What (Not) to Expect When You're Expecting

by M.J. Fredrick

Bailey Summers is very good at taking care of herself. So good, in fact, that she shuts others out with very little effort.

But when her brother and his partner want a child, she pushes out of her comfort zone and offers to be their surrogate. It’s just nine months out of her life, right?

Right.

Because of course when she’s struggling with morning sickness, she encounters the hottest man she’s ever met. To make matters worse, he’s the new bartender at her popular bar.

Rick Cassidy comes with his own complications. He’s a middle school teacher taking a summer job as a bartender to help out his brother’s family. His brother is in a rehab hospital after colliding with a drunk driver, and Rick is trying to help them make ends meet. He’s just out of a relationship himself, with a woman who couldn’t handle him spending so much time caring for his brother. So what’s he doing eyeballing his boss, the boss of a job he needs?

But late nights, close quarters and second-trimester hormones overrule better judgement, and complications intertwine. This is definitely not what they were expecting.

Genres: Contemporary Romance

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2013

Reviews

[MBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating =4/5

Rated as a GREAT READ from the sunny side of life!

Review goes live at 00:00 hours MVT on March 13, 2013!

Full review with quotes can be found up on MBR's Realm of Romance

[Anaïs · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5 Stars

I was actually more intrigued by the title and the blurb than by the cover for this book. And actually, for once, I didn't let the mediocre reviews put me off. And I'm glad I went for this book. It was sweet, yet at the same time quite deep and believable.

There's one thing I regret, however, and that's the book ending. It was pretty abrupt and I would have loved an epilogue, just because the last chapters of the book were very emotional, and it would have been nice to see how the characters moved on with their lives.

But all in all, I totally recommend this book.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly don't know how to feel about this book.. I mean I loved every minute of it but I just don't know how to feel about it right now...

What Bailey did for her brother and his partner is incredible. I know I wouldn't be able to do what she did. Carrying a child for 9 months of your life and not expecting to get attached to it would be the definition of impossible for me. What a strong woman she was to do that. I can say my heart hurt for her because I thought she was going to get attached and change her mind. I was actually wishing for that. But she was selfless and gave J.B to her brother and Dean.

Let me just point out that I was pissed off at how Dean and Mitch hounded her and was up her ass. I know they have the right to do that because that's their child in ways. I also didn't like the way Mitch was to her he seemed very selfish in my book . When I say that not only was he not thinking about the risks of the baby but he wasn't thinking about Bailey. There are plenty of woman who die from child birth. It just seems he didn't care too much about Bailey the way he should. That's my opinion of that.

Anyways as for Rick. Man he's one hell of a guy! I'm glad he fell in love with Bailey and supported all her decisions. I also loved how devoted he was to his family. He gave up some of his life to help his brother and sister in law and nieces and nephews. Let me add one thing. I personally hated Zoe. Actually I still don't like her. The way she treated Rick after all he's done for her and their family and she gripping on him when he's paying her bills and what ever else. If I was Rick I would've left her to figure out shit in her own. But that's me. Rick is also a selfless person which made him perfect fit for Bailey.

I sort of wishes their was a epilogue where it showed their life after and how bailey recovered from her depressive state and he and Rick got married and had a child of their own... Ahh that would've been perfect ending to a perfect book! But I'll just have to pretend that's how it went hahah.

Overall this book is definitely going on to my favorite shelf<3

[Michelle Quintana · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unconventional love story, Bailey and Rick meet when she is newly pregnant with her brother's baby. She keeps thinking how things would be with Rick if she wasn't pregnant and his boss. Rick, on the other, doesn't let that stand in his way while pursuing her. He tries to show her how he really feels and that what they can have goes deeper than her just being pregnant. Bailey on the other at times is quite a witch towards Rick and it isn't all due to her hormones. She thinks that things are not real and that there is no way that Rick can love the real her. He stays by her side regardless of she treats him and all she had to do was open her eyes as to what was right before her

[Tory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally don't like pregnancy books, but this premise sounded interesting. I haven't really read any books where the heroine was a surrogate. I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I was not expecting the depth of emotions that I felt in the story. At times I was frustrated with Bailey's brother as he seemed oblivious to what she was feeling and experience. I loved Rick. He seemed very grounded and caring - at times going a little overboard for his family, but I could totally understand why. Great story and I will definitely look for more stories by MJ Fredrick.

[Gerard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book jumped off into the deep right from the start which is something I like, not making you wait endlessly before you really get to know anything about anything.
Having dealt with someone who has done a surrogacy pregnancy, I just knew I wanted to read this book. I like how it deals with personal relationships between the surrogate mom and her personal life and with the couple for whom she is doing the surrogacy. A must read if you are planning on a surrogacy or are just interested in what such a person has to go through.

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Jena · Rating 2 out of 5]

GOOD READS WINNER!!!

Thank you to the author for making copies available for winning.

I liked the overplot of this book. It was a cute, "summer" read type of a book.

It was highly predictable and I felt could have been written with more insight and depth.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of intriguing subject matter here. Interesting, diverse characters who were dealing with believable problems.