4 ⭐️
4 🌶️

Okay, okay, I came into this book blind! I saw the cover and the title intrigued me but I did not think it was a pregnancy trope and found family. But overall, I really liked this book.

Pros:
Grump/Sunshine
Small Town
Found Family
Possiveness

Cons:
Pregnancy Trope (I know, I know, the pregnancy trope is the main point of this book but honestly, I've never liked this trope so, therefore, it's here on the cons.)

This was such a delight to read. Wyatt and Trista have such chemistry. Their banter was hilarious and Trista quick comebacks were hilarious. Honestly, give me a MMC that is possessive and I'm swooning! I loved how Wyatt cared for her. He was able to care for her in somewhat silent ways especially because being cared for is something that Trista is foreign to.

The found family was so touching. The way that Trista's parents left her and her sister are traumatizing. No wonder Trista took a long time to get a grip. But thank goodness that she had a heart-to-heart conversation with sister. I'm glad that she was able to find a motherly figure in Jo and a sister bond with Cozy.

I realized partway through this that I was getting a massive sick. The balance of power in the relationship just felt really off. And the fact that she basically got pregnant the first round seemed really unlikely.

4.25 ⭐️

↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺ 1:00 ──ㅇ────── 4:12
Playing: Will You Return by The Avett Brothers

What to expect from this book:
🤰 Multi 1st-person POV (mostly the FMC and MMC, but one other POV :))
⛰️ Several open-door spicy scenes
🤰 Strangers to lovers
⛰️ 38 year-old MMC/grump who wants to be a dad
🤰 28 year-old FMC/sunshine surrogate who wants money to open an animal sanctuary
⛰️ He's got 3 boundary-less brothers, 1 meddlesome niece, 1 hyper nephew, 1 overbearing mom and 1 father who passed away
🤰 Her parents abandoned her when she was young, and her older sister kind of did the same
⛰️ He's an "acts of service" kind of man and she's "used to doing things herself"
🤰 She's curvy (with internalized fat phobia) and he LOVES her curves
⛰️ Secret relationship with an expiration date

If you like the following, you might like this book: age gap, Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young, MMCs who are possessive and protective (even if in real life that would be a red flag), breeding kink, books where the FMC is not helpless but learns how to accept help from others, slow burn, small-town romance

┗━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━┛Synopsis┗━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━┛
Wyatt wants nothing more than to be a dad. Nearing his 40s, and grieving his father, he feels that it is the next step in his life—to share his Colorado mountain with a child (or children). But he is picky. Like, the last 12 women he interviewed were...well...not fit to carry his child. Until his meddlesome niece steps in to help him find someone.

Enter Trista. She's never really had a family and has been on her own so long that her only desire is to grow an animal family—but for that, she needs money. What pays a lot and fast? Why...having someone's baby of course!

Will they get along? How should they try to get pregnant? Will Trista give Wyatt an aneurism with all of her foster animals?

_____My Review_____
I love an FMC who is all "I can do it myself!" and an MMC that comes along and is like "I know you can, but you don't have to, I want to help you." I will eat it up every time (except if it's marriage of convenience). He dotes on her (in a probably unrealistic way but a girl can dream) and the spice was firey. I also LOVE found family and for the FMC—she hit the jackpot.

We each have tropes we despise and I get that people do not like the pregnancy trope. I also get that some of the things in this book are not realistic or maybe are unethical. BUT IT'S NOT AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY PEOPLE!! I know that having a child as a single person is not as easy as deciding to "have a baby." Hell, it's not even easy for all people who are in a relationship. Can you get pregnant the way these two do? IDFK. Should you try it? I also DFK (aka probably not? but i'm not a doctor). Still, I was highly entertained and cackled the whole way through.

For the people in the back: I want more books where the men want to go to great lengths to become a dad.

There was also some...questionable phrasing happening here. The audiobook at one point has the MMC saying, "And now all I want to do is beat that thought out of her." but the eARC copy says, "And now all I want to do is bury that thought in the ground." The former was terrible phrasing—even if this MMC was a rough-around-the-edges character. He's highly possessive, which I know some people will hate, but if you can remind yourself that these are fictional characters and what works for some doesn't for others, hopefully you can look past some of these flaws and still find the underlying endearments.

IDK, I loved it. Flaws and all. But again, if you don't like pregnancy or possessive MMCs, perhaps this one should be a pass for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC. And thank you to Amy Daws, looking forward to Calder's book!

An atypical romcom where it's a given (mostly) that the FMC will be pregnant before the end of the book, but not in a bad way -- she meets and agrees to be the pregnancy surrogate for the MMC. Lots of adorable family hijinks, rescue animal moments, and sizzling chemistry.

4.5 stars

Oh my gosh! This story was so cute!

I absolutely loved Wyatt and how grumpy / growly he was during the story! It definitely made things interesting with Trista being a more sunshine-y but super independent character!

My favorite part of the story was definitely how close the Fletcher brothers were and how they stood up for their family! I loved the banter between the brothers and with Wyatt and Trista! I was laughing out loud at some of the animal antics and the chapter headers were so much fun!

I listened to the audio and loved the two narrators! It was so playful and I loved the hearing the banter throughout.

This is Book 1 in the Mountain Men Matchmaker Series by this author. It is an age gap, grumpy vs sunshine romance between Wyatt and Trista. These two flawed but likeable souls and the unique plot make for an enjoyable read. What starts out as a surrogacy contract turns into something more. It is a love story with drama and steam, sexual tension and chemistry, humor and charm, and twists and turns, plus appealing secondary characters. An emotional page turner.

Nine Month Contract was ridiculously hilarious and addictive!

Amy Daws delivered a master piece with the grumpy mountain man vibes and the sunshine FMC. This was such a rollercoaster of a read but I devoured every second of it.

I adored the found family aspect and how utterly herself that Trista was. The girl has a heart of gold that she wants to share with her farm animals and speaks freely with no regrets.

Wyatt is our ridiculous grump that’s the biggest softie for his niece, Everly, but now holds a spot for Trista. Their story was a sight to read and I can’t recommend this enough!

I loved this book!!! It was so fun to see all of Wyatt’s different sides. The grump, the protector and the dad. Trista was the best. She had me laughing throughout this whole story. This book is the literal definition of opposites attract. The audiobook was perfection.

The premise had promise, but I couldn’t get past the repeated breeding kink references and the main character constantly calling herself a cow. It felt more cringey than funny. Also, letting an 18-year-old niece oversee a surrogacy arrangement seemed unrealistic and uncomfortable. While some may enjoy the banter and chemistry, this one just wasn’t for me.

The grumpy/sunshine of Wyatt and Trista is fantastic! This book is filled with great banter, quick wit, and is laugh out loud. You really love the characters and see them grow through their past traumas. Daws does a great job writing these details in a funny and capturing way. This was my first Amy Daws book and I will be reading the others in the series and her other books.

If you're a fan of the Winston Brothers (Penny Reid), you'll love this.

Rating: ★★★½
This one was a mixed bag for me. I loved the grumpy-sunshine dynamic, small-town setting, and Wyatt’s big, chaotic family—especially his niece Everly, who totally stole the show. The goat was a fun bonus too!
But the surrogacy trope (and that DIY insemination scene) didn’t quite work for me, and Trista’s constant self-deprecating comments—plus the “breeding kink” references—were a bit much. The romance was a very slow burn, but the ending was sweet and satisfying.
If you’re into unconventional setups and big family vibes, this might be your jam. Just be ready for some eyebrow-raising moments along the way.

Really enjoyed it over all. Some of the spicy parts were not really my thing but over all it's fun read.

ARC review || Nine Month Contract 4/5⭐️
Book 1 in the Mountain Men Matchmaker series. ❤️🐐

Wyatt’s meddling brother posted a want ad for “a baby momma who’s only interested in being an incubator, and must be fluent in grunting of said broody baby daddy.” & suddenly Trista stumbled into their lives. ✨The lucky 13th✨even though after meeting her to Wyatt there was never anyone else.

