Zany Comedy & Steamy Chemistry Abound In Jack & Nola’s Grumpy Boss Story! Six-Year-Olds Ben And Griff Add To The Mischief, But They Also Add To The Stakes At Risk As The MLB Pitcher & His Nanny Consider Taking Things To The Next Step.
This is the third book in My (Mostly) Funny Romance series. Fans will love to see that the Rose brothers, whose stories are in books one and two, play a role here as well. Damon and Chris are both true to character, and Chris cannot help but stand out as the crazy ADHD bumbling genius that he is. Don’t forget to download the free bonus scenes via the link at the back of the book! It takes place sometime following the close of this book. While it takes minutes to read, it still garners a laugh (thanks to Chris again). It also includes an author’s note about the series and what is to come.
As a quick review, book one, My (Mostly) Secret Baby, is Damon Rose and Chelsea Cross’s story. Damon started Rose Athletic Representatives in NYC to help save his younger brother from himself. Between the antics that have Chris Rose floating from crisis to crisis and his naivete about the business, Chris’s career longevity and future security are constantly in doubt. Hence Damon stepped up to ensure that his brother’s standing as the most famous and successful QB in the league remains in tact. Chelsea Cross is a has been tennis player who has hit hard times. She reluctantly turns to Rose Athletics and applies for a job, simultaneously wondering if Damon Rose might be worthy of learning her secret. In book two, My (Mostly) Fake Wedding, Damon’s brother Chris gets his own story with wedding planner Belle Waters. Damon and Chelsea are now married, and their daughter Luna, six, has been in Damon’s life for one year. Chris is in trouble again if he doesn’t do something about his bad reputation, and his contract is coming up for renewal. Damon arranges a solution to the problem, if only Chris can stick to the plan. Zany humor and laugh out loud moments abound as the troublemaking NFL quarterback finds himself hooked on his fake wedding planner.
This story opens in NYC just under a year later. Luna, Damon Chelsea’s daughter, is approaching her seventh birthday and Chris is anxious as Belle approaches her due date.
Nola Castille, early twenties, is a scatterbrain and prone to babbling without a filter. Her life was turned upside down three years ago when her parents died in an accident. Instead of parties and fun times like others her age, she barely stays afloat working as a waitress while raising her six-year-old brother Griff. While she loves him, Griff is no ordinary child. He has a penchant for pranks. He is only in kindergarten, but he has already been suspended from school and the road ahead bodes to be a challenge. Frazzled by her little demon and financial strain, she nevertheless remains optimistic while devoting herself to raising Griff. There is one dream she hopes to fulfill one day – a dream that had belonged to her parents. She hopes to keep their memory alive by opening the little restaurant in Florida that they had their hearts set on before their untimely death.
Jack Kerrigan, roughly twenty-four, is not impressed by money and fame. The cranky mountain of a man is the hottest MLB pitcher in the league, and his agent Damon Rose is not about to let him throw it all away. Jack is at a crossroads as the season is two weeks from starting. He announced he is walking away for a year or two to spend more time with his son six-year-old son Ben, confident in athletic skills and his ability to return to the game whenever he chooses. Ben has become increasingly withdrawn despite Jack’s efforts to engage him. He drags Ben to games and practice but the boy has no interest in sports. He has trouble making friends at school. Drawing is his only interest and he isn’t much for talking. Jack reluctantly agrees to meet Damon and Chris, his college buddy, at a diner to discuss some alternative ideas that will satisfy Jack and allow Damen to negotiate a new deal for him to play this season. Jack is adamant about his decision until that fateful meeting.
When Jack enters the diner, Nola is drawn to the inked and bearded giant. And she cannot help but note the contrast between him and the tiny boy in tow. His troubled expression speaks to her grief and hardship, and she finds his klutziness adorable. Jack finds himself attracted to the ditzy and rambling redhead waitress, but he has no interest in women now. He needs to give Ben all his attention. It is bad enough that his son doesn’t have his mom. Relationships end, and Ben is too fragile to have his hopes ride on transient mother figures. But when he sees that Ben has snuck away and made friends with the pretty waitress’s son, his plans suddenly change.
When Jack hires Nola as Ben’s nanny and returns to work, everything seems to fall into place. Ben begins to come out of his shell, he and Griff form a miraculous friendship, and Jack and Nola feel a pull that seems inevitable. But Jack’s priority is Ben, and he cannot mess things up for his son by starting anything with the nanny. A nanny can stay indefinitely, after all, but relationships end. And Nola is faced with a dilemma as she weighs her parents’ dream of Florida against the possibility of a relationship with Jack. Everything gets even more complicated, however, when the past makes a reappearance.
Jack and Nola’s story is enriched by Ben and Griff. The boys’ characters are unique, and their darling friendship is a case of opposites attracting. All four characters suffer from a sense of loss and abandonment. Jack and Ben feel the loss of Ben’s mother in his life, and Nola and Griff grieve for their parents and the comfort of family. Jack channeled his feelings into raising Ben, as did Nola with Griff. But while Ben turned inward in his abandonment, Griff turned to trouble. Nola’s presence in Jack’s life is freshening, and the boys both thrive, but they both have issues to resolve is they want to consider the possibility trying something more.
Zany comedy and steamy chemistry abound in Jack and Nola’s grumpy boss story. Six-year-olds Ben and Griff add to the mischief, but they also add to the stakes at risk as the MLB pitcher and his nanny consider taking things to the next step. By my count there are twenty-six laugh out loud moments, most of which are in the first half. The story is nicely written. The plot is somewhat complex. The characters are wonderfully crafted and colorful. The boys are a wonderful addition, but a number of very minor characters continue to come to mind – such as the baker and the elderly babysitter. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between Jack and Nola, with one adorable chapter in Ben’s POV. I rate this book 4.5 stars.
I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.