Nine Month Contract

Mountain Men Matchmaker #1

by Amy Daws

“A hilariously fresh and spicy rom-com that I couldn’t put down!” -Meghan Quinn, USA Today Bestselling Author

Help Wanted: Grumpy mountain man seeks baby momma. Job is an incubator position only. Surrogate must be impervious to grunting as the form of communication and nosy brotherly neighbors. Rustic mountain range housing available upon request.

I wanted to pummel my irritating brothers when they posted their own version of a wanted ad to help me with my life.

But I can’t fault the results once the right woman lands in my lap.

Becoming a single father is not a decision I made lightly. In fact, it’s the biggest decision of my entire life.

Which is why when I interview Trista, I know she’s perfect.

She’s wild, she’s opinionated, she wears cowboy boots. Even my pet goat loves her…

She’s the exact type of person I was holding out for.

And to my great horror, I realize on our first night of attempting this baby-making dance—when the lights are low, the cheap wine is flowing and the home-insemination supplies are laid out on the kitchen counter—I want to do a lot more than just make her my surrogate.

I want to make her mine.

Perfect for fans of:
• Grumpy/Sunshine
• Small Town Romance
• Age Gap
• Curvy FMC
• Meghan Quinn and Tessa Bailey

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Forced Proximity, Small Town Romance, Found Family

358 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 11, 2024

About the author

Number 1 Amazon Bestselling author Amy Daws writes spicy love stories that take place in America, as well as across the pond. She's most known for her footy-playing Harris Brothers and writing in a tire shop waiting room. When Amy is not writing, she’s likely making charcuterie boards from her home in South Dakota where she lives with her daughter and husband.

For more of Amy's work, visit: http://www.amydawsauthor.com

Or follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/amydawsauthor
Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/amydawsauthor
Tik Tok at
https://www.tiktok.com/@amydawsauthor
or sign up for her newsletter at
http://www.amydawsauthor.com/newsletter

Reviews

[Kristina]

*shelf note: moved from ‘to read’ to ‘decided against’ due to personal ethics. Reasons below.


Update: I tried to read this to see if I could change my mind but it’s so gross and gave me major ick. Surrogacy romance is not for me.

Reasons: The ethics of an at home insemination and a traditional surrogate or non-gestational carrier is too morally complex to deal with in a romcom. Honestly, this blurb gave me major ick. Also the marketing on insta is calling it breeding kink? Like how is this sensitive to the surrogacy process?

Paid surrogacy is an iffy thing for me anyway (it’s illegal to earn money through surrogacy and sperm or egg donation in Canada) but paying someone to give birth to essentially their own biological baby and hand it over (she inseminates herself with his sperm and uses her own egg) is not something I can read about in light fiction. Especially outside the bounds of an agency set up for these purposes (to protect surrogates and families) and doing it in your own house and from an online ad? I want no part of this for my own reasons.

Hopefully the book itself won’t play out that way but the marketing on this is awful so I cannot read this and I was excited to read this series so I’m sad right now.
Hope everyone else enjoys but I’m shelving this as decided against due to themes that won’t work for me.

[Ayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

if i could a shot for how many times this woman called herself a cow, i would be dying of alcohol poisoning right now …

a relatively high rating because this spoke to my love language: acts of service

if he was real, i’d tattoo his bicep around my face and scream “dinners ready!” as i lie on the table. 🙂‍↕️🫶🏽

[Amy Daws · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so excited for you all to meet Wyatt and Trista and their unlikely romance!!! This was such a fun story to write and the mountain vibes in this book are peak if I do say so myself.

Please note that this book has subjects of traditional surrogacy included in it. I did a lot of thoughtful research on this subject matter and assigned multiple sensitivity readers to it including surrogates and people who work at surrogacy agencies. I even spoke in depth with a woman who did traditional surrogacy. And my own experiences of infertility and multiple miscarriages and years of considering our own options of surrogacy made me especially dedicated to making sure I got this story right. But ultimately, this is a work of fiction between two consenting adults and should be read with an open heart and mind. For full legal requirements on becoming a surrogate, please consult the 2024 guildlines issues by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine at asrm.org.

[Jen ♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐

I can't decide whether to give this 2 or 3, so I'll settle for 2.5 ⭐ Also, long rant review ahead.


=============================

Background:

Wyatt (38) wants to have a kid, but the surrogacy agency has been failing to find him a candidate. He rejected the 12 women they suggested to him, and the agency decided to dump him as a client.

