Here Comes Baby by Emily B Riddle: Book Review

 **ARC received for consideration. All opinions are my own. 

The Book 

An unflappable coffee shop owner.

A magnetic manager.

In one night, two lives blend irrevocably…

Liz Ainsley has life down pat. With her divorce — and hopes of babies — in the rear view mirror, her beloved cafe is thriving while she’s busy “mothering” her young staff and funny, sarcastic little sister.

And now that her handsome best friend Michael is her neighbor and shop manager, shouldn’t that be enough?

Then, on the night of their joint birthday party, Liz turning an uneasy 39, Michael an enthusiastic 30, an impromptu slow dance leads to a passionate night…that leads to a positive sign on a pregnancy test.

As she hurtles towards childbirth, and meeting the baby she never thought possible, Liz is thrown into navigating life as a pregnant (and oh so tired) boss babe. With Michael embracing his role as a dad-to-be and co-parent, Liz starts to think this upheaval might offer something wonderful.

But if even her ex-husband left, how could someone as special as Michael stay?

The Author

Emily started reading in kindergarten and writing right after that. She grew up in the nineties and early aughts, a.k.a the hey-day of rom-coms and chick-lit (God help the name), and committed her life to continuing that good work at a young age. However, she didn’t start publishing until she turned 40 and loves writing about and encouraging her fellow late bloomers. Currently, she has three books out, with many more to follow.

In real life, Emily's busy wrangling a teen, a preschooler, and her farmer-husband. She and her crew live in East Tennessee, run a farm, and have too many dogs.

For updates on her latest books or just to chat, follow her here, and on Instagram at @emilybriddlewrites.

Book Review

Here Comes Baby is the third book in The Kissing Series. I had not yet personally read the previous books in the series and found I was able to enjoy this just fine as a standalone. 

Talk about a slow burn! While yes, Liz and Michael are best friends and have that one night very early on in the story... it still takes them awhile to figure it all out. I'm not going to lie, Liz had me wanting to shake some sense into her so many times throughout their story. Stubborn does not begin to cover it... she certainly had some baggage she had to work through and while it might have taken her awhile to get there, I did really enjoy her growth throughout the story. Poor Michael is so very patient and just the absolute sweetest. He definitely had me rooting for him to finally get that happily ever after... and the payoff was absolutely 100% worth it in the end. While admittedly, pregnancy tropes aren't always my go to favorites, I did think this one was done very well and it kept me invested from start to finish. I really enjoyed several of the side characters as well... yes, even her mean aunt! 

Here Comes Baby is a closed-door romance, with implied intimacy off the pages. There is some minor language throughout as well. 

You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/4gmoP4P