Blog Tour Review with Excerpt: A Lie for a Lie (All In #1) by Helena Hunting

“A sexy, heartwarming read!” —Elle Kennedy, New York Times bestselling author

A Lie for a Lie, an all-new sexy second chance romance from New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting is available now! 

Book info:

Title:  A Lie for Lie
Author:  Helena Hunting
Series:  All In #1
Genre: Adult contemporary romance
Release Date:  October 15th, 2019

Publisher:  Montlake Romance
Source: E-galley from Pitch Lit/Social Butterfly PR which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  5 stars

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Pucked series comes a romantic comedy about instant attraction, second chances, and not-so-little white lies.

Sometimes I need an escape from the demands, the puck bunnies, and the notoriety that come with being an NHL team captain. I just want to be a normal guy for a few weeks. So when I leave Chicago for some peace and quiet, the last thing I expect is for a gorgeous woman to literally fall into my lap on a flight to Alaska. Even better, she has absolutely no idea who I am.

Lainey is the perfect escape from my life. My plan for seclusion becomes a monthlong sex fest punctuated with domestic bliss. But it ends just as abruptly as it began. When I’m called away on a family emergency, I realize too late that I have no way to contact Lainey.

A year later, a chance encounter throws Lainey and me together again. But I still have a lie hanging over my head, and Lainey’s keeping secrets of her own. With more than lust at stake, the truth may be our game changer.

My Review:

I don't know how she does it, but I was sucked right into this book within the very first page.  Of course it probably helped having a few of my favorite characters from the Pucked series to ease me into these characters. But it wasn't just the familiar ones that made me love this story, it was that once again Hunting has created characters that you can't help but fall in love with.  I'm almost positive that Rook, or RJ, is going to be my new book boyfriend.  In Hunting's hockey world, he's pretty close to beating out Randy for me.  Of course it is obvious right away what RJ's lie is going to be, even from the synopsis above you know it will have something to do with who he is.  And in the story, we're pretty much figuring it out pretty quickly.  However, Lainey's lie isn't quite as straight forward, we go almost half way through the story before we find out. And honestly, her lie doesn't really count like his lie does, in my opinion.  I like the way Hunting handled this side of the story, and I want to say how much I adored certain things, but can't do it without giving away Lainey's lie.  We also get some new characters added, RJ's family for instance, and I see that his sister is going to be one of the main characters in the second book.  I have a guess at who her love interest will be, which of RJ's new teammates, and I think I'm really looking forward to book 2, so, is it 2020 yet?

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention how much I love when Violet is around.  I adore her and her sense of humor.  So happy that the author includes her and that she'll be in the next book too! 

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KeBlqZ

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Excerpt

I stuff my earbuds in and cue up a movie on my entertainment console. After the last flight, I deserve three hours of brain candy.  

Just as I settle on an action flick, a body lands in my lap. At first, I think I’m being accosted—yet again. It’s not unusual for women to literally throw themselves at me. Typically I’m not on a plane, though, but considering my last flight I shouldn’t be surprised by anything right now. “What the—”  

“I’m so sorry!” says the voice attached to the body in my lap. She scrambles to right herself but jerks back, gagging, her tidal wave of silky, dark hair slapping me in the face. It smells like mint and cucumber, which would be nice if it weren’t in my mouth.  

She grabs my shirt with one hand and catches my earbuds, yanking them free. The other hand curls under the fabric wrapped tightly around her throat. She’s sprawled across my lap, legs hanging over the armrest, face level with mine. She’s totally blocking the aisle, making it impossible for anyone to get by and creating quite the spectacle. “My scarf is caught,” she rasps. “Oh my God. I’m choking myself. I’m so sorry. This is so embarrassing.” The more she struggles, the more the scarf tightens, which in turn causes her to flail.  

I slide a supporting arm behind her. “Stay still for a sec.”  

She freezes, still gripping my shirt, eyes wide with panic. I turn my head to the side and lean forward. Her lips connect with my cheek.  

“Oh!” She tries to turn away, but she really is stuck, so her nose ends up in my ear and her lips are still pressed against my jaw.  

