A cute, fun, easy read. A lot of body talk about being olus sized that wasn’t needed. A refreshing storyline I’ve never read before, which hooked me quickly

(1.5 rounded down). This book had a bit too much going on and I think in trying to really push the "comedy" of the romantic comedy became extremely cringey. First, allowing your newly 18 year old niece to be in charge of your surrogacy journey was just weird and keeping her POV especially after chapters that include sex scenes felt very odd. It just kept going from there.

I think this book has an odd relationship with surrogacy. Obviously the main character is wanting to be a surrogate and the MMC wants to be a dad but the book can't seem to decide if it's critical of the formal surrogacy industry or not. It also completely undermines what surrogacy is supposed to be even before the relationship is involved. The author has a forward about her own fertility journey and seems to use that to justify why she can flippantly write about surrogacy. This gave very much "buying a baby" and getting pregnant is a funny little task, and trying to use fluffy language around that because we all know the HEA is coming.

The second that the "surrogate" FMC arrives on the mountain, she is immediately acting basically like a live-in girlfriend. She even starts to randomly bring animals and new pets into this man's property and home. I think it's supposed to be a "quirk" and "look how much she loves animals" but a man that is letting her stay for free specifically tells her "don't bring ______" and she does. The MMC is ... not anywhere near an emotionally healthy person that should be becoming a single parent purposefully. Tons of weird family issues that they try to show as "personal development", some weird slut-shamey stuff on a past love interest with no blame for the MMC of course, and in general he's just ... not great?

This is a book of moral and ethical ickiness that is packaged as a cute love story.

THIS WAS SO FUNNY!

I won't lie it took me a bit to really get into it but i honestly had so much fun reading this. Trista and Wyatt are so different but perfect for each other.

This was written well and felt like it was paced appropriately! some of the dialogue was cringey but it didn't take away from the plot or the characters. I can't wait to read the next book!!

I received an ARC of Nine Month Contract and want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Nine Month Contract is a romance set in rural Colorado. Our MMC, Wyatt, has always dreamed of becoming a father, but after struggling to find a suitable surrogate, he stumbles upon an unconventional solution, thanks in part to his meddling (but well-intentioned) mastermind of a niece, Everly. Carmen, our FMC, meets Everly by chance, and after a thorough vetting process, she’s selected by Wyatt to carry his child as a surrogate.
There were so many things I loved about this book! I have a soft spot for unconventional family dynamics, and Wyatt and his brother’s involvement and support of Everly was so sweet. Daws masterfully creates a heartwarming found-family situation and ties everything up in an HEA so perfect it should have been wrapped up with a bow on top. Additionally, this book genuinely made me laugh out loud multiple times, which is always a win!

That said, there were a few things that didn’t quite work for me. Daws leans heavily into Millennial and Gen Z slang, which might be a personal ick, but I feel like excessive use of language and references associated with specific generations (I’m looking at you, references to TikTok and its trends, Taylor Swift, and slang like booping, girlie, and mansplaining) can date a book quickly and break immersion. While it makes the characters feel current now, it might not age well over time.

I also found myself occasionally mixing up Wyatt and Trista’s chapters because their narrative voices started to blend together. Writing multiple POVs can be tricky, and distinct voices are crucial to keeping each character’s personality and convictions clear.
But my biggest issue? There’s a moment where Trista, newly pregnant, receives a very nice bed from Wyatt to ensure her comfort throughout the pregnancy. She then makes an incredibly bizarre comparison between the bed’s comfort and a newborn baby’s foreskin…which, yes, is something I can’t believe I’m even typing out. While the book acknowledges that Trista feels awkward about the comparison, the moment was so out of left field that it completely took me out of the story and left me feeling uncomfortable.

Overall, though, I really did enjoy this book. It’s funny, heartwarming, and has an unconventional premise that keeps you hooked. While it stumbles a bit with modern slang and references, similar character voices, and that one weird analogy, I still found myself invested in the story. I’m already looking forward to the next installment!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC opportunity!

This was a fun read, but I did struggle a bit with a few things. I loved the Grumpy/Take No Attitude vibe from the main characters, the banter between the two main characters, and the bigger story was unique compared to other stories i have read, which i also enjoyed but it still fell short with me.

I wasnt a fan of the FMC, and that never turned around for me. The comments on her weight while pregnant made me cringe. Commenting on yourself like a "cow" was not cool.

The baby foreskin sheet comment was also weird af, and i never got past it.

