Baby Love

Baby Love is a wonderful book that is reminiscent of a grown-up fairy tale, a Cinderella story. As the heroine, it has a young woman who has known the meaning of hard work since she was only fourteen, when her father passed away leaving her with the responsibility of caring for an ailing mother and baby sister. Then an incredibly evil stepfather entered her world bringing nothing but heartache and abuse. When she finally is able to make her escape, she meets up with a scruffy, drunken bum. She briefly entertains a fantasy that he will be her frog that will turn into a handsome Prince Charming. Imagine her surprise, when she discovers that he is really a gorgeous, multi-millionaire rancher who wants nothing more than to give her the show more happy ending she so richly deserves. Actually this description is a charming underlying element in the narrative, but far too simplistic to express the wealth of complexities and underlying emotions in this beautiful story. It is, at it's heart, a story of two souls, each deeply wounded in their own way, who find hope, love, comfort and healing in each others arms. Catherine Anderson is masterful at creating tight plotting, even with somewhat cliched elements, to bring about a heartwarming story.

Rafe Kendrick is a rather dreamy but tortured hero, just the way I like them. I think nearly every woman wants to believe that men like Rafe actually exist (and of course they do, but seem to be a rare breed). I found it to be an incredibly endearing twist to have Rafe fall hopelessly in love with Maggie at first sight, while it took her a little longer. He has a history of being a romantic, as he fell in love at first sight with his first wife as well. It was also a refreshing change to have the hero be the sort of guy who doesn't sleep around with lots of women before finally finding one who captures his heart. Before Maggie, Rafe had only been with one other woman, his first wife, and he loved her very intensely. He was a man of deep emotions who was a kind, gentle, compassionate caregiver to Maggie in every way, both physical and emotional. I love the way that Rafe held himself back from making love to Maggie, giving her time to heal emotionally and learn to trust him. He helped her to do that by indulging in romantic courting rituals even though they were already married. One of my favorite scenes is when Rafe reassures Maggie that her body is still beautiful in spite of the flaws and imperfections that have been brought about by childbirth. Another favorite scene is when he wraps Maggie in his arms while she is nursing the baby. I've always believed that men may not be able to breastfeed, but they can still bond with their family and this was a perfect example. Also any hero who finds a pregnant or nursing woman beautiful (in a non-sexual way of course) is pretty darn near perfect in my book. I think the thing that endeared me to Rafe the most though was his acceptance, without reservation, of Maggie's past and most especially her son, not hesitating to give Jaimie his name and be a father to him in every way that counts.

Maggie was a wonderful heroine who was not unlike many women who find themselves in abusive situations. The fact that she endured and survived such horrifying abuse and eventually found a way to escape showed a great strength of character in my opinion. She was also never whiny or clingy, always stubbornly insisting on doing for herself as much as possible even to her detriment. She also insisted on paying her own way, nearly driving Rafe to distraction when all he wanted to do was help her, never expecting anything in return. I think that Maggie's devotion to her infant son, Jaimie, who was conceived and born out of incredibly difficult circumstances was nothing short of amazing. Also her love and sense of responsibility for her young sister, Heidi, and her mentally childlike mother was very heartfelt. Yet her conflicted feelings about her own lost childhood because of that responsibility were very realistic and relateable. I love the way that Maggie grew and changed throughout the story, in the end finding strength she never knew she possessed and using her wits to help save herself and her baby from a very dangerous situation.

In Baby Love, Ms. Anderson has woven a wonderful cast of characters from the hero and heroine right down to the supporting characters who are believable and well-written. The Kendricks especially create an amazingly warm and loving family that anyone would be proud to call their own. As heartwarming as the story is though, it is still very heart wrenching as well. As a warning to sensitive readers, I would say that this story is primarily driven by the emotional conflicts of the death of family members, including young children, and the aftermath of horrific abuse. While neither subject, in my opinion, is given a graphic treatment, there is enough descriptive detail to make the reader's heart break for both characters. Sometimes though, heartbreak can make for a wonderfully inspirational story, and Baby Love definitely fits the bill, while also being extremely well-written. One example of this great writing was that early on, Rafe's care and concern began to border on control, leaving Maggie feeling palpably fearful and me a tad uncomfortable as well. True to form though, Ms. Anderson explains his behavior believably, and also gives him a wake-up call and increased self-insight, which was another thing that I loved about his character. There were a few minor things that I might have changed though. The description of Rafe's courting of Maggie immediately following their marriage was too brief to suit me, and I thought would have been even more romantic if some of the things they did together had been explored in more detail. There was also one scene in which Rafe lost his temper and said some rather ugly things which were difficult to read, but that I understand were probably necessary to propel the conflict to another level. Lastly, it might have been nice if the profanities had been toned down just a bit, as Ms. Anderson seems to use these a little more liberally than some other authors I have read. I'm not opposed to some bad language in certain contexts, but I think that her stories would still be just as compelling with a little less of it. I have seen other reviewer complaints about having to suspend disbelief in order to read this story, which to some degree is true, but for any reader who is an imaginative and hopeless romantic like I am, this book should be just the thing.

Baby Love is the first book in Ms. Anderson's Kendrick/Coulter series. In it readers are given a strong introduction to Rafe's brother, Ryan, who is just as sweet as Rafe and becomes the hero of the second book, Phantom Waltz. The remaining books in the series up to this point are: Sweet Nothings, Blue Skies, Bright Eyes, My Sunshine, and Sun Kissed. Another installment in the series, Morning Light, is due out soon. Ms. Anderson also has a historical novel tied to members of the Coulter family titled Summer Breeze. I have to admit that historical romances are my real reading passion and I don't tend to read a lot of contemporaries, but if they are well-written, I am open minded to trying almost anything. Ms. Anderson is one of those rare authors who is so good at her craft that I can't seem to get enough of her stories no matter which genre they fall into. Baby Love is a story that was simply so good that at times I could barely put it down. I would highly recommend it to all romance readers no matter what their usual genre preference is. It has certainly earned a place on my keeper shelf, and I am eagerly off to read Ryan's story now. show less

This may have been the most compelling opening premise I've ever read. I cracked the book at like 2am last night (there's something wrong with me, I know this) planning to just read the first 2 or 3 pages to see if it was something I wanted to read next. Next thing you know, it was 3am. Face. Palm.

Maggie Stanley is running scared. Literally. With a diaper bag and an infant she's running towards a rural Idaho train yard to hop on a boxcar, desperately trying to escape the man who viciously beat her.

Rafe Kendrick is a filthy bum passed out drunk in the corner of the boxcar she hops into. The recurring dream of his dead wife and children is suddenly interrupted by a baby's wailing. His resolve to butt out and not make this his problem show more shatters when the other tramps in the car start to menace her and the baby falls on the floor.

Both are tortured souls. Maggie is beaten, bruised and terrified of men. Rafe is haunted by the car wreck that killed his wife and two young children two years ago. Despite her fear and his determination to not get involved with another woman, they end up leaning on each other. Rafe hocks his wedding ring to put her up in a motel and buy her some baby formula.

The emotions in this first third of the book are gripping. Rafe's grief bleeds through the pages. He couldn't stand the thought of going on without his family, so he walked out of the ranching operation he ran with his brother and rode the rails, finding oblivion in a whiskey bottle. He sees a second chance to do right and be needed in Maggie and her infant son Jaimie. At the same time, Maggie fights the urge to lean on Rafe. She's been terribly abused - physically, emotionally, sexually - and though she's weak from her injuries, she struggles with the need to trust him to help.

Where it all started to go sort of droopy on me was when Rafe turned out to be a Surprise Millionaire Hero just past the halfway point. Why set up all this angst and drama and character building just to dash it away with dollar signs? The guy's been riding the rails for two years, hasn't contacted his family at all, then makes one quick phone call to his brother and BAMF he's flying the Cessna out to get him and Maggie and bring them to the family homestead for a love-in. It was a complete 180 in terms of emotion and tone. It went from a gritty tale of two poor souls hitting rock bottom together to a rather run of the mill rich man brings his poor bride to meet his cheerfully close family and spend all their problems away.

