GRR Reviews Baby, I'm Back! (Return to Redemption) by Laurie Kellogg

Baby, I'm Back! is a romantic dramatic comedy that managed to examine a deeper issue... How much of your everyday behavior was a facade to disguise your deepest fears? And when that cuts into your love life, will your relationship survive, and once broken, can it be reestablished?

Samantha Rivera divorced her ex Nicolas "Nick" for one reason: he won't try with her for another child. But his charming Latin honor demanded that he stay in her life, much to her chagrin, from the other side of the country. But Nick is going to spend a long summer with Sam to reconnect with his daughter, and Sam... because he missed his family, and he wanted his family back, even if he had to blackmail his way back into his ex-wife's home... and back into her heart.

I found the book quite delightful to read, if you get past the slightly rocky start. The two characters know they are not done with each other, yet neither can get past the reason they stayed apart, because neither fully realize why they did what they did, and both used coping techniques to HIDE those true feelings. But this is town of Redemption and things are going to get redeemed. In short, you will find out WHY Nick refused to make another child with Sam, and why Sam saw that refusal as a reason to walk away, despite Nick's otherwise full attention to her. And yes, there is a happy ending, in more sense than one.

If you are only looking for sex, then these characters will seem shallow and crude (there are jokes about the male body part getting a nick name) with Nick being almost the stereotypical alpha macho Latino male, and Sam was almost unreasonably hostile toward her ex, with the kid Dani caught in between. On the other hand, if you look past their surface but try to connect with their psyche and their fears, you'll find that this book rewards you to be patient, and their facade hides the hurt that they must resolve for true happiness.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Divorced mom found her ex trying to win back her love; can they get past the facade to resolve WHY did they split?

Tropes: reunion, return, family secrets,

Overall Rating:  5/5