I think it's a fun story, but maybe the weird parts were too much for me to look past. I think it would be a big hit for others though.

it was okay, the pacing is off to me, and I did not respect the FMC calling herself a cow bc she’s a surrogate. mind you; she’s mid/plus-sided, so that just didn’t sit well with me, idk. Morally I was surprised I finished this ARC. In the end it did not sit well with me and I had to push through

I really had higher hopes due to the quote on the cover by Megan Quinn (Megan is one of my top 3 rom-com authors)

i am such a huge amy daws fan and reading her books feel like coming home. i am so happy that nine month contract is as good as expected. i feel like this is amys best yet and i was eating up all the tropes in this one. absolutely love a grumpy man!!!

4.25⭐, 3🌶️

I enjoyed this book! It didn’t WOW me, but it was definitely a fun time! I loved that we got a few chapters in a 3rd POV – the niece, who set these two up. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I'm excited to see how the rest of this series goes!

This was a fun concept for a plot – a grumpy mountain man wants to be a dad, is not willing to fall in love, and just needs a safe surrogate. Enter cooky and loveable Trista that is more confident iin loving animals than humans, and just wants to start her onw non-profit.

❤️Intentional Pregnancy - She's His Surrogate
🌲Gru,py/ Sunshine
🐐Small Town Romance
🐖Age Gap Romance.


Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unpaid review!

This book is sexy and fun. I can see that it won't be for everyone - as it covers some messier parts of surrogacy outside of a clinic, but it made me swoon and laugh out loud and I personally loved it.

Great for fans of other small town romances like the Chestnut Spring series, rebel blue ranch series, or silver pines ranch. Fun, easy, short read. I didn’t have an issue with the context of the romance as some other reviewers did. I look forward to the rest of this series!

The audio saved this book for me. Teddy Hamilton blew it out of the water, as usual. Without the audio, I would not have made it more than 30% into the book. It was really funny in the beginning. However, the female lead was constantly calling herself a cow and the baby a goat turd. I get the farm humor of it, and it was funny the first 3 times, but the following dozen times was very old. Overall, it wasn't horrible, and I was attached enough to the side characters that I would possibly give the next book in the series a try when it's released. But the female lead in this one constantly harping on her weight and saying things a mature 28 year old wouldn't say, wasn't my cup of tea.

Nine Month Contract was a fantastic read. This is the first book in a spin off series from the author's previous novel Last on the List and it features the Fletcher brothers.

This small town romance follows Wyatt Fletcher who wants to become a father and is looking for a surrogate to have his baby. With no luck from the agencies, he agrees to let his niece help with the search and she decides to play matchmaker in the process by linking him up with Trista, who is doing this to get money to open her animal shelter.

I loved these two. They were very open and honest with each other from the start and it was interesting to see them navigate their relationship from strangers to so much more. I loved the chemistry and tension between them. Their steamy scenes sizzled and Wyatt's dirty talk was on point and their unorthodox relationship was perfect for them.

Trista's backstory was emotional giving so much feels and I loved seeing Wyatt's family become her own.

Wyatt's brother's featured heavily in the story and I loved their witty banter and sibbling relationship which had me highly amused. But it was Trista's quirky animals that was the highlight for me.

This story was hilarious, emotional, steamy and highly entertaining and I was hooked from start to finish. It was a well-written tale that I would definitely recommend to romance lovers.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun, sometimes you just need a good rom-com, you know.

I loved Wyatt and Trista. Their banter was perfection. I absolutely loved seeing Everly again in this book (she is Wyatt's niece who we see in another Amy Daws book).

I do feel like it was kind of rushed once they finally really got together but overall, it was a great time.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️.5

THE AMOUNT OF TEARS THAT CAME OUT OF MY EYES FROM THIS BOOK, MY GOD

Not only did I immediately fall in love with Wyatt (because who wouldn’t? Grumpy, quiet, Mountain Man™️ Goat Daddy is everyone’s type), but I fell in love with Fletcher Mountain.

Trista was so REAL and it was so good to read about a curvy woman who wants to stick it to the man and cuddle with a pig.

I also really loved getting a little bit of Everly’s POV too!!! She definitely is a mastermind 😏

God, I can’t WAIT for Calder and Dakota’s book!!!!! Catch me RUNNING as soon as ARCs are available 😂

Thank you so much to Canary Street Press for the ARC of this book!!! 🫶🏻

The synopsis seemed perfect and I started this eagerly, ready to love it.

