One More Shot (Hometown Players #1) by Victoria Denault ~ #bookreview #sportsromance

One More Shot (Hometown Players #1)

by Victoria Denault (Goodreads Author)

They say you only get one shot at making your dreams come true.

Jordan is determined to take two.

Drafted by the NHL at eighteen, Jordan Garrison was headed for fame, and there was only one person he wanted to share it with—Jessie Caplan. He was crazy in love with her, and had finally told her so. They shared an amazing night . . . and then everything fell apart.

Jessie tries not to think about the night she gave herself to Jordan—or how he broke her heart. She tries not to think about it, but she does. Especially now, when she's staring into his sky-blue eyes for the first time in six years. After so much time and torment, she can't tell if she loves him or hates him. But Jordan has learned enough to know a connection like theirs is rare. He was lucky to find Jessie once. No way will he lose her again.

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Genre: NA/Adult Contemporary Sports Romance

Part 2 in an ongoing series

My One More Shot Review ...

Well this is a debut author and it was pretty good but unfortunately for me it was another book filled with ... loads of assumptions and miscommunications.  As you all know of late that this theme is driving me batty because it's been overdone. 

I let the the first round of assumptions and miscommunications go because they were young and stupid at the time but now 6 years later and they are still making the same mistakes that I was getting frustrated just wanting them to pull up their big boy and girl pants and move on and grow up.

Jordan and Jessie have been best friends since they were 8 years old.  Once they started to blossom they became more and more attracted to one another but didn't say anything.  At this time they were dating other people.  Now at 18 Jordan finally makes his move and tells her how he feels but then a gong show of things happen causing Jessie to run instead of confront or talking to Jordan.  Because they are both young they don't actually confront the issue and now 6 years later they are forced to deal with their past, present and possible future. 

To get a background on these two it was done doing flashbacks. I have to admit that sometimes I'm cool with flashbacks and other times they grow tiresome. In this book for me they were unfortunately tiresome.  I just wanted to be done with their past and for them to both realize that they BOTH made mistakes and instead of nursing hurt feelings that could have been avoided if they actually talked to one another.

After another series of events of more assumptions, miscommunications and running.  Jessie finally clues in and does the unthinkable and actually stays put and communicates *gasp*

~ I'm not runny away this time~  (fucking finally) 

After the talk these two finally get their heads out of their asses they try to make a relationship work for them.  During their ups and downs we get to see a bit more from his friends and family gearing up for other books in the series.  

Sports Romances are another guilty pleasure of mine and I was looking for something new and hoping that this would fit the bill but it didn't at this time, but this series does have potential and I will most likely read the next one to see if it can live up to its potential.  In the end it was cute but predictable and too similar to other themes in this genre. 

2.5 to 3 More assumptions and miscommunications thumbs up!

. 5  to 

Lauren

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Vicious Cycle (Vicious Cycle #1) by Katie Ashley ~ #bookreview @BerkleyRomance @SignetEclipse

Vicious Cycle (Vicious Cycle #1)

by Katie Ashley (Goodreads Author)

New York Times bestselling author Katie Ashley revs up the danger and sexual tension in her brand-new Vicious Cycle romance series.

Deacon Malloy’s life is dedicated to the Hell’s Raiders motorcycle club. Tough, hard, and fast with his fists, he serves the group as sergeant at arms. But his devil-may-care approach to life is thrown for a loop when the five-year-old daughter he never knew existed lands on the club steps.

Alexandra Evans is devoted to all her students—but there’s always been something about Willow Malloy that tugs at her heart. There’s an aura of sadness about her, a girl in need of all the love Alexandra can give. When Willow stops coming to school, Alexandra’s search leads to a clubhouse full of bikers…and a father hell-bent on keeping his daughter always within sight.

The moment Deacon sees Alexandra, he has to have her in his bed—and he’s never met a woman yet who couldn’t be persuaded. No matter how attracted she is to Deacon, Alexandra refuses to be just another conquest. But it’s Deacon himself who could be seduced—into a brighter future for himself, his daughter, and the woman he’s falling for against all odds.

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Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of NAL | Penguin Group

Genre: MC Adult Contemporary Romance

Part 1 in a new series

My Vicious Cycle Review ...

I have to admit MC books are my guilty pleasure.  It's been awhile since I read a Katie Ashley book.  I have liked her books in the past so now add that its a MC book and I was giddy to start reading it.

This MC book was good but not my favorite.  It had elements of good and the series has loads of potential but there were also elements that didn't work for me. 

Deacon Malloy's a bad ass and he lives and breathes his MC life and brotherhood.

Alexandra has a good heart but has had a tough life.  

Willow Malloy has lost almost everything at a very young age and now is caught in the middle of a MC war. 

Deacon's living his life as he does but then one day he finds out that he has a five year old daughter.  Which changes everything for him.  Now he just has to adjust to being a biker and a new father.  But that's harder than he thinks especially since his daughter doesn't talk. 

Alexandra is a good teacher.  She's following the path of her deceased parents into teaching and their loyalty to their students.  One student in particular catches her heart.  So when Willow stops coming to school she goes searching for her.  Which is right in the heart of the MC badlands. 

Deacon and Alex are the most unlikely duo but have more in common then they think.  Alex is the key to opening up Willow and bringing Deacon into the light away from his dark. 

I did like this book but there were a few things that drove me a bit mad at times.  I'm not a big fan of giggling in books which made this especially hard at times to wrap your head around a bad ass biker and a giggler.  I LOVED Willow but I don't know any five year old that talks like that, so it too was hard to think of her as a young child when she talked like a mature teenager.

"I ain't never had to work for a woman."

"Maybe you never had one worth working for."

Sometimes the thinks that are meant for us are the things we have to work the hardest for.  For Deacon, Alexandra is that lesson.   Good Couple. Great kid.  Decent MC world.  Great potential as a series. Good ending.  Decently strong heroine minus all the giggling. Great Hero and MC brethren.

3 Stop the giggling Thumbs up! 

 

Lauren

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Moonlight on Nightingale Way (On Dublin Street #6) by Samantha Young ~ #bookreview @BerkleyRomance @SignetEclipse

Moonlight on Nightingale Way (On Dublin Street #6)

by Samantha Young (Goodreads Author)

Last in the Series

Logan from Echoes of Scotland Street is back with his own smoldering story, as the New York Times bestselling On Dublin Street series returns…

Logan spent two years paying for the mistakes he made. Now, he’s ready to start over. He has a great apartment, a good job, and plenty of women to distract him from his past. And one woman who is driving him to distraction…

Grace escaped her manipulative family by moving to a new city. Her new life, made to suit her own needs, is almost perfect. All she needs to do is find her Mr. Right—or at least figure out a way to ignore her irresistible yet annoying womanizer of a neighbor.

Grace is determined to have nothing to do with Logan until a life-changing surprise slowly begins turning the wild heartbreaker into exactly the kind of strong, stable man she’s been searching for. Only just when she begins to give into his charms, her own messy past threatens to derail everything they’ve worked to build…

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Genre: Adult Contemporary

Final Part in a series.  Part 6

My  Moonlight on Nightingale Way Review ...

Ah! The end of a great series.  Is always bitter sweet for me.

In this last book we get to find out more about Logan, whom is Shannon's sister.  We met Logan in Echoes in Scotland.  And this book starts off a few months after Logan is released from jail.

Grace Farquhar can come across a bit prim and proper but really she's just a girl who has a big heart and is super loyal to the people who she deems are family.  

One thing she hates are confrontations, so when her new neighbor is banging his way through Scotland and wrecking her order of things, she's finally had enough.

"I'm sleep deprived, and it's all your fault, you bloody wretched manwhore."

Logan's living his life to the fullest now that he's out of jail.  He has great friends, a great job and a super supportive loving sister.  What more could he want?  The minute he runs into Grace she's everything he wants but doesn't think he can have.  It's much easier to stick with his lothario ways.

Normally Grace is cool and calm but there is something about Logan that sets her off. She thinks she wants nothing to do with him but her friends and Logan's have a different plan for these two.  Grace and Logan are not friends, they're barely acquaintances but one day a young girl comes upon their doorstep and changes everything.

Grace has such a compelling need to help Logan with Maia.  It could be because there is a part of her that understands what Maia has gone through but in a very different way.

"Because I've been where you are-looking for family because the one I was born with let me down in a way you can't forgive."

After Maia, Logan and Grace are finally friends.  To Grace, Logan is so much more but her insecurities and doubts cause her not to see what's happening.  For Logan, once he truly saw the real Grace he knew he wanted her but his past has made him think he couldn't have her.  However, this doesn't mean he could curb his attraction to her. 

