A review by lauriereadsrom1
The Setup and The Substitute by Jiffy Kate

5.0

Ever since his girlfriend walked out on him and their kids shortly before he was traded to New Orleans, professional baseball player and single father Owen Thatcher has just been trying to survive day to day. With no family in the area to help with childcare, he's in urgent need of a nanny to care for his kids, 6-year-old Molly and 3-year-old Ryan, when he's on the road. While picking Molly up from school one afternoon, Owen meets Sophie Callahan, who's filling in as a substitute teacher at Molly's school until she finds a permanent position. Molly adores Sophie and immediately suggests hiring her as their new nanny. Owen doesn't think Sophie would be interested because she already has a job, plus he's concerned about how attractive he finds her. However, he's desperate to find someone and figures he has nothing to lose by offering her the position. Surprisingly, Sophie accepts, and Owen must find a way to ignore his attraction to his beautiful new employee.

Owen and Sophie's relationship development was well-paced; they had a lot to work through before they could be together, including several plot twists I didn't expect. No matter the challenges they faced, I loved Owen and Sophie as a couple and found it easy to cheer them on to their HEA. I also loved that Sophie was so determined to make her own way independent of her influential family and their money, and that she wanted to give back to the community. Finally, Sophie's relationship with Molly and Ryan was incredibly sweet and heartwarming. She may not have given birth to them, but Sophie became their mother in every way that mattered.

Overall, "The Setup and the Substitute" gave me all the feels and I adored it. I highly recommend this book for fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. It was the first book I've read by Jiffy Kate but certainly won't be the last.

*Review copy provided by the author/publisher via Wildfire Marketing Solutions. All opinions expressed are my own.