Bitchin' Blog Posts
GS vs. STA: Secret Baby Romances
by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | September 05, 2011 | Monday at 10:16 am | 88 CommentsKathryn wrote in with a very simple query:
Are there any good secret baby books out there?
I was bouncing around listopia on goodreads. They have lists for everything: best gay cowboys,
best friends-into-lovers, best use of glass dildoes (okay maybe not the last
one, though there are sex toy ones). Despite the variety, there are no
romance novels with secret baby lists, or romance novels with any baby
lists. So I put to you - food for thought - are there any GOOD secret baby
romance novels out there?
This is a good question! I’m usually baffled by Secret Baby romances - HOW and WHY do you keep them a secret, for heaven’s sake? Mostly HOW—babies are LOUD!
The few I have tried have been rather contrived, or surprisingly fun and awesome. Lisa Kleypas’ Smooth Talking Stranger is something of a secret baby romance - it plays with the trope, for sure. And RT has a list of them, too, that they recommend.
But since the Bitchery pretty much knows damn near everything, I figured you could help Kathryn out: which Secret Baby romance is the Bestest One?
Filed: General Bitching, Good Shit vs. Shit to Avoid
Tagged: wtfery, secret baby, lisa kleypas, good shit vs shit to avoid
Ducky said on 09.05.11 at 10:51 AM • [link]
I rather liked The Forest Lord, by Susan Krinard. The secret baby in that one manages to be a secret from both parents, but it makes sense (mostly) because hey, supernatural beings and conspiracies here. Dinah McCall’s Tallchief was also a favorite of mine back in high school, though looking at it now I have to question the idea that the witness protection program was such an uprooting force in their lives when it worked just fine for 16 years.
Sycorax said on 09.05.11 at 11:03 AM • [link]
The problem is that the secret baby is often a plot twist you find out half way through. So recommendations feel a bit spoilerish. Anyhow…
Then Came You - Lisa Kleypas
His Captive Lady - Anne Gracie
Not Quite a Lady - Loretta Chase
I especially enjoyed the last.
Cät von J said on 09.05.11 at 01:30 PM • [link]
Suzanne Brockmanns Everyday, Average Jones from the TDD series.
Daddy wonders why Mommy is not answering his calls, after he saved her life, followed by ONE HELL OF A WEEK in a hotel room :)
He can´t forget her so naturally he travels half the country to see her. And whooooopppps is that a babybump?? And she´s all “no I don´t need a baby-daddy you´ve done all that was necessary thanks bye” but he´s a SEAL so he won´t give up…HAPPY END
Caroline said on 09.05.11 at 01:49 PM • [link]
This one’s a little out of left field, because it’s a romance only in the ancient sense of the word, but ‘secret baby’ made me think of Lyonesse: Suldrun’s Garden, the first book in the Lyonesse fantasy trilogy by Jack Vance.
Lyonesse is a huge, gorgeously written fantasy world, and in the first book, princess Suldrun is cast out by her father because she doesn’t want to marry any of the fatuous or creepy princes who ask for her hand, and she ends up on a lonely beach as a prisoner.
She doesn’t see anyone except the old nurse who brings her her food, so nobody suspects that she could be pregnant. But she is—because a handsome stranger washes up on the beach, and one thing leads to another.
LimeyTart said on 09.05.11 at 01:50 PM • [link]
I really enjoyed Once a Mistrress by Rebecca Hagan Lee. It found it’s way into my “reread a hundred times” pile.
Mendie said on 09.05.11 at 02:36 PM • [link]
A couple that come to mind are from 2 of my favorite authors:
Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson
Fancy Pants by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
The latter is not my favorite by the author but still good. The one by Rachel Gibson is what got me to love her and all of her books.
Lisa J said on 09.05.11 at 02:52 PM • [link]
I’m not sure if this one counts, but I would like to throw Prince Charming by Julie Garwood in the mix.
I love the twins, they crack me up.
Shannon said on 09.05.11 at 02:55 PM • [link]
I like The Sister Swap by Susan Napier, which isn’t really about swapping, and the secret thing isn’t cringe-worthy. But then I love SN.
Nicole said on 09.05.11 at 03:06 PM • [link]
Local Custom, which is Space Opera with a large helping of Romance. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s entire Liaden series is great, if not traditional romance novels.
Sarah said on 09.05.11 at 03:35 PM • [link]
My favorites are Every Breath You Take by Judith McNaught and Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts. Both are contemps with some suspense elements.
Rose said on 09.05.11 at 03:48 PM • [link]
Karen Ranney’s So In Love, in which the hero knows and the heroine doesn’t. It’s a bit slow-paced, but overall I thought it was pretty good.
Stacy Perry said on 09.05.11 at 03:49 PM • [link]
Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman. It’s really wonderful, but you might have a tough time finding a copy.
Kathleen O said on 09.05.11 at 04:46 PM • [link]
Oh Fancy Pants for sure was a good one..
Off the top of my head I can’t think of any, but I am sure they will come to me later on in the week…
Katie D. said on 09.05.11 at 04:58 PM • [link]
I liked Baby Bonanza by Maureen Child which was not quite secret baby as the mom tried very hard to tell the dad, but he was sure as hell surprised when he finally found out.
FD said on 09.05.11 at 05:06 PM • [link]
@Nicole
Ha! I never thought about it before, but you’re right - that absolutely does fit the trope, and it is (as pretty much everything is by them) an excellent book.
Shannon recommended Susan Napier - I’d second that and she also plays with the trope in ‘Reckless Conduct’ and ‘Just Once’.
cleo said on 09.05.11 at 05:17 PM • [link]
I was also going to say Fancy Pants - like a lot of SEP books, it seems to be polarizing, some people love, some hate it. But the secret baby part does actually kind of make sense - she doesn’t keep the baby a secret, just the identity of the father and you can kind of understand why. The later scenes where the dad/hero gets to know his no-longer secret child get me every time.
I liked Not Quite a Lady too, although it’s not my favorite by Chase.
I can think of a few historicals with a variation on the secret baby - the (usually known but conveniently forgotten about) illegitimate child who suddenly reappears needing their father’s care. The Wicked Wyckerly by Patricia Rice, Simply Perfect by Mary Balogh (think that’s the right one in the simply series) and A Duke of Her Own by Eloisa James, which features not one, not two, but six illegitimate children who need a mother. The children are not exactly a secret in ADoHO - they show up earlier in the Desperate Duchesses series.
Catherine said on 09.05.11 at 05:36 PM • [link]
For me is a “Not quiet a lady” I forgot the author but I like it. You know I am a child book type of person and only few “grown up” books catch my attention.:)
Lara said on 09.05.11 at 05:44 PM • [link]
Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn has a secret baby in addition to massive amounts of ancient Roman historical drama. It’s not technically a romance, but the romantic subplot between Thea and Arius continues throughout the book, and I really enjoyed it.
Kirsten said on 09.05.11 at 05:47 PM • [link]
Don’t have the book on me, but… What the Librarian Did has a secret baby.
I’m a sucker for romances with librarians in them.
Lauren said on 09.05.11 at 05:50 PM • [link]
There’s a secret baby trilogy by Celeste Bradley: Devil in my Bed, Rogue in my Arms, Scoundrel in my Dreams.
A child is deposited at a gentlemen’s club and three men have to figure out which of them is the father. They each go back to find a woman they were with four years earlier to see if she secretly had a baby. Of course, they all fall in love with the little girl and want to be the father. Hmm, now it sounds like historical Three Men and a Baby.
Molly said on 09.05.11 at 05:53 PM • [link]
Not sure what the general consensus on Elizabeth Rolls is around here, but her “A Compromised Lady” is one I really enjoyed…mostly because Richard Blakehurst is one of her few heroes who doesn’t spend the majority of the book acting like a huge asshat. And yes, secret baby. :)
cleo said on 09.05.11 at 06:08 PM • [link]
This reminds me - I recently read through a secret baby contemporary at the library. Sadly I don’t remember the author or title, but the plot was memorable. A single mother is in a coma after a car accident. Her son (8? 10?) overhears a neighbor worrying that he’ll be put in foster care because there’s no other family and no one knows who his father is. He’s all freaked out and an older neighbor kid helps him make a video looking for his dad, posts it to youtube, and it goes viral (of course). His dad, who didn’t know he was a dad, shows up, his mom wakes up from her coma, and they all live happily ever after. It was a little too tear jearky for my taste, which is probably why I forgot the title and author.
Rose said on 09.05.11 at 06:14 PM • [link]
I just remembered another one: Liz Carlyle’s Sins, Lies and Secrets revolved around secret babies. Two Little Lies is the best of them.
cleo said on 09.05.11 at 06:22 PM • [link]
Just Desserts by Barbara Bretton - the heroine IS the secret baby. Her mother told her that her father was a sperm donor, but it turns out her father is a rock star who wants to know his grown daughter. I liked this one - the heroine is older and a single mom herself and the hero is the rock star’s lawyer.
TaraL said on 09.05.11 at 06:47 PM • [link]
I’ll second the rec for Rachel Gibson’s Simply Irresistible. I also liked Underfoot by Leanne Banks. That’s the second in a series but it reads just fine as a standalone. I also like Sweet Trouble by Susan Mallery. That’s the third of a series and would probably be better if the three were read in order.
Celine said on 09.05.11 at 06:52 PM • [link]
I’d say Daisy’s Back in Town by Rachel Gibson. I normally hate the secret baby premise but this one worked for me. I felt like the reasons she made for keeping the baby secret from his father was actually plausible.
Nadia said on 09.05.11 at 06:54 PM • [link]
Normally, I’m not high on the secret baby plot because of too much selfish and stupid going on. But every now and then it’s plausible that baby daddy isn’t in the know. If this plot floats your boat and you like romantic suspense, Roxanne St. Claire’s got one in the Bullet Catchers series, “Hunt Her Down.” It can stand alone, but earlier books in the series do feature the hero as secondary and give you understanding of where he’s at as the book begins.
How about secret adult, LOL? Anne Stuart wrote two categories called “Catspaw” and “Catspaw II” about a cat burglar that are quite entertaining, then came back later with a novella in “Night and Day” for Harlequin Intrigue about an adult son the Catspaw hero never knew he had.
MariDonne said on 09.05.11 at 06:58 PM • [link]
Another book in which the heroine is the secret baby is “Stranger at Wildings” (AKA “Kirkby’s Changling”) by Madeleine Brent. The heroine runs off to the join the circus (no, really), where the hero shows up with amnesia (no, REALLY). Then she finds out who SHE really is, which leads to even more intrigue, with deadly secrets and the occasional long-lost relative being revealed along the way.
Brent was actually Peter O’Donnell, who created the Modesty Blaise novel and comics heroine. Madeleine Brent heroines are strong-willed and almost pathologically determined, their pasts are traumatic, their circumstances are melodramatic in the extreme, and the Brent heroes adore them for it. I collected most of these in used copies back in the 80s and 90s, and I just discovered from a glance at Amazon that I have quite a chunk of change sitting on that dusty bookshelf downstairs, if I cared to sell them. instead, I think I’ll reread them.
Guest said on 09.05.11 at 08:21 PM • [link]
For any Lynne Graham fans I would recommend “Reluctant Mistress, Blackmailed Wife” in the Harlequin Presents Series
Tabs said on 09.05.11 at 08:24 PM • [link]
“Tied Up, Tied Down” by Lorelei James is probably the best “secret baby” book I’ve ever read. The heroine didn’t intend to keep the baby a secret but was unable to contact the father directly after he retreats to an isolated portion of his family ranch. As soon as he returns, he finds out (by getting slapped upside the head by his irate mother) and immediatley becomes as involved a parent as possible.
It’s awesome.
delphia2000 said on 09.05.11 at 08:40 PM • [link]
If I may pimp the book by an acquaintance of mine, ‘His Secret Son’ by Betty Jane Sanders is a good one and it’s available on both Nook & Kindle for 3.99. It’s about a woman who takes the son of her deceased sister to meet his father in Alaska. He’s a fisherman and the name of his boat is ‘Nothing Ventured’ which was also the original (and appropriate) title of the book. Of course, relationship ensues. I don’t think it ever got sappy, altho it’s been a few years since I read it. And you can bet the Alaskan elements are accurate. Betty lived in Valdez, AK at the time.
Leslie said on 09.05.11 at 09:05 PM • [link]
Ditto on Not Quite a Lady - Loretta Chase and the Gibson, Phillips, and James books. I just finished the new Lauren Dane Never Enough and really liked it - the secret baby has become a secret teenager.
Alex said on 09.05.11 at 09:14 PM • [link]
It’s not *amazing* but I quite enjoyed The Bride’s Baby by Liz Fielding, especially when you consider that I’m not generally a fan of the secret baby trope. It’s been free on the UK Kindle store for a while now and it’s worth a read. Only took me an hour or two to get through.
Everyday, Average Jones and Smooth Talking Stranger also get the thumbs up from me.
Mel R said on 09.05.11 at 09:14 PM • [link]
The couple I could come up with were
Her Secret, His Child by Paula Detmer Riggs—it’s a bit of a tear-jerker, but kind of believable
and
Long Time Coming by Sandra Brown, the secret baby is a teenager and the “mom” is really an aunt….
James Lynch said on 09.05.11 at 09:21 PM • [link]
Not sure if it counts, but Stranger in My Arms by Lisa Kleypas has the heroine—who everyone (including herself) thought was infertile through the book—suddenly finding herself pregnant just when things are reaching rock bottom for the hero (lies exposed) and heroine (who felt lied to and betrayed).
Vicki said on 09.05.11 at 09:39 PM • [link]
I liked The Bride’s Baby by Liz Fielding - it’s a Harlequin and really more secret pregnancy. I liked it because it made more sense than many of the secret baby books and because the hero and heroine were more mature and sensible (though not completely) than is often the case.
Anony Miss said on 09.05.11 at 09:44 PM • [link]
Argh! You people are adding too many things to my TBR list!!
I am now lusting after those Celeste Bradley books.
Jesse said on 09.05.11 at 11:02 PM • [link]
I would very much recommend Local Custom by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. It’s usually categorized as space opera, not romance, but it very much is a Romance as well. It’s part of the Liaden Universe, though it stands on its own. This is the quintessential culture clash story, and is a great introduction to Lee and Miller. Romantic, surprisingly plausible, and they have such a gorgeously distinct style. It’s also the first half of an omnibus edition called Pilot’s Choice.
Amber said on 09.05.11 at 11:13 PM • [link]
Then Came You is great, both on its own and because it’s the sequel to Dreaming of You.
Three Nights… by Debra Mullins is an underappreciated historical with a secret baby (for good reason).
The setup for secret baby is the hard part in contemporaries, but The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred is so emotional and sweet that it overcomes any plot blemishes.
One that feels like a secret baby theme, but without the secret part, is Gold Ring of Betrayal by Michelle Reid. Well, the baby is not a secret, but whether the father is her husband or someone else is the question. All of these were very good (ie. 4 or 5 start reads for me) and very angsty (that’s the appeal of the secret-baby-theme, no?).
Ros said on 09.05.11 at 11:14 PM • [link]
India Grey’s Her Last Night of Innocence (The Secret She Can’t Hide). I liked it because there was a really good reason that the father didn’t know about the baby despite the mother’s best attempts to tell him.
Theresa said on 09.05.11 at 11:50 PM • [link]
I have to second “Three Nights” by Debra Mullins. I liked it because it wasn’t an intentional secret baby, she tried contacting the baby daddy. I’ve read a couple of ripoffs of various plot devices in this book lately but the original is still the best.
I have to third or fourth “Not Quite A Lady” by Loretta Chase. For me, it was one of the most adult treatments of the secret baby romance.
Sarah said on 09.05.11 at 11:54 PM • [link]
Still the One, by Robin Wells has been one of my recent faves. This has the secret baby who was given up for adoption, grows into a troubled teen who finds her birth father, and together they confront and develop a relationship with the birth mother.
Also loved the Rachel Gibson books, and I totally second Underfoot by Leanne Banks.
library addict said on 09.05.11 at 11:57 PM • [link]
I’m not a big fan of secret babies as more often than not I think the heroine is just being a selfish jerk and don’t buy her excuse for not telling the daddy.
That said, I do enjoy a well written secret baby story. Not all of these have a truly valid reason for keeping the baby a secret, but I believed the HEA at the end, so… I would recommend:
The Brennan Baby by Barbara Boswell
A Marriage of Convenience by Georgia Bockoven
A Bride for Saint Nick by Carole Buck
Found Father by Justine Davis
Our Child? by Sally Tyler Hayes
A January Chill by Rachel Lee
Point of No Return by Rachel Lee
Somebody’s Baby by Marilyn Pappano
Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts
72 Hours by Shannon Stacey
Run to the Moon by Sandy Steen
Son of the Sheriffby Sandy Steen
Fathers and Other Strangers by Karen Templeton
Echoes of the Garden by Marilyn Tracy
JBHunt said on 09.06.11 at 12:45 AM • [link]
Another Chase with this as a minor plot twist—Lord of Scoundrels.
Cora said on 09.06.11 at 12:59 AM • [link]
One pregnancy/baby book I really like is One Night Stand by Julie Cohen. The heroine actually does everything in her power to find the father, unfortunately it was a drunken one night stand and she doesn’t remember his name and has only a very vague idea what he looks like. There are a couple of surprises in this one and it’s very sweet.
There was a recent Harlequin Intrigue called Daddy Devastating (ignore the stupid title) by Dolores Fossen involving a secret baby that I quite liked. This baby is so secret that the hero doesn’t even remember having had sex with the mother.
Another good Harlequin Intrigue involving a secret baby is A Baby Before Dawn by Linda Castillo, who is now writing bestselling thrillers set in Amish country.
The Mommy Miracle, a Harlequin Special Edition by Lilian Darcy, has the heroine waking up from a prolonged coma to find herself the mother of a secret baby. Unfortunately, she didn’t even know she was pregnant.
Harry Dresden, the hero of Jim Butcher’s longrunning urban fantasy series, found out he was the father of a secret child in last year’s installment Changes. This is not a spoiler, he finds out in the first few pages. It’s a really good story, too, with a heartstopping cliffhanger ending.
Antispam word: reason42
There are 42 possible reasons for keeping babies secret
Gwynnyd said on 09.06.11 at 01:05 AM • [link]
“A Speaking Likeness” by Sheila Bishop. One of my all time favorites! Takes the trope and twists it into something wonderful.
Ruby said on 09.06.11 at 01:17 AM • [link]
The second book in Maya Banks’ KGI series features a secret baby. Well, a secret pregnancy anyway. It’s called No Place to Run and since the heroine is still pregnant, the fact that it was a secret is plausible. I really like Maya Banks when she’s not writing menage.
lorenet said on 09.06.11 at 01:46 AM • [link]
Does a secret baby count if the baby is 13 years old? Lauren Dane’s Brown family series ends tomorrow with Adrian discovering he is the father of a 13 year old.
becca said on 09.06.11 at 02:33 AM • [link]
One of the Liaden books by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee has a secret baby, but I forget which book it is.. (ah, yes - Local Custom)
read about the books at Heartbreakers and Heros
or here, if the link doesn’t work (my html is rusty)
http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2011/08/making-the-case-for-romance-sharon-lee-and-steve-millers-liaden-universe
Booklover1335 said on 09.06.11 at 02:52 AM • [link]
One secret baby romance that I loved was Addicted by Charlotte Featherstone. It was a roller coaster of emotion type of read especially concerning the secret baby. A great read!
And I will second the Lorelei James recommendation above. A great contemporary romance author!
Kate said on 09.06.11 at 02:57 AM • [link]
I thought of Kate Carlisle’s Sweet Surrender, Baby Surprise. It’s the second book of her Duke Brothers trilogy.
If you are willing to read a story on the secret baby theme where the heroine was/is the secret baby, you could read Jo Beverley’s A Lady’s Secret.
The other two I thought of that really don’t involve secret babies as much as children with secret parentage are Elizabeth Boyle’s How I Met My Countess or Mary Balogh’s At Last Comes Love.
Asia M said on 09.06.11 at 03:28 AM • [link]
I second Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson.
The Girl with the Golden Spurs/Gun by Ann Major are two books centred on two sisters finding love with two brothers, but there’s a lot of confusion in terms of who’s the father, who’s the mother, who loves who, on so many different levels, LOL. The second one is better than the first, but overall I’d say they’re both good enough.
Nicole Murphy said on 09.06.11 at 03:40 AM • [link]
The Billionaire’s Baby Bonus by Paula Roe has a great twist on the secret baby trope.
freda said on 09.06.11 at 04:02 AM • [link]
Secret Duchess by Gayle Wilson. Another Wilson book - Lady Susan’s son- hero thinks heroine has a child- but it’s her sister’s - good plot device.
sweetsiouxsie said on 09.06.11 at 04:26 AM • [link]
Okay, I didn’t see any reference to the two secret baby stories with which I am familiar.
(1.) Johanna Lindsey wrote a book about a girl who is married for a couple of days to a guy who desserts her and returns to his home in Hawaii. The wife follows him, not knowing she is pregnant. She gives birth on the islands and hides the baby from him for reasons I just don’t remember. I don’t remember the title of the book either, but it was a good story!
(2.) Shirlee Busbee wrote a story that takes place mostly in the southern U.S. where the heroine gives birth and never tells her husband about it until he shows up at an inopportune time and discovers the child. It was one of those old men are nasty to the women they supposedly love stories. I don’t remember its title either.
SonomaLass said on 09.06.11 at 05:42 AM • [link]
I applaud the Liaden recommendation. I finally listened to GrowlyCub and read them; Local Custom is very much a romance, and Scout’s Progress as well, if read with its sequel Mouse and Dragon (romance readers should be warned that the HEA is not fully established in Scout’s Progress).
I prefer secret babies revealed as a trope, where the father has time to find out and get involved, and I can believe that his feelings for both mother and child warrant the HEA. A good one of those was the one serialized on the SBTB-DA TBR app. a Blaze called Aftershocks by Jill Shalvis.
Aarann said on 09.06.11 at 06:42 AM • [link]
I have to admit to a certain weakness of the secret baby trope. In addition to the Rachel Gibson and Susan Elizabeth Philips recommendations, above, I’m a huge fan of Janet Chapman’s “Tempt Me if You Can”. It’s not the heroine’s secret baby, it’s her deceased sister’s and I loved the scenes with the hero getting to know his son and the baby’s mother. Also, Susan Mallery’s “Almost Perfect” because the mother really thought the father knew all that time and didn’t care. Of course there is some asshat-ery as the book goes on, on the hero’s part after he finds out about the son, but the book was still pretty good.
Amitatuq said on 09.06.11 at 09:06 AM • [link]
Hot & Bothered by Susan Anderson has a secret baby with a good reason why she never told the father—didn’t know his first or last name, just a nickname. As an FYI, it’s the second to last book in a series and I didn’t realize that when I picked it up. It works well as a stand-alone but if you’re a little OCD, like me, you should grab the other two first.
Sue Moorcroft said on 09.06.11 at 11:25 AM • [link]
What I’m always amazed about is how many heroines apparently have had babies but the hero can’t tell this from their post-baby body. What? No stretch marks? No episiotomy scar?
One of my own books, All That Mullarkey has a kind of secret baby. In that Cleo won’t face the fact that she’s pregnant and by the time she does, Justin has exploded with anger and left the country. (The message here is that it wasn’t her fault! If Justin had just controlled his temper, everything would have been fine. But the book much shorter.)
Daisy said on 09.06.11 at 01:49 PM • [link]
Lady Sparrow by Barbara Metzger is an interesting variation on this trope: widow discovering her late husband’s secret child(ren).
Maria said on 09.06.11 at 02:13 PM • [link]
Does Nobody’s Baby by Mine Susan Elizabeth Phillips count? Also, one of the Fool’s Gold romances (forget the name now) had a Secret Baby.
Lesley said on 09.06.11 at 03:38 PM • [link]
You could try Solo by Jill Mansell -it’s a modern romance which I read and loved in the early 90’s. The details are a bit hazy in my mind after all this time and I can’t remember how long she keeps the secret for, but either way it’s a fab and funny book. Her website blurb is as follows: “When Tessa Duvall, a struggling artist, reluctantly agreed to accompany her best friend Holly to a party at the elegant Charrington Grange Hotel, she had every intention of sneaking off early. For parties full of strangers bored the knickers off Tessa and this one proved to be no exception - until she encountered Ross Monahan, whose wicked reputation was as high profile as the hotel he owned and ran with such panache. But whilst Holly set about ensnaring his reluctant brother Max, Tessa simply accepted Ross for what he was, a sensational one-night stand…until she realised, weeks later, that one-night stands can have far-reaching consequences… “. I’ve read every book Jill Mansell has written since then and they never disappoint.
Donna said on 09.06.11 at 05:13 PM • [link]
@sweetsiouxsie, that would be “Gypsy Lady” & not only did he not know about the baby, he didn’t believe it was his. Oh, how I loved that book….
LMG said on 09.06.11 at 05:14 PM • [link]
Wasn’t there a Judith McNaught where the H/H meet and hook up early in the book, and she gets pregnant but before she has a chance to tell him they get into a horrible car accident, and her dad doesn’t like the hero so the dad tells the hero that his daughter died, but of course she didn’t and she’s preggers with the hero’s baby and thinks the hero left her, Then the book fast forwards several years and hijinks ensue as they figure out they didn’t betray each other and still love each other and her dad is really a douche. I can’t remember the name, and it may not even be Judith McNaught, but I do recall enjoying the book a lot. So, um, this is more like a HABO than an actually helpful post. Sorry ‘bout that.
Amber said on 09.06.11 at 06:03 PM • [link]
@LMG Crap, now I want to read that book…
cleo said on 09.06.11 at 06:30 PM • [link]
Hey Sarah - commenting to your latest DBSA podcast post isn’t working. It looks like the same problem as before (sorry, it’s the web designer in me, I can’t leave this alone). I saw DreadPirateRachel’s comment to the post on the recent comments Who Said What? section, but couldn’t link to it. And the spam check field isn’t showing on the comments page.
Julie Cohen said on 09.06.11 at 06:40 PM • [link]
Majesty, Mistress…Missing Heir by Caitlin Crews. It’s a Harlequin Presents and I just loved it. As in, crying like a baby in public loved it.
Kristi said on 09.06.11 at 08:08 PM • [link]
@LMG & @Amber - ZOMG, one of my FAVORITES of Judith McNaught. It’s Paradise. Freaking amazing.
Calila said on 09.06.11 at 08:40 PM • [link]
@LMG, @Kristi,.....I LOVE that book.
@Amber You should totally read Paradise.
Liz said on 09.06.11 at 09:27 PM • [link]
i don’t read too many secret baby romances…actually i only remember 3. there was one with a baby with big blue eyes like the hero’s, which convinced everyone that he was the hero’s kid, but he wasn’t. this one, i wasn’t a fan of at all.
the 2nd was the final book in Maureen Child’s Candelano series. This one I liked. Hero was a forced to retire football player, who received a letter from a little boy claiming to be his son. The heroine was the kid’s foster mother.
the 3rd book is The Perfect Lie by Dinah McCall. Hero gets heroine’s sister pregnant, but the girl’s rich daddy doesn’t approve, and threatens to cut her off if she doesn’t break it off with the hero. Of course, she tells the poor guy that she aborted their baby and their relationship is over. Skip ahead a dozen years, the girl and her daddy are killed and the kid is kidnapped by thugs. The heroine (dead girl’s younger sister) finds the hero (I believe he’s either CIA or DEA) and clues him into the existence of the kid. Turns out someone out there knew the kid was his and used him to get to the hero.
Rose said on 09.06.11 at 09:44 PM • [link]
@LMG, as others have noted it’s McNaught’s Paradise. The heroine does tell the hero about the pregnancy and they get married, then he goes to work abroad where he can make more money to support the family or whatever; her father makes sure their letters aren’t delivered, then she either miscarries late or gives birth to a premature baby who dies, I’m not sure which. Hero shows up at the hospital only to be told she had an abortion. By the time they meet again years later, both feel wronged and betrayed and much angst ensues.
Gillian said on 09.06.11 at 10:37 PM • [link]
What about Susan Elizabeth Phillips It Had to Be You?
Sara Bredin said on 09.06.11 at 10:59 PM • [link]
So, the Fool’s Gold one mentioned earlier: Almost Perfect by Susan Mallery has a secret baby, and it was a decent read.
Both Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s Kiss an Angel and lisa Kleypas’s Suddenly You had a splash of secret baby, and I really really really love those two.
Also, Jill Shalvis has Aftershock and The Sweetest Thing.
And if you want a totally ridiculous one, Baby of Shame by Julia James is sooooooooooooooooo fantastically ridiculous. Sara Morgan also has some less ridiculous Harlequin Presents involving secret babies.
Sara said on 09.06.11 at 11:01 PM • [link]
Edit: Sarah Morgan.
Dawn said on 09.07.11 at 02:41 AM • [link]
So your looking for a good secret baby story?? I got a really great one for you to check out - The Zillionaire Vampire Cowboy’s Secret Werewolf Babies
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Deb Kinnard said on 09.07.11 at 03:02 AM • [link]
THE THORN BIRDS is so a secret baby book. The reader knew—the dumbest daddy on the planet was Father Ralph. Everyone saw except him!
LolaLovesBooks said on 09.07.11 at 03:25 AM • [link]
I agree with Dawn, The Zillionaire Vampire Cowboy’s Secret Werewolf Babies, is amazing; it’s a quick, hysterical read at a price you can’t beat!
sweetsiouxsie said on 09.07.11 at 03:46 AM • [link]
@Donna…...thank you for the title “Gypsy Lady”!!!
I read Busbee’s newest trilogy about two years ago and I really liked it so I bought some of her backlist which in cluded “Gypsy Lady” and its sequel. I can’t remember the name of that book either, but I like Busbee’s books.
Jean Lamb said on 09.07.11 at 03:54 AM • [link]
Does Nobody’s Baby But Mine (Susan Elizabeth Phillips) qualify? Granted, it’s mostly my favorite for the truly evil thing that was done to a perfectly innocent box of Lucky Charms, but it does have a baby in question.
Emily said on 09.07.11 at 09:38 AM • [link]
I feel like some people are just naming books with secret babies. Please clarify or mention shit to avoid.
okay on the SEP front:
Nobody’s Baby But Mine had a secret pregnancy whose existence was soon discovered and verified. (Everyone was there when the baby was born.)
It Had to Be You didn’t have any babies in it except for the epilogue.
Kiss An Angel works but it’s a bit of stretch since he knew it was possible. Also other plot points not my favorite.
Also SEP’s fancy Pants is not my favorite. Her stuff is hit or miss.
Now as I understand it a secret baby book is when the woman has the baby and doesn’t tell the father or people who would tell the father. The baby is allowed to be completely grown-up, but the mother has to be at least six monthes pregnant.
A bit harder to pull off in the facebook era. (yes people are this dumb. A wife discovered her husband was a new bigamist after seeing the pictures of his second wedding on Facebook. )
The bigger problem for me is why. I personally think a lot of these scenarios are morally sketchy. I think in most cases the guy deserves to know he’s going to be a father. If he doesn’t he probably isn’t hero material.
Donna said on 09.07.11 at 04:13 PM • [link]
@Sweetsiouxsie - that would be “Lady Vixen”. Captain Saber…. sigh… Old skool romance when a name said it all….
JoAnnG said on 09.07.11 at 05:29 PM • [link]
Check out the third book in Kaki Warner’s Blood Rose Trilogy - Chasing the Sun. Wonderful book, wonderful series. Highly recommend for your TBR pile!!!!!
FD said on 09.07.11 at 10:28 PM • [link]
I think people are mostly just naming the ‘good shit’ - very likely because naming the bad is as simple as pretty much ‘everything else.’
If I can remember the name of the book with the should-be-disbarred-lawyer, the secret-baby-martyred-doormat-heroine, the orphaned-plot-moppets, the tragically-drug-addled-wild-child-other-seeeecret-baby-sibling, and the utterly assholic PI ‘hero’, I’ll happily name and shame it because it was in a league of it’s own and all of it badness, but I think I obliterated the title from my memory what with all the head-banging.
kkw said on 09.07.11 at 10:57 PM • [link]
This is not one of my favorite tropes, so I didn’t think I’d have recommendations. I was just looking for things to check out, and realized I’ve read quite a few of these. Most I like, or at least didn’t mind, but I would 100% classify Chasing the Sun as STA - not because of the secret baby, but because it is a terrible horrible no good very bad end to a thoroughly mediocre series (although to be fair, I never read the first one so I’m really only calling the 2nd one mediocre). Also, Nobody’s Baby But Mine makes me hulksmash angry and I frequently like SEP, so it’s not her. The heroine is an ignorant morally bankrupt moron, which is bad enough, but even more irritating is that she’s posited as some kind of super-genius.
Henrietta said on 09.08.11 at 01:04 AM • [link]
Two older novels with the same basic plot, spoiled young rich girls have affair/marries working class heroes, get pregnant but parents/friends lie to the heroines, couples break up, meet again later, when the babies are young boys and the heroes are professionals, couples get back together. Single motherhood matures the heroines, heroes are likeable.
Dreams of Evening, Kristin James (early Silhouette IM)
No Other Love, Jeanne Stephens (I still reread this one.)
yellaflow said on 09.08.11 at 07:49 AM • [link]
Can’t Stand The Heat? by Margaret Watson; there’s a good review of it on Dear Author. I think there’s also a secret baby in The Mysterious Miss M by Diane Gaston.
Stephanie Leary said on 09.08.11 at 11:23 PM • [link]
Local Custom is outstanding SF romance, does the secret baby trope well, AND is a good entry point into the larger Liaden series. Couldn’t pick a better example.
This is awfully spoilery, but Sherry Thomas’s Delicious features a secret baby plot that emerges late in the book.
Eliza said on 09.10.11 at 03:48 AM • [link]
I grabbed this one because of this post, and I loved it.
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