Her Motherhood Wish is a clever book with a modern premise. When Cassie Thompson gets tired of waiting for Mr. Right to start a family, she choses IVF to become pregnant. However, a sonogram suggests there might be something wrong with the fetus. She contacts the donor Wood Alexander, through the sperm bank in the hopes that he will consider donating bone marrow for the baby if needed. He invites her to lunch to discuss the baby. Cassie finds herself attracted to wood mentions getting together for lunch to discuss the baby's issues Cassie agrees to meet him. She finds herself attracted to Wood and he ends up accompanying her to her amniocentesis appointment. Their relationship deepens into friendship as they dine weekly and text regularly. Wood, who donated to The Parent Portal because it was established by his deceased brother, finds himself likewise developing feelings for Cassie, and wanting to be a part of the baby's life.

Her Motherhood Wish is part of six books revolving around The Parent Portal but this installment works perfectly as a stand alone. I found the characters compelling, the premise thought provoking and modern. I really do like stories that try different things and Her Motherhood Wish does that, expanding the idea of family and what it means to want to have children in an unconventional setup. I can't wait to see what else Tara Taylor Quinn comes up with!

Who is Cassie? Who is Wood? How do they know one another? What do we learn about each of them? I love Wood's dog's name! Who is Elaina? How do Cassie and Wood meet? Why do they meet? I found myself as I read, really loving Wood's character or moral compass if you will. I wish I had a man like him in my life! This story hit home for me in a lot of ways with regards to dreams and fears. Enjoy the read.

I really enjoyed this Special Edition. I recently read a book in the same line much like this one, but the added edition of an ex-wife made this one a little bit more dynamic. I liked Wood from the get-go. he was honest, eager, and ready to protect anyone who needed it. Eliana wasn't holding onto him out of misguided love for his brother, but out of fear of things changing again. She needed Wood as her constant in life and neither she nor Wood saw it.

Cassie was take-charge, knew what she wanted, and was willing to do anything to get it, or was she? She was confident, yes. But when it came to doing anything to get Wood, she couldn't do it. She was too afraid that he'd leave her lonely the same way her mother left her father all those years ago. There were serious daddy issues, which left the point of the book exactly that, about being a daddy. For both Wood and Cassie they knew he would have to be there for his son, even if the original idea was for him to be a donor and nothing else. Wood Alexander didn't roll that way and Cassie, in the end, liked it that way.

This book will require the need to suspend reality a bit, but then I haven't read a romance novel yet that doesn't. There wasn't an actual large amount of romance in this book, not in the true sense of the word. They didn't date unless you counted dinner where their knees touched once a week, and they never even shared a kiss. It made for an interesting dynamic as Cassie got closer to her due date and Wood fell more and more in love with her. If you like a different kind of romance with a hero who has a heart of gold and a heroine who just needs a push in the right direction, then you'll love Her Motherhood Wish.

This book was good. Not the best but good and it is a little different. It is a sweet story.

I think it is worth a read.

I give this 3 out of 5.

Good book with an unusual theme. Cassie was tired of waiting for Mr. Right to come along. She wants a family of her own, so she goes to a sperm bank. But when an ultrasound reveals a possible health problem with the baby, she contacts the donor to ask for help.

Wood was stunned to hear that somebody had used his sperm. He only donated as a favor to his doctor brother, never expecting to be chosen. When Cassie contacts him about the baby's health risk, he suggests meeting for lunch to discuss it.

I liked the first meeting between Wood and Cassie. It's a little awkward because of the situation, but Wood quickly puts Cassie at ease. Cassie is surprised by Wood's willingness to do whatever is necessary and soon realizes that he is a kind and caring man. Wood jumps in to provide emotional support during that trying time, and it isn't long before he and Cassie form a strong friendship. What neither expected was the intense attraction that grew along with it. I found it interesting that they admitted the attraction but were determined to ignore it for the sake of their friendship.

It was intriguing to see how Cassie and Wood started out intending to have minimal contact, but as her pregnancy progressed, they spent more time together. Cassie slowly moved from the baby being all hers to wanting Wood to be involved. Once he got used to the idea of the baby, he found that he wanted to be more hands-on. There were many sweet moments as they spent time together, from regular dinners to nightly texted conversations. As time went on, each realized that their emotions were getting involved, and neither was comfortable with it. Both Cassie and Wood had personal issues that made them resistant to the possibility of a future together. Wood has some deep-seated insecurities about his lack of education, feeling that people look down on him because of it. Meanwhile, Cassie resisted falling in love because she feared the pain of the relationship ending. Advice from an unexpected source gave Wood the courage to open his heart to Cassie. As he shared his feelings and fears, the depth of emotion was amazing, as was seeing Cassie drop her walls and let him in.

Wood's relationship with Elaina was an odd one. She was his brother's widow first, but also his ex-wife. Their history was interesting and was another demonstration of Wood's caring nature. There were times when I didn't like her very much because she discouraged his involvement with Cassie, but she redeemed herself at the end.

HER MOTHERHOOD WISH was my first Harlequin Special Edition, and I can’t say I will be reading another one. I loved the premise of this book; it’s what made me want to pick it up in the first place! The heroine needs to contact the hero sperm donor because her baby has potential health complications. Yes, emotional ties that bind! Yes, strangers thrown together! Yes, two adults learning how to merge their lives!

I will not spend much time on this review because the book isn’t that long, and I don’t want to think about the story any longer than I have to. Basically, this book made me sad! What the heck! The characters were SO depressing. Plus, the modern day “I married my dead brother’s wife to protect (?) her” situation the hero is in gave me major weird vibes. That whole odd couple plot took up most of the book, and I felt like it prevented the hero and heroine from spending any real time together, which is fine because I didn’t get the idea that they actually liked each other most of the time. Seriously, I don’t think they even got beyond a mild interest in each other.

Oh man, I am getting into rant mode. Overall, I couldn’t connect to the writing, every character was a sad-sack in their own way, and I actively thought the heroine could do better than the morose, self-pitying, martyr hero. It felt like the romance came last after a bunch of other weird side plots. Thank you next!

**I received a free copy of this book in order to provide an honest review**

Interesting twist to the story that does intrigue you.
Overall, Her Motherhood Wish is a sweet read with likeable characters.
There are sweet,heartwarming moments that draw you into the story.
Thank you to NetGallery, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Woodrow Alexander was a sperm donor so long ago that he forgot about it until he gets a phone call that will change his life forever. Attorney Cassie Thompson knew she wanted a baby and employed an agency to start her family. But when she learns her baby's health could be at risk, she reaches out to her sperm donor. What she finds is a man who is caring and thoughtful and Cassie realizes that this might be the man of her dreams.

I loved the concept of a sperm donor bringing two people together and I enjoyed the baby's storyline. There were so many heartwarming moments that made me smile. However, the hero's personal view bothered me sometimes. I think at his age, he should be confident and more at peace with himself and his life decisions. As a result, it made the romance between them though sweet, less appealing. He was so self-conscious that it took away from the love story. I loved his good heart but self-love is also really important.

I don't think there was a strong conflict but the emotional turmoil that a mother faces when her child is at risk was one I understood and felt.

Thank you #Netgalley #Harlequin.

This is a Romance, and this is the 3rd book in the Parent Portal series. I have to say this book pulled me in from the first page. I really loved the characters in this book. I do have to say somethings in this book really would not happen everyday in real life, so if you are a person that wants romance book to be like real life then this book will most likely not for you. I did love that one person choosing to have a baby changed so many peoples life for the better. I had to stay up late last night to finish this book because I could not put this book down. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Harlequin Special Edition) or author (Tara Taylor Quinn) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.