Baby Be Mine: New York City

Love in the City #2

by Victoria H. Smith

A sizzling, contemporary romance about a secret baby, a cautious restaurant owner, and the playboy billionaire determined to have them both in his life.A blast from his past… She caught me with my pants down and another woman spread eagle in front of me when she came back into my life.And why did I feel like that was fate playing its hand?I never forgot her… Noni, the woman just as unique as her name who never failed to light a fire inside me. The last time I saw her I was in a bad place, a dark one that actually sent me to the Big Apple today. I was in the city to lead another one of my late father’s corporate divisions yes, but running, escape, had been my true plan of intent. I had lots to get away from, my sins a laundry list, and it had been she, Noni, who got me out of them the last time. She did more than just fill a void. She fixed my messed up soul no matter how brief a time.So why had I let her go?She has a secret… I came upon him in a similar state before… desired by women. They flocked to the man like groupies to a tour bus and however naively, I had been one of them over four years ago. A vulnerable place sent me to vacation in Aspen and it had been Asa who found me, made me moan, made me forget and I didn’t come away from that vacation unchanged. He gave me the most wonderful little blessing I could ever receive, my son Jalen.He never called me, though. After an amazing weekend, he left my mind to wonder. Hurt, I deleted his number and vowed to never think about him again. It was only later I discovered I was pregnant and now that Asa seems to suddenly be back in my life, I have to figure out how to tell him something very important. I have his son.And I never forgot his father.Baby Be Mine is a BWWM contemporary romance. It’s a standalone with no cliffhanger and is book three in the Love In The City series.

Genres: Second Chance Romance, Romance, Billionaire Romance, Contemporary, Second Chance, Contemporary Romance

223 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 26, 2019

About the author

Victoria H. Smith has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. She puts it to good use writing romance all day. She resides in the Midwest with her Macbook on her lap and a cornfield to her right. She often draws inspiration for her stories from her own life experiences, and the characters she writes give her an earful about it.

In her free time, she enjoys extreme couponing, reading, watching Scandal, and general geekery in the form of Sherlock and DC Comics. She’s a bestselling author and the 2014 Swirl Award winner for Best New Adult Romance, as well as the recipient of the 2015 AMB Ovation Award for her new adult romance FOUND BY YOU. She writes both new adult and adult fiction in many genres, but mainly focuses in contemporary interracial and multicultural romances.


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Reviews

[Laiba · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m in a bigger book slump then when I started this book 😐

[Karen's Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Asa and Noni's road to happily ever after was not a smooth ride. It was full of twists and turns, misunderstandings, and personal as well as professional dramas but in the end the journey was so worth it and so was their story. When Noni and Asa's paths first crossed they were both looking for a break from all that was going wrong around them, but instead they found a great diversion which turned in to a powerful connection that continued after years of being separated. Their love story, although at sometimes seemed impossible, was sweet and heartwarming and many times very passionate. I was rooting for this couple from beginning to end and loved every minute of it.

[DarkDamsel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved It!

5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I love this bwwm second chance romance with a side of grovel plus pregnancy. What more can I ask for in a summer read!

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asa Ricci reunites with Noni Smith after she is denied the opportunity to make the final payment on her loan held by Ricci Financial NYC. This is fantasy (banks love money) so we'll roll with it for purposes of this story. Asa being Asa is caught (in flagrante delicto) with his pants literally down around his ankles and his hand where the sun don't shine. Okay, sorry for THAT visual. He is shocked and surprised to see Noni as well as her companions. One of the visitors causes him to do a double-take and before he can add two plus two, they quickly vacate the premises.

Seeing Noni brings up old feelings and he vows to see her again and as luck would have it, he finds her company nametag on the floor. She's not thrilled to see him and when he gives her a ride home it feels like old times and things get heated and doused rather quickly. It's the kick that she needs to stay far away from him. Noni knows that Asa would be an unwelcome distraction in her already chaotic life. Between keeping secrets from him, losing the closeness of her best friend and the reappearance of a sister she wants nothing to do with, there is a lot on her plate.