Toss in a few plot holes (**possible spoiler though I think it's fairly evident early on** If her stepdad was raping and abusing her, that's a slam dunk to get her 10 year old sister removed from that home. You don't need to wait for proof that he's abusing the younger girl. So much needless drama there. **spoiler**) and uninspiring prose that does not justify the tendency for telling rather than showing, and it finished on a disappointing note for me. The constant praise for Maggie for letting her stepdad abuse her to keep him away from her sister and trying to keep it from her mother to spare her the distress also rankled my inner feminist. I don't find futile self-sacrifice heroic in the least.

I wavered between a 3 and a 4, so I'll call it a 3.5. show less

I'll remember this story for awhile with both characters starting out extremely traumatized but I began to wonder how realistic it was. Midway it got heavy with characters ruminating about the situation and I started skimming. Maggie is on the run with her baby and she meets bum Rafe when they steal a ride on the train.

I loved the way this book jumped right into the action. Maggie is on the run with her infant son when her path crosses with Rafe, who is grieving for the family he lost and burying himself in alcohol so he doesn't have to feel or care about anything or anyone. This was all about second chances, learning to trust again, and finding love. Initially I worried about being able to suspend belief because the situation felt a little Cinderella-ish...sorta. Rafe pushed a little in the beginning, falling too hard and too fast, taking control and making decisions without consulting Maggie, but the author impressed me. She managed to ease my "insta-love" worries and slow the relationship down without using "The Big Issue That Results In show more Separation" theme. This couple talked and that aspect was very believable.

Things that bugged me: My biggest issue would be that Maggie's emotional recovery seemed a little too sudden. There were other minor issues: Rafe had been bumming it in a drunken stupor for what, three years? I expected the alcohol withdrawal. Granted, he might not have been a hard-core emotional alcoholic, but one doesn't get drunk daily and just stop without physical ramifications. I also had trouble with Rafe paying off Lonnie. You don't give a bully/pedophile money. You throw them in prison and forget where you put the key. I was able to go with the author's line of thought, but at the same time I thought the police should've been involved from the beginning. The law was on Maggie's side.

Regardless of those issues, I enjoyed the story very much. Rafe was patient and generous to a fault. His family was endearing and I'd gladly date his brother. It was a great story with a HEA. show less

I've been reading Ms. Anderson's back catalog, the Western historicals for the most part, and really enjoying them. This is the first contemporary I've read by her, and unfortunately, I didn't like it all that much. It was fine, I guess, but the plot was unbelievable with a multi-millionaire riding box cars for two years and drinking only to give up alcohol without much of an issue. She writes to a formula, and while alpha males work well in historicals, here Rafe seems more of a bully to poor Maggie.
I'll just go back to her historicals and immerse myself there.

Maggie grabs her baby and runs away from her family, ending up with next to nothing in a boxcar. And drowning his misery in the same boxcar is Rafe Kendrick, who recognizes a woman out of her league and stirs himself out of his self-imposed drunken misery to help her. Never in Maggie's wildest dreams does she expect a protector from her incestous stepfather in the form of a boxcar cowboy, who turns out to be a multimillionaire ranch owner.

Rafe & Maggie met in a box car. Maggie jumps on with a baby. Rafe is drunk & has been riding boxcars for a couple of years. Both of them are on the run, one from his emotions & despair, the other from a person that has physically hurt her. Circumstances throw them together but can she trust him, can he sober up long enough to help her?

When I started this book it was a Friday night about 11:00 p.m. What a mistake! I kept reading & reading, finally went to bed & threw out all the things I had planned to do on Saturday. I got Saturday morning and started to read at breakfast and kept going until I finished. It was that good. It was a journey on putting the past behind you, embracing the future and of learning to trust another person.

This show more is the first book in a series. I now have 11 more to go and can't wait to get started. show less