I’ve been on a category roll of late, and I’ve come across a few gems that are worthy of review. This book comes from the Daddy Knows Last series and was my first exposure to Jennifer Mikels. I’m happy to say that this was a noteworthy book, even if it wasn’t an absolute keeper.

Valerie and Lucas Kincaid are calling it quits on their marriage. Somewhere along the line, with all the stress they were under, cumulating with the loss of their child, they just weren’t seeing eye-to-eye anymore. Rather than grow to hate each other, they decided to call a civilized halt to their marriage. Then suddenly they become the guardian parents to two adorable little twin girls.

Unlike some romance readers, I actually like baby books. While there were no surprises, this was a well written story about two people who were still in love with each other but couldn’t get beyond the hurt of losing a child. The twins stepped into Lucas and Val’s lives at a time when they needed to learn that their love hadn’t vanished and that they still had feelings toward each other.

There was also a villain in the picture, a woman who didn’t hesitate to challenge Lucas and Val on the raising of the twins because she was a blood relative. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t the motherly type; she was going to get custody of the twins, come hook or crook. This made for a good conflict and gave Val and Lucas more reasons for pulling together and standing by one another.

There were lots of good, strong secondary characters in this book, leaving the reader with the impression that Val and Lucas were two well-loved people in their community and that they led very busy and productive lives.

You’ll love Val’s grandfather, a feisty old coot of 70 who finds himself a girlfriend. You’ll also love Lucas’ mother, who is very aware of their problems, and is sympathetic but not a busybody. Both these secondary characters worked well within the overall story line.

All in all, I think that this book shouldn’t be missed if you, like me, are a fan of baby books. The story is strong, the characters are real and the pain of Lucas and Val’s past lives is touching. It’s a good book to curl up with on a cold winter’s night and one that I didn’t want to put down.