The Hannah Rule
2025
April James
Olivia Bowes is officially done with dating.
After years with an almost-fiancé who “wasn’t ready” for kids (right up until he had them with someone else) rule-following psychologist Olivia is over it. Over men who can’t commit. Over apps. Over pretending she has infinite time. With her rescue greyhound Hannah as emotional support and a fertility clinic on speed dial, Olivia makes a new solo motherhood via sperm donor.
Finn Kelly. The barefoot, sun-bleached, infuriatingly laidback stranger who is absolutely not part of the plan.
Officially, Finn’s an emergency nurse. Until he finds himself accidently agreeing to a side gig as a birth doula for Olivia’s pregnant best friend. He’s brilliant with panicked parents-to-be and brand-new babies, but ask if he wants kids of his own and he’ll tell you (very firmly) no.
Six months later, when Olivia and Finn run into each other at her best friend's baby shower, she accidently agrees to coach him how to handle “big feelings” in labour. She's definitely not noticing his easy smile or tanned forearms or the way her dog gives him heart eyes. What starts as professional-ish coaching turns suspiciously like dating… inconvenient, given Olivia is actively choosing her sperm donor and Finn has built his whole identity around not being anybody’s dad.
But as IUIs turn into IVF, as two-week waits blur into hope and heartbreak, Finn becomes the one person who makes the whole messy, medicalised, occasionally McDonald’s-fuelled journey feel bearable. He's also the biggest threat to Olivia’s carefully protected heart. Because falling in love was never on her spreadsheet...
The Hannah Rule is a funny, big-hearted contemporary romance set on Sydney’s coastline, perfect for readers who
romcom banter with real emotional stakes
fertility and IVF storylines handled with care
soft, caretaker heroes and fiercely capable heroines
sisters, found family, and one very good rescue dog
Olivia is ready to have a baby on her own. She just wasn’t expecting to find her person on the way.