There are a few things in the story that I thought could have been handled differently. I firmly believe that a clean slate means both parties gets rid of toxic people and former flames. Noni's trifling sister Jayla garnered no sympathy from me--at all. Without trust, the foundation of any relationship is on a teetering precipice, ready to crumble at the slightest provocation. Jayla made a choice to hurt her sister and at the end she made another selfish choice. I'm a firm believer that neither party should ever have to look at or break bread with someone you have slept with and loved in the past. Hell no, that's wrong on so many levels! The Universe would have found another way to bring Asa and Noni together and not by the actions, lies and deception of selfish people!

Victoria H. Smith has a beautiful relationship with words and her stories never fail to captivate me. Get captivated! Read All Her Books!

Highly Recommended: Read It!

Baby Baby (Book 1)
Baby It's Cold Out There (Book 2)
Baby Be Mine (Book 3)

ARC

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't wait for this to end, to be honest.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second Time Around

Great continuation from Book 2. Asa and Noni's story was a very good read. A one night stand resulted in years apart because of misunderstanding and a secret child. They had a very rough road getting to their HEA.

[Nancy L Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1\2 Stars!!!!

The only problem I had with this book is all that happiness......Hummmmm. A little too unbelievable. So does the ending leave the door open for Willow's story???

[T.M. Pigatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goood

As always another good book by this author. I have read all three book in the series. Each one good.

[Crystal Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the conclusion to Asa and Noni's story, which was started in a short book called "Baby It's Cold Out There: Aspen (Love in the City Book 2). This book picks up 5 years after Asa and Noni had a very brief but impactful encounter. That in encounter will lead them to a future that neither would have thought possible. So 5 years have passed and in that time everyone changes either for the better or for the worse. We find these two lovely people have changed, especially Asa who doesn't really think that he has and doesn't deserve what Noni has to offer, but Noni is a "grown woman" and knows what she wants. After the confusion clears between them, we see them come together to give the child they have together the life that he deserves WITH both of his parents! So yeah a lot can happen in 5 years for better or worse and this couple has gotten it right 5 years later. Great read loved the fact that were able told what happened 5 years ago and that Asa and Noni were able to their HEA.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

** ARC Recived **
So if there was a couple that took a while to find their stride together, it definitely was Asa and Noni. After being introduced to their supercharged, whirlwind of a first encounter in Baby, It's Cold, their period of separation is almost mirrored in the passing of time from when the actual story released. There was a lot of hurt and pain that they had to confront and resolve before they could get to the good stuff - the business of loving each other and the child that resulted in their last and only encounter.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. Thought it was worth the wait, but man, their pain and conflict, at times, seemed like it was almost too much to overcome, even though their passion for one another was clearly present - literally through the presence of their child, but also in their interactions with one another. Past and present hurts and missteps threatened their union, but reading through it all was a treat.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby Be Mine is the resolution to Noni and Asa’s story that started in a short when they first met, to the present, five years later. A lot has happened in the past five years, they both lost their toxic exes and life has moved on. Noni and Asa meet again when she goes to the bank to pay off of loan and they won’t accept her last payment at that time. What starts is a new beginning for these two. I liked this book, but didn’t love it. I could not connect to the characters and they drove me crazy. Each had a toxic past, which has impacted the present day. Asa was hot and cold and Noni only wanted things to go her way. There was a lot of compromise these two had to do to get their happily ever after. I love the way Victoria writes, but this story just wasn’t for me. I know a lot of readers will love it, so please don’t let my review disway you of trying this book.

[Peachy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first, short book enough to try this one. What a joke! There are so many faults in the time line and the males age when 5 years were supposed to have past. I could get past that tardy error, but what I couldn't get past was how utterly pathetic the female character was, falling yet again for a pathetic, rich, F-Boy!
DNF I had to ditch this at chapter 5 when I realised how angry I was getting at the very sloppy and unrealistic plot as time went on. I'll never waste my time reading anything else from this author!

[Giorgia Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst written books I’ve read. Top 10 for sure. And I’m not touching on plot, characters or whatever other part of the story, I’m strictly saying the writing was so bad I cohos barely follow this.

Example: We’d have one line of dialogue from one character and the rest of the conversation and reply from the other character would all of a sudden be told in an internal monologue. It was bizarre and just bad. So so bad.

[Tammara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let Down

I waited and waited for this book to come out! I was disappointed in the completion of the story. I had high hopes,considering the 1st one was so good.

[Tete · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF... lost me at the strip club

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. I feel like it succeeded in places that the first one failed and vice versa. Asa and Noni relationship was developed more in the book than Johari and Alexander did. Secret baby is one of my favorite tropes so I enjoyed that a lot. Where this book fails is in the third act conflict. The entire plot with Christine the ex was ridiculous. She announced her engagement at Alexander's wedding. She should have been blacklisted from their social circle for that alone. That is beyond rude and disrespectful.

However I didn't understand the scene where she showed up to the birthday party at all. Why would Asa even acknowledge her? Alex should have run interference and asked her to leave. Stop giving your ex access to you! No wonder she thought she still had a hold on him. The thing that truly baffled me is why Asa didn't tell Noni that his ex was back in town and stirring up trouble. He had a couple of opportunities to do so. If he was so disturbed by her appearance at the birthday party, the restaurant scene was prime time to call her out. I don't understand why he would try to hide who she was to Noni. He should have introduced her as his cheating ex and her affair partner/husband. He made Noni look so stupid. He already acknowledged that he needed to earn Noni's trust. A lie of omission did the exact opposite.

The kidnapping was just incredibly silly. Jayla's health crisis was a strong enough conflict without adding the kidnapping. What did she hope to accomplish by taking their kid? Did she think he would run back to her and play happy family with Noni's son? That is just lazy, unoriginal writing. I will not bother to read any more by this author.

[Hot · Rating 1 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook. Loved the male narrator. The female narrator left a lot to be desired. As did the story. I read the novella and was intrigued- this follow up novel was so BORING. I’m not sure if it was the monotone voice of the female narrator or the absolute immaturity of Noni, but I hated it all. Your ex lover makes an appearance and you don’t immediately let him know that he has a son? Ma’am. And honestly, Asa wasn’t any better. For such a “Captain of industry” he seemed real slow on catching that a kid that supposedly looked just like him was actually his.
Christ on a cracker this was as bad. The “kidnapping” that wasn’t really a kidnapping could have been explored more, maybe I would have like that better.
Novella was full of spice, this book was not. I should have just left good enough alone after reading the novella.

[Kay Darius · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Second Chance to Get It Right

Another great love story by Ms Victoria Smith. I fell in love with Asa and Noni in the Prequel, "Baby it's Cold Out There" and waited patiently for their complete story. And now, the day is here! As usual, Ms Smith didn't disappoint. The heart wrenching details she put into crafting each character had me heavily invested. I got angry when these damaged and hurting people hurt each other. I cheered when they came back together. I laughed and cried with them. As I said before, this is another great love story. I will continue to be an ardent reader of Ms Smith's literary works of art.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

[Sammie Shorter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just loved it!

Asa and Noni had so much unresolved pain to deal with. They met some years before with intentions to continue what they started, but life happened. Asa's behavior was self defeating and he actually had to learn to believe that he deserved happiness and could actually have it. The betrayal Noni experienced was tough but she eventually healed from it also. The couple had to overcome many obstacles, but they did get to their HEA. Their story was great and one worth waiting for.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby be mine

Asa and Noni's romance ended just as quickly as it began. However, As a did leave a calling card. After several years they encounter each other again. Under different circumstances, nevertheless that lead them back into each other's lives again for good. This story contains intriguing, betrayal, toxic relationships, dreams, hope, deception, kidnapping, and finding true love for all the women. I can't wait to read Wills and Stefan's story!!!! Another great book Victoria Smith!!!! I will be recommending this book to everyone I know!!!

[Darsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is good . Noni is a restaurant owner . Asa is a rich business worker . Noni catches asa getting it on with somebody else . Noni and asa got tripped in cabin for one night . Noni gets pregnant by aaa . Noni doesn’t tell asa she is pregnant. Noni catches up with asa 4 years later . Noni has a little boy name jaylin . Her sister has aids . Noni’s sister ends up with noni’s ex-boyfriend at the end of the book. Asa is surprised and hurt that noni never told him he has a son. Asa has a brother who has children that asa spoils. Asa and noni work out everything .

[Readers Are Leaders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hated Christine! Boo 🍅 🍅 🍅 BWWM, age gap, rich man, poor girl romance. Insta love, secret baby, second chance it’s all in there. OW, OM, TSTL choices on both sides. There are some strained family relations. The unresolved exes provide more obstacles than their age wealth gap. It’s an angsty ride after the initial spark. Be sure to read the prequel Baby It’s Cold Out There: Aspen. It’s the appetizer that makes this entree more tasty. There’s also a book before this in the series. This can be read as a standalone with the prequel as a bonus it’s just better.

[Callie Kakascik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one picks up a few years after Baby It's Cold Out There. Asa and Noni had a one-night stand in that one and now has his son.

She is doing well and running the restaurant that she wanted to build. She is at the bank to make her final loan payment. After battling with the teller, she asks to meet someone higher up and comes face to face with Asa.

With much drama and angst between them, we finally get to see the ending of their story.

I love these characters and will definitely need to go back and read book #1.

[LaTanya Galloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth it

So excited to finally have Noni and Asa's story. It was so filled with angst and self doubt on both of their parts. The story did drag some and it was a lil frustrating at time because it seems if they just got outta their own way, it wouldn't have seemed so repetitive. Other than that, I loved how Asa and Noni realize they deserved to be happy and when they got it....cue all the feels. Oh, and here's to hoping Willa and Seth gets a story🤞🏽

[Kay Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the conclusion to Asa and Noni's story. The passion between the two of them was undeniable. It was all within the pages of the book. However, there were times I really thought there is no way these two can get their HEA by the end of the book. It seemed that their issues were too much. I enjoyed this book and it all worked out in the end. 4 stars. I received an early copy of this book and voluntarily left a review.

[Tiffany Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it so much

Okay Noni and asa were cute their whole back n fourth was putting me in the edge of my seat and the ex Christine needed a slap, I would live to hear Willa and Stefan's story , but back to AsA and noni SPOILER what made me really satisfied with the story was the police station seen I knew he was gonna call him daddy I just knew it and I literally felt the emotion great read

[Lisa Cortez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

A book about a girl who's car got stranded in a snow storm and the guy who she hooked up with that was there because his girlfriend cheated on him. They had one night and then gave each other # but he never called. She found out she was pregnant but had deleted his # because she thought he didn't want her. Years later seeing each other again and still be in love with each other.

[Marion Slaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My New Favorite

This is my new favorite book by Victoria H. Smith. I've been a fan from the beginning, however, this is next level writing on this one. I felt the lows and the highs in this book. I loved how the books connected and flowed together. I want Willa's story and will troll Amazon until it drops. It was good enough to keep to read over and over again. Bravo!

[Mahogany SilverRain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story! I love the two main characters! I have not read the other books in the series, but now I really want to! I love the chemistry between Asa and Noni. An excellent read, keeps you guessing for a bit, love that! I recommend reading all of the books in this series and I plan on doing that myself. Asa and Noni are truly special indeed!

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

**Audio book Review**

I enjoyed the narrators for this book. Asa and Noni seemed to fall in love without even knowing each other. I did not really like them at 1st but they grew on me. I really liked Willa though. Overall the book was pretty good. It took awhile to pull me in but it eventually did.