Cover Image: Temporary Dad

Temporary Dad

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I enjoyed this contemporary medical story with the two main characters that were Amanda Dunlap and Hunter Phillips. And also the rest of the characters too.

Amanda Dunlap has decided to find a way to help people to stay well. She has a problem that might help people. But before she can see this through her mentor has back out a the last minute. She wants this problem to be successful so she asks the program administrator to help find a substitute. She is surprised when the substitute does show up because she know him really well.

Hunter Phillips has been asked to substitute as a mentor. But after agreeing to help out his sister asks him to watch after her daughter. So he decides to take her along instead of getting a babysitter.

This was quite a bit of emotional through out the story. With different twist and turns.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

Was this review helpful?

This book was awesome!!! I could not put it down! Lynne Marshall is an amazing author. Her books never disappoint! Can not wait for the next one!

Was this review helpful?

I thought Hunter and Amanda's story was a good well written really sweet romance and I really enjoyed it. While it is the third book in the series it can be read on its own. These two were great characters and really well suited they have tons of chemistry. This book flows well from the start and is well written with great chemistry between the characters. A great afternoon read.

Was this review helpful?

This was a charming second chance story. It was a great escape.
Many thanks to Independly Published and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

Too many grammar errors to begin with. The premise of the story was cute...but the story line did not always agree.

The main characters were engaged at one time . I did not like that author switches between the couple being married, then divorced, and then engaged.

It is a very lite weight story. Easily read in one day.

Was this review helpful?

Temporary Dad by Lynne Marshall is book three in her Mercy, Inc. contemporary romance series.

Amanda Dunlap, a nurse practitioner, has created a health modification program, The Mending Hearts Club, that she hopes will educate people about the things they can personally do to improve their health. If she’s able to impress a few hospital administrators and her parents along the way, all the better. She just doesn’t expect the ex-fiancé who broke her heart to replace her mentor at the last minute.

Hunter Phillips M.D. has custody of his infant niece for a month but has no clue what he’s doing. Now he’s been asked to mentor his ex-fiancée. He’d decline if he could, because he hasn’t had any contact with Amanda in years. He’s still attracted to her but isn’t ready to face her after the way their engagement ended.

Amanda is great with baby Sophie and Hunter is a helpful mentor. Amanda and Hunter come to a positive business agreement. Can they do the same in their personal lives?

I enjoyed the character interplay and ultimately enjoyed the story, though it did lag in spots. I rate this novel 3 out of 5 stars and recommend it to readers of contemporary romance, especially second chance romance.

My thanks to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

Was this review helpful?

Temporary Dad is well written. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. A great second chance romance. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

Was this review helpful?

This was a charming story about soulmates who allowed their personal hang ups to derail their impending marriage. While engaged, Amanda had a pregnancy “scare” and when she and Hunter discovered it was a false alarm, she realized that she actually wanted children and he did not. Faced with a major difference in future goals, they went their separate ways, though they both loved one another.

Fast forward three years and Hunter is caring for his sister’s nine-month-old baby. Amanda helps him (for reasons that are best left to the author to explain) and they cannot deny that they still love one another. However, they still have some major issues to overcome personally before they will have the maturity to commit to one another again.

I like the writing, which describes medical procedures like someone with medical knowledge who understands most readers do not share that expertise. The feelings of Hunter and Amanda are described in such a way that I felt sympathy for each of them and understood their dilemmas. The plot was believable. Metaphors were unique. I loved this description from a patient who had just undergone open-heart surgery. “I feel like someone ripped my chest open, chewed on my heart and sewed me up with chicken wire.”

My biggest issue with the book was an editing issue. At some point, I believe Lynne Marshall wrote as if Hunter and Amanda had been married, but then changed it to an engagement. Unfortunately, not all instances of marriage were expunged from the final draft so a few times their relationship was described as divorced or ex-husband/ex-wife. There were a few other editing/proofreading mistakes, but this particular one was significant and should not have been overlooked. It detracted from the plot because it caused me to look back through to see if I had misunderstood something stated earlier. If this were fixed, I’d probably give the book 5 stars. Since I got this book from Netgalley, there is a possibility that it was fixed prior to final publishing so I definitely recommend reading it.

