Child of Mine: a nostalgic romantic comedy

Name: Child of Mine: a nostalgic romantic comedy
Rating: 4.25 (8 reviews)

Karen Grey

Dec 2021 · Boston Classics Book 4 · HOME COOKED BOOKS

4.2

8 reviews

Ebook

387

Pages

Eligible

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About this ebook

★★★★★ “Second-chances, letting the past go, telling truths we are afraid to reveal, overcoming fears and keeping on fighting even when life throws us a curveball.” Read What I Like Blog

The bigger the secret, the harder it is to hide.

Single mom Isabella York was a celebrity before she had her first kiss, her first date, or her first sip of alcohol. Playing the bad girl--both on and off the set--allowed her to make up for lost time. While making an all-too-public mess of her life. Back home in Boston, with her “checkered past” behind her, all she wants is to raise her little girl far away from the spotlight.

But when a job offer she can’t refuse means she has to work side-by-side with an unforgettable one-night stand, Bella has a choice to make. Revealing her past could mean losing everything, or gaining more than she ever hoped.

For her, and her daughter.

It’s not that Henry Smith hates kids--they don’t like him. Meanwhile, he’s stuck producing children’s TV, so he’ll try to tone down the grumpiness that’s dogged him since his life imploded seven years ago. After all, not everyone gets a second chance to chase his dream. If he plays his cards right at this new gig, he can move on to making television that will change the world, not just entertain a bunch of brats.

Maybe he can charm the woman he never thought he’d see again into a do-over while he’s at it.

In this sexy, heartwarming not-quite-historical romance, the latest Boston Classics standalone romcom, a sunshine/grumpy pair has to face the past to before they can find a future… together.

★★★★★ “5 '80s loving' stars for this fourth installment of Karen's Boston Classics!!” Pixiedustreads

★★★★★ “One of the most delightful books I’ve read all year...As secret baby books go, this is one of my favorites… Grey’s writing is whip-smart with wonderful dialogue (especially the voices in Bella’s head), interesting developments, and steamy sexy times.” Once Upon a Page Blog

★★★★★ “If you are a fan of a nostalgic 80s romance with a hot grumpy yet caring man, a determined strong single mama, a sweet and smart little girl (secret baby!), the perfect touch of steam, forced proximity, a little bit forbidden workplace romance, catching up with some favorite past characters, some dark issues, and a swoon-worthy heartfelt HEA, then you will absolutely adore this book.” @JodiReadsNListens

★★★★★ “A funny, sweet, sometimes emotional, but ultimately heartwarming story featuring endearing, three-dimensional characters and a well-crafted second chance romance.” Laurie Reads Romance

★★★★★ “Grey did an amazing job with the secret baby/second chance romance in Child of Mine. Both tropes can be hit or miss, but Ms. Grey took the ball and ran with it and gave her readers a funny, sexy, and endearing story.” Blogging by Liza

★★★★★ “Lots of nostalgia, loads of humor, just enough drama to keep it interesting but not too much to overload you, and overwhelming feelings of love and happiness in the end.” LA Loves Romcoms

★★★★★ “If you enjoy a secret baby romance, a second chance, and workplace romance, a really sweet and very smart child, and handling the aftermath of being a child TV star (ie. substance abuse, rehab and everything that goes along with it, which is well researched and very well handled in the story context), you will surely love this one as much as I did!” Bella Reads Romance

★★★★★ “One of my favorites of the series, if not the best for me!” Lisa Loves Literature

★★★★★ “The characters are extremely well developed and I feel their emotions, they are so relatable.” Books of My Heart

★★★★★ “An adorable kid, a dog, a bookstore, a couple of cats, and some family drama and I was a happy camper.” Carole’s Random Life in Books

★★★★★ “Child of Mine was a great rom com read and I HAVE to go back and read the other books in the series. While I'm late to the game, Karen Grey's writing has me completely hooked!” LB Book Blog

