Quick Summary: A new beginnings love story

My Review: Lessons in Fatherhood by Makenna Lee was a real tearjerker. I loved it. The story was both tragic and beautiful. It was about family, loss, finding love in unexpected places, and fighting for what is truly important.

My Final Say: This book gets a hidden gem rating. 💎

Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Keeper: Yes
Re-read: Yes
Romance: Slow burn

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher, and to NetGalley, who provided access to this title in exchange for an honest review. The words I have shared are my own and have not been influenced by the aforementioned in any way.

Nicholas has a surprise of a lifetime when he discovers a baby at his art gallery. He has no idea how to take care of one. Emma works next door and is natural with a little baby, so he asks her for help.

She agrees to give him lessons for a little while and even rents him an apartment, but she can't get too close to him or the baby.

She doesn't have the best impression of Nickolas at first, but with time they became friends and more. It's a charming, slow-burn romance. I like the storyline but had a hard time getting into the story.

received from Netgalley, all thoughts are my own

OVERALL RATING –4 stars

RECOMMENDED FOR: those that like unexpected single parenthood, overcoming grief, slight opposite attract

First my usual points:
- I do not do spoilers unless warned.
- Read the summary above; it will tell you what the book is about. I will not reiterate.
- This is a standalone but part of a series
- No errors that I caught as far as editing.
- The author was new to me

BOOK:
- Contemporary romance
- 3rd person POV

Star Ratings - 1 (poor) – 5 (READ THIS BOOK)
· Writing Quality: 5 stars
· Story ingredient: 4 stars
· Ease of reading/Pace: 5 stars
· Plot strength: 4 stars
· Steam Level: 3.5 stars

Notes/Opinion (personal):

I enjoy the unexpected parenthood troupe. This did not fail. It was a light read for me with a pretty simple romance. I enjoyed it.

Lessons in Fatherhood by Makenna Lee, book five in the Home to Oak Hollow series, is a cute single father romance, set in the fictional town in the Texas Hill Country. School teacher and store owner Emma Blake tolerates the new to town, Nicholas Weller, who is opening an art gallery next door to her shop. Nicholas is only in Oak Hollow temporarily to prove himself to his wealthy father, but when a baby is left in his art gallery, his world is disrupted and he is confused as he discovers he’s a new single father; knowing absolutely nothing about parenting. He turns to Emma, who has a natural way with his new son, for help as he’s determined to be a good father for his son. When she agrees to teach him parenting 101 they get to know there is more to each of them than the first impressions they gave. With Emma still healing from losing her family four years ago, she forces herself to avoid getting attached to Nick and his son, fearing another loss. Spending time together, helping each other, feelings begin to grow. It’s going to take a lot of patience and willpower before Emma will be able to open up to loving and being part of a family again. Nick was so patient with Emma, especially once he became aware of her devastating past. He never pushed her, he simply let her know that he had feelings for her and was there for her in any way she may need. Their romance was a slow burn, sweet and tender, with off page intimate scenes. They go from tolerating each other to friends to more, quickly becoming a family unit. I highly recommend Lessons in Fatherhood to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Terrific book. Emma is a kindergarten teacher working in the shop she co-owns with a friend on summer break. She is still recovering from the devastating loss of her husband and daughter. Nicholas is a wealthy newcomer to town who is turning the shop into a combination art gallery and wine tasting room. He rubs Emma the wrong way with his expensive clothes and fancy car.

She is furious when she sees him leave his shop and shortly afterward hears a baby's cries coming from it. How could he go off and leave an infant unattended? But nobody is more shocked than Nicholas when he returns to find Emma and the baby. The infant wasn't there when he left and had no idea who it was until he read the enclosed letter. Stunned to discover that the baby boy is his son, Nicholas asks Emma for help. I had to laugh at his panicked reaction to his sudden fatherhood - it reminded me of the movie Three Men and a Baby.

Emma takes pity on Nicholas and offers to give him lessons, even offering him the apartment over her garage to live in while he learns. Emma was a bit wary of what she got herself into, believing Nicholas to be the wealthy bachelor playboy his appearance suggests. She is pleasantly surprised by his determination to be a good father.

