When Wyatt decides he's ready to settle down as a single father, he finds that the lucrative business of finding a surrogate is cumbersome until his niece Everly happens upon a perfect candidate who didn't qualify due to the antiquated medical rules of plus size bodies not being able to have healthy pregnancies. Trista, falls under the category of being able to fulfill Wyatt's urge to be a father, but when lines and boundaries start to blur, and even with an ironclad contract between them, feelings start to arise, hormones begin to rage, and found family becomes more important than either of them could ever realize. I loved this read so much for the sheer fact that as whacky as the situation may seem, Daws delivers perfectly the intricacies of pregnancy, the nuances of past traumas and how inner healing can still happen when the right conversations occur.

Nine Month Contract is the 1st book in the Mountain Men Matchmaker series by Amy Daws. I found this to be a entertaining read, I laughed quite a bit reading this book. I loved the chemistry between Wyatt and Trista, and the brothers relationships were so funny also. I would recommend this book to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

4.5

💙 Hilarious romcom
💙 Duet narration
💙 Small Town
💙 Grumpy Sunshine
💙 Close Proximity
💙 Found family
💙 She's his surrogate

I am not sure what took me so long to pick this up!! It was so stinking cute. The narration was fantastic. The baby weeks update + animal count at the beginning of each chapter had me cracking up. This story was so unique with her being his surrogate and him wanting to be a single dad.

Definitely enjoyed this one and laughed out loud many times!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an eARC of this book

What a funny and steamy read!
Loved Trista and Wyatt, along with brother Calder and Luke and niece Everly.
Wyatt wants a surrogate to have his baby. He and brothers live on Fletcher Mountain, and he feels this will complete him.
When Fletcher had no luck finding someone, niece Everly goes on the hunt and finds Trista, who is turned away from the agency as she doesn't fit the profile, Everly meets Trista and thinks she is perfect for uncle Wyatt.
Wyatt and Trista meet and sign papers and shelves up to the mountain, along with her potbelly pig. Wyatt has a goat and isn't happy with the pig but accepts it with grumbles.
The funny thing is Trista just keeps adding animals, and Wyatt can't say no. Trista finds a home she has never had up in the mountains. The process to get Trista pregnant is hilarious and hot.
Wyatt finds that Trista is something he has missed in the past 10 years. She isn't afraid to tell him no and what she thinks.
Trista thought that being a surrogate for Wyatt was her end goal of starting a shelter for animals that were thrown out. Trista never wanted to be a mom as she was discarded by her parents and her sister, yet the Fletchers welcomed her in like a family.
Neither started this journey looking for love but it finds it way into each of them, to raise and love their baby girl together.

💚Nine Month Contract💚
By Amy Daws

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- Review posted to Goodreads, BookBub, and TheStoryGraph on 3/11/25
- Review to be posted to Instagram and Amazon on 3/19/25

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“But the more she invades my space, the more she invades my thoughts. It’s becoming a problem.”
🤭🤭

~~

The second I read the blurb of this one, I knew I had to get my hands on Amy Daws’ upcoming rerelease. Obvi I’m a huge fan of all things pregnancy, but a witty, spicy tale of surrogacy for the giant grump of a mountain man? Giiiirl, say less! GIMME!

Nine Month Contract had me actually laughing out loud on several occasions. Stuffed to the brim with playful banter and hilariously relatable moments, even the chapter headers were amusing and had me giggling the further along I read. I don’t typically reach for books with big romcom vibes, but this was straight up fun!

Humorous bits aside, I found the message of learning to lean on others and accepting unconditional love and care to be a real treat. I related so much to Trista in this sense, when you feel like even the kindest of gestures must surely come at a price, so why not just deny all help and take care of yourself instead? Holy moly have I been there and back! Watching her grow with the reassurance of her seemingly prickly safe haven of a partner, Wyatt, had my heart positively melting.

