Book Review: Play Along (Windy City #4) by Liz Tomforde

July 31, 2024July 12, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 385 pages
Author: Liz Tomforde
Publisher: Golden Boy Publishing
Release Date: July 11th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Kennedy

I’m the only woman on staff for the Windy City Warriors, and after years of putting up with a sexist lead doctor, I’m desperate to land my dream job with a new team next year. All I have to do is maintain my professional reputation for my final season in Chicago.

But a Las Vegas run-in with the team’s shortstop threatens it all, leaving me with a fuzzy memory and a ring on my left hand.

Now, not only am I legally bound to the most persistent man I’ve ever met, but thanks to Isaiah’s scheme to save my job, I have to pretend the whole thing was a planned elopement and not a drunken mistake.

Isaiah Rhodes is reckless, impulsive, and frustratingly charming. He’s also my brand-new husband.

They got the saying wrong. What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas… sometimes it follows you right back home.

Isaiah

As the shortstop for Chicago’s professional baseball team, I’ve had my fair share of fun. But that all ended the day Kennedy Kay became a single woman.

I’ve crushed on the team’s athletic trainer for years. I’ve flirted to no avail, so imagine my surprise when I woke up in Sin City with a ring on my finger and my favorite redhead in my bed.

We agree to stay married for one baseball season, just long enough to keep her job safe, but in my mind, I’m using our time together to prove to her I’m husband material.

Kennedy might be reluctant to join in on our game, but it’s one I refuse to lose.

So come on, wife… play along.

KNEW IT.

I had a feeling from the get go this was going to be a winner for me. I LOVE books where the man is absolutely gone for her and Isaiah Rhodes DELIVERED. I have not recovered. I think The Right Move is still my top, top favorite, but this absolutely competes. I have been waiting for this story after the perfectly drawn out tension.

This marriage of convenience had me in a chokehold. I loved Kennedy!! She was fierce and capable and I just wanted her to feel the love that was surrounding her after being in a deficit for so long. The slow build for her and the character growth she showed was top tier. I loved her journey.

AND ISAIAH? Y’all can already tell I’m obsessed. I loved getting his POV and seeing the deeper workings of his thoughts and decision making processes. He’s a hopeless romantic with a huge heart who just wanted someone to want him. And that hits on a whole other level.

I loved the baseball content, the found family, the soft and sweet and the hard and fast. There’s not one moment I wasn’t glued to my kindle trying to read this.

Overall audience notes:

Sports Romance
Language: moderate-high
Romance: 4+ open door
Violence: low
Content Warnings: loss of a mother recounted, anxiety attacks (brought on by thunderstorms), misogyny and sexism in the workplace

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Book Review: Summer Ever After (Falling for Summer) by Kortney Keisel

July 18, 2024June 18, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 364 pages
Author: Kortney Keisel
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: June 12th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Falling in love is easy. Finding the right guy to spend happily ever after with… that’s the hard part.

But I have a foolproof plan. I’m taking the tropes that work in romance books and applying them to my love life.

Only one bed? Never fails.

Caring for someone when they’re sick? A classic.

“Who did this to you?” Seals the deal every single time.

So long, loneliness. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

But the more I try to force romance, the more feelings naturally progress with the one man who’s off limits: Walker Collins, the guy I’ve had a secret crush on since 7th grade, not to mention my best friend’s older brother.

Dating Walker crosses BFF lines I swore I’d never cross. Plus, he hates Sunset Harbor, and his pro golf career will take him off the island as fast as he came, sending me back to the land of singlehood, loneliness, and broken hearts.

At the end of the day, I don’t want to be the fool in my foolproof plan.

PLEASED.

I kind of have an up and down relationship with this author’s books. This, is an up! I really got caught up in the swoon of Walker. Because gosh DANG those kissing scenes were steamy and I’m pretty sure lit my kindle on fire. I am here for this.

What did bug me a little was Jane. I think her intense focus on the tropes and even creating them just rubbed me wrong in a way that’s hard to put my finger on. And that she held a secret from her best friend for so long?? Besides that, a truly good summer read.

I adore this small island and all of the interconnecting characters. I loooved the character growth in Walker and seeing him reconnect with his family and learning what he truly wants to value in life. I loved all of the flirting and banter. There was definitely plenty of fantastic chemistry between them. This is light, and fun and heated in all the best ways. Absolutely recommend for your summer TBR!

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: none
Romance: make-outs
Violence: low

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Book Review: Dukes and Dekes (Chawton Falls in Love) by Torie Jean

July 9, 2024January 11, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 460 pages
Author: Torie Jean
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can a professional hockey player reform his rakish ways for a winning shot at his best friend’s guarded heart?

Nestled between rocks and mountains, the slumbering town of Chawton Falls, NH, blinks alive every autumn when the Wentworth Estate hosts the Jane Austen Regency Fair.

For event coordinator Aulie Desfleurs, fall is a dizzying season full of bonnets, muslin, bicorn hats—and, unfortunately, this year, playing the role of the foolish Lydia Bennet. A sensible woman to her core, she has no time to worry about her mysterious chronic illness or love life.

So what if a spicy photo of her best friend Jack Parker in a penalty box threatens to reignite a spark from years ago? If she maintains her distance—an easy feat during hockey season—she’ll be fine.

Jack Parker, the bad boy of the American professional hockey league, is suspended…again. Forced to flee to Chawton Falls, Jack comes face to face with a swell of repressed emotions…and a goat. Seeking a distraction, he soon finds himself in the fair cast as the infamous rake, George Wickham.

Wearing breeches isn’t exactly on brand, but after five years of harboring unrequited feelings for Aulie, Jack’s willing to sport the high-waisted pants if it means convincing her he can be the dashing hero she deserves.

With a less than stellar dating history, and a suspension deadline looming, Aulie knows falling for Jack would be foolish.

But when he kisses her like a man possessed, one day, and takes care of her like a saint, the next, Aulie’s forced to choose: either embrace Jane Austen’s signature truth, “we are all fools in love,” or risk living like the author without a happily ever after of her own.

“Dukes and Dekes” is a friends-to-lovers, brother’s best friend romance that deals with grief and chronic illness. It contains adult language and open-door intimate scenes that realistically depict endometriosis (i.e., no penetration).

SO CLOSE.

I was very close to giving this five stars, but the more I thought about it, the more a few things bugged me (I would definitely still recommend this book though!!).

I AM ABSOLUTELY GONE FOR MEN WHO HAVE FALLEN HARD. The mutual pining in this book was off the dang charts. I loved it so much. I loooved that Jack was this grump of a hockey player who every time you got to his POV you saw this blushing man trying to work up the courage to confess his feelings. STOP IT. MY FAVORITE.

And I adored Aulie too. Her health battles and journey brought tears to my eyes. I loved the endo rep and the knowledge this book brought about the struggles and how this effects every aspect of your life.

There were lots of cute and saucy moments between Jack and Aulie. I thought the spice level was great and brought more to the story rather than take it over.

What I didn’t love/find necessary was the ex drama. I thought that was done with and causing ridiculous internet nonsense added more pages, but not more to the plot. I also feel like I have a few background questions that didn’t get answered??

Anyways, I will definitely be reading the next book in this series! I do love the way Torie Jean writes. And if it’s the couple I’m thinking of I love it already.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Sports Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: 2 brief open door
Violence: low-moderate
Trigger/Content Warnings: bad doctor experiences (including misdiagnosis), endometriosis rep, loss of a father to cancer (recounted), grief depiction, loss of family memebers

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ARC Book Review: The Perfect Putt (More Than a Game #2) by Annah Conwell

June 6, 2024May 20, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 250 pages
Author: Annah Conwell
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: June 6th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Golf is for rich, pretentious jerks who need something to do while they gossip.

That’s always been my opinion. So when my best friend lands me an interview with Miles Day–the youngest golfer to ever win the Masters–I almost say no.

But the six-figure salary attached to the position is too good to pass up.

Miles gives me the job as his assistant, with one caveat–don’t fall in love with him. Easy. So easy that I laugh in his face when he so much as suggests the possibility.

Except… the more time I spend with Miles, the harder it is to resist his charming smile and glittering green eyes.

Catching feelings for him isn’t an option though, because I have goals to reach, and he has an aversion to commitment. Falling in love would be a mistake, one neither of us are willing to make.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy!

DO I LIKE GOLF NOW?

I am not a golf fan, but maybe I’ll try it out now after reading this romance. I loved this one y’all! If you’re looking for a short and fast sweet romance, I would recommend Annah Conwell’s books.

I enjoyed the way the boss x assistant romance was handled. There was a lot of good angst and tension and the heated glances and little touches left me in a puddle. I connected a lot with both characters. I loved that Ellie was the natural grump who loved and loved deeply. I loved that Miles was passionate and dedicated and finally had the epiphany he needed about breaking his own cycle (been there Miles, I see you!!). While a lighter read, this is still filled with that depth I crave. And gosh dang, do I love a heated argument that turns into a feverish kiss.

Shaw and Fitz were my fav too. I’m all for men helping men realize they are acting like idiots. Having Shaw and Fitz dedicate time to helping MIles see past his own insecurities and mental blocks showed off the best kind of friendships. I loved how they cared for each other.

Fantastic banter, swoony kisses, and a quick read that has the best kind of summer vibes.

Overall audience notes: