Title: Undeniably Yours Series: Kowalski Family #2
Author: Shannon Stacey
Published: November 1, 2010
Genre(s): Romance: Contemporary
Page Count: 381
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:One-night stand + two percent condom failure rate = happily ever after?
Bar owner Kevin Kowalski is used to women throwing their phone numbers at him, but lately he's more interested in finding a woman to settle down with. A woman like Beth Hansen. If only their first meeting hadn't gone so badly...
Beth's tending bar at a wedding when she comes face-to-face with a tuxedo-clad man she never thought she'd see again. She tries to keep her distance from Kevin but, by last call, she can't say no to his too-blue eyes or the invitation back to his room. Then she slips out before breakfast without leaving a note and, despite their precautions, she's pregnant.
Kevin quickly warms to the idea of being a dad and to seeing where things go with Beth. After all, he's not the player she thinks he is. But she's not ready for a relationship and, given his reputation, it's going to take a lot to convince her to go on a second date with the father of her child...
I picked up Undeniably Yours because it was the next in a series, so…I didn’t realize it was an “oops, I’m pregnant after a one-night stand” type of book. To be honest, that’s not my favorite plot-line. I just don’t like babies, okay—all the “awwwww, so cute” moments for me are more “gack, disgusting” moments. So, you know. If this had been a standalone I most likely wouldn’t have been in a hurry to get to this.
But I’d already made the effort of checking this out from the library and I do like to finish a series whenever I can (sense of accomplishment and all that). So, onward I rode, into the wilds of pregnancy hormones!
I guess what I do think works, and what stands out most, about Undeniably Yours is that the male lead, Kevin, is on board from day one. He was interested in Beth the first time he saw her, and so an accidental pregnancy is more exciting for him than anything else. Throughout the story, he remained supportive and sweet, and was mostly not an asshole, except for a few eyeroll-inducing moments where Shannon Stacey had to assert her character’s “manliness” (i.e. riding snowmobiles, being grossed out by birthing classes, and needing the baby to have his last name and not any of that girly hyphenated shit thankyouverymuch).
Beth, for her part, was okay, too. Her “issue” is that she wants to be independent and she’ll do anything to not feel crowded or that people are hovering. So she lives a vagrant lifestyle and refuses to be tied down. Except her pregnancy test comes up positive and now she’s tied forever to Kevin and New Hampshire. And, because of course she does, she fights it tooth and nail. It gets to the point where she’s really happy with her life and loves Kevin, but her stubborn-ass pride won’t let her accept it.
Girl, I totally understand where you’re coming from, but when you’ve got a newborn baby and haven’t gotten a full night’s sleep in two months, and your baby daddy is practically begging to help you…jump on that shit. Sleeping is important, okay?
I mean, no, I didn’t love this. But that’s honestly pretty par for the course, considering that contemporary romance is a genre that I want to love but never seems to love me back. Shannon Stacey’s characters are mostly likeable—though I do think the series’ main selling point, the entire Kowalski family, wasn’t as in-focus as it could have been. The story’s concept wasn’t my favorite, sure, but I was still entertained.
I dunno. Overall, I’d say Undeniably Yours was light, easy reading. It wasn’t anything truly remarkable or unusual, but it was fun while it lasted. I’ll probably forget all about this book shortly, but that’s okay.