Everly, his niece, was mad about it, so she took it upon herself to find a suitable woman for her uncle. She met Trista (28) by accident on the street, actually outside of the agency. She was rejected by the same surrogacy agency because apparently she's way too "fat" to be a "belly buddy babysitter".

Everly propositioned her with the surrogacy idea, and Trista agreed to meet Wyatt. Story short, they met, did the interview, and eventually finalized everything. She got pregnant turkey-baster style and was living in the mountains with Wyatt and his two brothers.

=============================

Trista has so much baggage, and she exasperated the crap out of me. She always put up a fight every time Wyatt offered his help with anything or gave her things that would be helpful to her and to the baby. But she doesn't have any issues taking help from other people. How Wyatt didn't lose his ever-loving mind with her is so beyond me. This woman's pride was something else; it's not even funny. She only took her head out of her ass around the 92% mark—way too little, too late for me.

I partially understand that it was a deep-seated issue thanks to her awful family, but I did expect for her to see that Wyatt and his family are different from her. The constant back and forth, pushing away, and stubbornness were grating on my nerves. Why is she upset when he spends money on her when she has no means of supporting herself anyway? She took this job for the money, after all.

She's sassy; I'll give her that, it even gives her the appearance of confidence. But deep down, she has these insecurities about her weight and familial connection. She said she loves her body, but sometimes her running thoughts show a different picture. There are numerous occasions where she referred to herself as "fat," and idk, it's probably a personal thing, but I don't like it when FMCs use this to describe themselves. I do understand the need to acknowledge that she's curvy, but to use this fact as a reason to look down on herself is something I'll never be fine with. I'm just glad that Wyatt showed her that she's beautiful in his eyes, and that's all that matters.


****************

Wyatt is hellbent on becoming a father. I think it was mostly because he misses his late dad. He's a grump, or so they say, but I'm still unsure how to describe him. He's quiet; he only grunts, harrumphs, and scowls every time. This guy frequently seems to have a thin thread of patience, and he snaps most of the time. But I have to say he's protective, caring, and always willing to help Trista. Yet, for some reason, I didn't connect with him. I guess it's probably because of his attitude on most days. I don't think I have it in me to deal with such a person; it'll drain my energy. 🥲 

And the reason why he didn't pursue relationships anymore gave me the major ick. Spoiler: A decade ago, he and his two brothers ended up secretly dating the same woman for months. Yuck. It started with a bet between them to see who could score her (an immature and irritating bet). But the thing was, she played them all. This woman lived in the mountains with them. So imagine them hiding from each other the fact that they were screwing the same woman. It was just freaking gross. 🤢 And this nasty witch turned out to be married and pregnant, and she told them that it was Wyatt's. He was more than willing to marry this woman and create a family with her. Thankfully, the truth came out, but it ruined their brotherly relationship, which took years to fix. Since then, they have vowed not to let women come between them again.

Hence, that's why he showed some trust issues with Trista and some pushing away too because he didn't want to get close to her. But of course, that failed, and he fell in love with her.

Idk, but his personality and backstory made me like him less. Even at the start of the book, I can feel that I'm not going to like him. But reading how he interacted with people and his reason for refusing to entertain real relationships made me even less interested in him.
 
Sure, he has his good sides; I think he's going to nail the father role, and as for a romantic partner, I think he's going to be good as well. I mean, he did get over his hangups, so I guess he would be fine after all. But the fact that he also took a long time to see that he wanted Trista, not just a surrogate, kind of took away the enjoyment I had from his realization. 🤷‍♀️


****************

Overall, the fact that it took me two days to finish this is, I think, more than enough to show that I didn't enjoy it—not that it's entirely bad, but I keep losing my interest. The MCs kind of made it hard to actually enjoy the book. They were both unlikeable, at least the way I see it. Their issues took a long time to be dealt with. Had they talked about it and found the courage to take a leap of faith, I bet there would have been more sweet moments between them. The last 8% of the book was actually nice and made me feel less annoyed, but it was very short to erase the overwhelming disappointment I felt while reading this. Anyway, while this didn't work for me, other readers might enjoy it more than I did.