"But you"-he shook his head-"I can't walk away from you even if I wanted to.  And I don't want to. You are reality and sweet oblivion wrapped up in one annoyingly argumentative, always-bloody-right, classy, gorgeous-as-fuck package."

Grace and Logan are so super sweet together.  I loved them.  Thankfully with the help of their friends which is everyone from the On Dublin Street series and some newcomers they help these two realize that they need each other.  If it weren't for them these two might have never found their way together.

"I kind of like you , Logan MacLeod."  His grin was wicked and slow. "You kind of more than like me, Miss Grace Farquhar."

Gah! I truly adore this series.  From the first to the last it has a special place in my heart.  I am sad to see the end but know it has to happen.   I thought Grace and Logan were a great way to end the series. 

4.5 Goodbye Thumbs up! 

. 5

Lauren

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Sweet Ache (Driven #6) by K. Bromberg ~ #bookreview @BerkleyRomance @SignetEclipse

Sweet Ache (Driven #6)

by K. Bromberg (Goodreads Author)

The New York Times bestselling author of Slow Burn turns up the heat when a sexy bet turns into so much more…

Hawkin Play, the bad boy rock star with a good guy heart, has lived a lifetime of cleaning up after his twin brother’s mistakes. Hunter’s most recent screw-up could land Hawke in jail and risk the band’s future. Hawke agrees to guest lecture at a local college to stay in the judge’s good graces—and a bet with his bandmate to seduce his sexy teaching assistant is icing on the cake.

Quinlan Westin is harder to bed than Hawke imagined. She knows his type and is determined to avoid the rocker at all costs—even if their attraction runs deeper than simple lust.

Just as Hawke might finally be winning over the girl, his brother has other plans. When Hunter realizes his twin finally has a weakness, he’ll stop at nothing to take advantage…

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Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Part 6 in a series but could be read as a standalone

My Sweet Ache Review ... 

"Love is nothing more than a meaningless word in a lyric until someone comes along and makes the music to bring it to life ... " 

I loved the first four books then was disappointed with 'martyr-gate' with Slow Burn so I didn't know what to expect with this book but .... I loved it.

"Lips like an angel, body made for sin, and feisty enough to rival the devil's fire?"

In Sweet Ache we get Quinlan's story.  Quinlan isn't broken but she has a gift for picking the wrong man.  So when Hawkin Play steps into her life she knows the player type especially being Colton's sister.  With this knowledge she vows to stay away, but just can't.

At first these two have a love/hate vibe going on but you all know its just extreme foreplay for this duo.  Hawkin is used to the easy girl which suits his brokenness just fine.  Then he meets Quinlan and for the first time something changes inside of him.

 

After Colton's sad tale I didn't know if you could beat that or even match it, but K. Bromberg has a knack at making her player bad boys have the most saddest background stories that just breaks your heart for these poor broken men.

" ... Everyone has a breaking point, Hawkin.  One person can take on only so much responsibility without buckling from its weight,"

Hawkin's story could be tied with Colton's.  Both so sad but heartbreaking in different ways.   Gah! Thankfully Quinlan is strong enough for the both of them to help him through.  I really did like this story. At times it was a bit predictable and dodgy that I thought oh oh not again but then thankfully it pulled its self around and kept me reeled in to the end. 

"Sometimes you have to fight in order to be free,"

It was sweet and heartbreaking.  It was also sexy and fun.  It had a little intrigue and suspense.  It had a strong female and broken but beautiful male.  And thankfully there wasn't the typical angst full of insecurities, assumptions and miscommunication.  There was angst but it was from elements of the story not just the genre norm.  With this, it made the story so much more enjoyable and the characters easier to connect with.

4 Hawking Loving Thumbs up!! 

Lauren

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One Night with a Billionaire (Billionaire Boys Club #6) by Jessica Clare ~ #bookreview

One Night with a Billionaire (Billionaire Boys Club #6)

by Jessica Clare (Goodreads Author)

The New York Times bestselling author of The Wrong Billionaire’s Bed delivers a delicious new novel about a secret society of six men who are incredibly wealthy—but not always so successful when it comes to love…

Kylie may be a makeup artist to the stars, but she knows what it feels like to be overshadowed. Especially by her famous boss, the pop star Daphne. That’s why she’s stunned—and delighted—when one night at a party, she attracts the attention of a gorgeous stranger. But when Daphne decides she wants the handsome billionaire for herself, Cade Archer is suddenly off-limits for Kylie…

Cade has known Daphne for years, and always wondered if she might be the right woman for him—even though she never gave him the time of day. But one sizzling night with Kylie has changed everything. So why is she suddenly avoiding him? Fortunately Cade is determined to get what he wants, and he’ll do anything to show Kylie she can get everything she wants too…

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Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy from Berkley | Penguin Group

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Part 6 in a series

My One Night with a Billionaire Review ... 

Finally Cade's Story.  It feels like forever that I have been waiting for this story.  Cade has always had one love, which is Daphne Petty, the popstar and train wreck.   Within this series Daphne has never been my favorite for Cade so I wasn't sure who was going to be his match.  I gotta tell you, that I'm so happy that it wasn't Daphne in the end.  

Cade has always been hung up on Daphne then one day he bumps into a voluptuous gorgeous woman and it changes his life for the better.   Kylie's a big and beautiful but is full of insecurities and inner demons.  One chance meeting with Cade Archer and she wants to believe things could be different. 

Cade and Kylie turn one night into so much more but they have to walk through the landmines of Daphne first if they want to find any happiness.  The closer they get the more Kylie's issues come to be causing her to run.  Thankfully Cade knows what he wants and comes after her.  When things finally explode where it comes to Daphne, Kylie's issues once again make an appearance which causes her to run again.

"I love you.  I want to be with you more than anything, but with circumstances how they are, I just can't.  I can't be a burden to you."  (Kylie, Here's an idea for you.  Try talking to Cade who happens to be oh! I don't know ... a friggin' billionaire.  Just maybe he will understand and then, he can let it be his choice if he wants to help or not.) 

"Don't thank me," Cade said.  "Talk to me.  Make me understand why you keep running away."  (What a novel idea Cade!  Why would a heroine think to communicate when it causes so much more angst by running and not communicating. Ugh! ) 

Thankfully Cade is sweet and awesome and doesn't mind continuously chasing Kylie, so he can tend to her and her issues, to then get his turn at happiness. 

In the beginning I was really into this book.  As I could relate to Kylie being a bigger woman with insecurities but then as the book went on, I started to get annoyed.  In real life moments mark us and cause us at times to have some issues as well as insecurities.  However, when reading in books, these issues repeatedly it starts to grow tiresome and annoying.  Now add giggling and things started to fall apart for me.  If I read only a few books a year I truly wouldn't mind the angst of typical assumptions and miscommunications but when you read a lot within this genre this theme gets laborious.  Which in the end causes a negative effect when reading instead of the positive effect that is intended.

The idea of the story was great.  I truly do love the series and I'm sad to see it end.  This book had great moments but for me it also many roll my eyes moments as well.

Started as a 4 but went down to a 3 in the end Thumbs up! 

Lauren 

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Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road #1) by Katie McGarry ~ #bookreview #NA #MC #releaseday

Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road #1)

by Katie McGarry (Goodreads Author)

An unforgettable new series from acclaimed author Katie McGarry about taking risks, opening your heart and ending up in a place you never imagined possible.

Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.

Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

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Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Harlequin Teen via NetGalley

Genre: NA MC Contemporary Romance

Part 1 in a new series

My Nowhere But Here Review ...

I wasn't sure how a YA MC book was going to go but it so worked out.  

Emily has a pretty perfect life but there are some holes for her that fear has filled.  Fear caused from her past and also from her Mom.  So when she's forced to go back to for a funeral from a grandma who didn't want her she's very reluctant to go.

"Our fears are what stifle us and we're only scared of what we don't understand.  Fear can be handed down generationally, kind of like eye color.  I love your mom, but I also love you.  I don't want to see your mother's fears turn into chains that drag you down."

All Oz has ever wanted is to patch in the Reign of Terror MC.  The only thing holding him back is watching over the girl who's basically MC royalty but also the girl who doesn't want to be there and has hurt to many of his family.  For this he wants her gone but he will do whatever it takes for his patch.

Emily has found herself in the middle of a shitstorm of MC drama but her mom and dad feel it is best for her to stay there.  Even though it is the last place she wants to be.  Oddly enough, even though Oz doesn't want her here, she feels safe with him.  He's the one thing that is holding her at bay within this new scenario.  

What Emily and Oz are quickly learning is that they're living and suffering from the mistakes of their parents.  Emily has always believed one side of the story and now that she finds out it could be wrong her whole world is rocked.

"Because I need to know if my mother is lying to me," she shouts.  "Because if my mother is lying to me then everything I know is wrong and that's not okay."

Emily thought she new what the truth was but now knows it's been nothing but a web of lies.  How can she trust anything from this point onward when her parents can't respect the truth?

"The pain the two of them created was built on secrets and lies and regardless of what they think, the past would have caught up to you.  Hiding and denying does nothing but cultivate the fear."

Oz and Emily start to grow closer despite the scenario they are in.  The MC will not be happy with this development but these two are thrown into a grown up world to quickly which has caused them to grow up too fast.  Together they make it work.  The find solace in each other.   They make each other want more than what they have been handed.  They also want a way to right the wrongs of the past. 

~ They tore each other apart then made decisions that continue to have a domino effect.  Now Emily and I are left to battle the flames. ~

I'm such a huge fan of Katie McGarry and she has written another great book.  I can't wait to read more from this series.  This MC has been cracked open for a new era of change and truth.  So many possibilities for the future.  I loved Emily and Oz together.  They found each other when they needed it the most and now they're trying to make it work especially with this new shaky foundation in this MC world. 

4.5  Thundering Thumbs up!

. 5

Lauren

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Rescuing the Bad Boy (Second Chance #2) by Jessica Lemmon ~ #bookreview

Rescuing the Bad Boy (Second Chance #2)

by Jessica Lemmon (Goodreads Author)

NOT ALL SCARS HEAL

For Donovan Pate, the lake town of Evergreen Cove is a minefield of tough memories—including the day he had to let go of Sofie Martin. Years later, he still can’t forget the taste of her lips and the feel of her killer curves. He knows he’s too damaged, that he should stay away for her own good. But what the head says and the heart wants are two very different things…

Seven years ago, Donovan broke Sofie’s heart. Now her career depends on playing nice in order to pull off the charity fundraiser of the decade. She vows to keep things professional…yet working by his side every day doesn’t make it easy to fight temptation, and it isn’t long before she finds herself falling for this bad boy all over again. But loving Donovan means helping him face his past–so they can fight for a future together.

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Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Forever / Grand Central via NetGalley

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Part 2 in an ongoing series

My Rescuing the Bad Boy Review ... 

"Love is about getting what you don't deserve."

In Bringing Home the Bad Boy we hear of Donovan and know there is some history with Sofie but we don't quite know what it is.  Finally with this book we get to see Donovan's demons. 

Donovan Pate doesn't know what love is.  He's never received it before.  All he knows is abandonment, hurt, judgement and hate.  So when he gets a glimpse of what love could be he splits.  In this process he also hurts a very vulnerable and sweet Sofie.  

Sofie Martin has a soft soul and good heart.  She has some insecurities but nothing has left her as hurt as the humiliation of losing her virginity to Donovan for him to throw it in her face then leave town without looking back. 

Now seven years later they are forced to work together.  This new arrangement is going to either make or break them.  Donovan doesn't believe he could deserve something as pure and sweet as Sofie but it also doesn't mean he can stay away from her either. 

"You have these weird moments of polite interspersed with Neanderthal, did you know that?"

After Sofie for seven years he has stayed away from any woman but once that woman comes back into his life he's now torn between want, need and reality.  Sofie has never stopped loving Donovan but she doesn't want to get hurt again.  If they are going to start anything again then she wants to be in control of how it plays out.  Donovan is only supposed to be there for a short time so they decide to make the best of that time. 

Their connection is just as strong as that one night seven years ago, but now as adults its harder to not to get emotionally involved.  The more time they spend together the more they fall.

"Being inside you, Sofie, is like being held together."

But just because you fall doesn't mean it correlates with a HEA.  Sofie thinks now that Donovan admits to his feelings that things will go in the right direction for her this time, but his demons are old and rooted.  It will take a lot for Donovan to realize that he deserves someone like Sofie and be capable of loving and being loved in return. 

Dear Jessica ... Thank you for writing a book that is not filled with angst from assumptions and miscommunications.  There was still angst but it was more of personal angst with the growth of the characters.  I find it refreshing when angst is caused by this then the genre norm. 

  I loved Evan from Book 1.  I adored Donovan and all his demons and now I can not wait for book 3 for Connor. 

4 Battling Inner Demons Thumbs up!

Lauren

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