What do you think?
Rate this book
Baby Bombshell
Pregnant?!
Anna Berzani moved halfway across the country to get away from her overprotective family. When old friend and notorious playboy Evan McKenzie shows up in San Francisco, Anna feels that same nothing-but-trouble attraction she'd felt at sixteen. A night on the town leads to a few kisses, which leads to...a nine-month countdown!
Practical Anna suggests marriage, but the gorgeous bachelor turns her down flat. He's anything but good daddy material.
Evan always felt like an adopted member of the boisterous Berzani clan. Getting involved with Anna -- irresistible as she is -- won't go over so well with his best friend, Anna's brother. And when the rest of the family find out he refuses to marry her, he won't just be disowned -- he'll be dismembered!
How can he marry her, though...when he knows marriage is nothing but heartache?
Anna Berzani moved halfway across the country to get away from her overprotective family. When old friend and notorious playboy Evan McKenzie shows up in San Francisco, Anna feels that same nothing-but-trouble attraction she'd felt at sixteen. A night on the town leads to a few kisses, which leads to...a nine-month countdown!
Practical Anna suggests marriage, but the gorgeous bachelor turns her down flat. He's anything but good daddy material.
Evan always felt like an adopted member of the boisterous Berzani clan. Getting involved with Anna -- irresistible as she is -- won't go over so well with his best friend, Anna's brother. And when the rest of the family find out he refuses to marry her, he won't just be disowned -- he'll be dismembered!
How can he marry her, though...when he knows marriage is nothing but heartache?
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 2010
5 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 24, 2017
All day, she had been bracing herself for the coming storm. Time after time, she had warned herself of the worst possibilities: his horror, revulsion, panic, anger. At the same time, some irrepressible part of her wished for the opposite, that Evan would feel happy, loving and proud like a father-to-be was supposed to feel. But she had to bury that fantasy deep. False hope did her no good.
Okay. This book is about Evan who sleeps with his best friend's little sister. They grew up together - let's see. They met when she was 7 and he was 12. Now they are 26 and 31. He's wanted to fuck her since she was 16. Charming. She's wanted to fuck him since she was 13. Just ignore this disgusting shit and let's move on to some other disgusting shit. Such as:
He comes and visits Anna Marie in San Francisco because he wants her to work on a project with him and her parents (whom he considers like parents also). She has worked very hard to move thousands of miles away from her overbearing, overprotective Italian-American family. She has a great place and a great job in SF. He wants to take her away from that because he wants to make money. Fuck her feelings or wants.
When he can't convince her to come back normally, he invites her to dinner and idly thinks about
And if she proved unassailable? He would just have to pull out all the stops. The possibilities sent a shiver over his skin and he pushed the thought away. Some methods were off-limits, no matter how worthy the prize and tantalizing the victim.
Gross. Evan - in chapter one - is presented as a cold, harsh, furious man who coolly turns on the charm to seduce women. It's Chapter One and already I don't like him.
He takes Anna to dinner and when they are done they have sex. Who knows why, after all these years, they finally have sex. Who knows. She's been 'in love' with him since she was 13. Ruff is a talented author - you can FEEL Anna's emotions, her yearning and longing and tentative hope to be together with Evan.
She wakes up the next morning in a cold bed. Evan is gone. No note, no goodbye. It's devastating. Then he doesn't see her, talk to her, call her, text her (while she tries to get in touch with him) or anything until she comes back to Maryland. Three weeks later. After coming back to Maryland, he is cold and distant to her when she has to see him at family gatherings. She is crushed.
Things get even worse when she finds out she is pregnant.
The horrified panic in his eyes, his face as white as porcelain, told her everything.
Evan KNEW.
A terror flooded through Anna, making her shake. Even though she had been bracing herself for the worst, somehow she hadn't understood just how awful this moment would be. Part of her had gripped tightly to the fantasy of his excitement, his joy.
But Evan was NOT going to be excited. He was NOT going to hold her and tell her he was happy. He was NOT going to proclaim his love for her and the child they had created. And worst of all, since Antonio (her father) was still on a manhunt, Evan had obviously not told anyone that he was the father to be.
