Tag: sports romance

Book Review: Off to the Races (Gold Rush Ranch #1) by Elsie Silver

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 334 pages
Author: Elsie Silver
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 29th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Keeping things professional with my employees has never been an issue. Until she waltzed onto my property.

Billie is talented. She’s mouthy. And she’s so damn tempting. I can’t stop thinking about all the ways I could take her down a peg.

I can’t stop thinking about her, period.

We clash from the moment we meet. And in a small town, on an even smaller farm, it’s hard to keep your distance. It’s even harder to keep that friction from turning to fire.

But keeping my distance? That might be the biggest struggle of all. Because Billie is the whole package, whip-smart with a body I fantasize about when I’m alone, and quite possibly the only woman who can save this business—and me.

She drives me crazy. In every sense of the word. Every smart-mouthed little comment—every game we play—I end up wanting more. Wanting her closer. With me. Under me.

I try not to let her get to me, but the more time we spend together the more I crave her. Her lips. Her trust. Her heart.

I want it all.

But at what cost?

Because suddenly I don’t just want to win races, I want to win the girl.
I want it all.

But at what cost?

Because suddenly I don’t just want to win races, I want to win the girl.

I LIKED IT.

This was my first Elsie Silver book y’all. And I enjoyed it! I don’t know if continuing this series is for me though?

What I loved was the story. I thought the horse racing concept was awesome. Totally unique for me and engaging. I liked the characters and their personalities. The side characters shown well and the book truly is good.

I just think that the spice might have leaped over the plot and the second half lost its touch. I’m a slow burn girl. And needed maybe a slightly longer book to really feel that chemistry between Billie and Vaughn.

It’s fast paced, and if you’re a spice lover I think you should try it! I don’t know where I’ll land on reading another Silver book but I do get the hype.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: very strong
  • Romance: 4+ open; high explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: boss-employee relationship

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Book Review: Mile High (Windy City #1) by Liz Tomforde

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 603 pages
Author: Liz Tomforde
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: June 7th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Zanders

Chicago hockey isn’t complete without me—everyone’s favorite player to hate. I know my role, and I play it well. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy spending the majority of my game time in the penalty box before leaving the arena with a new girl on my arm each night.

What I don’t like is the new flight attendant on our team’s private plane. She works for me, not the other way around. But I’ll be sure to remind her of that, and I can guarantee, by the end of the season, she’ll be begging to quit her job.

But every road trip blurs the lines, and I can’t quite figure out if I keep pushing that flight attendant call button in order to push her buttons or if it’s more than that.

Stevie

I’ve been a flight attendant for years. I thought I’d see it all, but when my new job lands me onboard working for the most egotistical and self-righteous diva in the NHL, I start to second guess everything. Including the promise I made to myself of never hooking up with an athlete again…no matter how annoyingly tempting he may be.

Evan Zanders is unfiltered, unapologetic, and too attractive for his own good. He loves his image, but I hate everything about it.

Everything but him.

TOOK ME BY SURPRISED.

Here I am, reading every sports romance I can get my hands on. I’ve been holding off on picking this one up because of the spice, BUT I will say, why spicy (and I did skip a lot), the plot did outweigh that for me. I really loved the core of this story and the character growth throughout.

I am obsessed when the guy falls first, and the guy falls HARD. Enter Zanders who absolutely could not leave Stevie alone. Love that for him. I loved his bad boy, but actually a sweetheart persona and I loved that Stevie would take no crap from him, but also worked through her personal body issues.

I didn’t love that this had a one night stand trope *shrugs*. That’s a me thing but I stand by it. I did love the mental health conversations, all of the shelter dog content and of course, the hockey games too. I loved the audio and look forward to book two!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 5+ open; high explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: many conversations surrounding body image/weight issues, parental abandonment, mentions of anxiety/panic attacks, psychologically manipulative mother

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Book Review: The Bombshell Effect (Washington Wolves #1) by Karla Sorensen

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 240 pages
Author: Karla Sorensen
Publisher: Dutch Girl Publishing
Release Date: June 14th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

My new neighbor is a complete jerk. A tall, brooding, tattooed jerk. I tried to be nice, bake some cupcakes for him and his adorable daughter, and the only reaction I could come up with to his ice-cold reception was to shove those pink cupcakes right into his muscular chest.

In my defense, it was a rough week.

Being back in Seattle for the first time in years was hard enough, the fact that I was there for the dispersal of my father’s will made it even harder. I had no intention of staying, until I got a football stadium-sized surprise as my dad’s final gift to me.
No … really. He left me a football team.

It’s how I found myself in a conference room, staring down the veteran quarterback who wants nothing to do with a new owner. And that quarterback? It’s my tall, brooding, tattooed jerk of a neighbor.

Now he’s everywhere. Next door with his daughter. In meetings. Don’t even get me started on away games.
Luke Pierson is under my skin, and pretty soon, I’m not sure I want it any other way.

LACKING CHEMISTRY.

This is a super quick read, and I think that was a bit of the plot’s downfall. I just didn’t feel the chemistry between Luke and Allie. It was an attempt at enemies to lovers then it jumped to them jumping each other and I was left in the dust.

The single Dad trope was good. And I loved the Allie became the owner. There’s some good moments throughout and there’s plenty of solid football content too. And that third act? If you’ve read it, you know why that would make me a bit cranky.

I did like both characters on their own. Well built, mature and strong. I loved how great of a Dad Luke was and his consistent nature. Allie took a lot of new things thrown at her with such grace and poise. I loved the way she handled things.

I kind of want to try another book by this author, but I’m on the fence.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Lanuage: some strong
  • Romance: multiple open; high explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent (off page)

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Book Review: Blitz (Treasure State Wildcats #2) by Devney Perry

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 356 pages
Author: Devney Perry
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 7th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A forbidden, small town, sports romance from Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Devney Perry.

A coach. A student. The rules were concrete. We broke them anyway.

The night I met Toren Greely was the night I learned how to lie. He was a Treasure State football coach. I was the star of the volleyball team. Coaches and students were forbidden. My future was on the line, so I told myself it was only one night.

That was the first lie. They got easier to tell after that. The lines blurred. The boundaries shifted. Our relationship became a game of its own.

A chaste smile. A knowing glance. A veiled touch or a hushed kiss. We hid in plain sight. We were invincible. Or so we thought. Neither of us saw the blitz coming until it was too late.

Game over. The night I left Toren Greely was the night I learned how to lose.

I LIKED IT.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this forbidden romance, but honestly, it didn’t bug me all that much. I liked the set-up and just kind of rolled with the fantasy of this plot. I was here for vibes, and I liked the vibes.

The FMC was a bit dumb though. I didn’t like her POV as much with how repetitive she was and kind of unobservant of her situation. I think multiple things could have been handled differently, but I did love that she was a volleyball player and eventually found her passion and dreams.

I adored Toren. He was a sweet and I could not get enough of this age gap. There is something in Perry’s writing that pulls me in and I find myself flipping pages as fast as I can. I enjoyed the plot and had a good time reading this.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3-4 open door
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: inappropriate coach/student relationship, underage drinking

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