The Pregnancy Test by Erin McCarthy

If life is a series of tests, Mandy Keeling just hit the mother lode.

 

Ordinarily, I’m a fan of pink, lovely color, does smashing things for the complexion. But not when it’s the bright, glaring stripe staring back at me on the pregnancy test. Then, pink is the color of major oops, of morning sickness, of boyfriends who seemed decent but now are part of some Jerk Witness Protection Program.

 

Still, I’ve got a few things going for me, bitter humor, a divine right to eat till I’m the size of Marlon Brando, and good friends who’ve managed to get me a job interview with one Damien Sharpton: in need of a personal assistant, and some say, a good, swift kick in the arse. If you want to make a lasting impression, by all means, toss your cookies in your future boss’s wastebasket, which is located directly between his excruciatingly sexy legs.

 

Apparently, Mr. Gorgeous-But-Unbearably-Anti-Social must like personal assistants who violate their trashcans, because I got the job. And if I can avoid him via text messaging for the next nine months of free health insurance, everything will be just fine. Except that he’s just asked, no, insisted, that I go with him on a business trip to the Caribbean. Gulp. Ordinarily, this would be cause for celebration. Ordinarily, I’d shave my legs, pack my bikini, revel in day-glo drinks and my seething lust for Mr. Swarthy-And-Secretive. But there’s nothing ordinary about this situation! which means it could be absolutely extraordinary!

I liked this book, but I wished it had developed a bit differently.

 

Mandy is pregnant and needs a job because she needs health insurance. She meets Damien—her future boss—in the elevator on the way to her interview.  Even though she throws up in his wastebasket, he hires her. Two months later, they leave on a work vacation to the Caribbean where they develop a relationship.  When they return to the States, Damien starts pulling away.

 

Mandy was a likable character. She has grit, determination, and a British sense of humor. Damien was eager to be there for Mandy. Although there’s a dark side to Damien that didn’t show up until the end of the book and I wished that his darker side would have been developed at the start.

 

The plot was light until the end of chapter 18 then it started growing darker as details of Damien’s past started emerging and this sudden mood change gave the book a choppy feel. I like darker romances so it would have been nice to see this start off that way.

 

Overall, I liked it. I think it could have been a tad bit better if the darker aspects were developed earlier on. This was my first time reading Erin McCarthy and it won’t be my last.

Book Details

Title: The Pregnancy Test

Author: Erin McCarthy

Publisher: Brava Kensington

ISBN: 0-7582-0847-2

Format: Trade Paperback

$14.00

Rating: 3.5

  

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