From Waif To His Wife By Lindsay Armstrong

Undemanding, lighter-than-air vacation read, which is exactly where I read it...on vacation. 192 I have to say I'm surprised that I didn't like this. But, IMO, there was waaaaay too much tell and almost no show. Maybe I misunerstand how those terms are used, but really, I felt no emotional investment in either, and for some reason I felt like all Ms. Armstrong did was recite a tale, not show us the lush world of her story. 192 The first 1/3 of this book was good, then it became just plain boring. I didn’t feel any sexual tension or any chemistry for that matter. I think it lacked feeling. 192 After parents died, Maisey found herself romanced by a stranger, seduced and abandoned....and now she's pregnant. Determined to locate the guy who apparently conned her and tell him about their child, she tracks down the only name he gave her - Rafe Sanderson. But when she meets the real Rafe Sanderson, it's not the guy she slept with. So after some convincing, Rafe agrees to help Maisey out. Through this, Maisey and Rafe become closer...so close that the media notice and a scandal threatens. So Rafe does the only decent thing, he offers to marry her until she's had the baby. And although Rafe desperately wants Maisey, the fact that she's carrying his hated cousin's baby acts as a deterrent. That and the fact that they promised to keep it platonic.

So this book was already at a disadvantage for me because of the fact that Maisey started out pregnant with another guy's child - it's one of those set ups I shy away from but that's not to say I never like them. It's just a setback from the start. On top of that, Rafe is actually quite turned off at the fact that she's pregnant because of who the father is. And so that effectively keeps him away from her for the duration of the pregnancy. His feelings are engaged, but he won't touch her while she's pregnant. Once the baby is born, he seems to realizes his feelings and might actually touch Maisey (if it weren't for his noble actions and all that) but not once do we see him accept the baby. He never holds it, never even seems to have tender feelings for it. So I have to question the HEA when Maisey is married to a man who seems to, at the very least, ignore her daughter. This could have been pulled off if all of that hadn't been a factor. Mostly because I really liked Maisey, despite her naivety. She was clever and resourceful and made of some stern stuff. Rafe started out good, but I lost respect for him after he learned about the baby's father and strong-armed Maisey into marriage. 192

By far the most convoluted plot to take place in a short span of time but it was fun. I had a lot of laughs, which automatically makes such a short book 5 stars.
Also, the short time it takes Harelequin couples to fall in love, get married, have a baby - in no particular order, has me desperate to know how they're relationships hold up when they're together for longer then a year. 192 By day the proper Maisie Wallis taught music at a prestigious private school; by night the vivacious Mairead Wallis was the pianist in a well sought after band that played social engagements. It was Mairead who had met the gorgeous and charming Rafe Sanderson, and been swept off her feet. She’d just lost her parents suddenly, and was at her most vulnerable. Rafe made her feel loved and cherished, and after a night of passion he seemed to disappear. When Maisie discovers that she’s pregnant she searches for him, only to discover that her Rafe isn’t the real Rafe, but an imposter. Rafe Sanderson doesn’t know what to make of the young woman claiming that he fathered her unborn child. There are two possibilities; either the woman has cooked up an elaborate scheme to get at his millions, or she’s exactly who she says she is and there’s a bastard out there claiming to be him. Rafe agrees to help Maisie find the mystery man. Somehow the press has gotten wind that there is a mystery woman attached to him, who’s pregnant with his child. There’s only one thing to be done, Rafe proposes a marriage in name only, to protect Maisie from the ugliness of the press and a ruined reputation.

Oh this is a fun read! Maisie may be a bit naïve but she learns fast. She’s determined and lives up to the fiery redness of her hair often letting her temper get away from her. That temper puts her guard down and she always blurts out exactly how she’s feeling in all her honesty. Rafe doesn’t know if he should be charmed by Maisie, or whether he’s being put on by a very clever con artist. No matter what Maisie is, Rafe can’t stop his protective feelings and he admires the way she stands up for herself. These are wonderful characters. There are some great fantasy scenes! This was a delightfully fun read. 192 Middle of the road read. Heroine pregnant by someone other than the hero. The baby daddy gave her the hero's name instead of his own and the hero ends up helping her find the man who impersonated him. The characterization of the heroine was a bit uneven. The hero lacked balls in that this was one of the times when the hero should have just pulled up his big boy panties and told the heroine he loved her. I mean in the real world men do that. I mean come on take a chance. How do these guys get to be millionaires without having any guts? 192 3 Nice Stars

“…he said he was you and I really believed him”

A very sweet story about a girl, a guy, a pregnancy and mistaken identity. While there is a lot of implied sexual tension, there is no sex. Even so, it’s a great story about honor and love and a really great guy. A very good read!
192 Virgin heroine gets knocked up by her “boyfriend” who promptly disappears when he hears the news. She goes in search of him everywhere. She thinks he owns a yacht and is about to go sailing so she stows away on it, hoping for a chance to confront him for leaving her high and dry once he got news of her pregnancy.

Only to find out the great deception that was played on her, when she meets the yacht owner face to face, who is definitely not her boyfriend. Her boyfriend lied to her from the start, hiding his real name and identity from her and instead passing himself off as his billionaire cousin, the yacht owner. The billionaire thinks she is a tart who tried to trap a rich man and mocks her for succumbing to his never do well cousin. She dives off hero's boat in fury and hero goes in after her for a dramatic rescue.

Hero eventually helps heroine track his unscrupulous cousin down. The cousin just blows her off, as expected. He fled from Australia pursued by creditors and he is now content making a living as a diving instructor on the island of Tonga. He doesn't want to marry heroine or be a father to his child and he has no means to support them.

Hero steps in and offers heroine a marriage of convenience, both to redress a wrong inflicted on heroine by one of his family members and also to avoid the scandal of illegitimacy for the impending bundle of joy. Naturally, Seekret Feeleengz develop but the hero thinks his wife is still in love with her sperminator. The wife meanwhile thinks hero will always be repelled by her because she is sloppy seconds.

Eventually, the baby daddy dies in a diving accident. The h gives birth to a healthy baby girl and she and H start raising her together. h goes to the yacht one day to think and come to a decision whether to share her Seekret Love Feeleengz with the hero. Hero comes running after her thinking she went to the yacht because she is leaving him. In his haste, he accidentally knocks her overboard. He dives in after her and another dramatic rescue is the catalyst for their long awaited ILY declarations and HEA.

This one was okay but I have never been a fan of the keep it in the family trope :~{ 192

DOWNLOAD From Waif To His Wife

A mousy music teacher, Maisie's hardly a seductive siren. But her lack of worldliness turns her life upside down, and, abandoned and alone, she knows she has to confront the man who deceived her....

Rafael Sanderson is rich, successful and a master of marriage avoidance. He's never seen Maisie before, but she seems to think she knows him. And even though it's his rule never to get involved, this time he's compelled to make this waif his wife! From Waif To His Wife