Was this review helpful?

I'm a little all over with this one. Parts of it were cute but other parts were just ok. And other parts of it just confused me. Were they engaged or were they married because it is mentioned both ways in the book and I still don't understand which it was?? And not wanting to have kids is a major difference of opinion that you would think would have been discovered before ever getting to the point of either? But then other parts of it (like I said) were cute, like his interactions with his niece. And how they were all together. I can't decide whether I loved or hated it at this point.

Was this review helpful?

This was a cute read. I did get confused here and there about Hunter and Amanda’s previous relationship. It stated that they were engaged but at another point they were married and got divorced. It didn’t really affect the over all story line but it did leave me scratching my head.

Was this review helpful?

An interesting take on how healthcare professionals deal with their own diseases and how romance between them tends to be closely related to the passion with which they pursue their jobs, “Temporary Dad”, by Lynne Marshall, features leads with baggage and an adorable baby with her own crucial role on teaching both a life lesson.
I thought the author did a wonderful job depicting the hospital and health care world, how driven and goal-oriented health care professionals can be, the realistic details of an unusual condition and Amanda’s evasiveness about it.
Lynne Marshall shows how Hunter’s and particularly Amanda’s worlds were dull before they meet again and the way they are better together than alone.
“Dr. Dad” interactions with his niece are sweet and show a selfless man beneath the armor. I liked the main characters, but Sophie was my favorite character in this story about second chances (I was a bit confused about Hunter and Amanda previous relationship: engagement or marriage?).

Was this review helpful?

Temporary Dad!

Mandy and Hunter we’re engaged to be married, when she changed the “contract” by declaring she wanted children. Hunter didn’t have any desire for kids, and they didn’t seem willing to fight for their love. Years later, Mandy is running a preventative heart healthy program as a trial program and her mentor has had to back out. Hunter is pulled in to take his place, but he didn’t know this was Mandy’s program, and they have avoided each other for years since their breakup. When Hunter makes his first appearance at her initial meeting for her participants, he has an adorable baby in tow! That baby is in his care for a month while his sister recovers from postpartum. His niece is adorable, and Hunter takes the responsibility seriously. While the two adults grow closer again, Mandy’s desire to have children is still there, and while Hunter says he doesn’t want any, he’s starting to feel the richness of his life with his niece. And Mandy has a pretty big secret she doesn’t share with Hunter until she has no choice to tell.

I generally enjoyed this book. However, I found various spots with a discrepancy of their previous relationship. In spots it was ex-boy/girlfriend, ex-fiance and ex-husband/wife. Each of these made me stop for a minute to determine to whom they were referring. That took some of my enjoyment away from this story. I also found that Hunter having what I can only describe as an epiphany regarding children was very fast at the end. It felt rushed and forced. In between, there were some snippets of funny or sweet situations. I hope the discrepancy with their previous relation#hip is corrected prior to publication as I would have enjoyed this book much more without trying to figure that out.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely.

Was this review helpful?

Good second chance story. Three years earlier, Hunter and Mandy were engaged. Both were career-oriented and didn't plan to have children. But when Mandy thought she was pregnant, she realized that she did want children after all. When the two could not agree, they parted ways, both broken-hearted.

Now Mandy is a nurse practitioner on a mission. She created a wellness curriculum for heart patients and is ready to start the program. Unfortunately, she loses her mentor and has to depend on the hospital to provide a substitute. She is surprised when Hunter walked into the classroom and shocked to see him with a baby.

