Claiming his Secret Baby

Evermore #3

by Clare Connelly

“Our marriage will be different. It isn’t a love match. We both know what we’re getting.”
His words were like little stones landing against her sides. “Oh?”
He angled his head thoughtfully. “We’re giving our son a family. You’re gaining true financial security. I’m gaining a wife on my arm and in my bed.” He shrugged. “It’s a perfect marriage of convenience.”
A frisson of warning danced down her spine. The clinical assessment should have been reassuring. After all, boundaries were good, delineations were helpful.
But there was danger everywhere. Danger in the way he spoke so casually of a loveless marriage, when she had already seen how easy it was to fall in love with him.
But this was different.
She knew who he was now, and what he was capable of. The stars had fallen from her eyes and she saw it all clearly.
She wouldn’t love him again. And she’d never trust him with her heart; not for a billion pounds.



One night and a lifetime of consequences...

A wild weekend of passion with powerful Xavier Salbatore had broken impressionable young Ellie's heart. She'd loved him madly, but then she'd discovered he was engaged to be married and she'd run a mile!

A bad car accident robbed the ruthless Spanish billionaire of so much. With a failed marriage and the discovery that he'd cheated on his wife and fathered a son with his mistress, Xavier is determined to put his life back together - even if it means marrying the woman who hid their child from him. A woman he'll never forgive!

Ellie knows she needs to keep Xavier at arm's length to avoid being hurt. She vows she won't respond to him, but night by night he wears away her defences, leaving her as powerless and lost to him as ever before...

An emotional story of mistakes, betrayal and the high cost of forgiveness, CLAIMING HIS SECRET BABY is book three in The Evermore Series.


 

Genres: Second Chance, Harlequin, Marriage Of Convenience, Contemporary, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Childrens

264 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 7, 2018

About the author

For all things Clare Connelly, please see www.clareconnelly.co.uk, the official home of Clare Connelly on the web.

Clare Connelly grew up in a small country town in Australia. Surrounded by rainforests, and rickety old timber houses, magic was thick in the air, and stories and storytelling were a huge part of her childhood.

From early on in life, Clare realised her favourite books were romance stories, and read voraciously. Anything from Jane Austen to Georgette Heyer, to Mills & Boon and (more recently) 50 Shades, Clare is a romance devotee. She first turned her hand to penning a novel at fifteen (if memory serves, it was something about a glamorous fashion model who fell foul of a high-end designer. Sparks flew, clothes flew faster, and love was born.)

Clare has a small family and a bungalow near the sea. When she isn't chasing after energetic little toddlers, or wiping fingerprints off furniture, she's writing, thinking about writing, or wishing she were writing.

Reviews

[StMargarets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this secret baby/amnesia story. It's not an HP but it reads like one.

H/h had a love at first sight weekend of sex together. Then hero was in a car accident and got amnesia. Hero's parents run the heroine off from the hospital and heroine is horrified to realize the hero is engaged.

When she discovers her pregnancy she calls the hero's mother and is run off again. Heroine is kicked out her house, but her sister comes to her rescue.

Four years later the hero happens to see the heroine and is convinced he knows her. Heroine is very bitter. When hero finds out he has a son, he is very angry. He forces a marriage and they tear each other apart in between having hot sex.

So lots of conflict, drama, and misunderstandings. As for the cheating Hero did not cheat. He and fiance had broken up a month before, but H's parents didn't know that. They never had sex and divorced a few months after the wedding. Fiance was a friend and didn't want to appear to jilt him while he was injured.

Hero is cruel. Heroine is in knots. They both grovel at various points in the story. It's delicious angst.

Six children in the epilogue!

[Jac K · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
This was a pretty emotionally charged read. Xavier Salbatore and Elizabeth/Ellie met 4 years earlier and had an instant connection followed by a weekend in bed and plans for HEA-ville. Unfortunately, he’s almost killed in an accident and Ellie is told by his snooty parents at the hospital that he’s engaged to the love of his life Arabella and she’s a meaningless hussy. (my words) Later, she realizes she’s preggers and reaches back out to the snooty mom to be told to go away he said you’re a mistake. The book opens with the couple reuniting and we learn he has amnesia. (He feels like he knows her/attracted to her but can’t remember her.) This isn’t Harlequin, but it sure reads like one so all my HP gals probably know which way this is going to go. 😏

Bottom Line-C.C. takes a unique approach with the secret baby trope pointing out that’s it not cool hiding a kid, and having our h groveling/wallowing in guilt for many chapters. Personally, I’m all for sparing these plot moppets years of therapy, but hardcore “the h is always right” believers might get miffed… I also felt the snooty parents should have shouldered the lion’s share of guilt, and they get off unscathed. Regardless, I’m an equal opportunity groveler; but I do find BUCKETS of it boring regardless of the gender. IMO, this wasn’t overly angsty, there wasn’t any unrequited love… it was mostly drama because they were both super pissed at the other for much of the book. There’re tons of arguing then feeling bad and push/pull, so if that’s your thing…give it a shot it’s free to read with KU. It’s totally safe, no cheating, celibate during break including while married. There’s a cute epilogue 1 year later with another update 2 years from that.

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to review

I thought the hero was a jerk and threatening to take away a three year old little boy from his mother was just mean. I didn't hate the book but I didn't love it either. A little far fetched.

[Sometime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh the angst! This one is hard to rate because it is so deliciously angsty and both MCs are right in their feelings and reactions. At the same time, there are plot holes and misunderstandings and characters stay quiet when they should speak up! The H is cruel and humiliated the h at every opportunity. And the H's interfering parents get no comeuppance except their own guilt and missing out on time with their grandson. I don't care if they thought they were doing what was best. I also really hated how everyone in the H's life treated him like a weak infant who couldn't make decisions or hear the truth. He was a grown man who deserved more from the people who supposedly loved him.

This was a very safe read, which is the only reason I gave in and read this hot mess. It's very reminiscent of a really juicy Harelquin. Did I like it? Yes and no. 3 stars it is. Now I need to go read something nice and fluffy to calm down my heart.

Safety No cheating, celibate since their separation, the H never slept with his ex-wife, they didn't have that kind of relationship (which makes you wonder why they rushed into marriage in the first place, but whatever).

[Mai · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars! ⭐

📍amnesia H
📍doormat h
📍secret baby
📍forced marriage
📍all the angst

[Nikki ღ Navareus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread 1-6-2024

Not quite as angsty as I remembered it being, but still a nice story.


I recently finished reading , and thanks to one of my good friends on here, Thank you Jac K!!!!
I discovered the heroine in that story was the other woman in this one. When I went to DL this baby, I discovered I had already read this story in the past, but didn't give it a proper review-just 4 stars. Now that I've reread this one again, I'm writing a proper review right now!

So this story jumped right in with Xavier discovering he has a 3 year old child, and Xavier was completely justified in his fury at being denied the knowlege that he was a father. His brand of punishment was both extreme and smoking HOT. Wow!! I loved the sex scenes in this story.

From the outside, Elizabeth looked like a gigantic asshole for keeping her child a secret from the father and his family, and I was really digging Xavier's assholish treatment towards Elizabeth. The real reason behind Elizabeth keeping her secrets brought so much lovely angst to this story. The jealousy and insecurity that Xavier's ex wife showing up created in Elizabeth was fantastic too. I was in heaven.

This story was great for me. I loved all the characters, I adored the angst, and the HEA was perfection.

