I like what I've read so far of this series, and Latham's writing style is snappy and entertaining, but I struggled with this book because the main characters' tragic backstories, especially the heroine's, were just too tragic. I struggled to willingly suspend my disbelief with respect to both characters -- not that these bad things could happen to happen to them, but that they would shape the characters the way they did.

Caitlyn, the heroine, is a 27-year-old virgin. The first two-thirds of the book, the conflict is about why she's untouched, and whether she's going to lose her cherry with the hero. When they finally do the deed, it's sudden and anti-climactic. (Which, to be fair, is actually pretty true to real life, now that I think about it...) From there, the plot devolves into accidental pregnancies and miscommunications, only to be all tied up with a cliche epilogue.

This was...quite unenjoyable.

The story could have been great. However, I never once connected to any of the characters. I couldn't even picture them because there weren't descriptions.

I never believed that there was a connection between Sarah and Tariq. She was indifferent to him, nervous because he was the owner of the company he worked for, but I never got the impression that she was even remotely attracted to him. As for Tariq, he flatly hated Sarah. From the first moment he met her, he hated her. Again, I never felt like he was actually attracted to her. The first time they had sex, I had to go back to read it because I thought I missed something and couldn't figure out how him being rude to her led to them having sex.

My other issue was that throughout the whole book, I was being told what happened. I never once felt like I was immersed in the story.

http://eveille.net/books/2014/03/waking-up-pregant-by-mira-lyn-kelly-a-review/

What a refreshing take on the accidental pregnancy trope/theme!

While Waking Up Pregnant‘s plot is pretty predictable, it does have the wonderful quality of having its hero and heroine communicate their problems to each other and deal with the Sudden Life Changer like fully grown adults. I’m not trying to be snarky here, and admittedly I have been reading older Harlequin releases lately, but it’s just so nice when the two leads in romance novels are communicating! I felt like because of this, I managed to concentrate more on Darcy and Jeff’s feelings and emotions towards each other. Seriously, because there was no unnecessary angst, no Big Misunderstanding, no family feuds or whatever, Waking Up Pregnant is a surprisingly fun,light and really romantic read for a book dealing with accidental pregnancies.

What I Liked:

I really liked both Jeff and Darcy. They weren’t perfect but I felt like they were written beautifully and that their personal issues were dealt with beautifully. Jeff is your modern day reformed rake but that reforming part wasn’t exactly hinged on his being with Darcy. Darcy had some childhood issues which made her want independence but she wasn’t portrayed as someone too cold or too off putting. Really, they just seemed like realistic characters you know? Even with Jeff being super rich and one-night-stand accidental pregnancies.

No seriously, I think I’d like to hang out with them because they just seem like really cool, approachable people you know?

I also liked the way they finally realized they loved each other. I can’t really say much because of spoilers and all, but yeah there was just something about it that made me grin?

What I Didn’t Like:

I’m going to have to reread this to look for something I didn’t like, but I don’t know, it caught me right from the start and made me smile that didn’t stop until after I finished reading the book. So I guess I didn’t dislike anything?

Final Thoughts:

Waking Up Pregnant is such a fun and happy and wonderful read you should do it right now. If you’ve never read anything from Harlequin KISS or by Mira Lyn Kelly, you should read Waking Up Married, which coincidentally is free as a sampler for the Harlequin KISS line. (That book is also great. In fact, I think I’ll reread it as soon as I finish this review.)

I appreciate Sarah Mayberry's ability to craft relatable, sympathetic characters without a lot of manufactured drama. She writes about regular people dealing with every day situations, and that is refreshing. In this book, Charlie is a heartbreakingly earnest woman at a crossroads: she never knew her mother, her emotionally distant father has just died, and she has just left military service after more than a decade and is embarking on life as a civilian in a new city. My frustration with Charlie is her total lack of self esteem which, while understandable given her history, was really maddening and, frankly, dull.