Book info:
- Small town romance
- Grumpy-sunshine
- Age gap (10)
- Surrogacy
- Absentee parents
- Barn full of animals
- Slowburn-ish (spice @ 57%)
- No cheating, OPD, breakup
- Non-virgin MCs (both sexually active, thank God)
- HFN (engaged with a new born daughter)
- Bonus epilogue (5 yrs later, married, with two kids)


PS. The second book is about Calder, the most disgusting hoe of these brothers. It was entitled "The Seven Year Itch" so is it safe to assume he was pining for Dakota while whoring around? But, tbf, it was said she was married and just got divorced. I'm not sure, though, if she was married for those seven years. 🤷‍♀️ Anyway, I'm gonna skip that book. 

[ashlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this one blindly and I wish I hadn’t, because I never would’ve picked it up. The blurb is exactly what it sounds like: a full blown breeding kink. Whatever trope this falls under, it is not my cup of tea.

I’ve never had a fmc piss me off like this one did. She constantly calls herself a cow and I mean constantly.. She said cow 70 times throughout the book. SEVENTY IS IT EVER THAT SERIOUS??

The focus on the breeding kink was just way too much for me. Most of her comments rubbed me the wrong way and pulled me right out of the story.

That said, Teddy Hamilton did save the audiobook a little. His narration kept me going, even when everything else made me want to hit pause

[O’rion Risher · Rating 1 out of 5]

“I swear it was crafted out of the foreskin of newborn babies it’s so comfortable. Not that foreskin is comfortable. I wouldn’t know, I guess. But I venture to bet it’s soft. Adult penis skin is crazy soft. At least what I remember of it. It’s been a while since I’ve touched a penis.” Yep, I came back just to add this because it is still on my mind days later. Still gross. Still horrible. Still a big nope from me.

Nope. Couldn’t finish this. I loved almost every Amy Daws book up until Cozy’s story. The constant fat shaming she did to herself, the charcuterie boards all the time… I couldn’t finish that one.

Now we are in this weird book that I thought was going to be refreshing because it’s an idea I haven’t heard and I was intrigued! But I’m 50% in and all this girl does is think about her fat body, call herself a cow or refer to her body as looking like a potato. She claims she loves her body, but obviously she doesn’t and she’s very insecure. Please just pick one. And there’s no reason to continue reminding us how she thinks of herself…

Then we have the worst damn analogy I may have heard in my life. Something like “the mattress is as soft as a newborn baby’s foreskin”. And then she starts thinking about how it’s been a while since she touched a penis. WHAT IN THE FLIP?! This is wildly inappropriate and disturbing. I honestly was about to drop the book right then and there. I decided to give it another shot… but good gravy the fat shaming herself is on my last nerve.

Not to mention that this whole book is like a slap in the face to anyone that has ever been a surrogate. Or to many, at least. This book cheapens surrogacy. There are so many women out there that freely give their bodies to help others out of the kindness in their hearts. Yes, there are those that do it for the money as well. But every surrogate I have met has first and foremost wanted to help people and they had to do many things to get to that point. They have to continue to do many things during the pregnancies that other women don’t have to do while pregnant. They’re giving up most of their rights to their bodies during this.

It also cheapens those people that have had to or chose to use a surrogate. If anyone wants to use one and reads this book, it’s going to make them feel insecure about going to an agency as well as getting a surrogate! Can you imagine the women and men that may worry about using someone not at an agency after this book? Worrying about their spouse or partner falling for the donor. Or them being so nervous they’ll be turned away from the facility if they don’t pick a surrogate right away. Etc.

This book could’ve been written in a much better way so that it wasn’t offensive. I guarantee that any of the people I know that are surrogates would be disgusted reading this. And feel hurt with the way they have been portrayed here.

Now let’s move on to Wyatt. Dude is just awkward and inappropriate. He doesn’t understand boundaries, but expects his boundaries to be followed. And add on his misogyny… bleh. I went from kind of liking him to really not liking him pretty quickly.

Back to Trista… girl needs A LOT of therapy. And she pisses me off with her basically just doing whatever the hell she wants and expecting to be able to demand things. It’s horrible that she didn’t tell the FATHER OF THE BABY INSIDE OF HER that she was pregnant before telling others and then going on to tell the father that it’s her body and blah de blah. Ma’am. You are horrible. This is something you’re BEING PAID FOR HANDSOMELY and you HAVE A CONTRACT. The first damn person besides you that should know that you are pregnant is the man whose sperm was put inside of you. I understand if the situation was different. But the fact is that it’s not exactly her business to be sharing with others and the way she acted like it’s her choice to tell who she wants because it’s her body is just… grrr! Like, I’m all for my body, my choice. But this is a different instance. Ugh. I hope this is making sense, because it’s frustrating. You signed over your body to incubate a child. You no longer have all those choices you had. At least during this agreement. And I understand talking to a spouse or whatever about it. Even a coworker. But don’t push that in the father’s face and don’t say it’s your choice because it’s your body. This dude has wanted this ONE THING and is paying you A LOT of money and he doesn’t deserve that kind of disrespect.

