Winning his Heart (Marietta St. Claires, #2) by Lara Van Hulzen

Michael St. Claire, a widower and single father, fears his heart could never make room for another. Between raising his young daughter Annalise and rebuilding his dreams as a race car driver, love isn’t on his mind… Until feisty Franchesca shows up and changes everything.

With her mom’s health failing, Franchesca needs extra income. An offer from Mike St. Claire to be his daughter’s nanny is an offer she can’t refuse. She has always dreamed of making it on Broadway and living in New York, but her immediate attraction to Mike challenges all she thought she wanted.

Mike can’t deny his feelings for Franchesca, even with the risk of losing his heart again. But he doesn’t want to stand in the way of Franchesca’s dreams. Will his past and what she wants in the future tear them apart?

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This is the second book in this series, but this book can easily stand alone.  I knew I was missing the back history of Michael's brother and his wife, but I can always catch up on that later.  :)

I liked Mike and Franchesca and the opening scene for the book.  It got the couple off to a good start and I could feel the zing of initial attraction.  Annalise was a good addition to the book- so cute and innocent.  Relationships become a bit more complicated when you add in children!  Especially during kissing scenes.  Ha.

While I liked the book, the intensity of Mike and Franchesca's relationship waned a bit through the book.  I wasn't as connected to the characters as I would have liked to have been but I did like them.  Both Franchesca and Mike are stand up people who take care of their family.  Mike's family created a great supporting cast of characters.  And, hopefully with a couple more siblings to go, more books to come.  :)

3/5 stars

Content:  frequent mild swearing (too much for my taste), kissing

- I received a copy of this book via NetGalley from the publisher.  All opinions expressed are my own.