Tales of a bookworm 23

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Kickin' It- Review



Kickin' It by Rachel Van Dyken

Synopsis: Provided by Goodreads

Love breaks the offside rule in New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken’s irresistibly sexy Red Card romance.

Successful, high-profile sports agent Matt Kingston thinks he can handle anything. Then soccer player Parker Speedman shows up at his door. She is young and gorgeous, has natural talent, and is looking for a team. She’s also a hothead with a punchy past who floored her last coach on live TV. Despite his misgivings, Matt agrees to be both her agent and her coach. Professional common sense says she’s off-limits. But what can he say about the raw attraction between them?

Parker plays soccer with her heart and soul. But after the events of the last year, she’s shaken. She’s already seen what a powerful man can do to a female athlete’s career. And her beloved dream is in the hands of a sexy, gorgeous man with the uncanny ability to slip past her defenses…and into her heart.

Now Matt and Parker are about to learn that when it comes to love, the only way to win is by breaking every rule they know. And by playing nice. Real nice.
 


Kickin' It (Red Card, #2)

My Review:
Rating: 4.5 stars

I received an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. I enjoyed this book. This is the second book in the red card series, however it can be read as a stand alone. This book focuses on sports agent Matt Kingston and soccer player Parker. Matt's sister Willow uses Matt's lack of focus on their conversation to gain her and Parker a invitation to stay at his house until Willow's trial period of being an intern in Matt's company is over. Matt practically raised Willow and their relationship of annoying younger sister to older brother is hilarious and adds a lot of humor to the story.

Parker is trying to get on a new team after having problems with her last team and being labeled a hot head. Matt views Parker as a client, which makes her off limits and added to the fact is that she is younger than him. Parker had a bad experience, which makes her distrust men. In the beginning Matt is a little bit of a jerk to Parker, however, once he starts to watch her and learns what happened to her he becomes her confidant. The relationship between the two is more than just lust and is based on feelings too.

 This story has the perfect mix of comedy, angst, romance and lust. I feel Rachel touched on a matter that happens to many women not just in sports, but in other areas and handled it very well. I was glad to see that Parker was able to stand up on her own and become a hero to other women who have gone through something similar to what happened to her. I hope Rachel writes Jagger and Willow's story.

This book releases June 11, 2019 and I highly suggest you pre-order it for a great summer read.

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Only Work, No Play

Synopsis: Provided by Goodreads

After two years of taking care of her heartbroken father, Evie needs a new start. Leaving the States and following her sister to Australia to work as the personal assistant of rugby star Xavier – The Beast – Stevens seems like the right kind of distraction.

Tall, muscled and devilishly handsome, Xavier is the lov’ em and leav’ em kind of guy. He never forgets a girl’s name because he never bothers to remember it in the first place.
Evie soon realizes that being Xavier’s assistant is a 24/7 job; the man seems unwilling to even set an alarm for himself.

As she watches him move from one woman to the next, Evie is glad that her heart is safe from his attention. After all, she’s a far cry from the size zero models he usually takes to his bed.
But soon being around Xavier doesn’t feel like a job, and seeing him walk around his apartment half naked all the time isn’t helping either. Evie knows that giving in to her attraction will lead to heartbreak, but when Xavier starts treating her as more than just his assistant, resisting his charms seems like an impossible task.


My Review:
Rating: 4 stars

I received an Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was the first book I have read by Cora Reilly and I really liked it. Evie goes to live with her twin sister Fiona in Australia, who gets her the job of becoming a personal assistant to rugby star Xavier. Xavier is someone who needed someone to make sure he got to all of his appointments and practices on time. I enjoyed that Evie was not a stick thin model, instead she was curvy and a little bigger than our normal stick figure heroines. Ususally when an author writes about a woman who is curvy they have self-esteem issues that are forced down your throat every two sentences. Cora incorporated her weight, but didn't make it an issue. I enjoyed the banter between Xavier and Evie and how the sexual tension between the two played out. There was a part I was so frustrated I wanted to jump in the book and smack Xavier, but it showed he was a flawed character. No one is perfect and Cora brought to light the many faults of Xavier and Evie. I wish I could read Fiona's book because I was really interested in her character. I liked that Fiona wanted to try and protect Evie, but Evie stood her ground and their relationship was still a big part of this book even though they hadn't seen each other in two years. Overall, it was a cute story with only a little bit of drama.






Sunday, February 17, 2019

The Tragedy Of Us by RG Angel- Released TODAY!!!

New Author Shout-Out

Synopsis: Provided by Goodreads

Charlie has it all figured out that is, until life sends her a curveball in the form of a seemingly self-sufficient star athlete, which forces her to re-evaluate everything, even herself.

Sixteen-year-old Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Miller—activist, smartass and carb lover—is sure she has everything figured out. She has a plan: finish high school with her best friend, then go to college to become a Pulitzer prize winning journalist. Clear and simple, right?

Things start to change when, due to her mother’s pressure to shape her curriculum and many burned bridges caused by her smart mouth, she is forced into tutoring one of the school’s star athletes, Gabriel Johnson.

As they get to know each other, Charlie realizes there might be something more to the boy than what meets the eye and that there is another side of him which he hides from the world.

After she finds herself involved in a situation which is more than she bargained for, she learns that even our own selves can cheat us, let us down and somehow surprise us. When the time comes to make hard choices, she has to decide if she steps up, runs away or hides to everyone even herself?





Where to buy it:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
Amazon FR
Kobo
Barnes & Noble


Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Only Work, No Play Release Blitz- Review to come February 23rd!!

 Only Work, No Play Synopsis:


After two years of taking care of her heartbroken father, Evie needs a new start. Leaving the States and following her sister to Australia to work as the personal assistant of rugby star Xavier – The Beast – Stevens seems like the right kind of distraction.

Tall, muscled and devilishly handsome, Xavier is the lov’ em and leav’ em kind of guy. He never forgets a girl’s name because he never bothers to remember it in the first place.



Evie soon realizes that being Xavier’s assistant is a 24/7 job; the man seems unwilling to even set an alarm for himself.



As she watches him move from one woman to the next, Evie is glad that her heart is safe from his attention. After all, she’s a far cry from the size zero models he usually takes to his bed.



But soon being around Xavier doesn’t feel like a job, and seeing him walk around his apartment half naked all the time isn’t helping either. Evie knows that giving in to her attraction will lead to heartbreak, but when Xavier starts treating her as more than just his assistant, resisting his charms seems like an impossible task.





About the Author:

Cora Reilly is the author of the Born in Blood Mafia Series, The Camorra Chronicles and many other books, most of them featuring dangerously sexy bad boys. Before she found her passion in romance books, she was a  traditionally published author of young adult literature.

Cora lives in Germany with a cute but crazy Bearded Collie, as well as the cute but crazy man at her side. When she doesn't spend her days dreaming up sexy books, she plans her next travel adventure or cooks too spicy dishes from all over the world.

Despite her law degree, Cora prefers to talk books to laws any day.


GIVEAWAY!!
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4cf78adb763/




Buy Links:

Amazon US | Amazon UK



Links:

Goodreads | Facebook | Website | Instagram | Author Group

Friday, January 18, 2019

The Kiss Thief



Synopsis: Provided by Goodreads

They say your first kiss should be earned.

Mine was stolen by a devil in a masquerade mask under the black Chicago sky.

They say the vows you take on your wedding day are sacred.

Mine were broken before we left church.

They say your heart only beats for one man.

Mine split and bled for two rivals who fought for it until the bitter end.

I was promised to Angelo Bandini, the heir to one of the most powerful families in the Chicago Outfit.

Then taken by Senator Wolfe Keaton, who held my father’s sins over his head to force me into marriage.

They say that all great love stories have a happy ending.

I, Francesca Rossi, found myself erasing and rewriting mine until the very last chapter.

One kiss.
Two men.
Three lives.
Entwined together.

And somewhere between these two men, I had to find my forever.


The Kiss Thief

My Review:

Rating: 5 Stars

Some books just rip your heart open and squeeze it! his book is one of those books for me. Everyone right now is talking about this book because it is just that awesome of a book! This is not a light-hearted romance, it is a dark romance. This book is dual P.O.V focusing more on Francesca than Wolfe's and honestly I think it was important to get both of their thoughts. It's so hard to write a spoiler free review! 

Francesca and Wolf will irritate you and make you want to strangle them both throughout the book. An important factor my friend kept reminding me is that Francesca is only 19 years old and they reiterate that throughout the book, but I expected more from her. Wolf is not without faults, but for some reason I feel extremely protective of him. 

The writing was amazing and honestly I will be checking more books by this author.

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Bedmates

Synopsis: Provided by Goodreads

From the bestselling author of Suddenly Royal comes the first in a sparkling new series about America’s favorite royal—the First Daughter.

Everyone makes mistakes, especially in college. But when you’re the daughter of the President of the United States, any little slip up is a huge embarrassment. Maddie McGuire’s latest error in judgment lands her in police custody, giving the press a field day. Agreeing to do community service as penance and to restore her tattered reputation, Maddie never dreams incredibly good looking but extremely annoying vice president’s son, Jake Simmon, will be along for the ride.

Recently returning from Afghanistan with a life-altering injury, Jake is wrestling with his own demons. He doesn’t have the time or patience to deal with the likes of Maddie. They’re like oil and water and every time they’re together, it’s combustible. But there’s a thin line between love and hate, and it’s not long before their fiery arguments give way to infinitely sexier encounters.

When Jake receives devastating news about the last remaining member of his unit, the darkness he’s resisted for so long begins to overwhelm him. Scared to let anyone close, he pushes Maddie away. But she isn’t about to give up on Jake that easily. Maddie’s fallen for him, and she’ll do anything to keep him from the edge as they both discover that love is a battlefield and there are some fights you just can’t lose.




Bedmates (American Royalty, #1)

My Review:

Rating: 3.5 Stars

This story follows the Presidents daughter Maddie and the Vice Presidents son Jake as they work together to help a program that helps veterans. Jake is a veteran, who is trying to come back to civilian life. This is a sweet story, but it definitely deals with PTSD and a few other trigger situations. I think part of me wasn't in the right mindset to really enjoy this. I thought it would be a sweet romance, but it was very heavy at times when dealing with some of Jake's demons.