Trista is planting roots here. And she seems to be the only one that doesn’t realize it. Just bringing home more and more animals without permission. And SHE ONLY IS SUPPOSED TO BE THERE FOR 9 MONTHS! Why would any sane person do this?

Can we also talk about the forceful funniness in this book? Again, one thing that got redundant in previous books and continues to be redundant in every book… there is a line between genuine funny and forceful funny. Forceful funny isn’t really funny. It’s like hearing a kid tell a really awful joke repeatedly and starts to make you uncomfortable to the point where you are ready to walk away.

[Fairuz ᥫ᭡. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars! 🌟 Huge thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing & NetGalley for the ARC! 💌

Okay, okay, so Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws was… interesting?? I’m all about grumpy-sunshine, small town vibes, and big family dynamics, but this one just didn’t hit all the sweet spots for me, and I’m honestly a little torn.

Let’s start with the basics: Wyatt is a grumpy mountain man looking for a surrogate. That’s where we get the whole surrogacy thing—and I’m gonna be real, this trope just isn’t my cup of tea. Like, props to the author for trying something fresh, but for me, the way it was handled (especially with that whole DIY insemination scene) felt a little too out there and a bit... icky.

And don’t even get me started on Trista, the curvy FMC. Listen, I get it, she’s independent, and I’m all for strong women. BUT, like, WHY does she keep calling herself a cow?!! 😩🤦‍♀️ That was such a major NOPE for me. I just wanted to shake her! Also, why was there so much focus on the "breeding kink” thing? Like, is that really what we’re calling it now? I could’ve done without those comments, tbh.

But here’s where I did enjoy myself: the family dynamic! Wyatt’s family is rowdy, hilarious, and honestly so freaking sweet. His niece, Everly, is a total gem and the real MVP of the story. Like, her matchmaking game is on point!! 🥰 She has this way of weaving love and laughter into everything, and I was here for it! Also, Wyatt’s grumpy exterior? Total softie for Trista once he gets to know her (I mean, come on, his pet goat loves her too!!). Their moments of awkwardness and banter made me chuckle more than I’d like to admit.

That being said, the romance took too long to develop. Like, it was slow. I’m talking snail pace, especially when it came to the push-pull between them. There were lots of moments where I just wanted them to get it together already. But I have to admit, by the end, I was like, okay, this was cute. The final chapters made it worth it for me—Trista finding her family with Wyatt and the gang was honestly really wholesome. 🤗

Trope overload (with some that definitely didn’t work for me):
🌲 Surrogacy
💕 Grumpy/Sunshine
🌲 Small Town Romance
💕 Age Gap (Wyatt is 38, Trista is 28)
🌲 Curvy FMC
💕 Slow Burn (SO slow, though!)
🌲 Rowdy Brothers
💕 Found Family

CW:
- Insecurities (Trista’s self-esteem issues)
- Breeding kink mentions (not my vibe)
- Lots of spicy scenes (skip-able if you’re not into that)

Overall, I’m giving it 3 stars because while the last bit of the book really got me in the feels, I just couldn’t vibe with a lot of the stuff earlier on. But if you're into small town romance with a dash of quirky family drama, you might enjoy it more than I did! ✨

[✨Julie✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

✩ 2.55 stars ✩

What to Expect:
➼ Small Town
➼ Surrogacy Romance
➼ Age Gap (10 years)
➼ Grumpy/Possessive MMC
➼ Black Cat FMC
➼ Forced Proximity
➼ Found Family
➼ Plus Sized FMC
➼ Duet Narration
➼ First Person POV

I’m rounding up, but it was a very close call. Someone in the comments mentioned that I’d have to suspend reality to enjoy this, and unfortunately, I couldn’t quite manage it. I love that he wanted to be a dad, and if they had gone through an agency for the surrogacy process and then had a slow burn romance on the farm, I think I could have loved this, but the whole “let’s do it the farm way” business felt icky to me. I did feel like it crossed over into breeding kink territory and I was drawing too many parallels between him wanting to take care of her and him wanting to take care of a child on his own. 😬

I was also bothered by the FMC. She’s introduced as a plus size body positive female, but as the book progressed she continually cut herself down. She clearly had a lot of insecurities about her weight and believed that men would eventually leave her because they didn’t like the way she looked. I’m fine with a character having insecurities, but I was annoyed that the author wrote so many in while also trying to pretend they didn’t exist. As a rule, I don’t want to read so much about an FMC’s size in general. I’m all for diverse body types in literature, but I don’t want their size to become their whole personality. On a side note, her bringing home all those animals was also pretty bizarre and rude. She planned to only stay there for a short time, would she expect him to care for the animals when she moved on?

