Temporary Dad

Temporary Dad is well written. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. A great second chance romance. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

This was a charming story about soulmates who allowed their personal hang ups to derail their impending marriage. While engaged, Amanda had a pregnancy “scare” and when she and Hunter discovered it was a false alarm, she realized that she actually wanted children and he did not. Faced with a major difference in future goals, they went their separate ways, though they both loved one another.

Fast forward three years and Hunter is caring for his sister’s nine-month-old baby. Amanda helps him (for reasons that are best left to the author to explain) and they cannot deny that they still love one another. However, they still have some major issues to overcome personally before they will have the maturity to commit to one another again.

I like the writing, which describes medical procedures like someone with medical knowledge who understands most readers do not share that expertise. The feelings of Hunter and Amanda are described in such a way that I felt sympathy for each of them and understood their dilemmas. The plot was believable. Metaphors were unique. I loved this description from a patient who had just undergone open-heart surgery. “I feel like someone ripped my chest open, chewed on my heart and sewed me up with chicken wire.”

My biggest issue with the book was an editing issue. At some point, I believe Lynne Marshall wrote as if Hunter and Amanda had been married, but then changed it to an engagement. Unfortunately, not all instances of marriage were expunged from the final draft so a few times their relationship was described as divorced or ex-husband/ex-wife. There were a few other editing/proofreading mistakes, but this particular one was significant and should not have been overlooked. It detracted from the plot because it caused me to look back through to see if I had misunderstood something stated earlier. If this were fixed, I’d probably give the book 5 stars. Since I got this book from Netgalley, there is a possibility that it was fixed prior to final publishing so I definitely recommend reading it.

Good second chance story. Three years earlier, Hunter and Mandy were engaged. Both were career-oriented and didn't plan to have children. But when Mandy thought she was pregnant, she realized that she did want children after all. When the two could not agree, they parted ways, both broken-hearted.

Now Mandy is a nurse practitioner on a mission. She created a wellness curriculum for heart patients and is ready to start the program. Unfortunately, she loses her mentor and has to depend on the hospital to provide a substitute. She is surprised when Hunter walked into the classroom and shocked to see him with a baby.

I liked both Hunter and Mandy. Each of them had issues that contributed to their problems. Hunter's background of growing up with parents who were emotionally distant made him unwilling to have children of his own. He is sure that he would be unable to give them what they need, so he will avoid the issue entirely. But when his sister, Jade, has to spend an extended time in the hospital, he steps up to care for his niece, Sophie. Mandy's parents were just the opposite. Because of her childhood health issues, they were overprotective and smothering. They also showed no confidence that she could achieve her dreams. As a result, Mandy pushes herself extra hard to prove that she can do it.

I liked the development of the relationship between Hunter and Mandy. At first, they were very uncomfortable around each other because of their history. Each felt that the other betrayed their love. Now that they are thrown together every day, both of them find that some of their old feelings begin to stir again. When Mandy invites Hunter and Sophie to stay with her during the six weeks of the program, both of them vow to protect their hearts. Neither one counted on the effect of sharing the care of little Sophie. Even though Hunter is certain he'd be a terrible father, it is evident to Mandy that he has all the right instincts. The problem is getting him to see it. There were some adorable scenes of Hunter and Sophie together, and I loved watching the three of them become a family of sorts.

Some trust issues exist between Hunter and Mandy. It takes a long time for her to get Hunter to open up about his life with his parents. She understands him a little better once he does. Mandy has some trust problems herself. She suffers from a heart ailment that she hasn't told Hunter about. She feels guilty about it but doesn't want him to start treating her as fragile, the way her parents do. Just as she makes up her mind to tell him, the decision is taken out of her hands. Hunter is left feeling betrayed by her lack of trust in him, and Mandy is heartbroken when he leaves her again. Both of them had to look hard at what they want from their lives before they can think of a future together. I loved the ending and seeing them both realize that with love, anything is possible.

Temporary Dad by Lynne Marshall
Have read the other stories in this series and love the ideas they have and knowledge I learn from reading them.
Start out with Amanda and she's at the facility and will teach others about how to avoid heart problems. She is to head the class with a doctor who's late.
When he does arrive he has a young baby in a sling with his briefcase and diaper bag. It also happens to be her ex husband Hunter.
Love the idea of the Mending Hearts and all it stands for-so much information on how a regular person can also gain the knowledge to prevent heart attacks.
They are to split the candidates, 10 women, 10 men in half and give them exams and get them set up with heart monitors. They put them through so many tests.
After a few days she sees just how exhausted Hunter is and she invites he and the child to stay at her place-get a few hours of rest/sleep.
He lives hours away from the satellite facility of Mercy, INC that after he leaves he soon returns as he needs a favor: pay her to stay there as it's just minutes from the facility and the baby can't tolerate the long drives with road work and collisions, delays.
She does accept them and they are able to still work together. She realizes that he'd make an awesome dad as he is with his sister's child who's going through depression.
Love how they are able to see early signs of heart disease and get the patients to the hospital in time. She is also able to talk to Hunter to find out where they went wrong...
She wants a child so bad but she's not told him of her life, the 3 years they were not together. Hunter is able to notify her parents when Amanda falls sick....
Enjoyed this book as I'm familiar with the series now, characters are all new but I can still learn useful medical knowledge of things crucial to our living style-there are so many aspects of good clean healthy lifestyle.
He also needs to get over his fear - a fear he learned from his father who could never tell him how proud he was of him.
Received this review copy from the author via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
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