More of a fun book than I anticipated (I haven't read others in the series). All in all a good, easy read with low angst despite the backgrounds/situations of the main characters.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review. This is book five in the By the Bay series, but can be read as a stand-alone book. Wes has had the hots for Hannah since they met two years ago. He hasn’t acted on his attraction, and they have become friends. His brother and sister-in-law recently died and he is now the guardian to his three year old niece, Everly. Hannah has a tough life with a neglectful mother who eventually abandoned her. She ended up bouncing around the foster care system, never having a steady influence in her life. She decides that she wants a family, and since she has no man in her life, she goes the insemination route. When her apartment floods out, she ends up staying with her “friend” Wes and his niece Everly. This is a great take on the friends to lovers trope. I really loved Wes, he is pretty much the perfect guy. Hannah is a very insecure, and cannot see the perfect guy who is right in front of her. I loved them both and enjoyed the development of their relationship. This is my first book by this author, and I will definitely be reading the prior books in this series.

I received a free copy of DECIDEDLY BY CHANCE (By the Bay, Book 5) by Stina Lindenblatt in exchange for an honest review. If you’ve read the prior books in the series, you’ve already met Hannah Morrell and Wes Chiasson. Even before Hannah went into foster care, she faced daily rejection by her mother and her mother’s many boyfriends. Hannah recently realized that her fear of being rejected by a loved one resulted in her only dating men she could never love; as a result, Hannah decided it was healthier for her to swear off romantic relationships. Hannah still wanted a family, so she decided to start her own family via insemination.

Wes was a workaholic who preferred to have hookups rather than relationships. When Wes became the guardian of his three-year-old niece, he changed his workaholic habits and swore off casual sex. Though never close, Hannah and Wes share mutual friends, so Wes feels comfortable offering Hannah a place to stay when her apartment floods. Neither expect their mutual attraction to cause much of a problem; after all, a toddler makes a fantastic chaperon. Soon, Wes realizes he wants much more than friendship and even more than sex from Hannah. Wes has a goal-he wants to keep Hannah and her baby, but can he reach that goal without scaring skittish Hannah away?

This is a fun series. It does have erotic scenes, but those scenes can be skimmed over. This book and the overall series has likeable characters. Each member of the group of friends is flawed in his or her own way. However, the group of friends is as tight as any family; they accept each member as they are, and they don’t mind plotting shenanigans behind someone’s back if it’s to the victim’s overall benefit.

#DecidedlyByChance #NetGalley

****Decidedly By Chance was a cute sexy story basically exploring the components of what constitutes family. Wes recently has become the guardian of his young niece. Hannah, a pediatric nurse is pregnant via a donor clinic. Raised in the foster care system she has a difficult time trusting. Fate in the form of a massive leak in her apartment brings them together as temporary roommates. The premise was good and the author has a good command of English. There were sweet interactions with Wes’s niece as Wes sets out to convince Hannah that he has relationship staying power. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley.

I voluntarily received this book for an honest review!

I love Wes and Hannah. They have such a cute story. Everly and LB(little bean). It had to confess your feelings to someone when your afraid to be hurt. Which you have been hurt before in the past and especially by family, the ones who are suppose to love you the most!

This story has moments of intense feelings of love but at the same time self doubt. That doubt is something we all endure and this story will show you a little bit of how to over come.

Such a sweet family oriented story.

2.5 stars
The storyline for this book was a little different. The heroine is pregnant at the very start of the book. She has decided to have a baby on her own by artificial insemination. Then she runs into Wes, and sparks fly. The book was ok. Not really my cup of tea.