★★★★★ “Delivers every single one of her characters with so much care and love and you can feel that as you turn the pages.” Anna Reads Here

★★★★★ “Second chances, undeniable attraction, well-written characters, the ugly and unforgiving side of fame and success, and love that spans time and space.” Currant 7 Recommends

★★★★★ “Babies and Bookshop Cats and Shakespeare, oh my!... an outrageously fun, touching, cheeky retro romcom. Karen Grey has outdone herself once again with more 80’s fun!! Run, don’t walk back in time to dive into this spectacular second-chance, secret baby retro romcom with a lot of heart and plenty of steam!!” Bookbub review

★★★★★ “The perfect continuation of a series I hope lasts forever… serious, sweet, saucy, and sexy, sexy, sexy all rolled into one.” Bookbub review

★★★★★ “The emotions--the feelings her characters are going through--rock your world.” Bookbub review

★★★★★ “Heartwarming, fun, humorous, and with witty banter, emotions, secrets, and is a heartfelt and steamy riveting page turner.” Bookbub review

★★★★★ “Each time I think I’ve read the best book in the series, and each time the author proves me wrong. This time, she tackles various subjects like child celebrities, addictions, single parenthood, and family conflicts, with her swooniest hero so far and a strong independent heroine. It was fun, sweet, sexy.” Goodreads review

★★★★★ “I loved Bella and Henry. Both had real human weaknesses and were definitely not depicted as "perfect" characters, what with Bella's difficulty in opening up to others, her temptation to addictive substances, and Henry's career devotion, his occasional grumpiness and temper, as well as his uncomfortable interactions initially with the kids on the show. Their warts just made them more interesting and relatable.” Bookbub review

★★★★★ “Grey is able to insert humor where appropriate to keep the book from being too heavy but without taking away from the seriousness of the topics she chose to tackle in the book. This one was heavy in the feels and I even had tears in my eyes more than once.” Bookbub review

Ratings and reviews

4.2

8 reviews

Laurie Reads Romance

December 5, 2021

"Child of Mine" was a funny, sweet, sometimes emotional, but ultimately heartwarming story featuring endearing, three-dimensional characters and a well-crafted second chance romance. Sparks flew between former child star and soap opera actress Bella York and television producer Henry Smith from the moment they met, but a family tragedy prevented their one-night stand from turning into something real. It did, however, result in a daughter, Lilah, now almost 6 years old. Unfortunately, Henry never knew about his daughter because Bella had no way to contact him after their night together, so when they met again by chance and learned that they'd be working together on a reboot of the kids' show that launched Bella's career as a teenager, she was faced with a dilemma. She knew she had to tell Henry about Lilah, but what if he tried to take her baby girl away from her? Meanwhile, Henry was thrilled to reconnect with the one who got away and find that the attraction between them was as strong as ever. He just needed to convince Bella to let down her guard and give him a chance to show her how good they could be together. After so many years in the spotlight, Bella was keeping a lot of secrets and carrying a ton of emotional baggage. I loved how patient Henry was with her while she tried to work through it all and overcome her fears about being with him. I also loved Henry's efforts to get over his own fears about being a parent when his history with kids wasn't great. Luckily for him, Lilah wasn't a typical kid, plus his love for her motivated him to find ways to make it work even when it seemed impossible. Every time I think the books in this series can't get any better, Karen Grey proves me wrong. I highly recommend "Child of Mine" for all fans of contemporary(-ish) romance and romantic comedy and look forward to whatever Grey writes next. *Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.

Jackie Wright

March 10, 2022

AUDIO REVIEW Karen Grey us a new author to me and after listening to Child of Mine I’m struggling to understand why I haven’t come across her before now. I love single parent and second chance romances so as soon as I read the blurb I knew this book was going to be right up my street. This is single mum Isabella ‘Bella’ York and Henry Smith’s journey and it’s a journey you want to join. It was only meant to be one night but after a passionate night with a stranger Bella ends up with a daughter and to protect her daughter Lilah from the limelight she runs from her acting career. Accepting a job as a producer for a TV show she is shocked to come face to face with the man she has run from so what happens when a Henry finds out he has a daughter…… This is a heartwarming story with wonderful narration, Erin Mallon and Tom Taylorson did a great job with all the emotions you would expect from a story full of secrets. They brought the characters and their story to life and I will certainly be checking out other works by this author and by the narrators.