[Lidia's Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

What a great little gem! I always keep my eye out for secret-baby romance books and this one was a hit! To be honest, I almost DNFed because the hero's behavior at the beginning was a bit over-the-top and rubbed me the wrong way in one particular scene. But soon enough, the book became a page-turner. A total angst fest! This has one of my favorite reactions by a hero discovering the secret baby. I absolutely loved it! He didn't get over the discovery quickly like in other books, which to me, felt much more realistic in that respect. I felt every ounce of his loss and resentment. Also, he was a total alpha! My heart was doing little happy dances because it was getting fed exactly what it wanted.

Was it perfect (for me)? Not wholly but I got enough entertainment out of it to round off to 5 Stars. I would have preferred if the heroine hadn't always been so quick at falling into bed with the hero; maybe been less of a pushover. And on another note: can two people fall in love in 48 hours? I mean, I suppose it's possible but in this case it felt too instalove, in my opinion.

Cheating: I rather not spoil it LOL
HEA: Yes, 100% satisfying. I even highlighted a few quotes. Epilogue included.
Print Length: 264

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been a while since I read an revenge drama HP that had lots of checks like
+a tossed aside h after a weekend affair with a billionaire
+meet at a ball and do a 'do I know you?'
+ a secret baby
+ mu sparked-revenge-moc
+ a vengeful unforgiving 6 and half feet of hotness meets wet noodles h
+ amnesia with drip drip and convenient regaining of memories
+angst overload.
So, I had a good time rolling around in all that and thus the generous rating. ;)

3.65*

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

==>No cheating.<==

He did not cheat.
Everyone thinks he cheated, but the poor guy could not defend himself against the accusations because he lost his memory.
He had ended his engagement when he spent a weekend with our heroine.
But when he suffered an accident he lost his memory several confusions and a series of misunderstandings happened.
His parents did not know about the end of the engagement and his ex fiancee felt guilty, thinking that the accident was because he was suffering with the end of the engagement.
A great mess that resulted in the separation of the couple.

He was a cheat. A liar. A man she never wanted to see again.
But fate, cruel fate, had other ideas.

He’d forgotten her.
No wonder! He’d probably had lots of affairs

How dared he have forgotten her? How dared he still be cheating on his fiancé? No! His wife!

She’d become the other woman, and without having any damned idea that he was engaged!

“Important? I was never anything to you. I was nothing, except a quick lay.”

“Because you were engaged to her when we slept together,” Ellie threw at him. “And you didn’t even have the decency to tell me.”

And they’d married. Six months after the accident, when Ellie’s stomach was rounded with his child, he’d married someone else.

“Xavier has always had … an appetite,” the father began, his tone somewhat apologetic.

“Good. You’re right. How could it have meant anything when he’s so happy with Bella? Already talking about the family they’ll have and where they’ll settle…”

“He said he regretted it, that he wished he’d never met you. He said if he could have his time again, he would never do anything to hurt Arabella. She means the world to him, as he does to her, so you can see why my husband and I sought to protect him from…”

He hadn’t loved her.
He’d been using her. Having fun with her. Toying with her. A last indiscretion before he married the love of his life.
And he still was toying with her.

“Please, Xavier,” she begged, kissing the words into his soul. “I need you.”

“This is not making love,” he said, the words hoarse with his own needs. “There is no love between us, Elizabeth, and there never can be. It is just sex. Don’t forget that.”

“Keep begging,” he demanded, but he hardly needed to speak. She was saying his name over and over again, imploring him to keep going, not to stop, begging him to take her.

Discarded when you no longer served a purpose.
He had debased her, and he’d enjoyed it.

“It had to be.” The words were grim. “If anyone is going to believe this to be a real marriage, I had to give you the kind of ring I would to a wife of my choosing.”

She’d given all of her heart to Xavier four years earlier, and he hadn’t deserved it. And now? He still held it. She’d given it freely, a long time ago, and it turns out, there was no taking it back. She’d loved him and probably always would.
That was why the pain of seeing him with Arabella was corking through her like a stick of dynamite.

