Need You Now by Mika Jolie

http://smile.amazon.com/Need-You-Marthas-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00PGC2OFQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

Elementary school teacher Liliana Serrano has never been one to let others determine her future. Whether it’s her pack of three overly protective brothers or her Puerto-Rican, American heritage, she stands on her own. Which is exactly how she entered her arrangement with Adam Aquilani. The hot formula one driver is aloof, detached and not interested in relationship. After a cheating fiancé, no strings attached sex was just what she needed. 

Except one year later, they’re still hooking up and things aren’t so clear cut anymore. Especially when a surprise pregnancy enters the picture. 

Adam is determined to marry Lily and raise their child as a family. But Lily refuses to settle for anything less than love. 

As the two go on a journey of discovering, secrets are revealed, testing the strength of their connection. Can they learn not to give the past the power to define their future?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23549702-need-you-now?ac=1

Publisher and Release Date: Secret Cravings Publishing, November 19, 2014

Time & Setting: Contemporary, Martha’s Vineyard

Heat Level: 2

Rating: 4 Gold Crowns

Vikki’s Musings

I am a member of the Secret Cravings E-Book club and each month I receive four novels. I am always impressed with the quality of books offered and usually enjoy them immensely. In December, I received Need You Now. The title grabbed me along with the tagline on the book. The first few pages did not engage me, but I continued to read. Many a book can start out slow and end up fantastic.

Liliana Serrano is on a date with some guy named Paul and there is no chemistry, zilch, but then she receives a text from her friend with benefits, Adam Aquilani. That caught my attention. This is a guy that she intends to dump? He sounds intriguing to say the least. This makes no sense to me. The boring date continues with them discussing her non-relationship with Adam. Once the boring date ends, Liliana arrives home to find Adam in her condo, looking incredibly hot and sex sound asleep on her couch.

Dazed from a nasty fall cold, she finds herself thinking about the ecstasy he gives her, but wait a minute, “she needed to dump him not jump him”. Turns out she wants to break it off because she saw him kissing a woman on TV after his race. Oh, yeah, did I mention he is an Italian race car driver? They make up, jump into bed and five weeks later, she discovers she is pregnant. Oops, the antibiotics messed up her birth control pills. Can this unlikely couple find a way to turn their meaningless non-relationship into a meaningful one?

This is a much deeper story than meets the eye. Adam has gigantic emotional scares that keep him from being able to commit to a meaningful relationship. I do not want to divulge what these scares entail, but they are horrendous and will affect him for the rest of his life. Liliana on the other hand, is determined to have it all. She wants the kind of love her parents have and is not willing to accept anything less, even if it means being a single parent.

I enjoyed going on the emotional journey with this engaging couple. Liliana and Adam are an interesting pair and had me rooting for their “Happily Ever After”. There are actually four couples, and I understand that the first book in the series is Minka and Jason’s love affair. I believe the next book will be Forrest and Claire’s story. I can see why this story has so many great reviews.

For me, it could have been a bit shorter, especially at the end. The pacing is a bit slow, and I think it is because there is much more narrative than dialogue. I tend to enjoy dialogue, and this story could have used a few lighter moments since it deals with some truly heart wrenching topics. My hat goes off to the author for tackling such a difficult subject.

Even with this issue, I am glad I read this book. It is extremely well-written and superbly edited. Happy reading!