This cowardly piece of shit then expects her not to tell anyone he is the father. Even in family discussions where her overprotective, aggressive father and brothers are bullying her into revealing the name of the baby's father, she refuses. And he's RIGHT IN THE ROOM, WATCHING THIS. Not saying anything.
She darted a quick glance at Evan who stood with his hands in his pockets, his eyes on the floor. Instinctively, she knew there would be no help from him.
What a scumbag piece of trash.
What a surreal moment: here was her family, threatening the father of her baby while the man stood right in the room. Stood SILENTLY in the room, her aching heart noted, while she, all alone, defended his reputation.
The piece of trash is irritated with her. Irritated that she 'expects so much from him.'
What did she expect of him? What was she supposed to say, here in front of her parents, her brothers, his best friend? It was his family, too. The more he thought of it, the more irritated he became.
You. Got her pregnant. Stand up, and take care of your responsibilities like a man. You fucking piece of shit.
Then, when she's cold to him after this, he's hurt and angry.
"Anna?"
"What do you want?" Her tone was subzero.
He bristled. His earlier concern for her well-being disappeared in a heartbeat. "What do I want? I want you to tell me to wake up from this nightmare."
HMMM. I wonder why she's angry with you, fucker. I WONDER WHY.
He doesn't talk to her again for months. Then he walks in on her hugging her (gay) boss and flips the fuck out.
So. He doesn't want to see her. Talk to her. Be with her. Tell anyone he is the father of her child. Then has the AUDACITY to blow up at her for hugging another man. I SERIOUSLY do not get this guy. Seriously do not get him.
Also, just to make things better, the many, many, many women he's fucked and abandoned start coming out of the woodwork. You know. Just to make Anna Marie feel better about things.
"Please tell me you at least broke up with her in person."
"What, you think I texted her?" Evan's temper flared hotter.
"When you dumped me, I got no communication at all. A text message would have made my day."
The words hit Evan like a slap. Sucking in a deep breath, he held it, then let it out slowly.
Ruff is a good writer - she was tearing my heart out with this book. But it's not a ROMANCE. There's nothing ROMANTIC about this book. Okay?
THEN. THEN, the author seems to think I am supposed to think Evan is an actual human being. Because he buys her herbal tea and a ginger ale. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry, my standards for men are JUST A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN THIS, BOOK. Anna Marie may fall for this shit and end up forgiving him, but I certainly won't.
He makes generous offers like, "I'll pay child support - and be a father from afar." Wow, that's so kind and romantic of you. /s What a mensch! /s Don't let this one go, Anna Marie! /s LOL >.< Again, I am glad he agrees to pay child support and set up a trust fund, but this is supposed to be a ROMANCE.
THEN the author is like, "Oh, boo hoo, he had a rough childhood. His parents didn't love each other and got divorced!" >.< What the fuck. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS. One, I hate this whining, "It's not his fault! He had a bad childhood!" shit that gets pulled all the time. Plenty of people have bad childhoods. Doesn't mean you automatically grow up to be a worthless piece of trash who treats other people like absolute shit. Two, divorce? Are you FUCKING kidding me. Divorce. THAT is what is 'making' him act like trash? Give me a break, book. You're going to have to do better than that if you want sympathy from me. Plenty of people have divorced parents, it doesn't mean they are worthless, callous, cruel wastes of human beings who can't show compassion or be responsible for their actions. Okay? Three, am I supposed to BELIEVE that Anna Marie and Evan have grown up together - known each other for NINETEEN years - and they have never discussed his parents and their divorce?! I'm sorry, that is LITERALLY unbelievable. I don't believe it. Anna Marie is all, "Oh, poor baby. I had no idea your parents were fighting!" and I'm like, "COME ON!"
After this conversation, she's suddenly like: "Oh, I love him! I want to have sex with him again right now!" No. No. I'm sorry, NO. You are expecting me to believe that after he's done ALL THE THINGS I've listed so far in this book, she's going to willingly touch him again?!?!!? Are you!?!?!!? Unbelievable. Inconceivable. He still hasn't apologized or claimed the baby. Even if he did apologize or claim the baby, I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole. But he did neither of these things.
They have sex, and she's like:
A tear fell from her eye, but this time it was from happiness. She would never need anything more than this. Never.
Oh, so you don't need anything more from this trash besides a fuck? You don't need a father for your child or how about some love or even some basic respect as a human being?! You don't need any of that?!
Fuck this shit. Fuck it. I've never heard anything so stupid. I don't care HOW good-looking someone is or how good in bed someone is (not that I believe for one second that this guy is in any way competent in the sack), only someone with ZERO self-respect would allow him to touch her again after this. And heroines with no self-respect are NOT many people's cup of tea.
Then he is a bit conflicted, because after all, he does like fucking her.
Did he love her? He knew he liked having her around his house. She was easy to work and play with: funny, intelligent, undemanding, beautiful. They were incredible in bed together. He wanted her and she wanted him, that was clear.
UNDEMANDING?! You garbage. Come closer. I am going to murder you, Evan. Prepare for death, Evan. If you just want a fuck-buddy, you picked the wrong person. And you know clearly who she is. You know she is the 'forever' kind of woman who wants commitment, love, a relationship, marriage, the whole she-bang. She is NOT a love-'em-and-leave-'em type woman.
PLUS, you've known her since she was seven years old. Seven years old. Do you have no compassion? No heart? No amount of actually caring for her or respecting her at all?! Are you even human?! Who could rip someone they 'love as a sister' and have known since she was a little girl of seven to shreds again and again and again and again like this? You seem more like an emotionless sociopath or something.
And when he has sex with her this second time, around 83% when they have second-time sex, he pulls THE SAME SHIT and leaves before she wakes up. Yes, she is waking up to find him gone and a cold bed AGAIN. That fucker. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.
The book, of course,
HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN?
Don't you dare talk to me about sex with this piece of shit. *Carmen spits on the ground* Even thinking about him KISSING a woman sends me into a blind rage. This fucker doesn't deserve to even breathe the air she does, much less touch her.
TL;DR Note to authors: Please try not to write asshole heroes that are going to upset people. On what level - on what planet - is this guy supposed to be attractive?!!? The mind boggles. I want romance. You know. That is romantic. A hero who is a good person. THIS is not a romance novel. I was devastated when Evan and Anna Marie finally What a nightmare. That poor woman.
I was half-waiting for the real hero to come along. (Not literally... it's obvious Evan is supposed to play the 'hero' in this.) How great would it have been if, after this guy started jerking her around and spitting in her face and ignoring her existence and her pregnancy if a kind man with twinkly eyes stepped up to the plate. Wow. He would step in, take care of her, take responsibility for the child, respect her, love her, care about her... and fuck her brains out regularly. You know. Like a MAN would do.
Will the real hero please stand up?
You shouldn't talk about 'real' men, Carmen. That is sexist. You are a feminist.
Sigh. I may be feminist, but I expect men and women to stand up and take responsibility for their actions. Okay? This isn't about men. If a heroine in a book just had a baby and then abandoned it at a rest stop, I wouldn't be like, "Aw. She's had a bad childhood. It's okay, sweetheart." I would also be furious and tell her to woman up and take responsibility for her actions. So... this isn't a sexist thing. It's a 'be a responsible and respectful human being' thing.
But you said, "Like a real man."
Yes, that's because I'm trying hard to distinguish for you here the differences between a man and a piece of shit. It's hard for romance authors to tell the difference, apparently. Man. Piece of shit. NOT THE SAME. As I have said over and over and over again, the opposite of man is not a woman. It's a piece of shit. And the opposite of a woman is not a man. It's a piece of shit. That's because human beings should not be pieces of shit.
You have to be cruel and inhuman (inhumane) to treat someone like Evan treats Anna Marie in this book.
