Cute story but too many references. Seeing words like girlie, TikTok, and Real Housewives of Salt Lake City doesn't sit right with my soul

I have some very mixed feelings about Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws. On the one hand it is a fun and flirty, sometimes knee slapping sassy fun time. On the other hand, it was rife with unethical behaviors and scenarios, not to mention some uncomfortable language choices. I had some moments I considered not continuing with this book and I’m still unsure if I will continue the series.

Wyatt is a “mountain man” (this is mentioned A LOT) whose dream is to become a father. Not wanting to wait for a relationship, he opts to find a surrogate to help him achieve this dream. When he struggles to find a surrogate through the normal, logical, ethical way, his brothers write up and post an ad for him. His go-getter of an 18-year-old niece, Everly, volunteers to vet candidates for him, since she is “really good” with spreadsheets (?!). After struggling to find him any adequate candidates, she decides to troll outside the surrogacy agency Wyatt was recently let go of as a client. Here she meets Trista, who was rejected by the same agency for being too “fat” to be a surrogate. Let the problematic surrogacy story begin.

I quickly learned that surrogacy romances are not books for me. Though the story was predictable, it made me uncomfortable the lack of appropriate boundaries between Wyatt and Trista. They both took advantage of this situation and each other, which felt disrespectful. Trista kept overstepping and bringing home animals without checking in with Wyatt, her landlord, even when he was adamant about his thoughts on the manner. Yes, he folded like a deck of cards, but he shouldn’t have been put in that situation to start with. Wyatt was overbearing as heck. Just because you care for people a certain way, it doesn’t mean it is the way that makes them feel cared about. Trista came with a whole bunch of issues from her upbringing and when she acknowledged these to Wyatt, he basically told her he wasn’t going to change what he was doing even when she wasn’t comfortable with it. These interactions were not heartwarming to me.

Other problematic aspects of this book:
• The FMC calling herself a “cow” all throughout the book. It didn’t feel like empowerment; it felt like some self-loathing due to insecurity.
• The inappropriate interactions and situations relating to the surrogacy and their relationship.
• The reference of a bed being “as soft as a baby’s foreskin” and continuing to discuss how soft foreskin already is, so a baby’s must be softer… WHY IS A BABY’S FORESKIN BEING REFERRED TO AT ALL?!? Big Ick!
• Did I mention the lack of boundaries Wyatt’s family had? His mom showed up at the doctor’s appointment without being invited.

So, what did I like? The writing style was sassy and engaging, honestly it was what kept me reading. Every chapter gave an update on weeks pregnant and how many animals were now living on the mountain. This helped move the story along and gave a sense of time between each chapter. The banter had some great moments. When Wyatt’s family was together at a gathering, their interactions were amusing. I appreciated how they stuck up for each other and immediately accepted Trista into the fold. The animals! Who doesn’t love a funny animal story? Trista slowly collects misfit animals all with amusingly cute names. Wyatt’s care for the environment to the point where he designed his house to be green and has a carpool schedule set up with his brothers, so they aren’t wasting resources going to and from work.

Overall, this wasn’t the book for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for the advanced reader copy of this book.

I loved this book. I loved Wyatt and Trista and Wyatt’s whole family. Wyatt and Trista are such a perfect couple who came together in such a bizarre way. Some books you just stay up late to read and are a little sad when they are over.

I haven’t read a lot of pregnancy trope books but this definitely is a twist on it.

Mountain man wyatt fletcher is a quiet, single man wanting a kid without the relationship. he has an 18 year old niece who he adores and wants something like that for himself.

Trista is a young, ambitious woman looking to make a large sum of money to open up her own wildlife/ farm sanctuary and what better way to do that than to give life for someone else’s family?

with the denial of both parties from the surrogacy agency, everly, wyatt’s niece schemes and pushes the two together who hit it off instantly and become a surrogate family. she’s trying to rewire her brain into making herself feel no connections towards the baby and the mountain man, wyatt is trying everything in his control to control those urges to drop everything and give her everything she’s ever wanted and needed. who will win this push and pull of two near strangers- one of which carrying his baby (and technically hers since they didn’t use a donor egg).

I loved this book more than I thought I would. I loved the romance and the quirky animals. I'm excited to continue the series

Congrats to Amy Daws for her first trad published book!

This book was a fun read!

✔️ Fake relationship with a twist
✔️ Workplace romance
✔️ Emotional depth with humor
✔️ Lots of swoon-worthy and spicy moments

This book is great for those who like the Hating Game or the Spanish Love Deception.

Thank you for this opportunity!

It took a bit to get into this book but it started to pick up. However when the softness of a bed was compared to the softness of a newborn's foreskin I could no longer continue reading this book. I' fine reading a lot of things but that felt like crossing a line. Sorry.

Gah this book was so good. Loved their banter and everything about the both of them. The plot of this story was so unique and so well done. Amy’s writing made me want to jump into my kindle and live on that secluded mountain side with them haha

I have only ever read one pregnancy trope book and this was so different!.. In a GOOD way!
This isn’t your average get knocked up.
You have Mr.Mountain man himself, Wyatt, who lives in the mountains with his two other brothers. Wyatt puts the grump in grumpy!
He doesn’t want a romantic love but he does feel like he is missing something, and it’s a child.
He has decided to go through a surrogacy company to have a kid on his own.
He hasn’t had much luck finding someone he likes. In comes his 18 year old niece who is ready to help before she if off to college. Her and her uncle (Wyatts brother) make signs and post them in town that say Wyatt is looking for a surrogate and she makes a listing on craigslist!
She begins to interview woman with no luck.
THEN, she runs into our FMC Trista outside of the surrogacy agency.
Trista is our gorgeous plus size FMC who is obsessed with animals! Her dream is to open a wildlife rescue facility. She needs money to do that and so she looks into being a surrogate. The agency did not accept her application so when she bumps into Everly she takes her up on her offer to meet Wyatt.