[Andrea Way · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked from the beginning until the end. I just could not put this down. I have adored everyone of these stories in this series. But this was the best one for me. I loved Elizabeth's (Elle's) and Xavier's story this was filled with heartache, bad timing and love everlasting. I adored their son Joshua he was just so adorable. Would highly recommend the author and series to anyone looking for a great romance.

[lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much angst , loved it 😊

[Lori [semi-hiatus]]

not for me
I was under the impression this would be something different. Heroine lost her virginity at 16 with a 30 year old. Sorry, but that always leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I couldn't continue.

[Serial Romance Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy this author for the angst. This book has some of my favorite tropes— secret baby and abandoned lover. It also has amnesia, which isn’t one of my favorite tropes. Basically, they’re a couple who falls into instalove over 48 hours and the H decides he wants to spend the rest of his life with the h, but he’s in a terrible car accident and his parents unknowingly drive away the h because they believe he’s already engaged to ow (but they’ve actually broken up). Then the ow goes ahead and marries the H because she thinks that’s what he needs. The h does a lot of feeling sorry for herself over not revealing to the H that she had a secret baby. She has a decent excuse (the H’s mother convinced her she had no place in H’s life). It’s all very dramatic. The H is understandably furious with the h. The h is passive aggressive and says some horrible things in an offhand manner, but she falls into bed with the H constantly. There’s a good grovel and a semi abrupt ending. The book ended at 44% which confused me. Then I suppose the rest of the pages are teasers for other books. I never read those. 3 stars because of the exasperating h and the plot relying entirely on a BMU.

[Iman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angst, angst, more angst, then buckets of angst...and HEA
If you are in the mood for as much angst as you can stomach,go for this one 😃

It Was too much for me but I did keep on reading to see how the author would « un-angst » all this in the end 🤣

[Ishara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book! So much hurt...and the angst! But so good! I have to list all the plot lines covered in the book:
Billionaire H and poor h... check!
Interfering family members.... oh yes
Cheating hero... yeah...
Other woman... ahuh
Amnesia.... yup
Secret baby.... yes
Marriage of convenience.... of course!

With all of the above how could the book not be absolutely fabulous? The MCs, Xavier and Ellie, both suffered alot and so deserved their HEA! My favourite of the trilogy ☺

[Selena Blackwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Omg... From the summary and how big of an asshole the H is, I would have assumed there would be more H groveling, but instead the whole book it was the h that had to beg and grovel and be blamed for everything. Seriously big disappointment... up till about 95% of the book she only groveling and I was like, OH THIS IS A 5 STAR ONE I CAN FEEL IT! Here it is, a couple more pages, just one more and he's finally going to realize how much he fucked her up, and he'sgonna be devastated and grovel and bed her back too.... only to be like "oh yeah hey I love you and don't blame yourself anymore"......
THAT'S IT?!?

Wuuuuuuuuuuut?
And then he finds out that his mom was a bitch but wait a minute,..... he's too happy to care anymore?!

What in the fuck?

On a better note, the book indeed was going on like 4 to 5 stars the entire time, only to be super disappointed by the outcome. And the lack of Hero groveling was a HUGE let down (except for maybe 3 sentences).

[Izzie d · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of angst, meddling parents and revenge.

[Raffaella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful story. The hero has amnesia and doesnt' remember Ellie, the woman he met before his accident and that has had his baby. He is furious because she didnt' tell him about the baby, but when she went to the hospital after his accident she met his fiancee and his parents. His mother asked her to leave and never try to find him again because he was happy with his fiancee and he was going to marry her. She tried to get in touch with him when she found out she was pregnant, but his mother asked her not to call anymore and that he told her he was very sorry for what he'd done and that she meant nothing to him. Obviously the hero is vengeaful and threaten the heroine telling that she has to pay for the years he lost with his son. She can marry him and be with their son, or he will take the child from her. The heroine, who didn't know about his amnesia, thinks he cheated on his fiancee and since he's such a despicable person, she decides not to risk his son and to marry him. The hero falls in love with her, even if he doesn't remember her, but when he asks his ex wife the truth about their engagement she reveals that they weren't enegaged any more when he met the heroine. The hero was selfish and cruel, I really hated him. Eventually he apologizes but that didn't seem enough to me, because he married another woman and he thought he was engaged to another woman, so the heroine, who was only 20 and alone, had to face what in her eyes was a cruel and mean deception from a man who only seduced her and then went back to his fiancee. Neither did I like the heroine because she should have told him immediately what his mother did. It was all his mother's fault if she couldn't get in touch with him, and if they lost so many years together. What if he didn't meet her accidentally at the party? He deserved the whole truth, more because he couldn't remember anything about them. She decided to take all the guilt and to be insulted, debased, used by that stupid weak hero for weeks and eventually she felt guilty because she didn't tell him about the baby. I don't like those martyr heroines, nor I like weak beta males who don't admit their responsibilities. What saved the book was that really the hero was not engaged to his ex wife, that he was going to tell his parents that he would marry heroine and that he was deceived by everybody, and he was celibate since he met the heroine even if he didn't remember her. Anyway it's a very angsty and tear-jerker book, and I liked it.

[Skylar · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 "Darling" stars!

A hero who knew he was missing something/someone important in his life even after he had amnesia, and stayed faithful even he had no freaking idea for what purpose? I'm in baby...!

This is Xavier and Elizabeth's story. And, oh boy, what a story it is. Xave and Ellie had a weekend of passionate sex and there's a little, cute walking proof of it too. But some things happen and Xave had no recollections of her or their time together, so she walks away with a look at his "fiancé",(see spoiler below) his parent's bitter words and a heavy heart. They meet again 4 years later and the story begins. There is definitely hatred and coldness at first but once the truths start getting unfolded, they realised what we knew all along. Eh? I would have love to see more of them as a loving couple but it's fine and all.

But fairy tale aside, I didn't really like the way Ellie so quickly fall into his bed the first time they met after 4 years. When she was still thinking he used her for sex all those years ago. And even after that she easily allowed him to humiliate her in bed by pleading him, though it might be implicated that she liked it, may be a fetish? Who knows?
I would have appreciated if she controlled her desires a bit more, but hey I'm not judging. (who am I kidding, I'm judgemental af.)

There are some instances where Xave acted like a jerk because he was angry at himself for causing her pain and he didn't know how to make it better. But you can really feel his turmoil and regret that he carried afterwards. His parents played a very significant role to scare away Ellie 4 years ago, but their parental instincts took over. They were good people.
Overall it was a good read and an emotional one too.



WARNING!!! SPOILERS AHEAD

He never slept with his ex fiancé, Bella as he never loved her that way. They were just good friends. And he was celibate after the accident because he had something tugging on his mind to keep a promise to someone. *swoon*. Ellie was celibate too. And the weekend they met, he was actually single because he and Bella had broken up a week before. So technically there is no cheating.He never remembered breaking up with her so they married. Bella was apparently saving him from hurting so she didn't tell him the truth. So no triggers actually.

[Kyle Hakim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Xavier and Elizabeth - ellie had one insta-love weekend together. The following day, xave got into accident and went into coma. When he woke up he actually got amnesia.
Her mother had told Ellie not to contact Xavier again. She found out she was pregnant and tried to call his mother to let Xave know, but his mother lied to her about the happy marriage of Xave.
4 years later, he saw her and instinctly attracted to her. They slept together again but she left afterwards. The next day, he saw her with their son, Joshua.
He repeatedly accuse her of hiding their son and gave her an ultimatum, whether they got married or he will take their son away from her.
They mover in together and he acted like he wanted to punish her for not telling him about Joshua.
At some point, he became an annoying character. Duh.
At last, they got married and he was sorry for his behaviour because he now saw how tormented Ellie was. His mother admitted to him that she had chased Ellie away because she didn’t know that before Xavier’s accident, he already broke up his engagement with Arabella.
I cried so much for Ellie because she was so damn naive to accept all his accusation though she sacrificed much to raise their son including being casted away by her parents and had to drop her passion in her law study at 20.

[RomLibrary]

One night and a lifetime of consequences...

A wild weekend of passion with powerful Xavier Salbatore had broken impressionable young Ellie's heart. She'd loved him madly, but then she'd discovered he was engaged to be married and she'd run a mile!

A bad car accident robbed the ruthless Spanish billionaire of so much. With a failed marriage and the discovery that he'd cheated on his wife and fathered a son with his mistress, Xavier is determined to put his life back together - even if it means marrying the woman who hid their child from him. A woman he'll never forgive!

Ellie knows she needs to keep Xavier at arm's length to avoid being hurt. She vows she won't respond to him, but night by night he wears away her defences, leaving her as powerless and lost to him as ever before...

[Jann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing to write home about

[JillyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending was fabulous. I may have teared up. 🥹 I am not sure why it has taken me so long to revisit this stand alone yet connected series. I have read number 4 and just looked at the review to realize the other woman (when looked at with a certain pov) was in that story.

Anyhoo, the hero Xzavier and the heroine Ellie(Elizabeth) share a weekend of love. He gets in a serious car accident. She goes to the hospital, stays by his bedside, and in the morning his parents and Fiancé arrive to hold vigil. Yep! He has a fiancé. She never meets the fiancé, but the parents make sure to let her know that she was just a fling and she needs to leave so it doesn’t upset Bella the fiance.

When the h finds out she is pregnant she reaches out to the parents. The mom lets her know her son is married to the love of his life and they are planning a family. The h decides to keep mum about her pregnancy and goes about her life…giving up her dreams of being a lawyer.

Fast forward four years and in chapter 2 the h and H meet at a party. She tries to avoid the cheating ass, but he is drawn to the h and corners her. Come to find out, his accident was very serious and he suffers from amnesia and debilitating headaches which are often accompanied with snatches of long lost memories. The h and him have a quick hook-up and she leaves, because in the grand scheme of things he made her believe he had feelings for her but was actually sowing some wild oats before marriage? Or was he????


The next part is full of very specific spoilers. 🛑 🛑 NOW if you do not want the story spoiled for you!! 🛑 🛑



Ok so the the hero finds out that the h had his baby and never told him. He doesn’t understand why he cheated on the lovely Arabella, because he is vehemently opposed to cheating!

This hero is furious about missing the first 3 years of his son’s life. Although he is drawn to the h in a way he can’t understand, he is so very pissed off that he threatens to take her son away if she doesn’t marry him. Then he proceeds to make her beg for him and make her feel like a total pos. The h was only 20 when she was pregnant. Her parents disowned her, but at least her twin sister Eleanor husband Apollo were there for her(The Greek's Virgin Captive I haven’t read their story yet) So she was very young, frightened, and disillusioned by love. She also thought that introducing a child into his marriage would not be very harmonious. And let’s not forget that his mom was adamant about her leaving them alone(even offered payment)

The h is feeling guiltier and guiltier about keeping her son a secret. Then the H finds out from Arabella that he did not cheat on her as they had broken up a month earlier and were waiting to tell his parents. Then the accident happen. Arabella is also nice and married the H because he thought they were still engaged. This was a huge mistake. Arabella and Xzavior do love each other, but it is that of a brother and sister.(they were never intimate with each other even after their short lived marriage) The H shares this info with the h and now she is a guilt ridden mess. The H is starting to realize the arrangement he has forced upon the h is extinguishing her very essence.

The day of the wedding his parents arrive and are surprised by his 3 year old son. They are even more surprised by the appearance of the child’s mother that they had met years earlier in the hospital. The h pretends not to know them and when she and the mother have a chance to speak she tells her not to tell the H as nothing good could come of it now. The mother is very apologetic as she did not realize that the H was no longer engaged to Bella. The h doesn’t want the H to have issues with his mom so she takes all the blame.

