Early Review: Ryker by Sawyer Bennett

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Ryker by Sawyer Bennett
Series: Cold Fury Hockey #4 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 8th 2015
Links: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The rugged men of the Carolina Cold Fury hockey team are winning hearts once again in another scorching novel from New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett.

The stakes have never been higher for Carolina Cold Fury goalie Ryker Evans. With his contract running out, he’s got a year left to prove he’s still at the top of his game. And since his wife left him, Ryker has been balancing life as a pro-hockey star and a single parent to two daughters. Management is waiting for him to screw up. The fans are ready to pounce. Everybody’s taking dirty shots—except for the fiery redhead whose faith in Ryker gives him a fresh start.

As the league’s only female general manager, Gray Brannon has learned not to mix business with pleasure. And yet even this tough, talented career woman can’t help breaking her own rules as she gives Ryker everything she’s got. She hopes their hot streak will last forever, but with Ryker’s conniving ex plotting to reclaim her man, the pressure’s on Gray to step up and save a tender new love before it’s too late.

I’m a huge fan of the Cold Fury Hockey series, so I had high expectations for Ryker, and it didn’t disappoint! Ryker is another fantastic addition to this sports romance series I’ve come to love so much. I’d been eagerly awaiting Ryker’s story ever since meeting him in Zack (which will forever be my favorite Cold Fury Hockey book) and I loved – LOVED – that Ryker’s book was a forbidden office romance. With a female boss! Sawyer Bennett totally rocked Ryker and Gray’s book – fans of the series won’t want to miss it!

Gray Brannon is Cold Fury’s newest general manager – and she’s made sports history by being the first female GM for a hockey team. Gray is tough, smart, kickass, and a complete take-charge woman – but not everyone likes the idea of having a female GM. There are some very misogynistic people in the Cold Fury team, but she finds an ally in Ryker Evans. The sexy single father is incredibly supportive and respectful of her job… but there’s an underlying chemistry between the two of them they can’t ignore.

I. Cannot. Be. Involved. With. Him.
It’s that simple.
Except . . . I’m the type of person who’s known for bending the rules.
Hell, throwing the rules out the door.
I’m a pioneer. A risk taker. A box breaker.
I answer to no one but my self.

Ryker is the single father of two adorable little girls and the goalie for Carolina Cold Fury. These are two very tough jobs, but Ryker gives nothing less than 100% of his time and effort for the things he cares about most: his family and hockey. But when Gray Brannon became the new GM, he knows he’s met an incredible woman who he might want to spend the rest of his life with, so he goes after her, regardless of the consequences.

I adored Ryker! Seriously. He’s a wonderful dad and a wonderful person. I do wish that there could’ve been more scenes between Ryker and his daughters. I swoon so hard for loving single fathers! And I absolutely LOVED how much Ryker respected, appreciated, and admired Gray – he made the perfect hero. Even when they start their relationship, Ryker respects her enough to keep their affair a secret, though he’s very adamant that it’s not a fling. Their romance was a bit slow, but genuine, and I just really appreciated the way Sawyer Bennett wrote this forbidden romance.

For the first time in my life, I feel interest in something other than my career.
I feel needed.
I feel happy.
I. Feel. Everything.
And I don’t want to let it go.
For the first time in my life, I feel love for a man other than my father.

What I liked about Ryker was how little drama there was WITHIN the relationship. There are lots of outside forces that won’t let Ryker and Gray be together, including Ryker’s ex-wife, but the two of them are just so mature and steady in their feelings for each other. As long as the two of them have confidence in each other, which they do, they’ll come out on top.

This book is also very much about the Cold Fury team as a whole. Gray has a lot of work to do in order to win over her team and to get them to work together, but she’s a woman who gets the job done. Also? We get to see a lot of Alex and Sutton, Garrett and Olivia, and Zack and Kate. Especially Zack and Kate, which made me so incredibly happy. Fans of Zack are going to LOVE what happens in Ryker!

I seriously adore Sawyer Bennett’s Cold Fury Hockey series, and not just for the hot the covers – if you’re a fan of sports romances, these books are absolute MUST READS! They’re full of heart, humor, and sexy-as-hell hockey men. And one last reason you should read Ryker? Because Ryker’s character was inspired by this guy. 😉

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: Cold Fury Hockey series

#1 ~ Alex: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Garrett: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Zack: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Ryker: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#5 ~ Hawke: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#6 ~ Max: Ebook • Goodreads (Dec. 13, 2016)

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1Sep2015

Release Day Review: Broken Play by Samantha Kane

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Broken Play by Samantha Kane
Series: Birmingham Rebels #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 1st 2015
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Perfect for fans of Shayla Black and Lexi Blake, the deeply sensual new Birmingham Rebels series introduces an unforgettable team of chiseled football gods—and the daring, provocative games they play behind closed doors.

