First review of 2013...ugh...Firstly, the whole premise of the book centers around a competition for "Mother of the Year" where our winner gets a trip to Paris and some other stuff...First up, "Romancing Roaxanne" - Roxanne's DH left her for a muscled, female wrestler (aka "The Velvet Hammer"). She finds herself crying, daily in the closet outside which her absolutely adorable "little man" (Danny-one of her four children who are all under 5!) waits for her. It's gut-enchantingly cute, btw. What I liked best about this story was the strength of the heroine, Roxanne. If anyone deserved to curl into a ball and feel miserable, it was her, and she did but she didn't let it run her life. She grieved, got angry and allowed herself to continue living. I also enjoyed the secondary characters especially her sister, Renee, the only one who wasn't completely selfish by entering her sister in the competition. The others had their reasons, though. What of our hero, you ask? Oh, well he was simply too darn good to be true. Hot, single, a little jerky in the beginning and fell head over heels in love with Roxy AND her kidlets. What's not to love? Truth be told, I kinda wish there was a follow-up story where the ex gets what's coming him, but I'll just play that out in my mind.Next is "Daddy Come Lately" - This was my least favorite of the stories. Why? 'Cause the heroine, Jody, was an idiot who kept secret the existence of the heroes twin sons, Benjamin and Jeremy (aka Ben and Jerry), for OVER FOUR YEARS. Ok. Sure. He was off to La La Land and all, but surely sometime in FOUR YEARS you coulda called the guy?? I know her folks died and all, but still...this is NOT one of those times when I can understand the keeping quiet about the kids. All of that aside, the author just seemed like she had a fully developed story that she was asked to cut to fit into this book. Maybe it's just me. I will say that, again, the secondary characters were a hoot in this one. The kids made this story for me.And finally, "Love is in the Air" - Our heroine is a tomboy pilot (Jody was a tomboy rancher, btw) with a mother and grandma who make the story work for me. I will say that Wade was my favorite of the heroes. She's stubborn and in denial. He's hot and in lust/love. They're both pilots. It's a win-win for me. It reminds me a lot of another series of books by Shalvis with pilots-I wonder if it's at all related? This story is better developed than the other two and the characters are more likable to me.All in all? It was a quick, fun read...but I am so glad I got it from my local public library.