“Just give me a few more seconds, and you’ll be free.” She exhales heavily against my jaw, warm breath making my skin prickle. I lift her carry-on and use my foot to pull the scarf free from the wheel.  

She loosens the fabric around her throat, dragging in a long, deep breath. “Thank you. So much. Choking to death on an attractive man’s lap really isn’t the way I wanted to go.” She squeezes her eyes shut and pushes to a stand. “I’m so sorry.”  

She keeps her gaze averted as she gathers up the scarf that never seems to end. It gives me time to check her out. Well, shit. This woman is hot. Like Pour a gallon of gasoline on me and light me on fire hot. She has long dark hair, a shade of brown so deep it’s nearly black. Her eyes are the color of coffee or chocolate—something with caffeine in it. Something that would amp me up. And her face . . . daaaaamn. High cheekbones, full lips, a dainty nose, arched brows, thick lashes.

I take in the rest of the package, which gives me pause because her outfit is just . . . out there. She’s wearing a full-on parka, hiding her figure, but based on her legs I’m thinking she’s probably slender. That’s a guess, though, with all the layers she has going on. And that scarf has to be a mile long with how many times she winds it around her neck, hence the near strangulation.  

Her little wardrobe malfunction has resulted in a line of people waiting to board, so she rushes down the aisle, throwing another “So sorry” over her shoulder as she disappears into coach.  

I’m almost disappointed. Almost, but not quite. I plug my earbuds back in and veg out to movies for the next three hours.

 

About Helena Hunting

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of PUCKED, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She's writes contemporary romance ranging from new adult angst to romantic sports comedy. 

 

Connect with Helena

Instagram: http://instagram.com/helenahunting 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelenaHunting  

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/Zt1xm5 

 Facebook Fan group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/385795934890523/  

Website: http://www.helenahunting.com/  

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Blog Tour Review with Excerpt: Reveal (Wicked Ways #2) by K. Bromberg

I play to win, and I won’t let anything—or anyone—get in the way of what I want.

REVEAL, the raw, sexy, and jaw-dropping finale to the Wicked Ways series by New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg, is available now! 

Book info:

Title:  Reveal
Author:  K. Bromberg
Series:  Wicked Ways #2
Genre:  Adult contemporary romance
Release Date:  September 24th, 2019
Publisher:  Montlake Romance
Source:  E-galley from Social Butterfly PR which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  5 stars

Synopsis:

The first time I met Vaughn Sanders, I knew I wanted her. Confident, intelligent, and downright sexy. I thought I knew how to play her game. I was ready and willing for the challenge. Little did I know she was full of secrets and surprises.

But so am I.

Charming a woman into my bed has never been my problem. It’s the relationship part that is. They want it. I don’t. But can you blame me? Broken marriages are how I make a living. Hell, no self-respecting man would let a woman own his thoughts, invade his dreams, and steal his heart. So how in the world has Vaughn done that to me?

I’ve fallen in love with her. There. I said it. But that acknowledgment comes with a heavy price.

Everything and everyone seem to be working against us, leaving us both to question whether what we have is worth the cost.

I’ll be damned if I go down without a fight.

My Review:

Okay, so if you read my review to book one, Resist, you'll know it ended with a major cliffhanger, that we definitely get to start right back in the middle of. And of course, what happened was really what I figured happened, so in the end, my love for Ryker was saved.  But things get even more intense in this sequel as we get more of Vaughn's background story, story that she may not even realize what happened exactly, as her young mind had blocked it out for her.  There's only so much I can say in this review so as not to give away anything if you haven't read the first one. But I have to say that the author took this in a direction I totally did not see coming, and the way she did it made it so I didn't have to think anyone was being stubborn unreasonably.  In fact, I think the way Vaughn ended up handling things was pretty much the right way.  And it wasn't even just the big bad guy that we had to deal with at the end, there was that other side story that I had kind of wondered about along the way.  But once again, Bromberg has written a story that is wonderfully deep and intense, sexy and romantic, with great characters and some unique situations.  Another book for me to highly recommend!

