I am absolutely thrilled to be sharing my review of; Reluctant Bride’s Baby Bombshell by Rachael Stewart, which is the second book in the multi-author One Year to Wed series.
In the second instalment in the One Year to Wed quartet by Rachael Stewart, a PR exec’s unforgettable night with a tempting stranger has binding consequences…
UNWILLING BRIDE, UNEXPECTED BABY! Returning to her family’s outback homestead, Eve feels like a fish out of water. She’s only in town to contest the ridiculous terms of her inheritance. Get married?
As if!
Finding a distraction in the arms of gorgeous stranger Nate is one thing. Discovering he’s the lawyer enforcing her father’s will is another…
And the biggest bombshell of all is that their one night had consequences!
One Year to Wed
Book 1: Secretly Married to a Prince by Ally Blake
Book 2: Reluctant Bride’s Baby Bombshell by Rachael Stewart
Book 3: Cinderella and the Tycoon Next Door by Kandy Shepherd
Book 4: Claiming His Billion-Dollar Bride by Michelle Douglas
Review
Rating 💖💖💖💖💖
Gawd, this book has completely captured my heart!
That’s it – this book is a stunner!
Hugely romantic and so perfectly written with so much love and emotion this little romantic heart could ever want….plus (and this is a massive plus) one hell of a supremely sexy hero – I how much do I love this gloriously handsome, tattooed, biker!!😍
I’ve not read a lot of Australian set romances, a couple of historicals a few years ago (by another very talented Mills and Boon author) but for some weird reason, these stories have passed me by. need to read more as I have fallen head over heels in love with this beautiful, atmospheric setting (Plus, I have the sudden urge to re-watch Australia with Hugh Jackman again…sigh!🥰)
Hmm, my mind wandered slightly there…
London-based Eve is reluctant to return home, back to Marni Australia after leaving years earlier after discovering a terrible secret which changed her view on her life, and her parents and left her full of anger. She never wished to go back, full of guilt and regret and holding on to other people’s lies can impact a person and it has certainly driven Eve to become the woman she is. But on her father’s death she has no choice but to go back, she is determined to find a way out of the awful clause of her father’s will, she will not be pushed into something she doesn’t want, especially not by him!
Besides she has no time for marriage, and really is there any man worthy of her?
That’s the plan; return to Marni, find any loophole in the dratted Will, sign over her share to her sisters whom she has fallen out of touch with and hop back to London, never to return – ever!
Simple, right?
Wrong!
Only returning back to the place she fled as an emotionally wrecked young woman, carrying other people’s burdens has brought back all those haunting memories and she is feeling things she didn’t wish to feel again. For a brief period; gone is the powerful, strong-willed, determined and ruthless businesswoman and in its replace is a very angry yet fragile ghost from the past, she isn’t a happy cookie and seeks a distraction.
I hear the engine of a motorbike and the crunch of boots, and spy an inked forearm!
Ah, Nate – he could distract me too!😍🔥
You can see where this is going, can’t you?
A lonely woman in a bar meets a sexy-as-hell biker, both weighed down with family burdens, responsibility and life, both seeking a moment of oblivion before going into battle, finding comfort in each other’s arms.
Nate; gorgeous, sexy, passionate, emphatic, compassionate, kind-hearted and proud (did I mention sexy?) glorious Nate! Gawd, I adore this man and it’s not just the fact that he is sending out all kinds of roguish tattooed biker vibes (though that is hugely appealing) he is such a gentle, charismatic and intuitive bloke, he smiles easily, makes Eve laugh and despite being a bit stuffy in a suit (which really doesn’t do anything for him, without said suit works far better for me😉) isn’t afraid of getting his hands dirty and mucking in with the hard work.
Nate has his own issues, like Eve, his, is with his father! Nate has always felt like the black sheep of the family he can do nothing right and in his father’s eyes has always been the rogue, the rebellious teen with his tattoos and his bike, in his father’s eyes Nate is reckless rushing off to Sydney leaving his old life behind. So, yeah there is a lot of past hurt and complicated emotion that our glorious boy has to work through. But, he’s back, to take control over the family’s law firm as his father reluctantly steps aside for his son to take the reigns.
I instantly liked Nate (though anyone who knows me, that is not surprising) he was charismatic and charming, deliciously teasing and always wanting to make Eve smile. There is a really gentle side to him, a side which opens his heart deeply and tries to do what’s right. He’s charmed me completely, tantalized and seduced (not that it takes much to seduce me).
I love when they first meet each other, neither knowing who the other is, both at ease and both trying to bring some calm into their day and trying to forget what lies ahead. I adore the scene in the bar, no acts, no drama, I think at that moment where Nate is being super charming, making her laugh while telling her the stories behind his tattoos and she is being the flirty, giggling siren they are both themselves, their real selves just two people having a drink in a bar.
Then she finds out who he is, that he is the man whose job it is to enforce this stupid clause in the will. She’s full of anger and we have to watch quietly as she resolves all of those inner conflicts which are swirling around her head, a mighty big complication has arisen which goes and turns her world upside down. My heart went out to her, she does push and shove against everything and everyone, and she has a good heart. However, I did wonder how or even if she would ever lower the drawbridge and allow Nate to get close. There was a moment I worried, but this is a Rachael Stewart story, the queen of romance so I was worrying for nothing.
Reluctant Bride’s Baby Bombshell is the second book in the One Year to Wed series, which follows four sisters who after the death of their father learn that to inherit their family ranch must marry within a year. I hadn’t read the first book; Secretly Married to the Prince by Ally Blake before diving into this one but you don’t need to. Tilly does make a brief appearance and her story is mentioned but not in such detail that you’re left feeling as though you’ve missed out on something, though I have gone and purchased the book and can’t wait for the other two (Cinderella and the Tycoon Next Door by Kandy Shepherd and Claiming his Billion-Dollar Brdie by Michelle Douglas) later in the year.
Beautiful escapism, perfect romance, gorgeous setting and one hell of an emotional roller-coaster ride, with two deeply conflicted individuals who deserve every ounce of happiness!🩷
I really can’t say enough good things about this, it’s perfect and definitely up there with my favourite Rachael Stewart books, it’s currently going head to head with my beloved Billonaires Island Temptation – Oh, I’m conflicted!
Go and Read It!!
Chicks,Rogues and Scandals 