Birmingham Rebels offensive linemen Beau Perez and Cass Zielinski are inseparable, on and off the field. Cass, the captain with the cowboy swagger, is a loose cannon. Beau, the veteran tight end, is cool under pressure. And ever since they were caught on tape in a steamy threesome, their exploits have fueled more than a few tabloid headlines—and naughty fantasies.

Marian Treadwell knows all about the video. And now that she’s the Rebels’ new assistant offensive coach, she can’t look at Beau and Cass without picturing their hard, naked bodies—with her pressed in between. Marian would like nothing more than to indulge those impulses, but she knows better than to get too close to her players, a bunch of adrenaline-fueled alpha males who don’t always follow the rules.

Just the thought of sharing the gorgeous yet guarded Marian drives Cass wild. At first, Beau isn’t sure she’s right for them . . . and lately, all he desires is a little alone time with Cass to explore their new intimacy. But it’s only a matter of time before Cass breaks through both of their defenses. Because when seduction is the game plan, he always plays to win.

Wow – this sports romance is definitely different from what I’m used to! Broken Play is a menage romance, and a CRAZY hot and kinky one at that! I actually kind of loved it – I was in the perfect mood for some hot, smutty goodness, and Broken Play certainly delivered.

Marian Treadwell has just become the new coach to the red-headed stepchild of the football league, the Birmingham Rebels. They’re the team with all the misfits, but Marian plans to whip the team up in shape to win. What she doesn’t plan on is feeling a fiery-hot chemistry with the team’s captain, Cass, and his best friend Beau. Marian has always had fantasies of taking part in a menage, so lucky for her that Cass and Beau have their sights set on her right after their first meeting.

Cass and Beau are a bit in love with each other, but the only way they have to show their love is through a woman. So threesomes are their MO, but once they meet Marian, they plan on winning her heart and keeping her for themselves. I loved how alpha and possessive Cass and Beau were around Marian, though in different ways. Cass is the dominant one with a temper, while Beau is the more sweet and charming one. They are certainly alpha-males, but it’s also so clear how much the both of them love, respect, and care about Marian.

I loved getting to know the players on the Birmingham Rebels team. I was pleasantly surprised by how funny this book was! Cass and Beau are great, but I really enjoyed learning more about their teammates, especially Tyler. His book is next, and I can’t wait for it!

And holy hell, this menage romance is H.O.T!!! Seriously, you will need a fan when you read this book. There are kinky threesomes, some yummy M/M, and even an orgy at the end. This is definitely not your typical sports romance, but if you’re open-minded and in the mood for something hot and kinky, I highly recommend this book.

SEXUAL CONTENT: M/F/M, M/M/F, M/M, + an ORGY

Reading Order: Birmingham Rebels series

#1 ~ Broken Play: Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Calling the Play: My Review • Ebook • Goodreads

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31Aug2015

Early Review: Delayed Penalty by Sophia Henry

Posted in 3 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Delayed Penalty by Sophia Henry
Series: Pilots Hockey #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 1st 2015
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

She closed her heart long ago. He just wants to open her mind. For fans of Toni Aleo and Sawyer Bennett, the debut of Sophia Henry’s red-hot Detroit Pilots series introduces a hockey team full of complicated men who fight for love.

Auden Berezin is used to losing people: her father, her mother, her first love. Now, just when she believes those childhood wounds are finally healing, she loses something else: the soccer scholarship that was her ticket to college. Scrambling to earn tuition money, she’s relieved to find a gig translating for a Russian minor-league hockey player—until she realizes that he’s the same dangerously sexy jerk who propositioned her at the bar the night before.

Equal parts muscle and scar tissue, Aleksandr Varenkov knows about trauma. Maybe that’s what draws him to Auden. He also lost his family too young, and he channeled the pain into his passions: first hockey, then vodka and women. But all that seems to just melt away the instant he kisses Auden and feels a jolt of desire as sudden and surprising as a hard check on the ice.

After everything she’s been through, Auden can’t bring herself to trust any man, let alone a hot-headed puck jockey with a bad reputation. Aleksandr just hopes she’ll give him a chance—long enough to prove he’s finally met the one who makes him want to change.

I was intrigued by Delayed Penalty because I’m a sucker for sports romances AND I heard it has a hot Russian hockey player! While it wasn’t quite what I expected, Delayed Penalty was still a good debut with lots of potential. I didn’t quite manage to connect with the characters, but the story overall was fairly enjoyable.

Auden Berezin needs to find a way to earn tuition money after losing her soccer scholarship. Luckily, since she’s fluent in Russian, she gets a job as a translator for Russian hockey player Aleksandr Varenkov. Unfortunately, Aleksandr turns out to be the jerk she met the other night who did not make a good first impression. Now she’ll have to be around him all during season to help him communicate with the media. She doesn’t like Aleksandr, and even worse, she hates that she’s attracted to him.

Auden was an interesting character. She’s got a lot of internal scars, as a girl who’s used to losing people. She’s a bit judgmental towards Aleksandr, even when he tries to apologize for being a jerk. But once they move on and agree to be friendly, things start looking up between them. Auden and Aleksandr spend a lot of time together, and they open up to each other. Auden finds herself connecting with Aleksandr in a way she’s never connected with anyone else. They bond over lost parents, a love for sports, and all things Russian, and eventually start to fall for one another.

Could I let myself fall in love with Alexkandr Varenkoc when I knew falling caused injuries?
Scraped knees and palms would heal, but what about a lacerated heart?

I enjoyed this story, even though I felt like it was a bit all over the place. Too many things are going on at once, and it was difficult for me to connect with anyone or anything. I really didn’t like Aleksandr in the beginning, though he grew on me in the end. Auden and Aleksandr’s romance is a slow but sweet one, but I just didn’t feel the chemistry between them.

“Everything I do and everything I am is all for you, Audushka.”

All in all, Delayed Penalty was a good, but not great book. It had a lot of potential to be another fantastic sports romance, but things got a little hectic, plot-wise. I really hope the stories in the upcoming books of the series will be more fleshed out, because I’d definitely give this author another try.

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: Pilots Hockey series

#1 ~ Delayed Penalty: Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Power Play: Ebook • Goodreads (Feb. 16, 2016)
#3 ~ Interference: Ebook • Goodreads (May 3, 2016)

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25Aug2015

Release Day Review: Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne
Series: Love Unexpectedly #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: August 25th 2015
Links: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

In a novel that’s perfect for fans of Abbi Glines and Jessica Sorensen, USA Today bestselling author Lauren Layne delivers a sexy take on the timeless question: Can a guy and a girl really be “just friends”?

When Parker Blanton meets Ben Olsen during her freshman year of college, the connection is immediate—and platonic. Six years later, they’re still best friends, sharing an apartment in Portland’s trendy Northwest District as they happily settle into adult life. But when Parker’s boyfriend dumps her out of the blue, she starts to wonder about Ben’s no-strings-attached approach to dating. The trouble is, even with Ben as her wingman, Parker can’t seem to get the hang of casual sex—until she tries it with him.

The arrangement works perfectly . . . at first. The sex is mind-blowing, and their friendship remains as solid as ever, without any of the usual messy romantic entanglements. But when Parker’s ex decides he wants her back, Ben is shocked by a fierce stab of possessiveness. And when Ben starts seeing a girl from work, Parker finds herself plagued by unfamiliar jealousy. With their friendship on the rocks for the first time, Parker and Ben face an alarming truth: Maybe they can’t go back. And maybe, deep down, they never want to.

Guys and girls can’t be just friends. Or not best friends, anyway.
Shit gets too complicated.

I absolutely love reading the friends-to-lovers trope, and add in the fact that Lauren Layne wrote this, Blurred Lines was a total win for me! (I always manage to enjoy this author’s books.) Fun, sexy, hilarious, and so, so sweet, Blurred Lines is a wonderfully heartwarming read about best friends who end up being so much more to each other.

Parker Blanton and Ben Olsen have been best friends since college, and six years later they now live together in an apartment. I loved their friendship – the banter between them is hilarious, but I also enjoyed the more serious, supportive aspect to their friendship. They’ve been through thick and thin side-by-side, and that’s never going to change.

Ben is an eternal bachelor and manwhore, and he’s very firmly anti-relationship. He’s also got some deep-set issues with feeling inferior to others, mainly because of the way his parents have treated him. I found this fascinating about Ben’s character, because it’s not often that I read about a hero who has an inferiority complex. Lauren Layne surprised me with the depth of Ben’s character, which she executed very well. I adored Ben, and my heart went out to him whenever he felt so inadequate at doing anything, especially long-term relationships.

Parker has just gotten dumped by her long-time boyfriend, and she’s looking for someone she can hook up with. She wants to be the girl version of player Ben, but when she tries out some guys, they just don’t work because she doesn’t feel comfortable enough with them. Then she realizes that maybe the perfect person is the player himself, the guy she feels most comfortable with in the world.

What if the right guy to scratch my sexual itch is the one who makes me laugh? The one I can talk to.
What if the right guy . . .
Has been right in front of me?

Parker and Ben begin a no-strings-attached sexual relationship that they can choose to end at any time, all while trying to maintain their friendship. And it does work… for a little while. The chemistry between them is hot, the sex between them is on fire, so everything is going smoothly between them… until Parker’s ex wants her back. Then both Parker and Ben have to confront their newfound feelings for each other or risk losing the most important person in their lives.

There are so many things I want to do to her. Things that I want her to do to me. But when her arms come around me, pulling me closer, all I can think about is being inside her. Being home.

I know when I pick up a book by Lauren Layne, I’m going to get a feel-good, funny, entertaining read, and Blurred Lines is exactly that. It was easy to read, in the best of ways. I didn’t want to put it down – I was invested in the romance and I laughed so much at the humor. My favorite thing about this book is how the friendship between Ben and Parker is so strong, yet their love grows to be even stronger. This book is definitely a must-read for fans of the friends-to-lovers trope!

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: Love Unexpectedly series

#1 ~ Blurred Lines: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Good Girl: My Review • Ebook • Goodreads

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24Jun2015

Early Review: Never Loved by Charlotte Stein

Posted in 2 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Never Loved by Charlotte Stein
Series: Dark Obsession #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 21st 2015
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Perfect for fans of Katy Evans, the first novel in the Dark Obsession series tells the story of a beautiful wallflower who falls for a chiseled street fighter—and learns just how dangerous love can be.

Beatrix Becker spent most of her life under the thumb of her controlling, abusive father. And now that she’s free and attending her dream college, she has no idea how to act like the normal crowd: partying, going on dates, even having a conversation. Then she meets Serge Sorensen. Big and surly with a whole host of riotous tattoos, Serge is supposed to scare the hell out of her. But beneath his harsh exterior, Beatrix discovers a kindred spirit who knows what it’s like to be a misfit. Most exhilarating—and terrifying—is what he does for a living: illegal street fighting.

There’s nothing like the rush Serge gets from the intense athleticism and brutal glory of combat—though his chemistry with Beatrix comes close. Slowly at first, he introduces her to his world, where he lives by instinct, passion, and desire. He even helps her out with her equally traumatized brother. But when Serge gets in too deep with the wrong people, he ends up paying in blood. And suddenly, just as Beatrix has been drawn into Serge’s perfectly sculpted arms, she’s thrown once and for all into the fight of his life.

This is my first Charlotte Stein book… and I’m quite sure it’ll be my last. The writing just wasn’t working for me – there was too much internal monologue and barely any dialogue. It was just so difficult and tedious to get through paragraph after paragraph of monologue and angst. I’m sad to say this was a disappointment for me. I’d really been looking forward to it based on the blurb, because I love fighter books, but the writing was a letdown.

Beatrix Becker has been sheltered her whole life by her abusive father, but she’s able to escape from under his thumb and go to college. She’s still not quite ready to venture out into the world, but then she meets sexy, tatted Serge Sorensen, a street fighter who intrigues her, though she knows she should stay away from. But there’s a connection between them and Serge can’t stay away from the shy, innocent Beatrix. These two could not be more different, but somehow, together, they make it work.

This book had potential, especially with Serge as the hero, but Beatrix’s narrative was just so incredibly boring. I found myself skipping ahead to parts where there would be dialogue so that the plot would move on. And speaking of the plot… there wasn’t much of one, besides Beatrix falling for Serge and giving up her virginity. Anything not related to that was weakly written.

Sadly, this book was not for me. While I liked how Serge’s character was written – he’s careful, kind, and wholeheartedly gives himself to Beatrix – everything else was hard to enjoy. I would not recommend this book if you like dialogue in books.

Reading Order: Dark Obsession series

#1 ~ Never Loved: Ebook • Goodreads (July 21, 2015)
#2 ~ Never Sweeter: Ebook • Goodreads (Feb. 2, 2016)

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