The Single Dad's Marriage Wish

by Carol Marinelli

A mother for his son.Dedicated consultant and devoted single dad Hamish Adams is the heartthrob of the emergency room. Hamish's life is a nonstop juggling act. Between caring for his young son and managing his demanding job, Hamish has no time for women. For the sake of his heart, and his child, that's how he intends it to stay. That is, until beautiful nurse Charlotte Porter whirls into their lives!Vivacious, caring Charlotte is just what Hamish and little Cameron need. With Charlotte by their side, Hamish knows they would make a perfect family. But first he must put his heart on the line and ask Charlotte to be his wife.

Genres: Romance

192 pages, Paperback

Published September 7, 2007

About the author

Carol Marinelli was born in England to Scottish parents, then emigrated to Australia, where there are loads of Scottish and English people who did exactly the same, so she’s very at home there.

She lives in the outer suburbs of Melbourne—pretty much in her car, driving her three children to their various commitments.

Carol writes for the Harlequin Presents and Medical lines and she also writes contemporary women's fiction (with a dark twist).
When she's not writing she's reading, when she's not reading she's writing.

Reviews

[StMargarets · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title isn’t inspiring.

I’m not a fan of gritty medicals.

A widower hero? Angst overload is always a concern.

But Vintage remembered loving it so I gave it a whirl.

Vintage was absolutely right. This is a thoughtful, heartfelt romance that celebrates life while acknowledging the pain that can enter anyone’s life at any time. And. yes, I might have blinked back a tear or two.

So spoilers: Hero is an emergency room doctor who has a two year-old son. His wife died in a horse-riding accident when his son was six months old. He had been coping with an elderly housekeeper (who is recovering from a hip operation) and his sister (also a doctor) who helped with his son. His son also goes to the daycare at the hospital.

Heroine is a nurse who lost her job when they were consolidating the country hospitals. She’s only been working at this hospital for a few weeks (hero was on vacation) when they first meet. She is full of energy and compassion and the hero is impressed with how she handles a bullied young patient. She is on her way to an interview for a part-time housekeeping position that will allow her to keep her two horses and her cat and dog.

Yes, it was the hero’s sister who advertised for the job and it’s the sister who hires her over the hero’s objections. (He doesn’t want gossip and he is attracted to the heroine). What follows is the heroine taking over the hero’s life and making everything better. It sounds like a Mary Sue in action but there are hints that all is not well with the heroine, but no one can get close enough to her to find out.

Heroine’s backstory Heroine was an identical twin. She was the weaker twin with multiple health problems. But her “healthy” twin had an undiagnosed heart condition and died when she was 15. From that point on the heroine decided that she would live life to fullest for them both and take on her twin’s lively personality. Her mother was a selfish woman with multiple boyfriends. The mother has decided to follow her latest to another part of the country, selling their house. That’s why the heroine needed a place for her animals so desperately.

The hero finds out all of this in bits and pieces. And this is the progression of their romance:

They are attracted to each other and manage to keep it platonic until the night they are both called in because of a house fire and arrive at the hospital only to find out that the entire family of six had perished. Overcome with emotion, they fall into bed together.

Hero feels good. Heroine feels guilty and is cool to the hero for the next few weeks. She is also very tired and drinking a lot of water. Hero is worried about her when she doesn’t return from packing up her family home. He then makes a long-distance diagnosis. He races to the house and finds her passed out – she’s in a diabetic coma. He saves her life and then declare himself a few days later.

There’s an epilogue with the heroine telling the hero she’s pregnant and that his son had just tried calling her mom for the first time. They remember hero’s wife in a sweet way and hero makes her promise to lean on him every now and again. HEA.

Now here are the medical incidents –
Young man electrocuted and his father performs CPR to save his life.
Bullied boy with psoriasis and stomach problems
Two year-old twin dies
A horse dies

It all sounds kind of angsty and gritty, but it’s actually not. I’ve read this author before and she can ladle on the angst when she wants to, but it’s all doled out here so beautifully. The heroine really does understand pain – the physical kind, the grieving kind, and the heartache kind – and yet she chooses to keep going and to notice the good stuff.

The hero is more of a half-glass full kind of guy and yet he’s seen too many miracles in the emergency room to ever get cynical. He comes to appreciate his life just as it is – with its loss and with its joys. I liked that he didn't try to change the heroine - he just wants her to know he's there for her negative emotions as well as her positive ones. It's a great ending scene.

The secondary characters are well drawn. The hero’s son is adorable. Give this one a try if you're in the mood for something heartfelt.

[Vintage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come...This was quite sweet, and with a little work could be even better. Still, even though it needs work, I am giving it four stars for sweetness and an adorable heroine.

The H is a widower with an adorable little boy. He is overwhelmed with grief and responsibilities. The widower, not the plot moppet.

In steps, the h, the light of the hospital and seemingly winsome spirit. Everybody loves her. She verges on Mary Sue territory, but escapes it. She has a dark secret that slowly unfolds and exposes why she is so relentlessly happy all the time.

The H and h fall in love/lust, but due, shock, misunderstandings in miscommunications they implode.

Sorry for my wimpy review, but I have mouths to feed and a cake to bake.

Suffice to say, we have some nice, normal characters that are not boring in a sweet romance. Try it, you'll like it.

[Alison F · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too saccharine for words! ED consultant Hamish Adams' wife died in a riding accident 2 years ago when their son Cameron was 6 months old. His life is a juggling act. Nurse Charlotte Porter (who has 2 horses, a cat & dog) recently became jobless & homeless. Luke's sister hires Charlotte, against his objections (he's attracted to her), to be his housekeeper/nanny & she sets about making his life better. She seems too good to be true but is hiding a traumatic backstory. They manage to keep things platonic until, in the aftermath of a tragedy, they seek solace in each other. Charlotte feels guilty & there's a 3rd Act breakup. Then Luke comes to her rescue &, of course, there's an epilogue pregnancy. Isn't there always?

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was too much. Gag.

[nm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming romance. Adorable baby Bailey. Likes Charlotte’s character in the book.

[Mel Auslan Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2* out of 5*
Awww. This book was beautiful, Yes I said BEAUTIFUL! The characters were so well developed I became very emotionally involved in the relationships. The plot itself was amazing. I could not put the book down until I finally finished it. I just had to know what happened.
One of the best M&B books I've read. I love a good quick read.

One thing I really didn't like was all the spelling mistakes in the book. It cuts the flow and is very distracting (hence the 4 1/2*). Apart from that I loved this book and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, light read to laze around with on a hot Sunday afternoon.
Everyone needs a Charlotte in our lives.