Book Blitz with Giveaway: Instacrush (Rookie Rebels #2) by Kate Meader

Book info:
Title:  Instacrush
Author:  Kate Meader
Series:  Rookie Rebels #2
Publication date: December 10th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

Synopsis:

Theo Kershaw is the luckiest guy alive.

Roaring back from a life-threatening injury, he has the world at his skates as defenseman for his new team, the Chicago Rebels. Everyone adores his big personality, his on-ice talent, and his killer smile. Everyone but his prickly neighbor – or so he thinks. One chilly Christmas Eve, Theo will learn that maybe the girl next door isn’t such a hater after all …

Elle Butler is the most embarrassing person on the planet.

How else can the ex-military-now-bartender explain her crush on the hot jock who lives across the hall? True, he has gorgeous green eyes and perfect cheekbones, but the filter between his brain and too-sexy mouth is permanently malfunctioning. Yet she can’t stop checking out his Instagram antics or sneaking looks at him when he’s in her bar. So. Mortifying. Running from a past filled with damning secrets, Elle’s determined that this guilty pleasure remains buried in her deepest fantasies.

Because she couldn’t possibly indulge with the Theo Kershaw or make a mistake that draws attention to her under-the-radar life. And she especially couldn’t be a mom to a pro-athlete’s baby … could she?

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—

EXCERPT:

“Yes, I’ve seen those billboards for your underwear.”

“Fender bender when you did, right?”

“Oh, I have epic self-control. But seeing them made me realize that you’re a bit too pretty. I kind of like ’em rougher.” She placed a finger under his chin and tilted it for inspection. “You ever get into a fight? And I don’t mean those phony ballets you perform on the ice for your fan base.”

“I’m more a lover than a fighter.”

She scoffed, reluctantly withdrawing her touch. “Thought as much. Wouldn’t want to risk getting that perfect nose broken.”

He didn’t take offense. She wondered what in the world would ever bother The Theo Kershaw.

“So we’ve established I’m not manly enough for you. Any other comments?”

“Oh, I’d never be one to criticize.”

He waved a hand. “Help me out, Elle-oh-Elle. Give me some pointers on how to win a real woman such as yourself.”

She thought about it for a moment, her blood fizzing with the fun of sparring with him. “You’d need to be a completely different person. But don’t fret, your current vapid personality is probably cleaning up so don’t change a thing, ’kay?”

He didn’t look put out, probably because her jab carried no heat. They both knew she wouldn’t be talking to him like this if she really believed he was dumb and vain.

“Yeah, good thing I’m doing okay. It’s just you’re here and I’m here …” The implication being that only proximity would force him to lower his standards.

She patted his chest and suppressed a groan at how hard it felt under her fingertips. “I know you can’t help yourself. You’ve got a penis that seeks out the nearest vagina like a diving rod. It’s really not your fault.”

“True. I can’t be held accountable for my incorrigible flirting.”

He grinned and she grinned back, and that fizz in her veins bubbled bright. He’d figured out her game, matched her quip for quip. They understood each other and now they were … friends?

How odd.

And surprisingly sweet.

Theo Kershaw was smarter than he looked. Confusion must have registered on her face because he seemed to be closer, more present. A rush of awareness overtook her, not just of him, but of them and the sparking connection being formed in this sizzling moment, more powerful than mere sexual attraction.

Author Bio:

Originally from Ireland, USA Today bestselling author Kate Meader cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Harlequins thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron, a fire hose, or a hockey stick, and she's there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with alpha heroes and strong heroines who can match their men quip for quip.

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Release Blitz: A Lie for a Lie 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!

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.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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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. 

 

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Book Blitz with Giveaway: Good Guy (Rookie Rebels #1) by Kate Meader

Book info:
Title: Good Guy
Author:  Kate Meader
Series:  Rookie Rebels #1
Publication date: July 30th 2019
Genres: Adult, Romance, Sports

Synopsis:

He’s a Special Forces veteran making his pro hockey debut. She’s a dogged sports reporter determined to get a scoop. She’s also his best friend’s widow . . .

Fans can’t get enough of Levi Hunt, the Special Forces veteran who put his NHL career on hold to serve his country and fight the bad guys. So when his new Chicago Rebels bosses tell him to cooperate with the press on a profile, he’s ready to do his duty. Until he finds out who he has to work with: flame-haired, freckle-splashed, impossibly perky Jordan Cooke.

Also known as the woman he should not have kissed the night she buried her husband, Levi’s best friend in the service.

Hockey-stick-up-his-butt-serious Levi Hunt might despise Jordan for reasons she can’t fathom—okay, it’s to do with kissing—but her future in the cutthroat world of sports reporting hangs on delivering the goods on the league’s hottest, grumpiest rookie. So what if he’s not interested in having his life plated up for public consumption. Too bad. Jordan will have to play dirty to get her scoop and even dirtier to get her man. Only in winning the story, she might just lose her heart . . .

In this standalone romance set in the Chicago Rebels world, a new generation of players take to the ice and learn that all’s fair in love and hockey.

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—

EXCERPT:

“Was this night worth your time? Don’t you have a boyfriend who’d like to see you once in a while? Or a life that doesn’t revolve around work?” They stepped into the elevator and he slapped at the lobby level button. Stab. Slap. He was angry and he didn’t know why. He hated not knowing something.

“This is my life, Hunt.” She giggled, the sound going straight to his dick where it proceeded to tease, caress, and kiss the traitor wide awake. “God, playing video games with you guys is gold. And then when your pal showed up proving you’re not such a cold-hearted, friendless Terminator type after all and that you might have a personality underneath that hard-ass demeanor? Icing on the cupcake.”

He opened the door to his building, ushered her out, and tried not to enjoy her bobbing pony-tail.

“So is it true?” she threw out over her shoulder.

“Is what true?”

“The Disney ice cream cake thing?”

“Where are you parked?”

“Around the corner. You don’t have to—”

But he was already eating the ground with every stride like it had offended his honor.

“Levi, what is your problem?”

“Nothing. Just making sure you get in your car and leave.” He was pissed and horny and only now realizing that he had no idea what Jordan’s car looked like.

“Here I am.” She stood by a Honda Civic, two cars back.

Retracing his steps, he tried to get his emotions under control which should not have been a problem. Emotion-wrangling was his bag. Controlling the narrative was his forte. At least, he’d thought so until he met Jordan again.

“I don’t have a boyfriend.” She pushed her key into the lock.

“Say again?”

“You seem to be under the impression that I had someone I could be spending time with tonight instead of enjoying Erik’s weird winking and odes to herring, or Theo’s conspiracy theories as to why Chicagoland has so many mattress stores, or your curmudgeonly ways with hints of Tin Man.” She hummed If I only Had a Heart from The Wizard of Oz.

He passed over the Tin Man reference, probably because he was inexplicably relieved at the implication of her other statement. “Don’t have an opinion on your dating practices. Just something Kershaw mentioned.”

“And you believed him?”

“I didn’t not believe him. Strange thing to make up.” Especially with the graphic detail of naked photos. If she wasn’t seeing someone, then what was all that about?

She opened the door a couple of inches but still stood there. Pertly perking. “You know, the sooner you cooperate the sooner I’ll be out of your hair.”

“I’m doing everything management has ordered.”

“Under sufferance.”

“What you see is all you’re getting.” He was done here. Done with her teasing scent and dick-springing laugh. Done with trying to negotiate a truce between his hands and his cock. Just. Done. “Safe home now.” He turned to walk back, but didn’t get far.

“Coward.”

He pivoted. “What?”

“You’ve never liked me for some stupid, God-knows-what reason and now you can’t be man enough to sit still for a few questions.”

He ignored the last part which was half—okay, all—true, and focused on the first part. “I’ve liked you fine.”

She took a step toward him, then another until she was right in his space. She looked up at him, her expression filled with fury and spirit. Typical, maddening, heart-stoppingly gorgeous Jordan. “Admit it. You can’t stand me. When I kissed you five years ago—”

“We’re not talking about that.”

“When I kissed you five years ago,” she insisted, her voice rising with each word, “it was as if I ripped out a piece of your mind! You didn’t like me. You certainly didn’t think I was right for Josh and then when we had that moment, when we were at our lowest, we were drawn to each other. You hate that of all people, it was me who made you go to this fragile, needful place. It happened and you need to get over it so we can do this interview and you never have to see me again!”

Author Bio:

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Originally from Ireland, Kate cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Harlequins thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron or a fire hose, and she's there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with alpha heroes and strong heroines who can match their men quip for quip.

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Blog Tour Review: Victor (Chicago Blaze #3) by Brenda Rothert

Today we are celebrating the release of VICTOR by Brenda Rothert. This is a contemporary romance, standalone, and it is the third title in the Chicago Blaze hockey romance series. Purchase your copy now!

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----------------

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Victor by Brenda Rothert

Available Now | Chicago Blaze, #3

Grab your copy now:

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Book info:
Genre:  Adult contemporary sports romance
Release Date:  July 16th, 2019
Publisher:  Silver Sky Publishing, Inc.
Source:  E-galley from Inkslinger PR which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  5 stars

Synopsis:

He’s a hockey star with a headboard full of notches. She’s a shy NHL concession worker at who’s never been kissed.

Lindy

They don’t call me Belinda Boring for nothing. It’s my name, after all. And for a 23-year-old with plain brown hair who still lives at home and gets tongue tied over nothing, it’s a fitting one. I’m not even one of those quiet girls with a hidden talent, unless making a mean order of nachos at the NHL arena I work at counts. My life consists of working, reading and harboring a secret crush on a hockey player who doesn’t know I exist. At least, until we accidentally meet and become unlikely friends.

Victor

I’m living the dream. A poor kid who worked his way into the NHL, I’ll never forget where I came from, though I try to. My past follows me, a nagging reminder that I’ll never be what everyone thinks I am. As the threat of my secret being exposed looms closer, my game slips, leaving me in danger of being cut from my team--the only family I have. I’m losing my hold on everything when a new friend helps me find hope. She’s nothing like the women I’m used to, but by the time I figure out that’s exactly why she’s right for me, I’ve lost my chance with her. Somehow, I have to convince a woman who thinks she’s invisible that she’s the only one I see.

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My Review:
I really connected with this main character.  I'm totally with her on not wanting to accept what "my league" is.  It sucks, but maybe I have to.  I know unlike Lindy, I'll never be lucky enough to have a hot hockey player turn out to be the guy I meet and fall in love with, and who falls in love back with me.  But enough about me, let's talk about how good this story was.  It was a page-turner.  I really liked both characters, they were just real, and while I totally connected with Lindy, Victor was a bit of a mystery, but a good guy, even with how his life had been and the way he felt about women to start.  There was a death of a side character what seemed really early in the story, and not one I would have seen coming.  But that character's back story ended up being an integral part towards the end, that I see how the author tied it all together.  I really like that we were able to get our two main characters falling in love enough before the end that the final obstacle or issue of the book was Victor's secret/past issue coming up to be faced.  I liked that it wasn't some kind of wrench in their relationship.  In some romances that just seems like how the author adds that last bit of drama, and I actually like it more like this book when it happens.  I really enjoyed this one, and hope to go back and read the others in the series as well.   

Purchase ANTON Now:

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Purchase LUCA Now:

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--------------

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Brenda Rothert is an Illinois native who was a print journalist for nine years. She made the jump from fact to fiction in 2013 and never looked back. From new adult to steamy contemporary romance, Brenda creates fresh characters in every story she tells. She’s a lover of Diet Coke, chocolate, lazy weekends and happily ever afters.

AUTHOR LINKS:

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Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: Courting Kate (Panther Players #1) by Tori Kron

Book info:
Title:  Courting Kate
Author:  Tori Kron
Series:  Panthers Players #1
Published by: Acorn Publishing
Publication date: June 23rd 2019
Genres: Adult, Romance, Sports
Source:  E-galley from Xpresso Tours which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  4 stars

Synopsis:

 Slapped with court ordered community service for brawling—again, Miller Cassidy, the Indianapolis Panther’s star player, is forced into laboring under stodgy non-profit supervisor, Kate Gallagher. Her saving grace—she happens to be best friends with Stella, the woman he’s been chasing for years.

Despite the masses falling for his charm, Kate doesn’t care for Miller’s notorious reputation or his flippant behavior. But wanting to impress her strict boss, she agrees to a trade that could give them both a shot at success.

Propelled into an unlikely alliance, Miller finds himself taking a defensive stance when he sees beyond Kate’s hard exterior. And Kate is equally thrown off guard when she discovers there’s more to Miller than games.

But is love worth sacrificing friendship? And can Miller let go of the feelings for Stella he’s held onto for years?

In love and basketball, it’s five fouls and you’re out, and every play counts.

Goodreads / Amazon

My Review:

This was a quick read.  I enjoyed the slightly enemies to lover aspect of it.  At first I was a little unsure, because it's kind of obvious that the couple is supposed to be Kate and Miller, yet one of Kate's best friends used to date him.  In fact he is kind of hung up on Stella, and it is the bit that Miller holds over Kate's head so that he will help her.  But, it was also pretty easy to see to me that Stella wasn't really interested enough that it was fair to Kate to not give him a chance when their attraction really ramped up.  The actual sex was kept to very minimum.  Miller was a great guy, and you learned that his fighting really wasn't just ridiculous getting into a fight because he was drunk.  It was great to see his relationship with his little brother as well.  I look forward to reading more in this series, and I assume that his best friend Deacon will probably be the next book, with how we were left at the end of this one.

 

Author Bio:

Tori Kron has spent ten years educating middle school students in the art of English writing. She is a proud graduate of Purdue University, where she discovered a love for nearby Chicago and the adventures that awaited within. When Tori isn’t in front of the classroom, you can find her working with fellow authors in the Midwest Writers Guild or traveling the world with friends. In between excursions, she happily resides in Evansville, Indiana with her husband and son.

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Release Blitz Review: The Red Zone by Amie Knight

The Red Zone, an all-new sexy, second chance romance from Amie Knight, is available now! 

Book info:
Title:  The Red Zone
Author:  Amie Knight
Genre:  Adult sports romance
Release Date:  May 28th, 2019
Source:  E-galley from Social Butterfly PR which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  4 stars

Synopsis:

They say the red zone is the hardest place to score.

But for me, those last twenty yards were my sweet spot.

They didn't call me Lukas "Last Minute Lucy" Callihan for nothing.

I was at the top of my game...until life sacked me harder than any linebacker ever could.

Losing my mom was devastating and left me as the sole person responsible for my little sister.

Taking care of Ella and juggling my career was like playing the hardest game of my life.

My only saving grace was Scarlett Knox, Ella's sexy, red-headed, no-nonsense teacher.

She loved Ella. She hated me.

She thought I sucked at this parenting thing, and she wasn’t wrong.

But whenever she was around I got the same earth-shattering, heart-stopping feeling I did when I was only twenty yards from the goal line.

She made me feel like I was back in the red zone, a place I’d never fumbled.

Until now. 

My Review:

This was a very sweet, wonderful story.  It's impossible not to love Lukas, he is the perfect Prince Charming.  I connected with Scarlett as well, the state of her love life in the past as well as before she gets together with Lukas, well that's  me.  But the connection between them was so perfect.  Even though I was a bit frustrated at her misreading some of the things he said, I get again that it is the drama of just about all romances.  And Ella, it was impossible not to love that sweet girl.  I liked how much the story was real with her, at least as real as someone like myself, who is not around anyone with Down Syndrome on a regular basis could feel.  

I was left hoping that the author gives us a book for Scarlett's brother Ollie, especially with the little tidbit at the end between him and Lukas, when he was hiding from Hazel.  I kinda need that story! 

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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About the Amie

Amie Knight has been a reader for as long as she could remember and a romance lover since she could get her hands on her momma's books. A dedicated wife and mother with a love of music and makeup, she won’t ever be seen leaving the house without her eyebrows and eyelashes done just right. When she isn't reading and writing, you can catch her jamming out in the car with her two kids to '90s R&B, country, and showtunes. Amie draws inspiration from her childhood in Columbia, South Carolina, and can't imagine living anywhere other than the South.

 

Connect with Amie

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Blog Tour with Review: Pucked Love (Pucked Series #6) by Helena Hunting

Pucked Love, the final sexy and emotional standalone in the NYT bestselling Pucked Series from New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting, is available NOW!

As an NHL player, relationships haven’t been my thing. Shrouded in secrecy and speculation, they never last very long. But then that’s what happens when you require an NDA before the first date.

Until Charlene. She’s like a firefly. She’s elusive, and if you catch her she’ll burn bright, but keeping her trapped dulls her fire and dims her beauty.

I caught her. And as much as I might want to keep her, I’ll never put the lid on her jar. Not at the risk of losing her. So I've let her set the rules in our relationship.

But as long hidden secrets expose us both, I discover exactly how fragile Charlene is, and how much I need her.

We’re all broken. We’re all messed up. Some more than others. Me more than most. 