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LMF8fR

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/RevealKB

Amazon Print: https://amzn.to/2LK8Ou2

Amazon Audio: https://amzn.to/2Yr09P8

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2YqS9St

Start the series today with RESIST

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Wqx8XD

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ResistKB

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2MwNqtD

Amazon Audio: https://amzn.to/2ImicA7

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2WnVul6

Text Kbromberg to 77948 to stay up to date on all things, Driven movies and new releases!

Excerpt

“Ryker . . . please . . . just let me go.” But this time when she speaks there is something in her voice that catches my ear. The same thing that has me looking a little bit closer, regardless of how much my chest constricts in doing so, and I notice the tears welling in her eyes and the tremble of her bottom lip.  

A chink in her damn armor. She doesn’t want to tell me we’re over any more than I want to believe her.  

“What the fuck is going on here? You’re hiding something from me.”

“No. I’m not. This just can’t be.” She starts to skirt around me, and it takes everything I have not to reach out and keep her there.  

“Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you!”  

“And don’t you think for a second you can tell me what to do,” she counters, hair flying over her shoulder, jaw clenched.

“I’m not in the mood for your games.”  

“My games?” she screeches and throws me off guard when I shouldn’t be. “My games? You’re the one who did this to me. All of it. And you tell me I’m playing games?”  

“What the—?” I stop and try to figure out what she’s talking about. My hands are on her shoulders, and I’m all but shaking her to force her to look me in the eyes. “Did what to you, Vaughn? What the hell have I done to you besides fuck myself over by falling in love with you?” Words that should be said with kindness come out in a frustrated rage. Truths I don’t want to voice, and now I can’t take them back.  

And she just stands there with her head shaking to reject my words, eyes wide with a hint of fear, and fuck if I don’t hate myself right now for everything I feel: rage, desperation, love, desire.  

How can you swear you’re not cut out for a relationship and love in one breath, then with the next fight so goddamn hard to keep it?  

What is this woman doing to me?

I scrub my hands over my face and take a deep breath to calm the fuck down. To force myself to cool my temper so I can keep her here instead of pushing her farther away.  

“What is it, baby?” I all but plead with a voice as soft as I can make it. “Tell me why you’re walking away when you don’t want to.” She averts her eyes, confirming there’s something more. “I can’t help you unless you tell me what happened. I can’t understand why the other night meant nothing to you until you do.”  

Come on. Talk to me.  

“Carter paid me a visit after I left your place.” Her voice is soft, but her defiance is mounting.  

That’s definitely not what I expected to come out of her mouth.  

“What do you mean, Carter paid you a visit?”  

“Just what I said.”  

“Why? For what? That fucking asshole better not have touched you.”  

“Does it matter if he did?” Her voice rises. “You invited him into my personal life. You gave him everything he needs to destroy me.”

 

About K. Bromberg

New York Times Bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary novels that contain a mixture of sweet, emotional, a whole lot of sexy, and a little bit of real. She likes to write strong heroines, and damaged heroes who we love to hate and hate to love.

A mom of three, she plots her novels in between school runs and soccer practices, more often than not with her laptop in tow.

Since publishing her first book in 2013, Kristy has sold over one million copies of her books across sixteen different countries and has landed on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists over twenty-five times. Her Driven trilogy (Driven, Fueled, and Crashed) is currently being adapted for film by Passionflix with the first movie slated to release in the summer of 2018.

She is currently working on her Everyday Heroes trilogy. This series consists of three complete standalone novels—Cuffed, Combust, and Cockpit (late spring 2018)—and is about three brothers who are emergency responders, the jobs that call to them, and the women who challenge them.

She loves to hear from her readers so make sure you check her out on social media or sign up for her newsletter to stay up to date on all her latest releases and sales: http://bit.ly/254MWtI

Connect with K. Bromberg

Website: http://www.kbromberg.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKBromberg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KBrombergDriven

Instagram: http://smarturl.it/KBrombergIG

Amazon Author: http://amzn.to/204Qnfz

GoodReads: http://bit.ly/1koZIkL

Join her Reader Group: http://bit.ly/1PMUoG3

Stay up to date with K. Bromberg by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/254MWtI

Review with Guest Post and Giveaway: Resist (Wicked Ways #1) by K. Bromberg

Book info:

Title:  Resist
Author:  K. Bromberg
Series:  Wicked Ways #1
Genre:  Adult contemporary romance
Release Date:  July 30th, 2019
Publisher:  Montlake Romance
Source:  E-galley from Pitch Lit PR which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  5 stars

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Driven series comes a powerful romance about reaching great heights through low depths.

Resist, the first in an all-new irresistible duet by New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg is coming July 30th!

Who says you have to play by the rules to get what you want?

Agreeing to meet Ryker Lockhart is my first mistake. Rich, handsome, and more than intriguing, he thinks blackmail will bend me to his will.

But he’s wrong.

I may have done a few things that weren’t exactly legal, but I have my own reasons for that. The last thing I’m going to do is let some high-powered divorce attorney come into my life, have my body, and rule my heart. Not to mention ruin everything that I have carefully built in just a short amount of time.

But as much as I try to resist him, and against my better judgment, there is something about him that has me agreeing to his proposal.

I’m putting everything on the line for him. I just hope I won’t lose everything when this is all over.

Pre-order your copy today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Wqx8XD

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ResistKB

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2MwNqtD

Amazon Audio: https://amzn.to/2ImicA7

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2WnVul6

Excerpt:

The lobby is elegant, with its large chandeliers, but they’re kept dim so as to allow each of its patrons some privacy. Almost as if they know I’m trying to hide some from the rest of the room for a bit. Soft classical music flows from the overhead speakers as people mill about in evening wear. There are hugs given among people, and laughs echo off the walls and marble floors.

I stand in the corner, surveying the crowd as nerves I don’t want to admit to run a riotous act within, and my mind tries to grapple for the nth time with what I’m about to do.

You’re keeping your reputation intact.

That’s how I have to look at this. That’s how I have to justify this.

Just like that, my breath catches when Ryker Lockhart waltzes into the lobby. I’m rarely affected by a man—sure, I can say one is handsome or sexy or gorgeous, but rarely does a man really catch my eye.

But there he is . . . standing in the middle of the lobby, surveying everyone around him, making my pulse race.

This is a bad idea.

He’s tall, his shoulders are broad, and there’s an air about him that screams authority while a magnetism about him makes people look his way.

And he hasn’t even spoken a word to anyone yet.

Such a bad idea.

He’s in a well-tailored tuxedo, everything black save for the crisp white dress shirt beneath it. His hair is styled, and an expensive watch glints at his wrist when he holds it up to look at the time.

Of course, that’s my cue that I’m not there exactly on time, but I give him a few more seconds to make him wait.

It’s all about power, even when I’m in a different pair of shoes.

With a deep breath, I walk toward him, shoulders square, head high, and remind myself that I’m not Vee right now. I can’t act like we’re on an equal playing field.

He has hired me. I am his. 

***

My Review:
No, you're not seeing double, but I somehow signed up to review this one for two different PR groups, so enjoy both posts today!

You know that I love K Bromberg if you've followed my blog for  awhile now, and I'll read pretty much anything she writes.  This book takes me back to the series that originally introduced me to her books.  It has the emotion and the angst and all the feels that I got from reading Driven for the first time.  Fortunately for me, unlike with that book, I know that there is another book, and that Bromberg likes to leave us hanging and needing the next book.  Unfortunately for me, unlike with that book, the sequel isn't out yet, and so now I have to wait until September to find out where it is going!  

I loved Vaughn, and I even loved Ryker right away.  I could see all the problems that Vaughn was going to have though with her plan to try to adopt her niece.  There's just so many ways her plan to raise the money to pay off her debt quickly could go wrong.  Not to mention that we get some hints as we go through the book that she may have a stalker out there, someone we just don't know who it is. Although I have my suspicions of course.  I also have my suspicions on what was really going on at the end, and I'm very anxious to read on and see if I'm right!  Because I need my love for Ryker to be restored.  

Hopefully I'll get to see the author at Book Bonanza a week from today and I can let her know what she's done to me with another cliffhanger.  

Guest Post: A Pretty Woman With Power by K. Bromberg

Ryker Lockhart: Powerful. Unrelenting. Stubborn. 

Vaughn Sanders: Defiant. Strong. Unyielding.