Even though the H realizes that the h is miserable, He marries her anyway. Then whisks her to a quick honeymoon. It is there they profess each other’s love for each other, and at this point I was a crying mess. It was so well written. Their avowals of love were so heartfelt.

CC leaves us with a great ending, where we see the H’s parents are great grandparents, (Plus the mom came clean about her involvement in keeping the h away)Arabella is a dear friend of the h, more children, and the H reclaimed his memories of that fantastic love at first sight weekend with the h. He even told her he was on his way to tell his parents about the h before his accident(the ring he gave her for their wedding was picked out after he met the h. )

[milkiiteaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this novel for the plot, tension, and the author's ability to convey the two main character's thoughts and feelings. However, one thing I disliked the most about this book was how easily the female lead fell into bed with the male lead especially when he betrayed her trust and wanted to sleep with her for revenge only. I hated how she said she hated him yet she is riding him at the same time. The other unfortunate thing was the poor character development, the male lead never realizing his wrong until the last few sentences towards the end of the book. The female lead blamed herself when she had every right to keep their baby a secret in this economy. Have ya'll seen or heard about the mistresses of these tycoons coming out pregnant and then suddenly dying, yeah I'm talking about those real-life cases. Very scary. So I can understand why realistically she wouldn't tell him, especially everything she saw and heard, I mean what do you expect the girl to do at that point? One thing I am glad though is the male lead's mother outing herself for her wrongs. Overall, it was a decent read, some of the conversations became too wordy or lengthy. She's like every other bitch!

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claiming his Secret Baby

This story starts with her finding out that he was in an accident. Going to the hospital and waiting for news. While there she sees his parents and his fiancee. She was told that he is getting married to the other woman in the next month. She leaves, but not alone. Fast forward four years, he sees her at a ball and wants to know her. But things are not going to be easy. He doesn't remember her. And she has a son he knows nothing about. I got this book at midnight and stayed up till I finished it.

[Paula Legate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This turned out to be a good book. I didn’t like the Hero in the beginning, but he grew on me throughout the story. He was in a car wreck and it left him with amnesia. He didn’t remember the weekend he spent with the Heroine. When he woke up in the hospital from his coma, his fiancé was by his side. He never thought he was the cheating type. There were several misunderstandings, twist and turns. Heartache eventually turned into the forever kind of love. This is just one of those books you have to read all the way through.

[RomanceBookLoverinSeattle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short angsty stories!

Both stories are short and angsty and revolve around secret babies. Tricky part is that only one book is listed in the blurb and then that story ends at 44%. You then get a several chapter excerpt for another story and then a second story, and then a small excerpt. I’m also going to read next the one we had the excerpt for which intrigued me, but the not up front aspect of it leaves you thinking it’s one longer story and it feels misleading that it was shorter. Took off a star for that alone.

[Copper78 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ended up being better than I expected. The writing was better than most HQ-type books even though the story was pretty unrealistic. But reality is not the reason we read these books anyway, is it? I did like that both H/h were equally smitten with each other and that they both felt guilt for their parts in their separation. No one was all innocent or all guilty. Giving this 3.5 stars and rounding up to 4.

[Marie Lapointe · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW, What A Heartbreaking Romance

If you're soft hearted like I am grab a box of tissues. What a wild crazy story all because of a very bad accident. I can't count how many times I wanted to grab him by the cajones so he could feel the pain he was causing her. Granted he didn't know what she had gone through that had her making the decision she made but he really didn't want to listen. Great story and lots of heartache.

[Zena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! An amazing story of unfortunate misunderstandings and lucky second chances with 2 fabulous main characters and a cute little boy and to top it all we have a great narration too in the splendid audio.
Can't help but recommend this as a most enjoyable story experience!
I requested and listened to the audiobook and my voluntary and unbiased review is recorded above.