What do you think?
Rate this book
Babies Inc. #4
Pride and Pregnancy
You can take the girl out of the trailer park…
Which Karleen Almquist had surely tried to do.But the thrice-married—and thrice-divorced!—personal shopper had sworn off men, and theirinherent complications…aka babies. Until themost gorgeous widower moved in next door—complete with the two most adorable little boysshe'd ever seen.
True, Troy Lindquist had been alone a long time,but the ice cream mogul was looking for a realrelationship, and his next-door neighbor wasclearly not his type. Still, that didn't stop himfrom turning to her one night—which resulted inKarleen being pregnant with Troy's child.
First came the baby carriage. Then came love.And then…marriage?
Which Karleen Almquist had surely tried to do.But the thrice-married—and thrice-divorced!—personal shopper had sworn off men, and theirinherent complications…aka babies. Until themost gorgeous widower moved in next door—complete with the two most adorable little boysshe'd ever seen.
True, Troy Lindquist had been alone a long time,but the ice cream mogul was looking for a realrelationship, and his next-door neighbor wasclearly not his type. Still, that didn't stop himfrom turning to her one night—which resulted inKarleen being pregnant with Troy's child.
First came the baby carriage. Then came love.And then…marriage?
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 2, 2007
About the author
Karen Templeton
210 books36 followersAs the mother of five sons, now grown, Karen loves to write about real people dealing with the drama (and humor) of everyday life. Over the past fifteen years, Karen has written nearly 50 books for Harlequin/Silhouette and Red Dress Ink, and three of her Special Edition titles (A Mother's Wish (2009) Welcome Home, Cowboy (2011) and A Gift for All Seasons (2013) have won the RITA award, the romance industry's top prize for published authors. In addition, her November 2014 title, Santa's Playbook, earned the Romantic Times Gold Seal of Excellence, out of the hundreds of releases reviewed by the magazine for that month.
She is very active on Facebook, as both Karen Templeton and her full name, Karen Templeton Berger, running giveaway contests whenever she has a new release... or just feels like it. Or you can reach her via her website at www.karentempleton.com, which contains recent news as well as excerpts from both current and backlist titles.
She is very active on Facebook, as both Karen Templeton and her full name, Karen Templeton Berger, running giveaway contests whenever she has a new release... or just feels like it. Or you can reach her via her website at www.karentempleton.com, which contains recent news as well as excerpts from both current and backlist titles.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 20, 2011
I'll give it a 2.5, but nothing more.
I found this book to be extremely unrealistic and unromantic.
My first problem was with their ages. Usually I'm somewhat flexible with the ages that I read about, but I'm sorry, two almost 40 years old are way too old to act the way Troy Linquist and Karleen Almquist acted.
My second was with Karleen's appearance. At 37 she wore short shorts, tube tops shirts that hugged her fake boobs very tightly and showed her mid-drift, beach blond hair, fake fingernails, and her yard had odd decorations all in it. She spoke with weird endearments that made her sound poor, drunk, and uneducated.
Third was with the way the baby making action happened. One the scene sucked in my opinion and two just the way they got in bed was an awful plot. Both being lonely, Troy's friend suggested he practice with Karleen about being near a woman again, b/c her appearance totally turned off any romantic thoughts for both men when they first met her moving into the house next door. It just so happens that Karleen has an unpredictable period and doctors had told her it would be difficult for her to get pregnant, but she just happened to get pregnant with Troy their first time with the use of a condom.....
Fourth was Karleen's attitude. Even before either one of them knew she was pregnant, Troy was already trying to start something between them. But after her three failed marriages and childhood abandonment, Karleen won't even consider a relationship b/c she won't risk it not working. She was too whiny about her past and being poor pitiful Karleen she didn't see what was in her face.
Fifth was the relationship between them once it was known she was pregnant. I don't know of any man who if in the same position as Troy would let a woman like Karleen act the way she did and fight him at turn. Karleen was determined to support herself and not lean on Troy at all. As the months went by, their relationship hardly improved.
I did like his parents reactions and reading as Troy stood up to them about his choice and Karleen's pregnancy. I did not however enjoy reading about Karleen's crazy, addict Aunt Inky. There was suppose to be a parallel between Inky and Karleen's way of life, but it was ridiculous to read about.
The cover in no way portrays this book. The cover looks like a fantastic book, this was in no way a fantastic book.
I found this book to be extremely unrealistic and unromantic.
My first problem was with their ages. Usually I'm somewhat flexible with the ages that I read about, but I'm sorry, two almost 40 years old are way too old to act the way Troy Linquist and Karleen Almquist acted.
My second was with Karleen's appearance. At 37 she wore short shorts, tube tops shirts that hugged her fake boobs very tightly and showed her mid-drift, beach blond hair, fake fingernails, and her yard had odd decorations all in it. She spoke with weird endearments that made her sound poor, drunk, and uneducated.
Third was with the way the baby making action happened. One the scene sucked in my opinion and two just the way they got in bed was an awful plot. Both being lonely, Troy's friend suggested he practice with Karleen about being near a woman again, b/c her appearance totally turned off any romantic thoughts for both men when they first met her moving into the house next door. It just so happens that Karleen has an unpredictable period and doctors had told her it would be difficult for her to get pregnant, but she just happened to get pregnant with Troy their first time with the use of a condom.....
Fourth was Karleen's attitude. Even before either one of them knew she was pregnant, Troy was already trying to start something between them. But after her three failed marriages and childhood abandonment, Karleen won't even consider a relationship b/c she won't risk it not working. She was too whiny about her past and being poor pitiful Karleen she didn't see what was in her face.
Fifth was the relationship between them once it was known she was pregnant. I don't know of any man who if in the same position as Troy would let a woman like Karleen act the way she did and fight him at turn. Karleen was determined to support herself and not lean on Troy at all. As the months went by, their relationship hardly improved.
I did like his parents reactions and reading as Troy stood up to them about his choice and Karleen's pregnancy. I did not however enjoy reading about Karleen's crazy, addict Aunt Inky. There was suppose to be a parallel between Inky and Karleen's way of life, but it was ridiculous to read about.
The cover in no way portrays this book. The cover looks like a fantastic book, this was in no way a fantastic book.
July 14, 2025
Jennifer Crusie, watch out! Susan Elizabeth Phillips, get back!
I read a LOT of romance books. Hundreds and hundreds. I've gotten very picky. Based on the dumb title and well-worn plot not to mention the cover, I would never have even considered this one if someone hadn't recommended it. But, this book was absolutely hilarious. The characters were not stereotypes but interesting and unusual. A big haired, fake boobed, three-time divorcee who likes anything sparkly is our heroine. Our hero, unlike MANY heroes, actually thinks and talks like a real man a lot of the time. We really like these characters along with the H's twin young sons who are great. Ms. Templeton is a real word- and phrase-smith. Her one liners are terrific. It's not a "perfect" book. SOmewhere between half-way and three-quarters of the way through the book the tension drops off somewhat because boy has succumbed and girl should have succumbed to HEA thoughts. But, it's still a very good read. I hope more people stumble onto this one like I did.
I read a LOT of romance books. Hundreds and hundreds. I've gotten very picky. Based on the dumb title and well-worn plot not to mention the cover, I would never have even considered this one if someone hadn't recommended it. But, this book was absolutely hilarious. The characters were not stereotypes but interesting and unusual. A big haired, fake boobed, three-time divorcee who likes anything sparkly is our heroine. Our hero, unlike MANY heroes, actually thinks and talks like a real man a lot of the time. We really like these characters along with the H's twin young sons who are great. Ms. Templeton is a real word- and phrase-smith. Her one liners are terrific. It's not a "perfect" book. SOmewhere between half-way and three-quarters of the way through the book the tension drops off somewhat because boy has succumbed and girl should have succumbed to HEA thoughts. But, it's still a very good read. I hope more people stumble onto this one like I did.
April 22, 2010
Karen Templeton has become a favorite go-to author for strong, emotionally compelling contemporary romances. I recently picked up a handful of some of her older SSE's and this is the first one I grabbed out of the stack.
While I enjoyed many aspects of this, I'm afraid I didn't feel the emotional connection to the characters I've come to expect from Templeton. Karleen and Troy were both well drawn characters, and I loved Troy's boys and Karleen's best friend Joanna. But I didn't feel like I was emotionally invested in their story. Yes, I was entertained. But it was missing the strong pull I generally feel when reading Templeton.
While I enjoyed many aspects of this, I'm afraid I didn't feel the emotional connection to the characters I've come to expect from Templeton. Karleen and Troy were both well drawn characters, and I loved Troy's boys and Karleen's best friend Joanna. But I didn't feel like I was emotionally invested in their story. Yes, I was entertained. But it was missing the strong pull I generally feel when reading Templeton.
November 13, 2011
Well done story with a different type of heroine. She's been married 3 times before and accidently gets pregnant from a one nighter with her new neighbor. He's a very nice man who starts out just wanting to take responsibility for his actions and ends up in love. But she is very different from his first wife and thinks they won't be good together plus she has issues from her history. A major portion of the story is from his POV which is a good thing since I think otherwise I would have gotten pretty fed up with her attitude of being so sure they wouldn't last that she wouldn't even try. Well written etc.
March 1, 2021
A good read about 2 people from different worlds and how they collide. This book is always a good read.
March 1, 2013
the cover is so misleading you will think they are youngsters especially the heroine who actually in the story is a bimbo of 37. im my mind she looked like bride of chucky lol. well i hesitated about the rating because it was a very nice and sweet story but i did not feel the connection/love between these two. it was only sex. and the heroine did appear vulgar at times which suited her whore appearance but not the person described underneath that exterior. neway i did not see the love developing between these 2. but i did like the story overall, it was a big change from the usual harlequins.
November 5, 2015
Opposites may attraction, but they still have to work through their problems and deal with their emotional baggage, individually and collectively. This is a heart-warming story, with kids, emotion, family, and love and second chances.
Another winner from Ms. Templeton!
Another winner from Ms. Templeton!
December 19, 2016
Different but loaded with interesting characters and held this readers attention practically the whole book.
KT is definitely one of my favorite authors and an automatic buy.
This is an oldie but a goody and I look forward to hunting down the rest of her backlist to read.
KT is definitely one of my favorite authors and an automatic buy.
This is an oldie but a goody and I look forward to hunting down the rest of her backlist to read.
July 10, 2011
Fine for the genre. Didn't jump out and grab me though.
Read
July 28, 2011I love this story. I've read and re-read it at least five or ten times. The characters are really relatable, especially Karleen.
April 29, 2012
The story was slow-moving and kind of boring, but I just loved the heroine.
August 20, 2014
I just love these happily ever afters.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews