Daddy Wanted

by Penelope Marzec

A game designer in NYC, Grace wakes up one morning to discover she has lost her job and her roommate is pregnant. Determined to solve both problems, she searches for jobs online and sets up an ad to find a daddy for the child. How hard could it be in a city of eight million people? She soon learns it is both risky and dangerous. She wonders if Russell, who lives downstairs, is a safer bet, but why is he always stalking her? And why is it that the only one who will listen to her is her roommate's turtle?

Russell, an IT repairman, is going to be the best man for a wedding in Minnesota. He needs a date, but the woman on his arm must be the Perfect Woman. According to his list of specifications, Grace will fit the bill—until he finds a pregnancy test kit box in the garbage. Deciding she's only a little bit pregnant, he offers her a business deal, an all expenses paid trip to Minnesota with no strings attached. But when Grace insists on bringing her roommate along, Russell is in for a surprise.

Genres: Romance

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 19, 2013

About the author

Penelope Marzec grew up along the Jersey shore, heard stories about Captain Kidd, and dug for his buried treasure. Her adventure resulted in a bad case of poison ivy. Deciding books were better than buried treasure, she discovered romance novels and was soon hooked on happy endings. She became an early childhood educator and found her own hero in an electrical engineer who grew up in Brooklyn, played the accordion, and was immune to poison ivy. Together they raised three daughters. Now retired, Penelope either writes her stories or paints seascapes in oils. Sometimes she sings while her husband plays the accordion.

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace was afraid her roommate, Elyse, would never be able to care for her baby, she couldn’t even care for her turtle, but Grace had a plan to help Elyse out in the husband department.

Russell Thrope, their upstairs neighbor, would work out nicely for Elyse, but it seemed he had plans of his own and for Grace, not Elyse. But he wanted a strictly business deal with Grace. He needed an emergency date.

Through a series of unfortunate incidents and calamities the threesome face catastrophes in life and love. Will Grace find a Daddy for Elyse’s baby since Aidan, the father, has fled the scene? Can Grace stick by her principals and find someone to love or will she step aside so Elyse can find the right man.

Penelope Marzec writes a delightful story. Her character, Grace, seems to get into one incident after another and I couldn’t put the book down because I had to know if Grace and Elyse would be all right in the end. Daddy Wanted is a cute love story.

[Bonnie McCune · Rating 5 out of 5]

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and Grace, an IT designer, litters New York with hers. First on the list, help her pregnant roommate and BFF Elyse find a husband and a father for her unborn child. Doesn’t Elyse have just a little tiny bit of envy that she can’t find a soul mate? Yes, but she knows she’s the tough realistic one of the duo; so she labors on. Second, initiate a new start-up company with co-worker Dean after they both get laid off. Third, do something about that irritating, if attractive neighbor Russell, who might be a stalker or worse. Each of these goals may be worthwhile, but they’re not easy to attain what with problems like a terrorist, misunderstandings about just who’s pregnant, unworthy husband candidates, and more. DADDY WANTED is a clean romance with likeable characters, in which the HEA ending brings a sigh of satisfaction and completion from the reader, showing that even in New York, nice guys can finish first.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished reading Daddy Wanted by Penelope Marzec days ago, and still have the warm fuzzies!
Daddy Wanted is charming, lighthearted tale of friendship and romance layered with many somber realities faced in the dating world today. Penelope’s characters are strong, believable, brimming with conviction, and passionate about the things they love. From page one I rooted for selfless Grace, so focused on finding a prince for her best friend, she all but missed her own happily ever after. I recommend this book to all readers who believe independent women are sexy, and that sometimes computer nerds make the best heroes.

[Carlene Havel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sort of reminds me of an English farce (e.g., "The Importance of Being Earnest") the way the heroine takes situations from difficult to impossible. The characters are fun and funny - snappy dialogue, very New York. I really enjoyed "Daddy Wanted". It left me smiling and feeling good.

[J.J. Lair · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable book with miscommunications and nosy friends. It was fun with emotion. It was easy to like Grace. I didn’t want to put it down because it had me hooked.

[Casey Thomson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grace continually tried to make things better and intervened in her friends life, which made me want to yell at her to stay out of it! I wanted everything to work out because she only wanted the best for everyone and had good intentions.


However, I feel like the story of this book had so many turns and climaxes for such a short book, some of them just seemed to be thrown in at random.

Overall I did enjoy most of the book, partly because I am a Jersey Girl myself growing up in the areas mentioned.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This read like an ABC Family/Lifetime rom-com. It was just as cheesy and full of shenanigans. Just like those rom-coms, the main character can be a bit annoying. She loves to butt in to everyone's life and you really want to shout at her to stop. The main love interest is a typical male rom-com lead- mysterious, handsome, some dark/tragic past. This is definitely a light beach/vacation read. No need to get too invested in any of it.

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that Grace has a strange way of showing that she liked someone. She had very odd plans to find her friend a husband and she was in strange situations. It was interesting to see what she would come up with next. I really liked Russell, even though Grace pushed him away he was always forgiving and trying to get her attention.

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review on RomanceJunkies.com by clicking on the link below:

http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artm...