Now fair warning- Trista refers to herself as a cow many times throughout her pregnancy journey. I can certainly see how that could read as rather off-putting to some, especially given that our FMC is a badass curvy gal, but I personally found it insanely relatable. Seriously, I called myself the very same more times than I could ever count back in my baby-making days 😂

Overall, I quite liked this take on a grumpy/sunshine surrogacy story. The pace was nice and the character growth was satisfying. I very much look forward to checking out Amy’s other work!

Why you’ll love Nine Month Contract
💚 Small Town Romance
💚 Dual POV
💚 Surrogacy
💚 Grumpy/Sunshine
💚 Curvy FMC
💚 Age Gap
💚 Found Family
💚 A Small Army Adorable of Animals

Big thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press and NetGalley for the early copy! These are my honest thoughts 🤗

Trista grew up unwanted by her parents and had never known a loving family. She never wanted kids of her own, and appreciates more the unconditional love of her rescue pets. Being a surrogate would allow her to continue working and earn enough money to open her own animal rescue center.
Wyatt enjoys the quiet and solitude of his mountain, his only neighbors are his brothers who built their own cabins on his land. He's given up on love, but still dreams of fatherhood. None of the agency surrogates have seemed quite right though, so when his niece sets up an interview with Trista after their chance meeting, she seems perfect for the job. Only after spending time with her and seeing her pregnant with his child does he realize how perfect she is for him.
After the initial awkward insemination scenes, the book was super sweet and funny. Trista had so many insecurities she was struggling with and she fought Wyatt's protective German Shephard-like vibes at every turn. His whole family is so great, especially the brother's relationship. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#hiveinfluencer

Happy Publishing Day! 🤩

Nine Month Contract by @amydawsauthor is a humorous and sexy romp that tugged at my heartstrings! ❤️✨

Blurb: Help Wanted: Grumpy mountain man seeks baby momma. Job is an incubator position only. Surrogate must be impervious to grunting as the form of communication and nosy brotherly neighbors. Rustic mountain range housing available upon request.

I wanted to pummel my irritating brothers when they posted their own version of a wanted ad to help me with my life.

But I can’t fault the results once the right woman lands in my lap.

Becoming a single father is not a decision I made lightly. In fact, it’s the biggest decision of my entire life.

Which is why when I interview Trista, I know she’s perfect.

She’s wild, she’s opinionated, she wears cowboy boots. Even my pet goat loves her…

She’s the exact type of person I was holding out for.

And to my great horror, I realize on our first night of attempting this baby-making dance—when the lights are low, the cheap wine is flowing and the home-insemination supplies are laid out on the kitchen counter—I want to do a lot more than just make her my surrogate.

I want to make her mine.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I LOVED LOVED LOVED Nine Month Contract!!! Pregnancy romance books are my bread and butter, plus this was a new take on the genre.

Trista and Wyatt’s chemistry was so electrifying and I loved every second of their banter! I swooned at Wyatt’s caring nature during Trista’s pregnancy, it was so adorable. Trista is also such a fabulous FMC, who I resonated with because she is curvy like I am! She also is a optimist who will do anything to reach her dreams. And she takes no s*** from anyone, which I appreciated!

It was also super fun reading and catching up with the brother/friends that were featured in the Wait With Me series! However, you do not have to read them except maybe Last on the List. If you enjoy rom-coms and pregnancy romance, Nine Month Contract is a must-read! 🍼🫶🏻🪓🐾

Thank you to @htpbooks, @htp_hive, @canarystreetpress, and @netgalley for the opportunity to read/review this ARC! 🤩📚

🏷️: #ninemonthcontract #amydaws #review #bookrecommendation #bookstagram

3.75⭐️

I had a hard time coming up with a rating for this book. I loved how sweet Wyatt’s family was. I enjoyed the plot for the most part but I just thought the backstory of Wyatt and his brothers was weird. Didn’t like that lol.

Trista was funny, hard working, and a caretaker of animals but she said she loved her body, yet she would make rude remarks about it. Luckily Wyatt gave her compliments to help her self esteem.

