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Review

3.5 stars

The first book in a new series from Willow Aster, this is a slow burning, surprise baby love story that is emotional and swoonily romantic, and it’s such a gorgeous read.

Weston Shaw is a star NFL quarterback with a happy and carefree life, until he receives a life-changing phone call telling him that he has a two month old son whose mother (a one night stand) has just died. Weston jumps right into the role of brand new dad to baby Caleb, but he’s not doing it alone. Sadie is Caleb’s Aunt (her sister was Caleb’s mother) and she has been helping to raise him since birth. She’s furious when Weston arrives on the scene, mistakenly thinking that he knew about his son and had chosen to not be involved, but she is shattered by her sister’s death and by the thought of losing Caleb, so she agrees when Weston offers her a place in their lives and she moves into his home in a co-parenting arrangement.

It’s a great set-up that had me quickly invested in the story. I cared about the characters and felt for them on the wild rollercoaster of emotions they were going through and couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen. There’s initially a lot of anger and grief, but we see lots of them adjusting to living together, and Weston embracing every moment of life with his son, and it’s all so cute. There’s an attraction there from the beginning, but they both have so much going on that they agree not to pursue anything, and so begins the slow burn.

The romance is a long time coming, but the build-up didn’t really flow for me due to the amount of time skips. At times it felt like a highlight reel. There’s epic sexual tension, then suddenly it skips weeks or months forward for more epic sexual tension, then skips again. It’s a long time before something actually happens (after yet another time skip) and then suddenly they can’t keep their hands off each other. It felt a bit weird because we hadn’t followed it all the way through, but I have to say that when they do finally reach the point where they give in to their feelings, the romance is beautiful!

She’s the first person I want to tell anything, and the last voice I want to hear every night. I feel like part of me is missing whenever we’re apart.
She’s my best friend, and I’m madly in love with her.

Weston is such a sweetheart. His instant love and fierce protectiveness over little Caleb is gorgeous, and as a romantic hero, he’s so damn dreamy.

“I don’t just want one night with you. This isn’t just sex for me. You’re my best friend. I love the life we’ve created together. I’m falling in love with you,” I tell her.

Their relationship is sweet, sexy, functional, playful and so freaking swoony, we see plenty of Weston and Sadie all loved up and figuring out life as a couple, and they are so damn cute together! They have challenges to face with Weston’s celebrity, and the circumstances of them coming together in the first place, but they deal with it really well, and I loved watching them find their HEA.

Along the way, Weston has the support of his NFL buddies – most of them single dads themselves – and I loved the teasing and banter between the boys. They are all fabulously supportive of course, and the dynamics in the group are so much fun, and I’m excited to read more about each of them as the series progresses.

There’s also a fun tie-in to the Landmark Mountain series. Weston is the brother of Felicity from Stay (Landmark Mountain, #5), so we get to see some of those characters as well, which I loved!

This is a fun read, and great in audio – narrated by Ava Erickson and Connor Crais. It’s sweet and swoony, and a fabulous romantic escape, and I really enjoyed it.

3.5 stars.