With those two sets of characteristics, Ryker and Vaughn are definitely oil and water one moment and then an ember met with gasoline the next. That dynamic is what made writing them and their story so much fun in my latest book, Resist. Their tale was a delicate dance though because the push and pull of the chase better be worth the reward for readers.

I often enjoy taking characters and painting them with broad strokes (i.e. Vaughn’s profession) so that readers initially question them. Then over the next 100,000 words, I love to smash their preconceived notions so that they root for the heroine. So that they are right beside her cheering her on and falling in love with the hero just like she is.

It’s not often an easy task to write a heroine, because women are often harsher on female characters than they are males. Heroes can be over the top alphas who are dominant and say all the wrong things, but once they show vulnerability, we somehow forgive them. Heroines on the other hand, are judged more fiercely. She’s too weak. She’s too strong. She’s too wishy- washy. She’s being a b*tch for pushing him away. Making a reader like a strong-willed female character isn’t always an easy task. So when you put two characters together who embody all of these things, it’s a delicate balance to have enough push and pull. Enough sexual tension. Enough redeemable qualities so you can love them despite their faults.

This challenge is one of the reasons I loved writing Resist (and its sequel Reveal). I don’t quite remember where the storyline came from, but I recall the furious scribbling on paper as Ryker and Vaughn’s story came to life in my imagination. Take a strong-willed woman with a risqué job and give her a real reason to need that job. Take a domineering divorce attorney who deals with love gone wrong day-in and day-out, and force him to see that there can be more than just sex between a man and a woman. That love is, in fact, possible.

Challenge accepted.

Is Resist a subtle nod to the Pretty Woman trope? I never really thought of it that way, but I can see the similarities being drawn. Vaughn (my character) and Vivian (movie character) have names that both start with the letter V. They both wear a red dress in a scene. The both work in fields that deal with selling sex for profit . . . but that’s where the comparisons stop.

Vaughn Sanders is a force to be reckoned with. Sure, she’s a madam, but once you get beneath the moniker, readers find a strong-willed woman taking measures into her own hands for the benefit of someone else. Readers will find a woman with a strong backbone and a take no prisoners attitude. A woman they can’t wait to see succeed. Sure, we throw in our hero--Ryker, a senator you know is dirty somehow, an adorable niece, and whole cast of other characters and situations and we’re left trying to figure out how it’s all going to play out . . . but the one thing we know for sure, is that we want Ryker and Vaughn to end up together.

Because hopefully when you finish Resist, like Ryker and Vaughn, you start to believe true love does in fact exist. 

***

About the Author:

New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary romance novels that are sweet, emotional, a lot sexy, and a little bit real. She likes to write strong heroines and damaged heroes that readers love to hate but can’t help loving.

Since publishing her first book on a whim in 2013, Bromberg has sold over 1.5 million copies of her books across eighteen different countries and has repeatedly landed on the bestseller lists for the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal. Her Driven trilogy (Driven, Fueled, and Crashed) is currently being adapted for film by the streaming platform Passionflix, with Driven available now.

You can find out more about this mom of three on any of her social media accounts. The easiest way to stay up to date is to sign up for her newsletter (http://bit.ly/254MWtI) or text “KBromberg” to 77948 to receive text alerts when a new book is released.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.kbromberg.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKBromberg/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KBrombergDriven

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7047863.K_Bromberg

  

Giveaway:

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Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: The Friend Zone by Sariah Wilson

Book info:

Title:  The Friend Zone
Author:  Sariah Wilson
Genre:  NA sports romance
Release Date:  June 11th, 2019
Publisher:  Montlake Romance
Source:  E-galley from Pitch Lit PR which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  4 stars

Synopsis:
Disgraced college quarterback Logan Hunt was on his way to NFL stardom when he messed up big-time. Now the Texas star player with a bad temper has a new option: Seattle’s EOL College—as in End of the Line, to his fellow misfit recruits. It’s Logan’s last chance. If he can follow the rules. No parties, no fighting, no swearing, and oh, no dating the coach’s daughter, Jess. Simple. Yeah, right. For Logan, there has never been a rule he’s more tempted to break.

The deal is “just friends.” The pretty, confident, and fiercely smart math whiz is fine with pizza, tutoring, and keeping Logan in line. But the closer Jess gets, the more receptive she is to his warm heart and spirit—not to mention his irresistible off-field passes. With defenses down, they’re both heading into the danger zone.

It’s more than thrilling. It’s love. It’s also a game changer that could sideline Logan’s NFL goals—and more important, a future with Jess. But dreams are worth fighting for, right?


Excerpt:

“Welcome. To those of you that I haven’t met personally, my name is Stan Oakley, and I’m the head coach of EOL’s Owls.”

A couple of the players made hooting noises in response.

“I thank you all for being here, for taking time out of your lives to hear what I have to say. Either one of the members of my staff has spoken to you or I have, and we have mentioned that this team has some serious rules. I’d like to talk to you about that now and what exactly those rules are.”

Here it was. I straightened in my seat and wondered what he could possibly throw at us that would be bad enough that Jess thought she’d be taking me right back to the bus station.

Coach nodded at Ford, who walked over to the white board and picked up a marker.

“First, punctuality. You will be on time. To class, to practice, to tutoring, to everything in your life that you need to show up for, you will respect the time of everyone around you and be there when you’re supposed to be.”

Ford wrote “#1 Be on time” on the board.

“There will be no drinking at all, ever. No drugs of any kind. You will be randomly drug tested on a regular basis. First time you fail, you’re out. There will be no second or third chances here.”

I felt Bash sinking down in his seat next to me as several of the guys murmured. “How are we supposed to let off steam?” someone asked behind me.

Coach kept talking. “There will be no swearing or cussing.”

“That’s not even realistic!” a guy in the front row protested.

“It is realistic. And you will do it because you represent me and you represent this team and you can do it without swearing. Next, in accordance with NCAA standard, you will maintain a minimum of a 2.5 GPA. I may give more playing time to guys with a higher GPA. The more playing time you get, the more likely you’ll be seen by a scout or a recruiter. Especially in the playoffs and the national championship game. Take your academics seriously. Keilani Kahananui will be talking to you about your options later and how we can help.”

There was more dissent among the ranks, more guys murmuring and complaining about the rules. None of them seemed that bad to me.

But I had the feeling the worst was yet to come.

“Next rule—no fighting. On or off the field.”

Now it was my turn to slouch down in my seat. As if that one had been directed specifically at me.

The marker squeaked against the whiteboard as Ford continued writing down Coach’s rules.

“In addition to being punctual, you will treat authority figures with respect. You respect your teachers by showing up to class. By not talking back. By turning in your assignments. You respect your coaches by showing up to practice ready to give a hundred percent every time. By listening and doing as you’re told.”

Off to my left somebody shouted out, “Yo, Coach! Respect has to be earned.”

“It absolutely does not,” Coach Oakley quickly countered. “Respect will be given without reservation. If you think that it must be earned, there’s the door. Because there’s no way you’re going to be playing on my team.”

The coach fell silent, waiting to see if anybody would leave.

No one did.

“I won’t get to coach most of you for four years. My goal is not to build a program that keeps you all here. My job is to get you to the next stage of your life. To turn you into men.” There were some more sounds of discontent, and the coach held up his hand. “I know a lot of you think you’re already men. But you’re not. Not yet. I expect you to all to start behaving like real men. Like gentlemen. For your entire lives, because you had some talent to play football, nobody cared how you behaved off the field. I care. I’m holding you to a higher standard. Better today than you were yesterday. Especially when it comes to women.”

My spidey sense started tingling. Whatever he was going to say next, I knew I wouldn’t like it.

“And our final rule for the evening: no women. No girlfriends, no dating, no one-night stands.”

That led to a loud and physical reaction in the room. Which I got, because I felt like I’d been sucker punched. It was one thing to be asked to give up most of the things you did to entertain yourself and relax.

But women? How were we supposed to go an entire season without girls? I didn’t know if I could do it.

“How will you know?” somebody asked. It was a legitimate question. Short of installing hidden cameras in our dorms, which at that moment I wasn’t putting past him, there was no way for Coach to know if we were messing around.

“I’m expecting you to behave like gentlemen, with honor and integrity. I’d like to be able to take you at your word.”

“No way! That’s it! I’m out!” one guy declared.

“That’s fine,” Coach said, shrugging one shoulder in the same way Jess had earlier. “Some of you may think that because once upon a time you were recruited by a Division 1 school, you’re better than this place. You’re not. I don’t have to play any of you. I don’t have to keep any of you on scholarship. And for anyone who thinks this team will fall apart without you, you couldn’t be more wrong. This team will be just fine.”

That one word, “scholarship,” made my decision easy. I didn’t necessarily need women in my life. It would probably help to have one less distraction as I went about dedicating all of my time to school and football.

“You really expect us to live like monks? Will we at least get to hang out with girls in the off-season?” another man asked.

Coach Oakley was silent, again giving off that commanding vibe that made people sit back down and be quiet. “You all know why you’re here and what’s at stake. For most of you, this is the end of the line. There is no somewhere else. But if you feel like you can’t live with my rules, again, there’s the door. You all have round-trip tickets to take you back home.” He turned and faced the dude who had asked the last question. “There is no off-season at EOL. You are my players until I say you’re not. I am holding you to a higher standard. But I know every person in this room is capable of rising up to do what I ask of you. Of being better. Prove me right.”

My Review:

So, this started out really good, it was a little bit different take on how a coach might act and the rules he might give, but that was pretty good and grabbed me right from the start. I like that Jess was quick to learn how much Ben really wasn't the right guy, but that she didn't want to ruin Logan's chances at getting where he needed and wanted to be with his life. Especially after she learned about his past and what he was really up against. I totally loved Logan's funny way of making fun of Ben. So many of those little quips had me laughing out loud. And the friendship between Logan and Jess was just perfect, I would love to find a guy to be friends with first, and then see where it went if there was the attraction the two of them had. The mean girl in the story had her own background story that helped to not hate her, mostly, although she still had issues. But you could see where they came from. I also liked the idea of the girls at the party that were there to watch for other girls and make sure they were safe or got help if needed right away. It's such a great idea I hope all colleges come up with something similar. I think this is going to be part of a series, in which case I'm rooting for Logan's roommate, Bash, to get the next book!

Why Football Players Make the Best Book Boyfriends with Sariah Wilson

I got inspired to write the “End of the Line” series after seeing the Netflix documentary Last Chance U. I loved the idea of a junior college that gave Division 1 football players a second chance at the NFL or to play for a Division 1 school again after they’d screwed up their scholarships. I chose football because while my family is not a typical sports family (my husband doesn’t watch at all), my oldest son played football all four years of high school and I’ve always enjoyed watching the game. Plus, isn’t there something just inherently appealing about football players?

It’s part of what makes them such great heroes—they’re strong, athletic, talented, protective. They’re committed to playing their sport and playing it well, which can also translate off the field and make them the types to seriously commit to a relationship because they’ve shown they’re willing to do the work to get what they want. I think that level of dedication speaks a lot to the kind of boyfriends they turn out to be.

My current project is THE FRIEND ZONE, and it’s a story about Logan Hunt, a disgraced football player being given a second chance to play and graduate from college, which he is determined to do. His new coach has a lot of rules he expects his players to follow, including no dating. Jess is Logan’s math tutor and off limits, especially since she’s the coach’s daughter. They decide to stay just friends and try to fight off their growing attraction to one another. He’s the perfect guy to start off this series because he’s someone who has overcome a lot and exemplifies what EOL means for the players—the chance to start over.

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About the Author:

Bestselling author Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane or climbed Mount Everest, and she is not a former CIA operative. She has, however, been madly, passionately in love with her soul mate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romance series like The Royals of Monterra and #Lovestruck. After growing up in Southern California as the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children, she graduated from Brigham Young University with a semi-useless degree in history. She currently lives with the aforementioned soul mate and their four children in Utah, along with three tiger barb fish, a cat named Tiger, and a recently departed hamster who is buried in the backyard (and has nothing at all to do with tigers). 

For more information, visit her website at www.SariahWilson.com.

Social Media Links

Website: www.SariahWilson.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sariahwilsonauthor 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sariahwilson 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6471623.Sariah_Wilson

  

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