Everly the niece had her POV thrown into the mix a few times. Some people could be weirded out that she was the one to find a surrogate since she is Wyatt’s 18 yo niece. I thought it fit into the story though and ended up coming all together.

I guess I just couldn’t find myself attracted to the MC so it made my rating go down even though he did do so many sweet things for Trista.

Read if you like-
— dual POV with another POV a few times
— MC wants to be single dad
— surrogacy
— found family
— spicy scenes
— mountain atmosphere
— small town
— curvy FMC

Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

This was a fun rom-com perfect for a vacation read. The classic friends to lovers story with some drama along the way. I enjoyed the story, the humor, the romance & the tension. I enjoyed the steamy scenes. I will definitley check out the second book in the series. I never read an Amy Daws book before, I am now a fan!

Happy Release Day Amy Daws!

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spicy: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I first read this book back in April and got a kick out of how silly and genuine all the characters were. When I saw that it was picked up by a traditional publisher, I had to request it and go buy a copy which amazingly was delivered on release day in time for this review!!

The Help Wanted Ad was ALOT, but I can definitely imagine a bunch of “bros” coming up with that horribly cringe verbiage to help their brother out as best they know how.

I liked how the roles were reversed in the sense that most stories involving surrogacy and searching for donors tend to be couple or single woman-led versus a single man. And I loved the familial support offered to not only the soon to be single father, but also the surrogate mother.

I won’t get into the ethics of this specific relationship as it’s a work of fiction, but I can see how some folks may have issue with that aspect. I however, loved how a two parent home was created out of this unconventional start.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Warning: This book revolves around the topic of surrogacy: traditional and non traditional. It includes discussions on fertility, parenthood and parental rights.

Nine Month Contract is Amy Daws’ spicy romantic comedy about a single man hiring a surrogate to fulfill his dream of becoming a father. The story is set in a small town in the Colorado mountains. While Nine Month Contract is the first story in the Fletcher Brothers series, it’s actually the sequel to Last on the List, the fifth and final story in the Wait with Me series.

38-year-old Wyatt Fletcher is a confirmed bachelor who lives in a nice cabin on a mountain with two of his brothers, Calder and Luke. Wyatt is huge in size, doesn’t like people much, and has a pet goat, Millie. The three brothers are financially successful, working as builders. Their oldest brother, Max, was the hero in Last on the List, and he is very wealthy and lives in town.

Max’s 18-year-old precocious daughter, Everly, is playing matchmaker again, having set her father up with his current wife, Cassandra/Cozy. Everly and Calder wrote a “Surrogate Wanted” ad when the fertility clinic was unable to find a suitable surrogate for Wyatt. Everly found a woman who she believes is perfect outside of the fertility clinic and sets up a meeting between her and Wyatt.

28-year-old Trista Matthews is a free-spirited animal lover who has recently been evicted from her apartment due to the presence of her potbellied pig, Sir Reginald. She was rejected as a surrogate by the fertility clinic because of her weight and the fact that she’s never given birth before. She’s interested in Wyatt’s ad due to the availability of housing, and the generous payment, which will fund her dream of having her own animal refuge.

While Wyatt and Trista draw up a legal nine-month contract regarding their baby-making goal, they quickly realize that they are attracted to each other. The reader knows that Wyatt and Trista are going to “get together”, but the fun is in the path to happily ever after.

Wyatt and Trista are the stereotypical Grumpy/Sunshine pair but both are animal lovers. The heading of each chapter includes the number of people and animals in their household. Trista is a plus-size woman who is happy with her body, knowing that she’s healthy and physically fit. She had a rough childhood and has accepted that she will probably never be a mother, instead preferring to nurture animals. Wyatt had a bad relationship in the past and is determined to become a single father.

Nine Month Contract is a spicy romance that is filled with colorful characters, animals, and humor. Everly and Calder’s shenanigans add a lot to the story, and now I am eagerly anticipating Calder’s story. Everly’s mother is a lesbian, and Trista mentions several times that she read Lesbian Blogs to better understand the artificial insemination process. So while this is a traditional romance, it is a lesbian-friendly story. Nine Month Contract contains profanity and sexual references, and is ideal for fans of Tessa Bailey, Pippa Grant, and Meghan Quinn.

I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws
Mountain Men Matchmaker series #1. Contemporary romance. Small town. Can be read as a stand-alone but for completeness, this is a spin-off of Last on the List from the Wait With Me series. Additional troupes include grumpy-sunshine, 10-year-age-gap, and curvy-FMC.
At thirty-eight, Wyatt Fletcher knows what he wants from life. And that’s family. And a baby. Wyatt misses his father’s wisdom and guidance. He’s envious of his older brother Max’s family. It’s time. Sure, his brother putting an advertisement in Craig’s list for a surrogate was supposed to be a joke, but it was actually fortuitous. But twelve interviews later, Wyatt isn’t having much luck in finding the right woman.
Everly Wyatt, Wyatt’s 18 year-old niece literally runs into a woman at the fertility clinic and after talking, decides Trista Matthews is the perfect woman for Uncle Wyatt. She sets them up on a date at the Mercantile.
Trista Matthews needs to move and wants to open a wildlife rescue facility. Earning the money as a surrogate, and being able to live temporarily on the mountain is perfect for her plans. She’ll live in the renovated barn and have a place for any rescues she saves. Once she has the baby, she can walk away without any qualms. That’s what her parents did. And her sister. It’s normal in her experience to be able to walk away.
So Wyatt and Trista sign a contract and take the next steps, separately, to get her pregnant.
And then they tentatively become friends and maybe a little lust is involved.

Even before this story fully ended, I downloaded a dozen more of the author’s back catalog.
The irreverence of the advertising is ridiculous yet sets the tone for the mountain man that wants his mountain retreat but also wants his family close. Perfect setup.
Can’t wait for the next in this series in June.

This was the wildest story and yes I'm now all about reading the past and future brother stories.

When neither of them fit into traditional families, Trista falls into the lap of Everly, the overly invested niece of Wyatt, who has been desperately looking for a surrogate to carry a baby for him. The agency they both were looking through rejected them both- both, more or less, on the basis of being single. Instead, Trista and Wyatt strike up a deal and the rest is comedy, and romance, and hilariously overinvolved family history. Their story is exactly like you think it's going to be and also better to read and experience it. So much fun.

#arc
#netgalley
#nincemonthcontract

3.5 stars

Well, this should be interesting. Hopefully, I can get my thoughts into some semblance of order for this review. I’m going to start with the most obvious thing…surrogacy. The author notes she had sensitivity readers which included people who were surrogates and those who worked with a surrogacy agency. But, everyone is different. As someone who hasn’t needed such services, I cannot speak for those who have or do. I will say there were certain things in the story that gave me pause as to whether this would bother someone who is in that world. So you do you and go in with an open mind and heart, but make an informed choice before reading this book.

From the moment Trista is on the page, she comes across as a confident woman who doesn’t take crap from anyone. Not that she’s gruff or rude, she just knows her worth and doesn’t bother with those who don’t want to give her her due. Getting to know Trista as the book progresses, it becomes clear she holds a lot of bad feelings about herself…mostly because of how she was raised. Trista has put in the work to boost her confidence, but those old wounds still fester and she is often disparaging herself without even realizing she’s doing it. Wyatt notices though, and he calls her out and corrects her often.

The feelings in this book are all there. I got butterflies and was rooting for Trista and Wyatt to find happiness. They are so good for each other, but Wyatt has a ton of baggage, too. The contract they have for the surrogacy just complicates things further. While surrogacy is the point of this story, I found myself wishing their conflict could have been something else. But nothing else would have made sense for their story. Wyatt wanted kids and wanted to do it on his own. Trista never wanted kids and never wanted any sort of relationship. At the very least, the whys of Trista not wanting kids and changing her mind by the end of the book made sense for her character. It wasn’t a forced thing, it all had to do with her past and preconceived notions of parenthood.

Okay, I can feel I’m all over the place here. Basically what I want to say is that I greatly enjoyed the love story and character growth in this book. I never felt fully comfortable with the story being about surrogacy and there also being a breeding kink running through their interactions. Also, I am begging authors to stop having gender reveals in their books. I understand that in the real world, parents are going to be curious about the issue, but haven’t we learned enough to know that gender reveal parties are not a good idea for a multitude of reasons? Anyway, this is a new-to-me author and I’ll be going back to read more from her. I see there is a series that includes Wyatt’s older brother, so maybe I’ll start there. Something with a different plot so I can see if I like this author as much as I think I might without the other stuff getting in the way.

Grumpy mountain man interested in being a single dad? Check

Potential surrogate who loves animals more than people? Check

Two people destined to find each other wildly attractive and fight the temptation? Check and check

Wyatt and Trista are good compliments for each other. I loved how they described each other with Wyatt being “five minutes ahead” and Trista being “five minutes late” making each other right on time. Wyatt waited and waited patiently for Trista to catch up by slowly understanding her struggles and hang ups while showing up for her in the little ways and big ways no one else ever did. Trista carried a lot of hang ups from her past and rightfully so but that made it hard for her to accept Wyatt and to trust that his actions were genuine and that he wasn’t going anywhere. You knew Wyatt was a goner for Trista because she kept bringing more and more animals to the mountain and while he grumbled to keep up appearances he gladly welcomed them because they made Trista happy.


I’m definitely interested in Calder and Dakota’s story next in this series about the Fletcher Boys up on their mountain.


Thank you publishers and netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Happy re-release day to Nine Month Contract! Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Let’s start with the good: the spice? Scorching. The last 10-20%? Sobbed. Like full-on, ugly-cry levels of emotion. The heartfelt moments snuck up on me in a way I wasn’t expecting, and I genuinely loved how it all came together at the end.

Now, the not-so-good: this book gave me the ick about 70% of the time. Cade is the ultimate grumpy mountain man, but his inability to communicate made me want to chuck my Kindle across the room. Trista is a firecracker, which I usually love, but their dynamic often left me cringing instead of swooning. Also, everyone in this book needs therapy—immediately. No exceptions.

And then there’s the ending… Mexico? For them? Absolutely not. That felt so out of character, and while I see the setup for the next book, it just didn’t land for me.

Will I read the next two books in the series? Oh, absolutely. I have questions, and I need answers.

This was one of my first pregnancy/surrogacy themed romance books, and it was so fun! Some moments were absolutely cringey, but it was funny and interesting watching Trista and Wyatt navigate this new chapter of life together. Wyatt’s family also had strong roles and I think that sense of community amongst the chaos really helped this story be so great. Definitely spicy for those who are interested, and so many laugh out loud moments to round out the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the early copy!

"Nine Month Contract" by Amy Daws is a delightful romance novel that had me hooked from start to finish. The chemistry between the protagonists is palpable and Amy Daws does an excellent job of developing their relationship in a way that feels both realistic and engaging. The storyline is unique and refreshing, with just the right blend of humor, emotion, and passion. The characters are well-developed and I found myself rooting for them throughout the book. Daws' writing style is both witty and charming, making it a pleasure to read. I couldn't put it down.

I felt a little underwhelmed with this one. I usually love grumpy x sunshine but I felt like this one was just missing something.

I absolutely love Amy Daws' humor and this book was loaded with it! This is such a fun read, especially if you love a chaotic animal lover that just can't say no to animals in need mixed with a grumpy mountain man who'd rather not have a full farm in his backyard. It's such an interesting take on the single dad trope and I love the tension that the forced proximity & her incessant need to save every last animal caused. And the cameos from her Wait With Me series was so fun! Loved the curvy girl & tall girl representation! There was one really questionable quote in the middle of the book, but I do think the level of chaotic in that quote did fit Trista's character however, I think it was taken a little too far.

Overall, I really loved this book & I can't wait to read about the rest of Wyatt's brothers!

Thank you to Canary Street Press, NetGalley, and Amy Daws for sending me an early copy!