I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Nicholas and Emma. Each had preconceived ideas about the other, and spending time together smashed them to pieces. Nicholas was adorably determined to be a better father than his own, and his commitment was fantastic. Emma is patient and helpful with his first fumbling attempts, and it isn't long before he's handling things like a pro. Simmering underneath their rapidly growing friendship is an undeniable attraction. But as much as Emma adores baby Jax and likes Nicholas, she is wary of risking her heart again. Nicholas won my heart with his patience and caring as he learned of her past losses.

The more time they spend together, the deeper their connection grows, and the more Emma thinks she may be ready to risk her heart again. Nicholas also looks at his plans for the future and realizes that being a father has given him a better understanding of what he wants for his son. But when his parents unexpectedly show up in Oak Hollow, Nicholas has some decisions to make. Emma, expecting the worst, pushes him away to protect her heart, leaving Nicholas lost and wondering what happened.

I loved the ending and seeing Nicholas get unexpected help from his sister as he reevaluated his priorities. Though I still don't like his parents, they did redeem themselves somewhat in the end. Meanwhile, Emma also had to consider whether she wanted to take another chance on love. I loved Nicholas's big moment, which was sweet and romantic.

This is a Romance, and this is the 5th book in the Home to Oak Hollow series. I have read and reviewed three of the other books in this series, but I do feel that you can read this book as a standalone without any problems. This is a single father romance book, and it is so cute. I really loved the romance in this book, and I love the characters in this book. This book pulled me into the storyline so fast, and I loved every second I spent in this book. The ending was so great. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Harlequin Special Edition) or author (Makenna Lee) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

I think that romances are a good depiction of modern life and this features an interesting novelty: a trendy gallerist who has to face joy and hardship of being a father. Emma Blake, a local teacher, will help him and it's the start of a growing relationship.
This is a sort of enemy-to-lover romance. Nick and Emma are very different and it's a pleasure reading about their growing relationship and I had a lot of fun in reading about the antics of Nick with the baby.
An entertaining and sweet romance that made me smile, root for the characters, and had fun.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Lessons in Fatherhood is a stand alone in the Home to Oak Hollow series by Makenna Lee. It gave me everything I expected from a Harlequin Special Edition and the warm family feelings I love about Makenna Lee's stories.

School teacher Emma Blake tolerates the new to towner , Nicholas Weller, who is opening an art gallery next door to her shop. He seems stuck up with his designer clothes and fancy car. Nicholas is only in Oak Hollow temporarily to prove himself to his father, but when a baby is dropped in his gallery his world is turned upside down. He finds himself a new single father and knows absolutely nothing about parenting. He turns to Emma, who has a natural way with his new son. When she agrees to teach him parenting 101 they get to know they are more than the first impressions they put off. With Emma still healing from losing her family four years ago, will she risk letting herself get attached to Nick and his son.

This is a sweet romance. Nick, who you assume is a wealthy playboy very quickly worms his way into your heart with his determination to be a good father to his son. I love how patient he was once slowly realized Emma's devastating past. He never pushed her, simply let her know that he had feelings for her and was there for her in any way she may need. Emma stole the show, though. She is such a strong character, full of love. I can't even imagine going through what she did and getting to the point she was at. It was emotional to watch her honor those she lost and open herself up to loving again. The romance between them is a slow burn that's sweet and tender, with off page intimate scenes. They go from tolerating each other to friends to more, quickly becoming a family unit.

Overall , Lessons in Fatherhood is a charming small town romance between two people healing from different types of hurts in their past. A single parent romance filled with parenting 101, friendship, bunnies and a happily ever after.

Thank you to Netgalley and the the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, short read that had heavy elements of grief and found family. I was looking for something fun and light, but the book handled deep and dark topics well, and delivered a perfect happy ending. It had a little bit of cheesiness to it at first, but really took off at about the 25% mark for me.

If you're looking for something short with family elements, I'd definitely check this out!