The MFC, Trista, had more issues than Time magazine and she annoyed me immensely. Wyatt, the MMC, has both an unpleasant backstory and a very unlikeable personality - neither addressed or dealt with their issues until far too late in the book for me - I wasn’t able to connect with, or care about, these characters.

Other readers may love this, but it wasn’t for me.



Thank you to Canary Street Press and NetGalley for the DRC

I must say, I went into Nine Month Contract slightly blind; I kept seeing the beautiful cover everywhere and knew I had to read it. The “pregnancy trope” is far from my typical read, and with a title like Nine Month Contract, it becomes clear that pregnancy may play a starring role. I’m here to say that Amy Daws discussed the topic of pregnancy and surrogacy with such care, knowledge, and humor that this novel left me with a cheesy grin and laughing out loud until the final pages.

Nine Month Contract, the first novel of the Mountain Men Matchmaker series, is filled with body positivity, blended + found family, and witty (tension filled) banter. I fell in love with almost every character (sorry Avery) and animal that found its way to Fletcher Mountain.

Wyatt Fletcher is a burly mountain man seeking a surrogate in hopes of fulfilling his dream to become a father. He finds his “lucky” match, with the help of his niece, in Trista- a confident, independent, force of nature!
Enter: a nine month surrogacy contract. What begins as a working relationship soon morphs into a friendship, but does it have what it takes to end in forever love?

With this being my first Amy Daws Novel, I wasn’t expecting the amount of spice, it was definitely more than I normally read. With that being said, it was so well written and blended with the story line. The main characters’ development felt realistic and natural. Daws did an amazing job writing the rest of the Fletcher brothers; giving them all enough page time for the reader to become invested in continuing the series. I’m looking forward to book two, Seven Year Itch, which follows Calder Fletcher.
••••••••••
Thank you Amy Daws, HTP, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Nine Month Contract as an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I’m u

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this ebook.
I typically don’t love any trope that is pregnancy related, but this book seemed so popular and had such a high rating I wanted to give it a read. I honestly enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.
I loved all the side characters and I am excited to read the next in the series.

If you love grumpy mountain men, chaotic matchmaking brothers, and baby making shenanigans that turn into something way steamier than expected, then Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws is your next must read!

🏔️ Grumpy/sunshine perfection? Check.
👶 A surrogacy agreement that turns oh so complicated? Absolutely.
🐐 A pet goat with excellent taste in women? You bet.

When Ridge’s nosy brothers post a wild help wanted ad looking for a baby mama, he’s furious… until Trista answers. She’s bold, curvy, cowboy boot wearing chaos—and exactly what he never knew he needed. But when their clinical arrangement suddenly has off the charts chemistry, Ridge realizes he doesn’t just want a co parent—he wants her.

💥 If Meghan Quinn & Tessa Bailey had a spicy, laugh out loud, small town romance baby, this would be it. 💥

🔥 Tropes you’ll be obsessed with:
✔️ Grumpy/sunshine
✔️ Small town meddling
✔️ Accidental forced proximity
✔️ Age gap & curvy FMC
✔️ A man who grunts his feelings

If you like your rom coms hilariously unhinged, deliciously spicy, and full of heart, Nine Month Contract is the book for you!😏💖

I received an ARC through NetGalley and nearly DNF’d 10% in. I powered through it and ended up enjoying it more after the 30% mark. I really liked Trista and Wyatt’s backstory, their romance, and the side characters ( including the animals).

While this did make me laugh at times, there were some weird choices made in the comedy dept. Both Wyatt and Trista compare her to a cow throughout the book excessively. I understood the reasoning because she’s a surrogate, but it just didn’t sit right with me. She also refers to something being as soft as newborn foreskin which was just gross. There are also a lot of pop culture and TikTok references that completely took me out of the story.

All in all, I don’t think this was a bad story by any means, but I wouldn’t recommend it or pick up another book by this author.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

I received an ARC of Nine Month Contract from NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing. And quite frankly I’m not sure what drew me to this title to begin with. Pregnancy tropes aren’t usually my thing and I have never read an Amy Daws book. But this one really blew me away! It didn’t take me long to finish this book once I got going. Trista was such a strong but broken FMC and our MMC Wyatt knew just how to help her break through. I love a possessive man and Wyatt fit the bill. All he wanted to do was take care of Trista during the whole book; and at times her adamant reluctance to let him do that frustrated me but we got there in the end. They both helped each other with their past traumas all while on the journey that is pregnancy. And Wyatt’s family was so amazing and growing relationship between Trista and Wyatt’s mom Jo was really endearing. All in all this was a great book!


This review can now be found on my Goodreads profile.