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First Comes Baby
Laurel Woodall dreams of having a baby. But she can't let herself fall in love and will never again let a man in her life.
Without a husband or a lover
Caleb Manes thinks Laurel is his future. When he hears she wants to have a baby on her own, he volunteers to be the father. Making a baby in this unconventional manner isn't the best way to further a relationship with Laurel, but it might lead to something more. Now he just has to convince her that this is what best friends are for.
9 Months later...
It's not what they're expecting.
Without a husband or a lover
Caleb Manes thinks Laurel is his future. When he hears she wants to have a baby on her own, he volunteers to be the father. Making a baby in this unconventional manner isn't the best way to further a relationship with Laurel, but it might lead to something more. Now he just has to convince her that this is what best friends are for.
9 Months later...
It's not what they're expecting.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2007
5 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Janice Kay Johnson
289 books191 followersJanice Kay Johnson is the author of over a hundred books for children and adults. Her first four published romance novels were coauthored with her mother, also a writer who has since published mysteries and children's books on her own. These were "sweet" romance novels, the author hastens to add; she isn't sure they'd have felt comfortable coauthoring passionate love scenes!
Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.
She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. Rosamund was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were historical novels she wrote for Tor/Forge. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian!
Janice is divorced and has raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She's an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enliven a household that already includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to!
Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA® awards. Along with her books for Harlequin, Janice has written the Cape Trouble series of romantic suspense novels, and is about to launch a new series, Desperation Creek, set in rural eastern Oregon.
Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.
She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. Rosamund was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were historical novels she wrote for Tor/Forge. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian!
Janice is divorced and has raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She's an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enliven a household that already includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to!
Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA® awards. Along with her books for Harlequin, Janice has written the Cape Trouble series of romantic suspense novels, and is about to launch a new series, Desperation Creek, set in rural eastern Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 5, 2008
First Comes Baby is a sweet, tender love story about two best friends who decide to have a baby together, but not in the usual way. Laurel was brutally raped about five years earlier and is not sure that she ever wants to have a physical relationship with any man again, but she longs for a child and decides that she would like to have one via IVF. Enter her best friend Caleb who willingly volunteers for the job of fathering her baby. Of course, babies always change things and their case is no exception. In addition to realizing how deep their feeling truly run for each other, both characters begin to make life changes, but Laurel especially. The romance and the baby are the main focus, but the story also explores Laurel's rebuilding of old friendships that she had allowed to stagnate during the time following the attack, as well as her continuing emotional recovery.
I really liked both Caleb and Laurel. Laurel was a sweet heroine who had been through a lot, and while I might not have made the same choices she did, I usually felt like I could understand where she was coming from. Caleb was a wonderful beta hero who was a very kind and sensitive man. I loved the idealistic humanitarian in him and how he had basically devoted his life to helping needy people in third-world countries to become more self-sufficient. What I appreciated most about him though was his unwavering commitment to Laurel and their friendship no matter what. A man who takes his promises as seriously as Caleb did is a real keeper in my book. I found First Comes Baby to be a light, easy read that managed to evoke a lot of heart-felt emotions in spite of it's simplicity. Even though I have read books with stronger writing, it was still a pleasurable read. This was my first book by Janice Kay Johnson, but it left me with such a cozy, content feeling, I would definitely be open to reading more of her works in the future.
This book is part of the Harlequin theme series 9 Months Later.
I really liked both Caleb and Laurel. Laurel was a sweet heroine who had been through a lot, and while I might not have made the same choices she did, I usually felt like I could understand where she was coming from. Caleb was a wonderful beta hero who was a very kind and sensitive man. I loved the idealistic humanitarian in him and how he had basically devoted his life to helping needy people in third-world countries to become more self-sufficient. What I appreciated most about him though was his unwavering commitment to Laurel and their friendship no matter what. A man who takes his promises as seriously as Caleb did is a real keeper in my book. I found First Comes Baby to be a light, easy read that managed to evoke a lot of heart-felt emotions in spite of it's simplicity. Even though I have read books with stronger writing, it was still a pleasurable read. This was my first book by Janice Kay Johnson, but it left me with such a cozy, content feeling, I would definitely be open to reading more of her works in the future.
This book is part of the Harlequin theme series 9 Months Later.
December 15, 2011
Nicely done story of a rape victim who asks a friend to help her have a child through AI. He has loved her for 10 years but she doesn't know. As he sticks by her through her pregnancy and the first few months after the baby is born she begins to overcome her fears from the attack. Well written with believable emotion from both the hero and heroine. He was a very nice kind man who had promised years ago to always be her friend and he never let her push him away. The pace was good and the plot made sense. Nicely done.
June 12, 2018
This was a good story. I especially like the heroine's triumph over her devastating past. I debated between a 3 and a 4 but decided on 4 stars because the author mentioned Willamette.😁 That is to say, the story truly was well done; Willamette was icing on the cake.
October 28, 2017
I liked this one a lot ! Our heroine was scared to be in an committed relationship because 5 years before she was raped but she still wants to be a mother so she goes to find a sperm donor who is her best friend ! As the pregnancy months go forward they get closer and closer but it is still hard for her because she's still experiencing trauma from being raped . It was a really nice readrape
June 24, 2011
As with all of these books, a tried and tested formula. A little sweet, a little stupid, but light and easy
Always good for a quick read
Always good for a quick read
dnf
September 30, 2016DNF @ 26% I might come back to this later but for the time being I can't finish it. It probably the mood I'm in but still...
April 6, 2018
Good easy read, very enjoyable
October 4, 2019
loved this book. It developed into a sweet love story between two stubborn people
July 8, 2021
Loved this story hated to see it end. The first few chapters were a little boring. Then it got good. I couldn't put it down
June 27, 2023
JKJ does not miss! best baby romance I've read in ages.
December 19, 2023
while not inherently a bad book, laurel is such a frustrating character.
August 19, 2020
An enjoyable read!
This book had a unique and fun premise. The friendship between Laurel and Caleb was lovely. They were great characters and Caleb is the sweetest. They go through some joyful times, but also very hard times. But he doesn't give up on her. They come to realize their love for each other and that makes for a lovely romance.
There is one mildly descriptive sex scene at the end. But it's also really sweet and fits in with the story.
Trigger warnings: There is a traumatic rape that isn't described, but alluded to and a part of the story.
This book had a unique and fun premise. The friendship between Laurel and Caleb was lovely. They were great characters and Caleb is the sweetest. They go through some joyful times, but also very hard times. But he doesn't give up on her. They come to realize their love for each other and that makes for a lovely romance.
There is one mildly descriptive sex scene at the end. But it's also really sweet and fits in with the story.
Trigger warnings: There is a traumatic rape that isn't described, but alluded to and a part of the story.
February 19, 2017
Laurel was raped and left for dead while in college. Fearing she will never be able to trust any man, but wants a baby real bad, decides to have a baby without contact to the father. But her friend from years back volunteered to help her.
Both so happy when finds she is with child. Not the best way to start a family, but can she be healed and get trust back to become a real family?
Would recommend to others.
Both so happy when finds she is with child. Not the best way to start a family, but can she be healed and get trust back to become a real family?
Would recommend to others.
February 13, 2011
The heroine of this book, the victim of a brutal rape, wants to have a child but can't stand to be touched by a man. Seeking a sperm donor, she asks a friend--only to have another friend (the hero) insist on fathering her child. As her pregnancy proceeds, will she be able to overcome her past and be together with this man who obviously loves her? An interesting book for an artificial-insemination rape-recovery romance (!); a touching love story, and the psychological profile of the heroine especially seems realistic, when the whole book could have been far-fetched and ridiculous.
March 30, 2015
Even though it was good book, and it had a good story behind, I felt I could never really connect with the characters until the end. It felt a little slow most of the time and at the end the story unraveled in what felt like a second.
It's a sweet story overall, and it is worth a try. It just wasn't for me at this moment.
It's a sweet story overall, and it is worth a try. It just wasn't for me at this moment.
April 23, 2011
I probably wouldn't have read this if I'd known exactly why the heroine was determined to have a baby in this way, but the main characters were both likable, and the story was persuasive and touching.
April 8, 2013
Read this in 2011, yet never reviewed it. I thought the novel was great and I can't help but adore the whole pregnancy/secret baby scandal type novels. This one was obviously a bit different than the regulars but was still enough to light my fire.
February 16, 2015
Meh... Was too for me to like the heroine. She's trying too hard to be likable. I felt bad for him trying to make sense of her.
Want to read
March 28, 2016How can I read this book on kindle book
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews