Published: November 1, 2011
Publisher: Silver Publishing
Source: Review copy from author (thank you)
~The Blurb~
From Goodreads
When Leo Sommers opens the door to his record store, the last thing he expects to find is a screaming baby — a baby that turns out to be his. Flung into parenthood, he struggles to care for the one week old. Unable to contact the baby’s mother, he battles the incessantly crying baby alone. Until he literally crashes into his savior.
Erin Miles gets out of her car to trade insurance details with the man who has rear-ended her car, she receives more than she expected. Instantly, she’s drawn to the tattooed, exhausted man holding the squalling bundle. She sees how much Leo loves his son and offers help. Erin’s patient and gentle caring for Leo and Joe soon develops into something far more than either of them had expected.
Caught up in a whirlwind romance, they are on the cusp of exploring their new relationship, when reality hits them in the face
~ My Thoughts ~
Accidental Fate is a steamy and quick read about the most unlikely bad-boy turned father. Leo was a carefree 26 year old who balked at the word commitment until an infant was left on his doorstep with a note calling him daddy. Leo struggled with raising his son until an unlikely encounter brought a woman into his life who would not only help him learn to be a father, but believe he was worth loving as well.
Accidental Fate is a novella that spans a period of about a month with an epilogue taking place 11 months later. The intense relationship between Leo and Erin is hot and definitely moves quickly. I had a difficult time believing their intensity at first because of the sheer speed that it developed, but as the story moved on their romance felt more authentic and any doubts that I had were quickly pushed aside. I could see their emotional and physical draw to each other and the chemistry was definitely there.
M.A. Stacie has a gift for incorporating seemingly small details that help breathe life into her characters. Some of my favorite scenes from this story were the ones that gave subtle glimpses into the personalities of these characters.
“Hi”, she said softly, chuckling at the astonished look on Leo’s face as he spun to face her. Joe snuggled in his arms while he tried to clean up the spilled soup on the floor. The baby was red-faced, his tiny hands clenched tight. Leo spluttered, rocking the baby and sweeping a cloth across the floor with his foot.”
Here is a man who is clearly overwhelmed but trying to do his best. It would have been so easy to have the baby wailing in his bassinet while Leo cleaned up the mess, but the fact that he was rocking the baby in his arms says so much. Even though he is overwhelmed and doesn’t know what he is doing, he clearly cares about this child and is capable of loving with his whole heart – I think this was the moment that I became completely sold on Leo.
While we are speaking of gifts let’s take a moment and recognize M.A. Stacie’s ability to turn up the heat in any room in the span of just a few pages. *sigh* There are a few love scenes that might have you running for a cold shower. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Because of the length of the story I felt as though I didn’t get to know these characters well enough. I know he was a guy with a heart of gold who loved his son and in this way I saw a glimpse of Leo the father but I would have liked to see more about Leo the man. There is enough going on plot wise and in terms of romance that Accidental Fate could have been a phenomenal full length novel. I was invested enough in these characters that I desperately want to read more and am not reading for their stories to end just yet! To me this is a sign of a great storyteller! I’m not pointing out a fault in the novella, on the contrary actually. I loved the story so much that I didn’t want it to end so quickly.
If you are looking for a sexy romance and an absolutely swoon-worthy bad boy turned father-with-an-edge than Accidental Fate should definitely be your next read.
