Jenny Harris always expected that she’d fall in love, get married, and have a baby–in that order. Now, very pregnant and not quite married, she actually doesn’t mind that she and her live-in fiancé, Dean, accidentally started their family a little earlier than planned; she’s happy to have so much to look forward to. But Dean–whom Jenny loves enough to overlook his bad facial hair, his smoking habit, and his total commitment to a cheesy cover band–is acting distant, and not in a pre-wedding-jitters kind of way. The night he runs out for cigarettes and just doesn’t come back, he demotes himself from future husband to sperm donor.

And the very next day, Jenny goes into labor.

In the months that follow, Jenny plunges into a life she never anticipated: single motherhood. At least with the sleep deprivation, sore boobs, and fits of crying (both hers and the baby’s), there’s not much time to dwell on her broken heart. And things start looking up. She learns how to do everything one-handed, makes friends in a mommy group, and even manages to give dating tips to her sweet, clueless father–who’s trying to court her sassy mother again, fifteen years after their divorce. She also gets to know a handsome, helpful neighbor–with a knack for soothing babies–who invites her out dancing. But Dean is never far from Jenny’s thoughts or, it turns out, her doorstep, and in the end Jenny must choose between the old life she thought she wanted and the new life she’s been lucky to find.

I’ve read a couple of Katherine Center books and loved them, so when I had to pick a book for a reading challenge (debut novel by someone who’s now a best-selling author), I searched for hers.

I wanted to love this book (because I love her others), but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I honestly wasn’t that surprised, since this book is about 1/2 the size of her others, and I think that’s why I didn’t quite connect with it — I wanted to see more between Jenny and Gardner and to connect more with the other secondary characters like I had in her other books. I don’t think it happened in this book simply because those scenes I loved in her later books weren’t in this one.

All that to say, I don’t think this is her best book, but it was still a fun run. And if this is the only book you’ve ever read by Center, please don’t let it be your last! Her writing has gotten stronger and more compelling, and she’s a must-read for me.

Rated PG-13/R for language (several f-bombs). Get your copy here!