Finding Family...and Forever?

The Bachelors of Blackwater Lake #1

by Teresa Southwick

Kidnapped as an infant, Emma Robbins has come to Blackwater Lake to seek out her birth family. But while she gets up the courage, Emma fakes her identity to work as a nanny for an adorable little boy – and his incredibly sexy doctor dad. Now Emma’s really got more than she bargained for!

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

A four time National Readers Choice award finalist, Teresa Southwick is the author of more than 65 romance novels. She's also been a finalist for Romance Writers of America's prestigious Rita Award and a winner of Romantic Times Book Reviews Magazine's Reviewer's Choice award for best Silhouette Romance.

Teresa grew up in Southern California, one of six children--four of them boys. That gave her a lot of experience with the male point of view and has served her well in her writing career. Living in Las Vegas which she considers just a little east of her childhood stomping grounds, she loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at www.teresasouthwick.com.

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story. The hero is a widowed single dad who would have divorced his wife if she hadn't died. He moved to small town Montana (not That small) to start over but he needs a new nanny. The heroine is the nanny he hires. She has come to Montana to meet her birth parents. The woman she thought was her mother confessed on her deathbed that she had stolen the heroine as an infant from her parents. She takes the job to work while she decides what to do about telling her parents. The hero and heroine have serious chemistry but neither is willing to act on it. I thought they spent a lot of time on unnecessary angst, which is hard for me to say, given my fondness for angst. I think I'd rather have seen more time spent in the resolution-- the hero's thought processes-- and less on the somewhat repetitious middle angst. But it's a good story and I liked it.

[Phylisha Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read featuring a young woman who has learned that the woman (who she thought was her birth mother (and was dying) had actually kidnapped her as a baby. With the dying moms confession she learned who her birth parents were and travelled to where they lived. While working as a babysitter for a local doctor she checked out her family, parents and four brothers while awaiting the right moment to meet with them. While this a fiction story, this has actually happened in real life. Enjoyed it.

[Carolyn Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Getting More Than a Nanny

Justin was determined to never to risk his heart again. Then he hires Emma as Nanny to his son, Kyle. She has secrets of her own that makes her anxious to guard her own heart. This was a good opening story for the series.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good story about two people with some trust issues who find their way to each other. There are a couple minor discrepancies in the above synopsis, but nothing that affected my enjoyment of the story. When the woman she knew as her mother was dying, she told Emma that she had kidnapped her and raised her as her own. She then told Emma who her parents were, leaving it up to Emma to decide what to do with that knowledge. She heads to Blackwater Lake to see what she can find out about her family and if she should contact them. In the meantime she needs a job, so she signs on to be the nanny to Justin Flint's little boy. She doesn't tell him about her main reason for being in Blackwater Lake.

Justin's current nanny is leaving so he needs to find a replacement. He's had some trouble with applicants who seem to be more interested in him than his son. Since the death of his wife, with whom he'd been having problems, he has sworn off getting involved with another woman. He prefers to concentrate his attention on his son. While she is far younger and prettier than he wanted, Emma is the best candidate for the job, so he hires her. Justin is very impressed with the way she cares for Kyle. He also discovers that the attraction he felt for her when he met her isn't going away but is getting stronger.

Giving in to the explosive attraction between them only brings out the problems they face. Emma still hasn't decided what to do about her family. She's afraid that contacting them will cause them pain. She also felt guilty about not telling Justin the whole truth when he hired her. I liked seeing her come clean with him, and even better was his understanding and support. Emma also realizes that her feelings for Justin are getting stronger even though she knows that nothing can come of them. He's made it very clear that he will never marry again. Meanwhile, Justin is fighting his feelings for her. He doesn't trust himself after messing up with his first wife. I really loved seeing everything he went through at the end to be able to see her, it was the perfect ending.

[Harlequin Books]

"Southwick's romance is a tenderhearted tearjerker starring a couple with cold feet and trust issues, and co-starring a terrific newfound family and the cutest little tyke ever. With Montana's big sky as a backdrop and combustible love scenes, it's a win-win!" (RT Book Reviews, rated 4 1/2 stars)

Miniseries: The Bachelors of Blackwater Lake