The MMC was undeniably very good to her and I think he will appeal to a lot of women. I’d describe myself as more of a city girl, but even I can see the appeal of a man who owns his own mountain. The found family vibes were also really good. Assuming the next book doesn’t include surrogacy, I’ll probably read it!

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

Pre-read: People are raving about this one but I have my doubts…

It’s duet narration featuring Teddy Hamilton though, so at the very least it’s likely to be a good production.

≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫

Connect with me on Instagram

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Warning: as a 2x gestational carrier (aka surrogate) my opinion might be skewed.
I really wanted to get past the ick on this one. I think this story could have worked out so much better if it was an accidental pregnancy trope rather than a surrogacy turned love match.
So so so many things wrong with the surrogacy storyline. All of it is so unethical and not how surrogacy works. And the author stating they had input from the community, I call bs. No one who has participated in surrogacy in a legal and ethical way would promote some of the things touted as “normal” in the storyline. How surrogacy was handled is so disrespectful and so icky.
Romanticizing breaking ASRM guidelines, legal guidelines, ethical guidelines it’s just gross.

[Georgie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Calling women ‘females’ gives me the ick.

[Soft Nectarine ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

FARM-STYLE baby making and it’s horrifically hilarious! this grumpy mountain man ’dad bombs’ his way into the heart of surrogate baby mamma 💛

“At this moment we are just a man & a woman on a mountain.”

Wyatt 38
⛰️ 6’4 of mountain man meat
⛰️ true mountain man that just wants to be a dad! Give this man a baby already!
⛰️ grumpy & hates small talk
⛰️ he can be possessive of those he loves
⛰️love language: acts of service

Trista 28
☀️ needs money to open an animal rescue facility
☀️ straight forward girlie
☀️ used to distant relationships
☀️ doesn’t like people taking care of her…like really dislikes it

Wyatt & Trista got entangled into a peculiar surrogacy dynamic as the clearest example of ’opposites attract’. He’s a grump who wants to take care of those he loves & she is a sunshine that refuses all help. Constant push & pull!

The SPICE! Interesante! The actual insemination…..scarring but hilarious! I loved all the mountain man vibes and barn sex (yeehaw!), even the mmc possessiveness 🐴✨Wyatt was everything and more.

Not sure how I feel about the fmc being so vehemently against having children but then changing her mind suddenly. I thought Trista had valid reasons and feelings for not wanting to have her own kids so for her to change her mind felt a bit….disappointing maybe. ALSO the fmc made this weird cringe analogy, literally talking about the pillow softness of baby genitalia…..IT WAS SO WTF (and smelled like Colleen Hoover) so I had to lower the rating.

posessive mmc
grumpy x sunshine ☀️
stubborn fmc
surragacy
age gap
mountain living (sustainability)
plus size rep
animal lovers
found family
HEA

[BookishKB · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 star read!

🪵 Bookish Thoughts
This book was ridiculous in the best way. I was laughing the whole time! And the audiobook might be my favorite this year. I wish more books had duet narration like this!

Trista is totally a type B girlie. A little stubborn, a little unhinged, definitely chaotic, but you can’t help but love her! She’s out here rescuing animals left and right and naming them the most unhinged things. Queen behavior, truly.

And Wyatt? Sir, you are not grumpy! You’re a flannel-wearing marshmallow who folds every time Trista blinks at you. Loved him.

If you try to take this book too seriously, you aren’t going to have a good time reading it. Just roll with the book and laugh! Honestly, I kept thinking, this needs to be a rom-com movie. Also, the author gave us a five years later epilogue! 😍😌

🏔️ Read if you love:
• Grumpy x sunshine
• Age gap
• Not-so-accidental pregnancy
• Curvy FMC
• Cinnamon roll MMC
• Small town / mountain setting
• Found family
• Animal rescuing

[zoë ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗ · Rating 3 out of 5]

ੈ♡˳ rating: 3 outta 5 stars

ੈ♡˳ summary:
a fake relationship, a business agreement, and a surprise baby situation—what could go wrong? when trista, a fiercely independent woman who doesn’t want kids, enters into a nine-month contract with single dad brek, neither of them expects real feelings to get involved. but as boundaries blur and hearts soften, both have to decide what they’re really willing to risk for love.