Sally Schmidt

December 1, 2021

Child of Mine is the fourth entry in author Karen Grey’s marvelous Boston Classics nostalgic romance series. It’s wonderful as a standalone and it’s the perfect continuation of a series I hope lasts forever. Karen Grey doesn’t just remind us about the 1980s. We’re not reading about them – we are living them again. It’s like being in your goofy past, hooking up again with familiar old friends. The clothes, the hair, the music, the attitudes, the catch phrases. The social mores and dating scene that are different than today but the love and loss and hope and heartbreak – and the handsome, sexy guys with smiles that make you melt - are just the same. Will, Ben and Cal to name a few. And now there is Henry. Struggling with a lot of things, but single-minded when he sees the woman he wants. Even if it scares him. In 1982, two people experience a moment of magic. Real magic. Unexpected, instant attraction, stars, violins, this might be it wow magic. And then, like sometimes happens with magic – poof! And these two people are left wondering, “What if?” Jump to 1989. Bella York has a quiet life and wants to keep it that way. Raising her (incredibly precocious) daughter and working at the bookstore with her mother and being part of a local theater group is as much excitement as she wants. Until money becomes a big, big problem and she needs to get a job and ends up at the PBS station WGBH. But she doesn’t want her past to ever resurface. Enter Henry Smith, whose life is actually too quiet and who wants to see if he can get back on track after having to abruptly return home years ago and jump off the fast-track train. He, too, is starting work at WGBH. When he and Bella see each other – WHOA! Bella wonders if she can just run home and stay there. Because . . . well, because would be a spoiler and you need to read Child of Mine for yourself and enjoy every single minute of it like I did. But just let me tell you that the room gets pretty crowded with Bella and Izzy and Quinn and Henry and Hal in it! Pretty funny, and pretty steamy! Author Grey is such a good writer. She has a knack for balancing the humor with the sadness, the fear to jump in with the desire to change life for the better, and for inserting phrases that make you laugh out loud, put your hand to your heart and say, “Awww,” or make you reach for a tissue. The plot is solid and just takes you along with it, making you love these characters so much you never want to leave them, and you want everything to be all right. Saying that Henry looks like a combination of Kurt Russell and Leif Garrett right off the bat doesn’t hurt, either. And the nostalgia of the crazy 1980s is a bonus. Child of Mine is serious, sweet, saucy, and sexy, sexy, sexy all rolled into one. Old favorite characters appear, expanding the big, happy family we’ve come to love. Lilah is adorable in a so thoughtful and solemn it’s almost scary kind of way. Both Bella and Henry have some issues from the past that must be resolved if there is to be a future. There are surprises and unexpected revelations that need to be worked out. Grey juggles it all to a very satisfying conclusion. Thanks to author Karen Grey for providing an advance copy of Child of Mine for my reading pleasure and honest review. I love this series and as I finish each book I think, “Wow, that one was the best.” Great characters, great plot, great smooches . . . what more could you want? All opinions are my own.

About the author

KAREN GREY is the pen name for award-winning audiobook narrator Karen White. A stage, screen and radio drama actor in Boston, New York and Los Angeles in the late 20th century, she balanced child-rearing and career for most of the 2000's. Now, she's not only emptied her nest of children, she's taken it and her many pets on the road, so she can spend more time with her nomadic TV sound mixer husband. Delighted to occupy her brain with happy-ending stories, she spends the rest of her time baking, and then doing her best to work off the calories.

To learn more, come visit at https://karengrey.com/

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