The Baby Gamble

The Baby Gamble is the first book in the Texas Holdem' series. Each book in the series is written by a different author: this one is by American author, Tara Taylor Quinn. Twice-married-but-now-single Annie Kincaid wants to have a baby. She has plans for finding a suitable father, but her brother, Cole thinks she should ask her first husband, Blake Smith. Blake agrees, but only if they make the baby in the conventional way.

Both main characters have a heap of emotional baggage. There's PTSD from a Middle East kidnapping experience, the trauma of a parental suicide, miscarriage, failed marriage and more. Added to that, Quinn is setting up the characters for the other four books in the series, making the novel both longer than it needs to be, and filled with irrelevant detail for readers who don't plan to continue with the series. And of course, unresolved issues surrounding those other characters. The actual plot of the novel gets so bogged down in the side issues, it just all takes too long.