ੈ♡˳ thoughts:
this book was cute! the writing was engaging and light, and there were definitely moments that made me smile. it’s one of those stories where it’s so obvious the characters like each other and you just wait (impatiently) for them to admit it. watching their connection grow over time was sweet, and i really appreciated how tender brek was in certain moments.

that said… i couldn’t bring myself to rate it higher than 3 stars. as much as i enjoyed the banter and the chemistry, i couldn’t get past how trista completely changed her life plans for a man. from the very beginning, she was clear—no kids, no family, no compromise. and then suddenly, it’s like that conviction just melts away once she catches feelings. i understand that people change, but this felt a little rushed and too convenient. there was little reflection on why she changed her mind beyond being in love, and for a character who was so fiercely independent, that left me feeling unsatisfied.

being pregnant myself, i was excited to read a story that centered around pregnancy, even if fictional. but trista’s journey felt a little too neat and tidy—like we skipped over a lot of emotional processing that would have made the ending more believable.

overall, it was enjoyable and did help break me out of a reading slump, but the character arc just didn’t sit right with me. cute? yes. satisfying? not quite.

ੈ♡˳ tropes:
ꕥ fake relationship
ꕥ unexpected pregnancy
ꕥ grumpy/sunshine
ꕥ opposites attract
ꕥ found family
ꕥ slow burn

ੈ♡˳ fave quotes:
✿ “you make me want things i never thought i could have.”
✿ “sometimes the biggest surprises in life end up being the best ones.”
✿ “i didn’t fall in love with the idea of a family. i fell in love with you.”

[Brenda ~The Sisters~Book Witch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mood Confession: I thought I knew every book genre, and every trope, every twist like cards in my well-worn tarot deck. One minute, I’m looking to spice up my reading life to dodge a slump, and the next, I stumble into spicy contemporary romance. I figured it would be just a flirty rom-com with a bit of steam. Spoiler: it’s not.

What Lit My Mood
For me, romance is all about the tropes. A deliciously entertaining set up. Add something fresh to those tropes or something I haven’t heard of and I’m hooked.
Insta-Lust – yep, apparently that’s the draw here.
Grumpy/Sunshine: Broody mountain man hero who makes his love interest feel beautiful.
Single Dad Twist:Wyatt wants fatherhood not a relationship.
Unexpected Connections & Small-Town Romance – cozy, charming, and just messy enough.
Curvy FMC: Trista’s aware of her insecurities but still confident and goal-driven.
Fresh, hilarious dialogue even though Wyatt’s “baby-making dance” and dirty talk made me side-eye.
The Fletcher Family: grumpy mountain brothers with hearts of gold.
Animal Side Cast:bonus magic for animal lovers.
Uncommon Themes: little surprises that kept it interesting.

Where My Mood Flickered
Spicy scenes that made me blush and close the book for a breather.
Wyatt’s dirty talk sometimes veered into cringy territory.

Witchy Heat Scale
Steam Rising from the Cauldron: The kind of heat that fogs your crystal ball and makes your tarot cards blush.

Witchy Mood Reader Rating
Enchanted: loved the character’s energy, mostly aligned but a little too steamy for me

Verdict
Trope-packed, heat-laden, and unexpectedly sweet in places. If you love grumpy mountain men, single-dad twists, and a heroine who owns her curves, add this one to your altar and summon it when you are in the mood to heat up your day.

Be ready for the kind of steam that makes your tarot deck stick together.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Amy Daws always makes me laugh with her books and this was no exception. Nine Month Contract definitely had its funny moments and I loved the hero’s niece, but it also had things in it that didn’t work for me. The way the surrogacy was handled wasn’t my fave, personally. I did love the hero’s family dynamic and would check out more from this series because I’m curious to read Wyatt’s brother’s books.