I’m not usually one for the surrogacy/pregnancy trope but I actually enjoyed it! Something about Wyatt and Trista’s chemistry made sense?
I had a soft spot for Trista, our curvy & animal-loving FMC, who felt misunderstood and unloved by everyone besides the animals she rescued. She may have felt undeserving of the classic family picture but Wyatt sneaks in and worms his way into her heart.
I felt, as an animal lover myself, just how misunderstood she is and her broken view on family. She has a difficult relationship with her body that turns into full blown admiration after carrying Stevie (rightfully so!) and that really helped rewrite her inner-narrative.
Some of the writing verbiage did however rub me the wrong way that teetered on the end of cringe-worthy at times.
That being said I adored the found family aspect of this Mountain Matchmaker novel and look forward to hopefully even better ones in the series. ❤️🏔️

Thank you @amydawsauthor & @netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. This is my honest review and opinions alone.

Read if you enjoy stories with:
❤️Grumpy Mountain Men/Goat daddies
🏔️Surrogacy Romance
❤️Pet Rescue
🏔️Found Family
❤️Brotherhood

honestly i struggled getting through this book. the mmc was UNBEARABLE and just so icky. Him saying he needed an incubator did not sit right with me and just made me struggle to get through this book

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the eARC!

This small town, sweet and steamy rom-com about a grumpy mountain man who wants to be a dad and the bubbly, animal loving surrogate found by the man’s niece in a Craigslist ad was such a fun read! Wyatt and Trista are a great fit for the grumpy and sunshine trope, and I love the plus size representation! Some of the words Trista refers to herself as definitely was hard to read but as a plus size person myself I understood why it was there. I laughed at the animal tally at the beginning of each chapter and really came to love all the characters, especially Everly and Wyatt’s brothers. Wyatt and Trista’s chemistry was very sweet and I love how they were able to open up to each other, reminding me that they both carried a lot of emotional trauma prior to the contract and how far they come throughout the course of the book. I really love the world that Amy Daws has come up with and I’m really excited to read about the other brothers too. Overall, a very fun rom-com!

I really enjoyed this book.

It was funny. It was different. I didn’t know how I’d feel with a pregnancy in a book but I loved it lol

Wyatt seeks a surrogate to carry a child for him. Cue in Trista who is curvy, funny, ambitious, and does not want to be a mom. She agrees to carry a child for Wyatt as a job essentially. But will their forced proximity cause issues for them? Are feelings inevitable?

My only issue with this book was some words used. Maybe I’m just too “old” to enjoy some of the language like rizz, chesticles, bajingo (for vagina)…. That was my only dislike with this book.

Will I continue this series? ABSOLUTELY.

DNF- it’s very alarming to see the author make comparisons between baby and adult private parts. I don’t know how this made it through the editing process.
I will never read anything from this author again.

Right from the get-go, this book pulls you into a world brimming with longing, peril, and tangled emotions. The spark between the two main characters is off the charts—a slow-burn attraction that simmers below the surface and eventually boils over. But what truly sets this story apart isn’t just the crackling tension — it’s the emotional depth woven into every chapter that really hits home.

This one was not for me. I am normally not a fan of the pregnancy trope in any form, but I love Amy Daws so I was excited to receive an ARC. I think the topic is a bit too serious for a light hearted rom com.

Nine Month Contract is a fun, spicy rom-com about Wyatt, a rugged mountain guy who wants to be a dad through surrogacy, and Trista, an animal lover who signs on to help. What starts as a simple contract quickly turns into something way more complicated—and way more romantic.

The novel explores themes of unconventional family-building, emotional vulnerability, and the complexities of non-traditional relationships. Wyatt’s gruff exterior and Trista’s fiery independence create a compelling grumpy/sunshine dynamic, enriched by the picturesque mountain setting and the quirky support of Wyatt’s family and animals.

Who doesn’t love a fabulous Grumpy/sunshine!