I liked both Hunter and Mandy. Each of them had issues that contributed to their problems. Hunter's background of growing up with parents who were emotionally distant made him unwilling to have children of his own. He is sure that he would be unable to give them what they need, so he will avoid the issue entirely. But when his sister, Jade, has to spend an extended time in the hospital, he steps up to care for his niece, Sophie. Mandy's parents were just the opposite. Because of her childhood health issues, they were overprotective and smothering. They also showed no confidence that she could achieve her dreams. As a result, Mandy pushes herself extra hard to prove that she can do it.

I liked the development of the relationship between Hunter and Mandy. At first, they were very uncomfortable around each other because of their history. Each felt that the other betrayed their love. Now that they are thrown together every day, both of them find that some of their old feelings begin to stir again. When Mandy invites Hunter and Sophie to stay with her during the six weeks of the program, both of them vow to protect their hearts. Neither one counted on the effect of sharing the care of little Sophie. Even though Hunter is certain he'd be a terrible father, it is evident to Mandy that he has all the right instincts. The problem is getting him to see it. There were some adorable scenes of Hunter and Sophie together, and I loved watching the three of them become a family of sorts.

Some trust issues exist between Hunter and Mandy. It takes a long time for her to get Hunter to open up about his life with his parents. She understands him a little better once he does. Mandy has some trust problems herself. She suffers from a heart ailment that she hasn't told Hunter about. She feels guilty about it but doesn't want him to start treating her as fragile, the way her parents do. Just as she makes up her mind to tell him, the decision is taken out of her hands. Hunter is left feeling betrayed by her lack of trust in him, and Mandy is heartbroken when he leaves her again. Both of them had to look hard at what they want from their lives before they can think of a future together. I loved the ending and seeing them both realize that with love, anything is possible.

Was this review helpful?

I would probably put this somewhere between 2 and 3 stars. It is not terrible, but it is not particularly good either. The characters are kind of bland and the story is nothing new. There are a few times when the author refers to them as ex-husband and wife and then others as ex-fiances which suggests maybe she didn't quite know what she wanted their backstory to be. I thought there would be more with them bonding as they cared for the baby, but that seemed more of just a plot point to get them in the same house rather than a catalyst for them reconnecting. I didn't feel like I got to see enough of Hunter changing his mind about being a dad, when it did happen it seemed it did because that's how these stories go. Everything with Mandy's illness felt a little melodramatic. And I the backstory with her parents never felt genuine, more of a plot device to try to make her more interesting.

I really did want to enjoy this book, but it just never clicked for me.

Was this review helpful?

Temporary Dad by Lynne Marshall
Have read the other stories in this series and love the ideas they have and knowledge I learn from reading them.
Start out with Amanda and she's at the facility and will teach others about how to avoid heart problems. She is to head the class with a doctor who's late.
When he does arrive he has a young baby in a sling with his briefcase and diaper bag. It also happens to be her ex husband Hunter.
Love the idea of the Mending Hearts and all it stands for-so much information on how a regular person can also gain the knowledge to prevent heart attacks.
They are to split the candidates, 10 women, 10 men in half and give them exams and get them set up with heart monitors. They put them through so many tests.
After a few days she sees just how exhausted Hunter is and she invites he and the child to stay at her place-get a few hours of rest/sleep.
He lives hours away from the satellite facility of Mercy, INC that after he leaves he soon returns as he needs a favor: pay her to stay there as it's just minutes from the facility and the baby can't tolerate the long drives with road work and collisions, delays.
She does accept them and they are able to still work together. She realizes that he'd make an awesome dad as he is with his sister's child who's going through depression.
Love how they are able to see early signs of heart disease and get the patients to the hospital in time. She is also able to talk to Hunter to find out where they went wrong...
She wants a child so bad but she's not told him of her life, the 3 years they were not together. Hunter is able to notify her parents when Amanda falls sick....
Enjoyed this book as I'm familiar with the series now, characters are all new but I can still learn useful medical knowledge of things crucial to our living style-there are so many aspects of good clean healthy lifestyle.
He also needs to get over his fear - a fear he learned from his father who could never tell him how proud he was of him.
Received this review copy from the author via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
#TemporaryDad #NetGalley

Was this review helpful?