Professor Jane Darlington has a genius level IQ, is a master physicist and desperately wants a baby. However, Jane’s super smarts made her feel like a freak growing up, and she doesn’t want any child of hers to experience the same thing. Plus she’s currently single, and not really looking for a relationship. She does need to find herself a baby daddy, though, and preferably one who’s a bit stupid, in the hopes that this will produce her a child with a thoroughly average intelligence.
Through some truly convoluted and complicated means, Jane sets her sights on Calvin “Cal” Bonner, the Chicago Stars quarterback, and manages to get herself pregnant. Cal, who’s really very clever, wasn’t planning on settling down, and normally doesn’t date anyone over the age of twenty-two, is furious when he discovers that some brainy spinster is having his baby. No child of his, unwanted or not, is going to be born out of wedlock. So he forces Jane to marry him and takes her with him to his home town, so the press won’t realise the that the playboy quarterback and the physics genius aren’t actually madly in love. Since he’s planning to divorce her after the baby is born, he doesn’t want his family getting attached to her, and orders her to act horrible to them.
Seriously, the premise for this book is absolutely bonkers. Full review here.
I grimace at some of SEP’s premises, but when she really gets going it can be quite good.
Oh, I mostly enjoyed the majority of her Chicago Stars books, but yes, there are some truly mind-boggling premises. Makes Jennifer Crusie look positively sensible in comparison.
This looks like the sort of story that would have me eyerolling until I get an eyeroll-induced migrane. But it IS on the top 100 list (and I’ve read a shameful % of those and loved them) and you liked it so maybe I’ll have to give it a try…
There are some eyeroll worthy moments, but once you get going, the characters and their banter are pretty great. And they legitimately have personal growth.