Download your copy today!

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Excerpt:

You’re turning twenty-six. It’s your champagne birthday, so we need to do something fun.” Violet bounces, making her boobs shake and my mimosa slosh perilously. “It should be themed! We can all wear leather chaps!”  

“Could you be any more cliché?” I roll my eyes. “Just to be clear, Darren doesn’t own chaps.”

“Just a ball gag and a mask with no eye holes, according to Alex.”  

And we’re back to my sex life. I knew I was getting off so easy.  

I wonder if Darren is catching this kind of heat today. I seriously doubt it’s worse than what I’m getting since I don’t think his friends are likely to push his buttons, but I’ll have to ask when I speak to him next. I’m not sure when that will be, either. The message I sent about Gertrude was pretty straightforward and doesn’t necessarily require a response. Maybe I should’ve worded it differently.  

Sunny raises her hand, like we’re all still in middle school and she’s waiting her turn to speak. “Wouldn’t a mask with no eyeholes be dangerous? You wouldn’t be able to see where you’re going.” Her eyes widen, and she looks around the room. “And what’s a ball gag?”  

I honestly love that Sunny has grown up in this highly overinformed society and still manages to be innocent.  

“Yeah, Char, wouldn’t a mask with no eyeholes be dangerous?” Violet props her fist on her chin and smiles. “And please, do explain what a ball gag is.”  

“I’m not sure you really want the answer to that, Sunny.” Poppy gives me a look I can’t quite decipher.  

Sunny twirls her hair around her finger. “Why not?”  

“Where’s the harm in a little bondage-sex education? It’s not like Miller’s ever going to go out and buy either item for her. First of all, Alex would murder him, and secondly, I don’t think that’s Miller’s thing.”  

Sunny’s face lights up, and she does jazz hands. “Oh! I think I know what Miller’s thing is!” 

Lily grins. “Eating your cookie?”  

“He really likes to do that, a lot. When my belly gets too big I’ll have to watch from the mirror.” She gets a faraway look in her eyes. “But he has another thing! Kind of like how you and Randy are always getting it on in bathrooms, except I think it’s a bit more sanitary.”  

“And it doesn’t cause thousands of dollars of damage,” Violet adds.

Lily throws her hands up in the air. “That sink was already falling off the wall. It’s not my fault it broke!”  

“That was one expensive orgasm,” I say.  

“And Randy says it was worth every penny.” Lily’s smile is devious as she bites her knuckle, then turns to Sunny. “Anyway, back to Miller’s thing.”  

Sunny wiggles around excitedly in her chair. “So Miller paints my toenails for me.”  

“Miller’s thing is painting your toenails?”  

“Yes. Well, no. I think he likes my toes.” Her fingers go to her lips, and she looks around the room, her cheeks flushing.  

“Say what now?” Violet asks.  

”Sometimes he kisses them.” She covers her mouth with her palm and says something unintelligible.  

Violet sits forward in her chair. “Hold on a second, does Buck have a foot fetish?”  

“Um, I don’t know.” Sunny looks worried now. “Is that weird? Is it, like, mask with no eyeholes kind of weird?”  

My Review:

My rating:  5 stars

If you know me, you know I rarely pre-order and pre-pay for books.  I just prefer to wait till they're out.  But this book was released as audio before physical book, and I decided I had to go ahead and pre-order it.  I thought about saving it for my drive to Book Bonanza, since Helena Hunting was one of my MUST meet authors, but I couldn't wait, and as soon as it was available, I had to start listening.  Charlene and Darren have always just kind of been in the background of the other books in a way.  In the way that Charlene was Violet's best friend and she was dating Darren.  Now, I love Violet, and her craziness. But let's just say that Charlene and Darren have their own brand of crazy, sexy, you name it.  As usual with one of Hunting's books, I had a ton of notes that I made on Goodreads as I listened to this.  At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like Darren. But after he had a talk with Alex, and I realized that he just wasn't really up on how to have a real relationship, I got to like him a lot more.  I loved the stats that Charlene said he kept about their relationship.  I loved hearing about where Charlene's box of "I thought it would be fun, but I changed my mind" came from.  

Charlene's mom killed me. But then most of the parents in these stories are so funny.  And then when the girls all went to the sex convention, OMG!  I totally knew that Violet was going to have a "sword-fight" with the strap-on.  I just knew it.  Then Charlene's background at The Harvest Co-op was one that I wasn't sure just how bad it got.  That was something that kept going throughout the story, and kept me on the edge waiting to hear just what had happened there.  Darren's family issues fit perfectly with Charlene's, well, especially with her mother.  I loved the bit about Charlene's candy as well.  

One funny thing about the story tied in perfectly to something the author said at a panel at Book Bonanza. She said that she has to actually sometimes get into the positions for the sex scenes to figure out how to write them.  I was having trouble picturing the final scene in this book, so I told her that and we laughed and figured it out.  It was also cool that her husband was there and he was chatting with everyone while we waited in line to see her.  And Helena Hunting was so nice as well, spent a lot of time with each person in line, which was great, even though I felt bad for people behind us in line!  :-)  But it wasn't just me, it was everyone.  

(Review originally published here on Lisa Loves Literature on July 29th, 2018)

  

Me with Helena Hunting at Book Bonanza 2018

  About Helena Hunting

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Helena Hunting lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her two awesome cats, who think the best place to sleep is her keyboard. Helena writes everything from contemporary romance with all the feels to romantic comedies that will have you laughing until you cry.
 

Connect with Helena  

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Release Blitz with Review: Listen, Pitch (There's No Crying in Baseball #3) by Lani Lynn Vale

Title: Listen Pitch

Series: There's No Crying in Baseball

Author: Lani Lynn Vale

Genre: Sports Romance

Release Date: October 16, 2018  
Cover Model: Jacob Wilson  
Photographer: FuriousFotog

Rhys Rivera is the star short-stop for the Longview Lumberjacks. Many know him, even more love him. He has a pretty face, a quick smile, and an air of danger about him that everyone seems to adore.

He’s not known as the bad boy of baseball for nothing.

It all started with his father, who decided to be a criminal mob boss, then die.

Fortunately for his uncle, Rhys wants absolutely nothing to do with the family business and runs before anyone can figure out which way is up.

By the time his uncle, the successor to his father’s criminal empire, thinks to look for him, Rhys has made too big of a name for himself to be taken out quietly, and he wants to keep it that way.

Fast forward eight years, and Rhys is living life one breath at a time, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. That shoe coming in the form of a nosy neighbor who has no idea just how hot she is in her mail carrier uniform.

Her sweet little body and positive outlook on life make him want to laugh at how naïve she is when it comes to the way of the world.

The harder he tries to stay away, the weaker he seems to get, until one day he decides to put his morals on hold long enough to satisfy his cravings.

One time is all he needs—or so he tells himself.

But then two pink lines change everything, and all of a sudden, he doesn’t have just himself to worry about anymore.

My Review:

Source:  E-galley from Enticing Journey Book Promotions

My rating:  4 stars

This story reminded me more of the 2nd book in the series than the first one.  It is another favorite of mine, though.  I like that even though it was a baseball story, we also got a little bit more than just the sports romance, there was some mafia storyline thrown in as well.  I'm not really a mafia romance reader, but this one didn't go so far into that as to make it completely that type of story.  There was lots of drama and romance and steaminess.  But I also loved the funny moments.  Like when Rhys and Henley are at Rhys's sister's hospital room when she's giving birth.  That was hilarious!  Not to mention finding out about the surrogates, and then the actual pregnancy and what Henley shouted at Rhys for that one.  At first I tried to place everyone from the other stories, because I do remember, kind of, the accident that Rhys was in.  Soon enough, though, we got into where we had Furious George and also Wrigley, characters I loved in the earlier books.  I loved the detail of Henley being deaf, and how perfect and seamless it fit into the story.  I loved that Henley had her little 90s Porn fascination.  Although it seems as if maybe that would have come out later in the story for her and Rhys to enjoy or laugh about.  

I read a little excerpt at the end that is about a guy named Tyler, and he is a cop, so I kind of wonder if he is Henley's brother Tyler that we meet in this book?  I hope so, because the excerpt from that one sounds like one that is good.  I've already marked it on Goodreads.  Definitely give this series a try!  

If you want to read my review of the first two books in the series, you can click on the book covers below to take you to them.

I’m a married mother of three. My kids are all under 8, so I can assure you that they are a handful. I’ve been with my paramedic husband now for ten years, and we’ve produced three offspring that are nothing like us. I live in the greatest state in the world, Texas.

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