly’s world and into what is happening with fervor and love. He shows kindness, acceptance, patience and love. We see him show his feelings and let Holly know where he stands. He is there for her no matter what and works around her world and finds a way to fit his life into hers seamlessly. Josh doesn’t make her feel she is alone but loved and that she has someone there no matter what. I love the players with kids group and all they know about Disney Princesses and when he and Holly take the twins to the zoo I cracked up.

To me Holly was more resistant about her and Josh than he was. I think because she had pressure from her mom, pressure of thinking that Josh only is doing things for one reason and not love even though she knows he loves her and her fear of what is going on. She doesn’t want Josh to give up his love of hockey for her but she also wants him in her life. She is confused and you see that but also very supportive like he is of her. She is a strong and kind character. Very independent. My aww moment was Christmas and how Josh was there for her. He melts you into a pile of goo in this book.

I love the story and its sweetness. There are steamy moments but you are just left with feel good melty moments more. Josh is so supportive and awesome. Josh will take your heart and not let it go. We see how these two go from friends to lovers to a family and it is sweet, adorable sexy and just a wonderful feel good story of how Josh and Holly find love and family with one another.

[Valda W. Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

.Puntuación: .4,50 ♥
.Palabras clave: . Embarazo no esperado, Hockey, Adictos al trabajo, problemas pasados.
.Mi opinión:.
Holly es adicta al trabajo, no tiene tiempo para nada, menos para enamorarse, sobre todo tras el amor no correspondido con su compañero de trabajo, así que cuando ve que está embarazada, podemos decir que es un sorpresón para ella (nunca mejor dicho).
Josh está centrado en su carrera de hockey, solo tiene eso en mente, así que cuando Holly le da la noticia su reacción es la peor del mundo, sí, con esa dichosa pregunta de "¿Estas segura que es mío?"
Su noche de "pasión" y unos condones caducados les ha acercado de una manera que no querían, ¿o quizá sí?
Todo se remonta a dos meses antes de que Holly se entere de su embarazo, ahí veremos el acercamiento de los dos, por qué están centrados en sus respectivas carreras y también el por qué no querían - o mejor dicho sus miedos a - ser padres.


♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

.¿Qué es lo que me ha gustado? . Es la típica historia de embarazo accidentado, donde todo pasa por una noche entre las sábanas, pero que al final hay un gran HEA. La historia de los dos personajes es parecida en cuanto a miedos, pero ambos descubrirán que hacen un buen equipo y que sus miedos están que menos infundados. El futuro no dicta quién eres sino tus acciones.
.¿Qué es lo que NO me ha gustado? . Quizá que todos - o la mayoría de los deportistas - tienen que ser playboys o mujeriegos, como quieras decirlo. Es el estereotipo de estos tipos de personajes, que ellos pueden estar metidos en los pantalones de alguien y al siguiente capítulo estar enamorados de la H. Bueno, no podemos tener todo.
.¿Volvería a leerlo? . Me ha gustado, no lo descartaría.

[Bette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous Story & Narration🎧 Captivating & Heartfelt!

Decidedly with Baby
By the Bay, Volume 2
By: Stina Lindenblatt
Narrated by: Tim Paige, Isabelle Ruther

Stina Lindenblatt pens another awesome novel in her “By the Bay” series. This is Holly Whittaker and Josh Hoffer’s story. I adored Holly when I first met her in the first book in the series and was glad to see she got her own book. She is an Australian working in the US with a work Visa, she is Trent’s coworker and friend, she and Kelsey got friendly too in the first book. Josh Hoffer is a pro-hockey player, he like Holly is focused on their careers but the became good friends. When she needs a shoulder to cry on he is there for her, he also agrees to accompany her home for a funeral and to deal with her family. There was a night of passion between them, an agreement for a temporary fling, pretend relationship to keep her mother at bay and then an unplanned pregnancy. I just loved how everything played out in this book, the story is well written and has a natural flow to it. There is plenty of drama, a touch of angst, some humor, heartfelt and emotional moments and some hot romance. It was great to see the characters grow as they accepted and adapted their lives to accommodate their new circumstances, loved how it made them closer. Stina Lindenblatt, thank you for another fabulous story. 🎧📚🎧

I listened to the Audiobook edition, narrated by the talented Tim Paige and Isabelle Ruther. They continue to bring these characters to life, giving each their own unique voice and personality. You could hear how much heart they put into their work as they capture the characters emotions and project them into their work. Isabelle Ruther’s Holly was awesome, accent and all. Tim Paige perfected Josh’s role as well. They are entertaining storytellers and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another awesome listen.🎧