Ruff is a strong and capable writer. I don't want this review to be a reflection on her skillz as a writer - that is, the actual words she is laying down. My criticism is with the content. Just wanted to make that clear. This book was ripping my heart to shreds. But it wasn't a romance and it claimed to be one. So, one-star.
ROMANCE CATEGORIES:
Contemporary Romance
Non-Virgin Heroine
Pregnant Heroine
P.S. He's a car salesman. I mean, not a used car salesman, but still.
P.P.S. She's an architect, in case you're wondering.
Okay. This book is about Evan who sleeps with his best friend's little sister. They grew up together - let's see. They met when she was 7 and he was 12. Now they are 26 and 31. He's wanted to fuck her since she was 16. Charming. She's wanted to fuck him since she was 13. Just ignore this disgusting shit and let's move on to some other disgusting shit. Such as:
He comes and visits Anna Marie in San Francisco because he wants her to work on a project with him and her parents (whom he considers like parents also). She has worked very hard to move thousands of miles away from her overbearing, overprotective Italian-American family. She has a great place and a great job in SF. He wants to take her away from that because he wants to make money. Fuck her feelings or wants.
When he can't convince her to come back normally, he invites her to dinner and idly thinks about
And if she proved unassailable? He would just have to pull out all the stops. The possibilities sent a shiver over his skin and he pushed the thought away. Some methods were off-limits, no matter how worthy the prize and tantalizing the victim.
Gross. Evan - in chapter one - is presented as a cold, harsh, furious man who coolly turns on the charm to seduce women. It's Chapter One and already I don't like him.
He takes Anna to dinner and when they are done they have sex. Who knows why, after all these years, they finally have sex. Who knows. She's been 'in love' with him since she was 13. Ruff is a talented author - you can FEEL Anna's emotions, her yearning and longing and tentative hope to be together with Evan.
She wakes up the next morning in a cold bed. Evan is gone. No note, no goodbye. It's devastating. Then he doesn't see her, talk to her, call her, text her (while she tries to get in touch with him) or anything until she comes back to Maryland. Three weeks later. After coming back to Maryland, he is cold and distant to her when she has to see him at family gatherings. She is crushed.
Things get even worse when she finds out she is pregnant.
The horrified panic in his eyes, his face as white as porcelain, told her everything.
Evan KNEW.
A terror flooded through Anna, making her shake. Even though she had been bracing herself for the worst, somehow she hadn't understood just how awful this moment would be. Part of her had gripped tightly to the fantasy of his excitement, his joy.
But Evan was NOT going to be excited. He was NOT going to hold her and tell her he was happy. He was NOT going to proclaim his love for her and the child they had created. And worst of all, since Antonio (her father) was still on a manhunt, Evan had obviously not told anyone that he was the father to be.
This cowardly piece of shit then expects her not to tell anyone he is the father. Even in family discussions where her overprotective, aggressive father and brothers are bullying her into revealing the name of the baby's father, she refuses. And he's RIGHT IN THE ROOM, WATCHING THIS. Not saying anything.
She darted a quick glance at Evan who stood with his hands in his pockets, his eyes on the floor. Instinctively, she knew there would be no help from him.
What a scumbag piece of trash.
What a surreal moment: here was her family, threatening the father of her baby while the man stood right in the room. Stood SILENTLY in the room, her aching heart noted, while she, all alone, defended his reputation.
The piece of trash is irritated with her. Irritated that she 'expects so much from him.'
What did she expect of him? What was she supposed to say, here in front of her parents, her brothers, his best friend? It was his family, too. The more he thought of it, the more irritated he became.
You. Got her pregnant. Stand up, and take care of your responsibilities like a man. You fucking piece of shit.
Then, when she's cold to him after this, he's hurt and angry.
"Anna?"
"What do you want?" Her tone was subzero.
He bristled. His earlier concern for her well-being disappeared in a heartbeat. "What do I want? I want you to tell me to wake up from this nightmare."
HMMM. I wonder why she's angry with you, fucker. I WONDER WHY.
He doesn't talk to her again for months. Then he walks in on her hugging her (gay) boss and flips the fuck out.
So. He doesn't want to see her. Talk to her. Be with her. Tell anyone he is the father of her child. Then has the AUDACITY to blow up at her for hugging another man. I SERIOUSLY do not get this guy. Seriously do not get him.
Also, just to make things better, the many, many, many women he's fucked and abandoned start coming out of the woodwork. You know. Just to make Anna Marie feel better about things.
"Please tell me you at least broke up with her in person."
"What, you think I texted her?" Evan's temper flared hotter.
"When you dumped me, I got no communication at all. A text message would have made my day."
The words hit Evan like a slap. Sucking in a deep breath, he held it, then let it out slowly.
Ruff is a good writer - she was tearing my heart out with this book. But it's not a ROMANCE. There's nothing ROMANTIC about this book. Okay?
THEN. THEN, the author seems to think I am supposed to think Evan is an actual human being. Because he buys her herbal tea and a ginger ale. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry, my standards for men are JUST A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN THIS, BOOK. Anna Marie may fall for this shit and end up forgiving him, but I certainly won't.
He makes generous offers like, "I'll pay child support - and be a father from afar." Wow, that's so kind and romantic of you. /s What a mensch! /s Don't let this one go, Anna Marie! /s LOL >.< Again, I am glad he agrees to pay child support and set up a trust fund, but this is supposed to be a ROMANCE.
THEN the author is like, "Oh, boo hoo, he had a rough childhood. His parents didn't love each other and got divorced!" >.< What the fuck. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS. One, I hate this whining, "It's not his fault! He had a bad childhood!" shit that gets pulled all the time. Plenty of people have bad childhoods. Doesn't mean you automatically grow up to be a worthless piece of trash who treats other people like absolute shit. Two, divorce? Are you FUCKING kidding me. Divorce. THAT is what is 'making' him act like trash? Give me a break, book. You're going to have to do better than that if you want sympathy from me. Plenty of people have divorced parents, it doesn't mean they are worthless, callous, cruel wastes of human beings who can't show compassion or be responsible for their actions. Okay? Three, am I supposed to BELIEVE that Anna Marie and Evan have grown up together - known each other for NINETEEN years - and they have never discussed his parents and their divorce?! I'm sorry, that is LITERALLY unbelievable. I don't believe it. Anna Marie is all, "Oh, poor baby. I had no idea your parents were fighting!" and I'm like, "COME ON!"
After this conversation, she's suddenly like: "Oh, I love him! I want to have sex with him again right now!" No. No. I'm sorry, NO. You are expecting me to believe that after he's done ALL THE THINGS I've listed so far in this book, she's going to willingly touch him again?!?!!? Are you!?!?!!? Unbelievable. Inconceivable. He still hasn't apologized or claimed the baby. Even if he did apologize or claim the baby, I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole. But he did neither of these things.
They have sex, and she's like:
A tear fell from her eye, but this time it was from happiness. She would never need anything more than this. Never.
Oh, so you don't need anything more from this trash besides a fuck? You don't need a father for your child or how about some love or even some basic respect as a human being?! You don't need any of that?!
Fuck this shit. Fuck it. I've never heard anything so stupid. I don't care HOW good-looking someone is or how good in bed someone is (not that I believe for one second that this guy is in any way competent in the sack), only someone with ZERO self-respect would allow him to touch her again after this. And heroines with no self-respect are NOT many people's cup of tea.
Then he is a bit conflicted, because after all, he does like fucking her.
Did he love her? He knew he liked having her around his house. She was easy to work and play with: funny, intelligent, undemanding, beautiful. They were incredible in bed together. He wanted her and she wanted him, that was clear.
UNDEMANDING?! You garbage. Come closer. I am going to murder you, Evan. Prepare for death, Evan. If you just want a fuck-buddy, you picked the wrong person. And you know clearly who she is. You know she is the 'forever' kind of woman who wants commitment, love, a relationship, marriage, the whole she-bang. She is NOT a love-'em-and-leave-'em type woman.
