What do you think?
Rate this book
Valentine Babies
"Goddess in Waiting" by Anne Stuart
Marika, the astonishingly tall, vibrant, bigger-than-life personality that Edward-of-the-designer-suits has spent his life avoiding, is the proprietor of a funky maternity shop. Edward's expectant sister needs a few things, but his order for her has gone missing. And so, apparently, have his senses, since he finds himself assisting in the delivery of a baby and falling for outrageous Marika...
"Gabe's Special Delivery" by Tara Taylor Quinn
On February 14th, Gabe Stone finds a living, breathing valentine on his doorstep. The tiny pink bundle of fleece appears to be his daughter, and her mother has given Gabe four hours to get to know his new baby. Four hours to adjust to fatherhood, resolve custody and win back his ex-wife?
"My Man Valentine" by Jule McBride
Everyone knows Eloise Hunter and C.D. Valentine are in love. Except Eloise and C.D. They think they're just neighbors. Until some good-looking hunk redeems one of Eloise's babysitting coupons by delivering an infant for her to mind. When the hunk takes off, C.D. is outraged and swings into protector mode. But protection is not at all what Eloise wants from Mr. C.D. Valentine...
Marika, the astonishingly tall, vibrant, bigger-than-life personality that Edward-of-the-designer-suits has spent his life avoiding, is the proprietor of a funky maternity shop. Edward's expectant sister needs a few things, but his order for her has gone missing. And so, apparently, have his senses, since he finds himself assisting in the delivery of a baby and falling for outrageous Marika...
"Gabe's Special Delivery" by Tara Taylor Quinn
On February 14th, Gabe Stone finds a living, breathing valentine on his doorstep. The tiny pink bundle of fleece appears to be his daughter, and her mother has given Gabe four hours to get to know his new baby. Four hours to adjust to fatherhood, resolve custody and win back his ex-wife?
"My Man Valentine" by Jule McBride
Everyone knows Eloise Hunter and C.D. Valentine are in love. Except Eloise and C.D. They think they're just neighbors. Until some good-looking hunk redeems one of Eloise's babysitting coupons by delivering an infant for her to mind. When the hunk takes off, C.D. is outraged and swings into protector mode. But protection is not at all what Eloise wants from Mr. C.D. Valentine...
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 19, 2000
About the author
Anne Stuart
205 books2,070 followersAnne Stuart is a grandmaster of the genre, winner of Romance Writers of America's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, survivor of more than thirty-five years in the romance business, and still just keeps getting better.
Her first novel was Barrett's Hill, a gothic romance published by Ballantine in 1974 when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she's written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance, paranormal and mainstream contemporary romance for publishers such as Doubleday, Harlequin, Silhouette, Avon, Zebra, St. Martins Press, Berkley, Dell, Pocket Books and Fawcett.
She’s won numerous awards, appeared on most bestseller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Vogue, People, USA Today, Women’s Day and countless other national newspapers and magazines.
When she’s not traveling, she’s at home in Northern Vermont with her luscious husband of thirty-six years, an empty nest, three cats, four sewing machines, and one Springer Spaniel, and when she’s not working she’s watching movies, listening to rock and roll (preferably Japanese) and spending far too much time quilting.
Anne Stuart also writes as Kristina Douglas.
Her first novel was Barrett's Hill, a gothic romance published by Ballantine in 1974 when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she's written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance, paranormal and mainstream contemporary romance for publishers such as Doubleday, Harlequin, Silhouette, Avon, Zebra, St. Martins Press, Berkley, Dell, Pocket Books and Fawcett.
She’s won numerous awards, appeared on most bestseller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Vogue, People, USA Today, Women’s Day and countless other national newspapers and magazines.
When she’s not traveling, she’s at home in Northern Vermont with her luscious husband of thirty-six years, an empty nest, three cats, four sewing machines, and one Springer Spaniel, and when she’s not working she’s watching movies, listening to rock and roll (preferably Japanese) and spending far too much time quilting.
Anne Stuart also writes as Kristina Douglas.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 16, 2019
I picked up this book to read "Goddess in Waiting" by Anne Stuart.
Marike owns a Maternity Clothes Shop called Goddess in Waiting. She also takes in pregnant teenagers who have nowhere else to go. Will Lambert is a busy CEO who has to take time out of his busy day to order a maternity wardrobe for his sister. The minute Will sees Marike, sparks fly. He is fascinated by the beautiful woman with spiky hair and a gypsy style dress. Marike is also drawn to Will, but doesn't trust her judgement in men since her divorce. Will decides to stop at nothing to convince Marike to give him a chance.
Anne Stuart is one of my favorite authors. I read just about anything that she produces. This short story was just OK for me. It just seemed too short to really believe that a couple could fall in love so quickly. My rating: 2.5 Stars.
Marike owns a Maternity Clothes Shop called Goddess in Waiting. She also takes in pregnant teenagers who have nowhere else to go. Will Lambert is a busy CEO who has to take time out of his busy day to order a maternity wardrobe for his sister. The minute Will sees Marike, sparks fly. He is fascinated by the beautiful woman with spiky hair and a gypsy style dress. Marike is also drawn to Will, but doesn't trust her judgement in men since her divorce. Will decides to stop at nothing to convince Marike to give him a chance.
Anne Stuart is one of my favorite authors. I read just about anything that she produces. This short story was just OK for me. It just seemed too short to really believe that a couple could fall in love so quickly. My rating: 2.5 Stars.
May 14, 2025
A nice trio of quick romance stories. A nice quick read
February 22, 2016
Goddess in Waiting by Anne Stuart — 4 out of 5 stars; Though you probably couldn't tell by my rating, this story confused me immensely in the beginning. For one thing, the prologue name-dropped a couple of characters not mentioned on the back of the book, characters that aren't brought up again until the epilogue and that have little-to-nothing to do with the overall story. For another, the plot summary on the back of the book (at least, my copy) lists the hero as Edward, when in fact his name is William. Adding to my confusion was a minor, married character actually named Edward that appears briefly at the start of the story. So, right off the bat, the book ended up giving me a Jeremy Renner moment. That is to say:
(Yes, I I totally, shamelessly brought up the whole Edward thing just so I could use the above gif. ;) )
Another, bigger issue I take with Goddess in Waiting is how William is almost instantly infatuated with Marike, and how upon meeting with her a second time, he decides that he's tired of fighting his attraction to her despite the fact that a) he hardly knows her and b) he's barely been putting up a fight in the first place. Despite all that, though, I actually loved William's reaction to Marike, namely how he couldn't stop thinking about her, how he kept craving PB&J because it made him think of her, how other women he'd dated suddenly paled in comparison, and how he insisted on fixing up her run-down Victorian for her and the pregnant teens she'd taken in. And that's another thing: I loved that Marike was housing these pregnant teens that had nowhere else to go, as well as teaching them valuable job and life skills. Overall, I really enjoyed this story, though as I've sorta mentioned, I could've done without the subplot that was brought up in the prologue and finished in the epilogue.
(Yes, I I totally, shamelessly brought up the whole Edward thing just so I could use the above gif. ;) )
Another, bigger issue I take with Goddess in Waiting is how William is almost instantly infatuated with Marike, and how upon meeting with her a second time, he decides that he's tired of fighting his attraction to her despite the fact that a) he hardly knows her and b) he's barely been putting up a fight in the first place. Despite all that, though, I actually loved William's reaction to Marike, namely how he couldn't stop thinking about her, how he kept craving PB&J because it made him think of her, how other women he'd dated suddenly paled in comparison, and how he insisted on fixing up her run-down Victorian for her and the pregnant teens she'd taken in. And that's another thing: I loved that Marike was housing these pregnant teens that had nowhere else to go, as well as teaching them valuable job and life skills. Overall, I really enjoyed this story, though as I've sorta mentioned, I could've done without the subplot that was brought up in the prologue and finished in the epilogue.
*********************************************
Gabe's Special Delivery by Tara Taylor Quinn — 3 out of 5 stars; This was easily my least favorite story in this anthology. I mean, I liked that Bailey marched to her own drum, and I thought the flashback to how she and Gabe had first met was cute, especially with Bailey rambling on and on about how hard it is to find that someone special. But the story had a dumb premise, a contrived conflict, and a cosmically-stupid plot device that only added to the dumb premise. Plus, the author's decision to tell the story by flashing back to the couple's courtship and then gradually working her way back up to the present just didn't work for me. I mean, it slowed things down quite a bit, and just really felt bait-and-switch-y compared to what the summary on the back of the book was promising (though, again, the premise was dumb to begin with). The only reason I'm not giving this story two stars (or less) is because, in spite of myself, I eventually found myself getting sucked in. I teared up ever-so-slightly when Gabe kicked Bailey out, and cheered a little when they finally got back together.
*********************************************
My Man Valentine by Jule McBride — 4.5 out of 5 stars; If my rating for this story didn't already make it clear, this was easily my absolute favorite of this anthology. And good thing too, because it got me through a recent doctor's appointment that had me stuck in the waiting room for about an hour. The chemistry between Eloise Hunter and C.D. Valentine was very palpable, as was the friendship and love they had for one another. There were just enough sexual tension and doubts between them to be realistic, and I loved that they each fantasized about a family with each other. I even didn't mind the little subplot between Eloise's friend Annie and that doctor, Tom. In fact, the only reason I'm not giving this story a perfect five-star rating is because Eloise let her daddy issues hold her back from moving forward with C.D., even after they'd made love. It was understandable, but since the second story in this book made me wade through someone else's daddy issues, I found myself already bored with the plot device. Beyond that, though, I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. McBride's contribution to this anthology. :)
December 27, 2012
Goddess in Waiting (Stuart) tells the story of Marike Jensen, a 6’ proprietress of a maternity shop and home for unwed pregnant teens, and Will Lambert, magazine publisher, looking for clothes for his sister. This is a love at first sight story with interesting secondary characters.
Gabe’s Special Delivery (Quinn) tells the story of two misfits, Gabe Stone and Bailey Cooper, who find each other but are both insecure and unsure of the other. An unplanned baby makes them face their true feelings.
My Man Valentine (McBride) tells the story of Eloise Hunter and C.D. Valentine; next door neighbors in love, but think they’re just friends. This is the weakest of the three stories.
Gabe’s Special Delivery (Quinn) tells the story of two misfits, Gabe Stone and Bailey Cooper, who find each other but are both insecure and unsure of the other. An unplanned baby makes them face their true feelings.
My Man Valentine (McBride) tells the story of Eloise Hunter and C.D. Valentine; next door neighbors in love, but think they’re just friends. This is the weakest of the three stories.
November 13, 2015
Summary
It was good book. I will s look to reading the next book. The book kept you in suspense until it ended.
It was good book. I will s look to reading the next book. The book kept you in suspense until it ended.
March 1, 2018
*uncertain read date
This was a sad and an ok book.
This was a sad and an ok book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews