The Stud Next Door
By Kendall Ryan
Release Day: January 19, 2021
Life threw me a curveball. An adorable eight-pound, four-ounce curveball with her mother’s eyes and my dark hair. I’d like to think my single-dad game is strong, but honestly? I’ve been struggling a little.
When a beautiful young woman moves in next door and offers to give me a hand, I jump at the chance to hire her as a nanny. Jessa is amazing with my daughter. She’s also patient, kind, and way too pretty.
The number one rule of hiring a nanny? Don’t bed the nanny.
It’s a rule I intend to keep.
But as the days pass, I begin to realize how much my life is missing. Companionship. Romance. Intimacy. When I discover my heart has space for one more female, it’s a lost cause, another curveball. The hot-as-hell nanny is leaving soon for a mission trip to Central America. No sense in letting myself fantasize about Jessa being a permanent part of my life.
The closer we get, the more difficult it becomes to keep my feelings in check, because my heart won’t listen. And neither will my libido.
Well, you know what they say. Rules are meant to be broken . . .
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Review:
The Stud Next Door is a sweet nanny/single dad romance that’s fairly angst-free. Connor had been a bit of a man-you-know-what in the past, but co-parenting a two-month-old with a woman who isn’t even really an ex has succeeded in taming his wild ways. “Taming” might not even be the right word–at the beginning of the book, he’s practically monastic.
Except for the whole co-owning a sex toy store, that is. 😉
It’s about time for his paternity leave to be over, though, and Connor has to get serious about finding a nanny. Conveniently, Jessa moves in next door (there’s a lot of “conveniently” going on in this story, IMO) and though she’s never been a nanny before, she is the oldest of six kids and her baby-tending skills are top notch. She also happens to be (conveniently ;)) looking for a short term job, and when she settles a cranky Marley seconds after meeting her, she’s got the job.
Jessa’s adorable–both while she’s caring for Connor’s baby and all on her own–and Connor is the “stud next door” from the title, and it’s not a huge surprise when they (oops!) take their relationship out of the employer/employee zone and start exploring something more. Consent is a big part of their relationship from the start, and his friend group has adopted her into it nicely, (and Marley’s mother is barely even a blip in the story; plus, she has her own significant other) so their transition into a relationship is pretty drama-free. The only problem? Jessa has committed to a job that will take her out of the country for several months, and the time for her to leave is coming on fast.
But no worries! There is still an HEA to be had, and the resolution to their relationship problem is–you guessed it!–*conveniently* found at almost the last minute. But it’s still cute, and the epilogues are sweetly satisfying, making this a nice, uncomplicated weekend read (featuring a deceptively cooperative baby–she’s adorable, but definitely in “plot moppet” territory).
The Stud Next Door is the third book in the Frisky Business series. I haven’t had a chance to read the first two yet, but this worked *fairly* well as a standalone; I felt a little bit like a newcomer to the friends group, not knowing the backstory to the first two couples (much like Jessa, actually) but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this one. And it definitely won’t prevent me from stalking Ms Ryan’s socials, trying to figure out when Caleb and Scarlett’s story will be out, because that one looks to be fabulous! 😉
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
About the author:
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than three dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 3 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world.
Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than 100 times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.
She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.
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