PLUS, you've known her since she was seven years old. Seven years old. Do you have no compassion? No heart? No amount of actually caring for her or respecting her at all?! Are you even human?! Who could rip someone they 'love as a sister' and have known since she was a little girl of seven to shreds again and again and again and again like this? You seem more like an emotionless sociopath or something.
And when he has sex with her this second time, around 83% when they have second-time sex, he pulls THE SAME SHIT and leaves before she wakes up. Yes, she is waking up to find him gone and a cold bed AGAIN. That fucker. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.
The book, of course,
HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN?
Don't you dare talk to me about sex with this piece of shit. *Carmen spits on the ground* Even thinking about him KISSING a woman sends me into a blind rage. This fucker doesn't deserve to even breathe the air she does, much less touch her.
TL;DR Note to authors: Please try not to write asshole heroes that are going to upset people. On what level - on what planet - is this guy supposed to be attractive?!!? The mind boggles. I want romance. You know. That is romantic. A hero who is a good person. THIS is not a romance novel. I was devastated when Evan and Anna Marie finally What a nightmare. That poor woman.
I was half-waiting for the real hero to come along. (Not literally... it's obvious Evan is supposed to play the 'hero' in this.) How great would it have been if, after this guy started jerking her around and spitting in her face and ignoring her existence and her pregnancy if a kind man with twinkly eyes stepped up to the plate. Wow. He would step in, take care of her, take responsibility for the child, respect her, love her, care about her... and fuck her brains out regularly. You know. Like a MAN would do.
Will the real hero please stand up?
You shouldn't talk about 'real' men, Carmen. That is sexist. You are a feminist.
Sigh. I may be feminist, but I expect men and women to stand up and take responsibility for their actions. Okay? This isn't about men. If a heroine in a book just had a baby and then abandoned it at a rest stop, I wouldn't be like, "Aw. She's had a bad childhood. It's okay, sweetheart." I would also be furious and tell her to woman up and take responsibility for her actions. So... this isn't a sexist thing. It's a 'be a responsible and respectful human being' thing.
But you said, "Like a real man."
Yes, that's because I'm trying hard to distinguish for you here the differences between a man and a piece of shit. It's hard for romance authors to tell the difference, apparently. Man. Piece of shit. NOT THE SAME. As I have said over and over and over again, the opposite of man is not a woman. It's a piece of shit. And the opposite of a woman is not a man. It's a piece of shit. That's because human beings should not be pieces of shit.
You have to be cruel and inhuman (inhumane) to treat someone like Evan treats Anna Marie in this book.
Ruff is a strong and capable writer. I don't want this review to be a reflection on her skillz as a writer - that is, the actual words she is laying down. My criticism is with the content. Just wanted to make that clear. This book was ripping my heart to shreds. But it wasn't a romance and it claimed to be one. So, one-star.
ROMANCE CATEGORIES:
Contemporary Romance
Non-Virgin Heroine
Pregnant Heroine
P.S. He's a car salesman. I mean, not a used car salesman, but still.
P.P.S. She's an architect, in case you're wondering.
April 16, 2014
There are some books that stick with you for their profoundness, some that stick with you for the feels. This is one that has stuck with me over the years for the feels. When I'm suffering from a book hangover and just can't get into another story, this is my go to. The warm fuzzies I feel when reading about Anna and Evan and the rest of the Berzanis always pulls me out of missing another character, because I just can't help but fall a little in love with them every time. And Anna's predicament...she handles the whole things with grace. She might want the man, but she doesn't need him, and she makes it clear. She won't just settle, not for herself or her family. I admire her for that. And Evan had that touch of broken boy that I always fall for in the male characters. There's just so much I can say about this book, and I'm still singing it's praises after the dozenth time I've read it.
Read
June 30, 2016Miniseries: Babies & Bachelors USA
September 16, 2010
GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! very good why couldn't we all have a romance like this???????????
August 12, 2012
i didn't really fall in love with this book or its characters but i also didn't entirely hate it ... it was OK and it had its moments and that's all
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews