Tag: sports romance

Book Review: The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Sports Romance
Length: 360 pages
Author: Elle Kennedy
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 24th, 2015
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The international bestseller! A standalone novel* from New York Times and international bestselling author Elle Kennedy!

She’s about to make a deal with the college bad boy…

Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice…even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.

…and it’s going to be oh so good

All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.

IT WAS ADDICTIVE.

I binged this sucker in under a day. And it DELIVERED. Definitely by no means a perfect book and I could easily pick out a few things I didn’t love, but it gets all the points for wrapping up my attention and delivering me Garret Graham.

Garrett Graham is going to be living rent free in my mind for the foreseeable future. I LOVED him. He was a nice balance of being the cocky all-star hockey player while also being respectful and protective of Hannah and her needs. The longer this book went on the more smitten I became. And that ending?? I’m a sucker for grand-ish gestures like that and I adored it.

I also loved Hannah. She was incredible and was such a light. I liked that she bantered so beautifully with Garrett. But was the shoulder to lean on and the support he needed through his issues too. I just loved them both.

The drama of this new adult romance + college life seemed a little far fetched at times, but lets face it. I didn’t really care. This was an escape. I’m obsessed.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 5+ open; high explicit
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: multiple mentions of rape (recounted from Hannah), child and domestic abuse (physical and emotional, recounted by Garrett), slut-shaming, alcohol consumption, death of a parent (off page)

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

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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

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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

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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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