This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:πŸ“”πŸ“”πŸ“”πŸ“”
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:πŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈ
Intimacy Level: πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯.5
Relationship Building: πŸ’’πŸ’’πŸ’’πŸ’’πŸ’’
Heart & Feels:πŸ’žπŸ’žπŸ’žπŸ’žπŸ’ž
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚
Page Turner Level:πŸ“–πŸ“–πŸ“–πŸ“–πŸ“–
Narration:🎧🎧🎧🎧
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
Nobody's Baby But Mine was a book that I was originally nervous about. I mean you look at that title and you just know its going to be a bananas book but the author really made this work just right. And I really enjoyed everything about this book, its the type of rom com that had so much depth and heart to it and this is what I am coming to realize about this author and I am really loving it. I was so easily swept away by this book and I did it in audio, which if you enjoy audio, I highly recommend it and this series is in Hoopla. I will say that the setup of the romance is completely wild but trust this author to take you on a journey worth risking on. Because what we see in this book was brilliantly executed and I am at the point with this author where I would trust her with just about anything.

First Line
"Let me get this straight," Jodie Pulanski Said. "You want to give Cal Bonner a Woman for a birthday present."

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Cal Bonner
Professional football quarterback, broody, Strict and serious-minded.

The Heroine: Jane Darlington
STEM heroine, lonely, wants children more than anything, very career minded and more reserved.

Summary
Jane has always wanted a baby. She has never been able to find a relationship that she connected with another man. She has always felt that she has been more undesirable. She is as smart as a tack, and career minded, but any man that appealed to her, had been disgusted with her brains and considered her too wacky. Then she comes up with a plan to find a dumb masculine man to get pregnant with. She hatches a plan to pose as a hooker, and get into Cal Bonner's bed. What she doesn't plan on though, is that he would learn the truth very quickly, and make her deal with the fallout. They end up getting into a marriage of convenience that will end up in divorce while Cal forces his revenge out on her. But can Cal and Jane find love despite how opposite they are from each other and the tension to dislike each other grows?

What I Loved
There is so much to love about this book. I absolutely adored what SEP delivers in this book. I was nervous about it, but it turns out she can make just about anything work for this reader because this book turned out brilliant and even though I really should have rated this book lower....I loved so much about it than I couldn't lower it than a 4.5, and it definitely is a true gem that I think for this situation was well thought out as far as the plot and the way the relationship develops.

This book isn't going to be easy for some readers, but give it till chapter 7 and you will be hooked and won't be able to put this one down. I truly enjoyed the ways in which we see this relationship grow. It starts out with some heavy angsty, but there is superb banter and the humor is on point so it really balances out the level of angst. Cal is completely in his right to be furious. And honestly, I didn't feel bad for the heroine at all. She has to prove herself in this one and she does. The slow built chemistry was right on for the development of their relationship. Its definitely more slow burn, so keep that in mind. And there is a strong level of angst. I am not sure I would strictly call this enemies to lovers though, but there is strong tension between these two. Cal is not going to be an easy hero for some readers. He treats Jane pretty badly in here, but remember how he feels betrayed and its not like he is a pansy. He is a true alpha male, and lashes out. Now do I feel like he should have toned it down just a bit? Sure but at the same time the way that the tension and bantering is written between them, the author made it really work for me.

Now as far as the third act. Listen....both Jane and Cal make mistakes on both sides. This is not a situation of he does everything bad. Quite frankly, I am not sure why Jane was so surprised here or why she intitated the breakup because he apologized sincerely and explained the situation with her. I get why she felt so hurt and exhausted from the tension between them, but I feel like she should have realized his sincerity and not drag out the groveling. I absolutely adored Cal's family though especially in the third act. And seeing the side story with his parents reconnecting as a couple was so endearing.

What I Struggled With
So there is only one aspect to the story I truly struggled with ....the heroine. She takes some actions in the beginning of the book that are awful. I mean she purposely tricks the hero to get pregnant and had zero plans to tell him the truth. Yes eventually she realizes what she does is wrong, but Cal had to force her to take accountability for the wrongs she committed. But the story is so well written and the way the author writes this book....it just worked for me eventually.

Narration
I am having a blast with this narrator. She is doing just a superb job with these characters and the accents is just the right touch and the way that she brings out the humor just right is *chef's kiss* perfection

Overall View
Nobody's Baby But Mine is a sensual, laugh out loud, tension filled romance that will knock your socks off with layers of emotion and heart!

Favorite Quote(s)
β€œJust because you’re rivals doesn’t mean you have to be enemies.”

β€œYou’re the most important thing in the world to me. I know you don’t believe it, but I’m going to prove it to you.”

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comoedy
Character Types: Alpha Male, Jerk Hero, Athlete, STEM
Themes: Angst, Lots of heart, Laughs/Giggles, Slow Burn, Football
Tropes: Forced Proximity, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Baby, Opposites Attract, Revenge

Book Perspective
3rd POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Relationship Conflict

Song This Book Inspires
No Running From Me by Toulouse

Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as standalones if needed

Steam/Spice Explanations

Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.

Narrators
Anna Fields ( )

Loved this book, except for the reproductive coercion.

Jane wants a baby, tricks Calvin into having sex with her and then they get married. I liked the supporting cast and the family stuff, it was all very interesting and moving. And married first and falling in love after is one of my favorite tropes. But REALLY don't like tricking someone into having a baby. ( )

Nobody's Baby But Mine
4 Stars

Jane Darlington is a genius and it has ruined her life. Desperate for a child with average intelligence, Jane is convinced that Cal Bonner, the Chicago Stars' seemingly slow-witted quarterback, is the perfect candidate to father her baby. Unfortunately for Jane, Cal is no slouch in the brains department, and he has no intention of allowing her to run roughshod over him.

***Spoiler Warning***

Jane tricks Cal into impregnating her and has no intention of telling him of his impending fatherhood. Not only does she treat him as if he were the village idiot, but her behavior could even be considered sexual assault. Only in a romance novel would a man even consider forgiving a woman who treated him this way.

Cal himself is no angel either. While his fury at Jane is quite justifiable, his caveman tactics do not present him in a good light.

Despite these issues, Cal and Jane have fantastic chemistry and their dialogue is witty, funny, and charming. The secondary characters are well developed and Cal's grandmother is a scream. There is also a subplot involving Cal's parents that has its lovely moments although his father also needs a good kick in the behind.

Overall, an entertaining read although many readers may be put off by Jane's reprehensible actions at the beginning of the book - I certainly was. ( )

A perfect romance novel. Maybe how they met was a little out there but hey it's a romance novel. Fiction. My willing suspension of disbelief worked quite well. I loved the interaction between the hero and heroine. I liked that she wasn't a wimp and stood up for herself. I liked that he was rough around the edges but how he was gentle with her. It is a sweet and funny and touching read. Loved it. ( )

I had no intention finishing this audiobook, as I thought it was stupid!@#$! But for some reason I listened to it as something uninteresting that I would fall asleep to - missed a small chunk of it but by then I had got interested in it and unexpectedly enjoyed it - and finished it. Oh, I just saw that Ashezbookz had the same reaction as me and has even used the word 'stupid'! ( )