Audio book source: Audible
Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Narrators: Erin Mallon & Teddy Hamilton
Narration Rating: 4.5 stars
Genre: Romance
Length:10h 45m

[amarachireads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading this book so much, yes it's a bit silly but it was fun, refreshing and silly and the characters and plot was great. I loved the family aspect, the small town and the surrogacy plot which I haven't read a rom com with this vibe. I liked how the niece played an important role in finding the perfect surrogate for her uncle even though it was a little weird. I'm also so interested in reading her dad's book. I loved the grumpy mountain man vibes and how she loved animals and brought more and more into the house even though he didn't like it at first. I loved how he built her the chicken coop it was so sweet. The mcs are instantly attracted to each other though they don't act on it until later. This was steamy, they were hot 🔥. I can't wait to read more by this author I enjoyed the writing.

4.5/5 ⭐

[Syndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a really a while since I picked up Miss Daws book. Nine Month Contract is fun read. Really fun read. I like Trista very much. I think Trista is the alter ego of Miss Daws herself.

The banter is fun, the hero is really grumpy with a whole lot of sexiness. And the surrogate theme is certainly a very dear subject for the author.

4 stars

[The Love Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been waiting for the Fletcher brothers series since we met them in Last on the List! The series starts out with Wyatt, the reclusive brother of the bunch who has decided he wants a baby, minus the wife. After countless surrogate interviews, he still hasn’t found a woman he feels he can trust to carry his child. Meanwhile, his meddlesome matchmaking teenage niece, Everly (who was a child in Last on the List), refuses to let her uncle give up. In a fated (and funny) encounter, Everly meets Trista. Her desire to be a surrogate and have a stable home the next few months, coupled with Wyatt’s gut feeling, leads to her becoming his surrogate.

These two fought their feelings for so long, even after Trista was pregnant with the baby. Trista isn’t used to a family like the Fletchers, or help in general, so it takes her a minute to trust Wyatt. I did sigh in relief when they finally decided to give an actual relationship a try, though I felt like it was a little rushed given how late in the book it happened. I think the book lagged so much in the middle that it had to play catch up. Yes, they’d been intimate, but I would’ve enjoyed seeing more of them actually together as a couple.

I will say, I always appreciate this author for her curvy, tall heroines. I don’t see women like me a lot in romance so I related to the heroine’s thoughts, both good and bad. I definitely can’t wait for the other books because each brother is intriguing and this family is hilarious!

[kimberly ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was ehhh okay, the pacing is off to me and i don’t like how the main character refers to herself as a cow bc she’s a surrogate like ???? mind you she’s mid/plus sided so that just didn’t sit well with me idk. the duet narration is good but the female narrator kinda killed some moments for me, the vocal inflections just irritated me a bit. anyways it’s aight, like i usually loveeeee accidental pregnancy but for some reason this author just doesn’t do it for me

[Mila · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 43%

She kept calling herself a cow 😭 And the way they did the whole insemination was just weird 👀

[Devon Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written in the tone of a millennial who goes on TikTok to say “lol I’m so unhinged!!! — no, you’re insufferable

[Bryce Rocks My Socks · Rating 2 out of 5]

she AND HE referred to her as a cow just about 24 too many times

[dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 5% saw the word “rizzing” and called it

[Christina Mason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall it was just OK.

TLDR version. I didn’t hate it but it got a little boring and I did find myself skimming over. And it’s not a book I’d recommend to others. Several things really bugged me. I really disliked Trista’s character and found her a bit selfish and too quirky. I loved Wyatt’s character. Didn’t love the breeding kink references. It was said in a joking manner and felt insensitive. And I’m a fan of HEA but don’t love when every single detail is tied up in a perfect happy bow.

The longer version….

I think it’s super weird to let your 18 year old niece be in charge of your surrogate and the chapters from her POV were unnecessary IMO

I thought it was super rude of Trista to bring random animals to the man’s house who just hired her as a surrogate. Without his permission. And then she keeps doing it. And at one point he explicitly told her no chickens and yet she brought chickens. She has a whole petting zoo by the time we get towards the end. And they are supposed to be temporary but she just keeps bringing more and they never leave.

I feel like she’s a little too quirky and overreacts a lot. In general I wasn’t a huge fan of her character. I don’t think it was appropriate for her to come out of the shower with just a robe on in front of Wyatt’s brother. Regardless of their sex situation, it’s just inappropriate. And While I don’t think Wyatt should be telling her what to do, I do think she needed to be more considerate about the fact that she’s being paid to carry a baby for someone and needs to be more mindful of her actions.

In general throughout the story the timeline goes painfully slow. You’ll have most chapters where you’re in the same week or only a week has gone by. Then it skips 13 weeks and another time a whole month and they skip over the whole birth….

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws follows Wyatt, a 38 year old mountain man looking to become a single dad, and Trista, a 28 year old animal lover who needs money to start her rescue sanctuary. This book had some stuff actively working against it for me, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it.

To start with what I enjoyed, the family dynamics are #1. The Fletcher family was so wholesome and I loved how much they supported each other! Especially at the end the family was just so sweet. 🩷 I think the last half of the book had a lot of really great character development, and I wish it started sooner in the story so I could have more of it. There is minimal drama in the relationship between Trista and Wyatt, which I always appreciate. No third act breakup or drawn out nonsense here! Also the pregnancy stuff was so relatable I couldn’t help but laugh. I know a lot of people were disappointed by the “cow” mindset in the book, but I also felt like a farm animal while pregnant and postpartum so I got it 😂 I didn’t see it as a plus sized thing, just a pregnancy/pumping thing. This quote “From what I can tell, maternity clothes are the devil, and plus-sized maternity clothes are the devil’s bowel movements” sold me because SO TRUE.

As for what I didn’t love, I struggled with the DIY aspect of the surrogacy and some of the descriptions around it. I know in the US especially people are paid for surrogacy, which is totally understandable. But the agencies are there to help protect all parties involved, and Trista and Wyatt felt very dismissive of those agencies. However, this book is the first surrogate romance I’ve ever heard of, so it was definitely a new trope. That helps me suspend my disbelief a bit. Wyatt’s possessiveness got a bit old towards the middle, but his sweetness made up for it in the end.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by how sweet this book was. It was a fresh idea, and though I don’t think I’ll ever search out this trope, kudos to the author for going for it. Despite the rocky stuff at the beginning, I did end up enjoying this book!

Big thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy!




Preread: Got the ARC for the rerelease! Here’s hoping it’s fun 🤞🏻

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ There's parts I liked and parts I didn't like, but overall, I enjoyed the audiobook.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ small town romance
✨ pregnancy (surrogacy)
✨ wannabe single dad
✨ forced proximity
✨ grumpy x sunshine
✨ age gap
✨ show burn
✨ 3/5 🌶️ (breeding kink)
✨ curvy FMC
✨ found family
✨ HEA
✨ duet narration for the audiobook


My Thoughts:

Audiobook: 4.5 ⭐️
Story: 3⭐️

Pros:
- How Wyatt takes care of Trista
- The spice - honestly, super hot. The tension was amazing and Wyatt is so dominating. Loved it!
- The Fletcher Family
- the barn animals
- mountain setting


Cons:

- The surrogacy plot seems ridiculous and kind of unsafe. Maybe a bit problematic, but if you can just suspend reality for the duration of the book, it's fine. I would have preferred accidental pregnancy.

- The phrase “I’m a cow” was said (realistically) 20+ times throughout the book. And it's our plus-size FMC who keeps say this about herself. I think it was less about her size and more about her trying to disassociate herself from feeling maternal and emotionally invested, but then why say cow and not, like, incubator? Idk it was weird and unnecessary.

- There was some other word or phrase used that I CANNOT remember for the life of me but it was repeatedly said and killed me.

- Trista is curvy and says she��s worked through her body image issues but then goes into inner monologues about how insecure she feels about her weight. I guess it just confused me? Like I know it’s reasonable to have the insecurity but also work through it but she was just SO confidently saying how she loved her body but then would talk about what’s ’wrong’ with it. Gave me whiplash.

- Wyatt's ex storyline. I found it super fucking weird that Wyatt and his brothers dated/fucked the same chick at the same time and they didn’t know. It felt like an unnecessary part of his backstory and I could have lived without it.

I just got the book 2 audiobook from my library so I’ll be listening to that next!

[Kacie Cicotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooooo 5 stars! Very original plot I’ve never read something like it. Some moments were absolutely hilarious others were happy tears. The end of the book flooded my awwwwwwwww I love this emotion. This is a book I will consistently think about over and over again.

[Lauren Sager · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first 25% of the book gave me the ick and I almost DNF’ed. The topic of surrogacy was not handled tastefully. I am a huge fan of the author’s other series, but this was a miss. It tried too hard and felt forced with far too many social media and pop culture references. She was better before she started writing to appease TikTok fans.

[BOOKLOVER_81 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a cute read. She's down on her luck, and he wants to be a single dad... these two come into each other's lives when they need one another most!!

**Grumpy/Sunshine
**Small Town Romance
**Age Gap
**Curvy FMC

Hoopla listen 🎶🎶

[Booked and Busy]

This was cute. Looking forward to the sequel