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FindingJane
Jan 28, 2017FindingJane rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Every now and again, novels can throw you for a loop. In romance novels, the collision between apparently opposite types is no barrier to true romance or happy endings. So it’s the road leading to that prerequisite conclusion in “The CEO Daddy Next Door” that brings the surprise and tingle signaling something is out of the ordinary. The male protagonist, Marcus Chambers, is an English stud. But, alas, he’s stiff, repressed, buttoned up and disapproving of his American next-door neighbor. Incredibly, they’ve already had a dinner date before the novel begins and it was a disaster. Ashley George comes off as a ditz and, as the star of her own reality show, probably lacking in the grounding that Marcus requires. This man has a baby and is dead set on only going out with women who can be a wife and mother. That’s right, ladies; this English hottie is in the market for a little domesticity and nothing less will do. Marcus prides himself on being a gentleman, not a roué given to one-night stands or tawdry affairs. He’s serious and wants nothing less than that from his prospective mate. Ashley, on the other hand, told him flat-out that she’s not interested in settling down and having kids—at least that’s what torpedoed her relationship with previous boyfriend. It also settles the matter for Marcus: Ashley isn’t what he wants. Marcus pulls away from their first sexual encounter, leaving Ashley stunned, hurt and unsatisfied. Wow, how often does the man say “no” to a first-time frolic between the sheets? He also insists on protection, too. Excellent behavior and not one I’ve noticed in a lot of recent romance reads. Most of those starry-eyed dolts just plug away at each other with no care for modern-day diseases or unwanted pregnancies. They just seem to live on dreams and hope. So the novel is off to an interesting premise right from the start. What do you do when it’s the man who wants to settle and the woman who wants to fly free of such restraints? The result is a thoroughly satisfying and original novel…well, at least, original enough to whet this jaded reader’s appetite.