They meet and there is something about her that Wyatt agrees to have a baby with Trista. Trista has no interest in having children so she will gladly help Wyatt and be on her way after.

She moves into the apartment on top of the barn at Wyatt’s place.

What happens when they start spending time together, feelings get involved and then some...

Ahhhh I loved it! Wyatt is so protective and a bit possessive but I ain’t complaining!
I love Trista! She is so ditzy and funny. I love her passion for animals and the way she talks Wyatt into getting animals for the ban.
Wyatt is soo hot and grumpy and loves to take care of Trista… I LOVE it! I would say he is very caveman lol
Trista isn’t afraid to use her voice but also indulge in what she craves.

I loved this book and it isn’t something that Ive read before in terms of the situations they are entangled in.

Definitely recommend!

This book was hard to get through for me. I didn’t enjoy Trista’s character and the weird things she said. She was constantly referring to herself as a cow, which I get the point she was trying to make but it was just odd. I also felt like her whole personality was her being plus sized. I loved reading about a character who is different from the “norms” of most romance books, but I felt like there could have been so much more with her character.

Some of the language used was very cringe to me and was hard to read, however, the last 25% of the book was actually okay. I grew to like Trista and Wyatt’s relationship and was happy with the ending.

Overall, this book wasn’t for me BUT i’ve seen some really great reviews.

This was a cute read and had a number of funny moments. Wyatt really wants to be a dad without the complications of a romantic entanglement due past relationship issues. Trista has no interest in kids but really needs money. Hence, these two dind themselves in a sort of forced proximity situation where she's the surrogate.

This was a fun read, as long as you don't have strong feelings about surrogacy. If you do, this is not the book for you, in any way. If you don't like books with pregnancies, this is not the book for you in any way. But if you can put that aside, I liked the romance here.

Wyatt wants nothing more than to be a dad, but he's been burned hard by a woman and has no interest in having an actual relationship. He just wants the baby, no mom needed. Unfortunately, his search has so far been fruitless and the agency he's working with has written him off as impossible to please.

Trista, on the other hand, has no interest in children of her own but she really needs some money. She wants to open an animal rescue, and isn't above using her body to get the funds she needs. Just not in *that* way. When she literally runs into Wyatt's niece after getting turned down at the same surrogacy agency, she gets talked into at least meeting with him to see if it works out.

What follows is a somewhat standard grumpy/sunshine, close-proximity romance with a dash of pregnancy, nosy family, and several non-standard pets. Sometimes I'm not sure which of them is the grumpy one, as Trista has a stubborn streak that she uses to keep herself away from Wyatt. I've read and enjoyed Daws before, and I would definitely read books about the other brothers.

I have some issues with this book, but I think it was an ok read. I’m not a fan of the self deprecating cow jokes, I thought they were odd and they left a bad taste in my mouth. Cade’s inability to communicate also drove me crazy. I wanted to scream at him. If these things had been taken out or altered I think I would have liked this book more.

I made it through one chapter and there was way too much roaring and generally machismo for my taste. Also, there was a full on melt-down about a woman having lost her virginity. Yikes.

This was my first Amy Daws book and while it was a fun read, some things just missed the mark for me. The surrogacy was handled weird to me & the fmc calling herself names was also a bit disturbing to me as well. The overall story was good but there were tropes in here that weren’t for me

This book was funny and very refreshing. I loved the banter between the characters. It was entertaining and very enjoyable. I rated this a 5 stars.

Well. This was a massive disappointment.
I was honestly LOVING this book. I couldn't put it down.

I was laughing and smiling and loving every second.
Were the self-deprecating cow jokes a little much? Yeah sure.

Was the "I swear it was crafted out of the foreskin of newborn babies it's so comfortable." quite too much?
Yes. Yes it was.

After some thought, I decided to DNF a little past this point because I just couldn't wrap my head around why this particular thing was chosen as an analogy for comfort. It was wierd and (considering it was referring to a child's body part) disturbing. This book has over 26,000 reviews and only a few people caught this?!?!

Anyway - I digress...loved it until I didn't. DNF.

4.25⭐️

This story is well written while addressing hard topics: longing for a family, surrogacy, past trauma, and a found family. It’s hard not to fall in love with a burly “Mountain Man” that is overly protective of his unborn child!

Nine Month Contract is the perfect blend of laugh-out-loud humor, sizzling chemistry, and heartfelt emotion. Amy Daws delivers a fresh and unconventional romance with a grumpy-yet-endearing mountain man, a fierce and lovable heroine, and a slow-burn attraction that feels absolutely electric. Trista and Wyatt’s dynamic is packed with witty banter, undeniable tension, and just the right amount of tenderness to make their journey both hilarious and deeply touching.

The small-town charm, quirky side characters (including an unforgettable pet goat), and unique premise make this book stand out in the best way. With its perfect mix of steam, heart, and humor, this is a must-read for anyone who loves a romance that makes you laugh, swoon, and stay up way too late turning the pages.

Coincidentally, the last Amy Daws book I read was Last on the List when it released back in 2022, so the fact that these worlds are intertwined was great! It felt nice seeing old friends again. Everly was just as lovable as I remembered and clearly a mastermind. lol

I forgot how much I enjoyed reading Amy's books and Nine Month Contract was no different. It had me cracking up so many times and putting me through the wringer emotion-wise when reading about Trista and her background. This was truly an entertaining read from start to finish and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series and see the other two Fletcher brothers fall hard.