Out Of The Game - Book Review

By Kate Willoughby

Synopsis

Alex Sullivan may be the San Diego Barracudas’ resident playboy, but he hasn’t been able to forget the woman who kissed him like her life depended on it ten months ago. When he sees her again at a teammate’s wedding, he can’t think of anything but spending more time with her. Preferably naked.

Claire Marzano lost years catering to an overbearing husband, and she’s not going to answer to anyone ever again. A hot fling is just what she needs to get back in the game, and that’s exactly what sexy Alex offers—one wild long weekend away, with no promises or obligations.

But that one weekend changes everything. Despite knowing full well Alex isn’t the kind to ever commit, Claire is falling for him. And Alex secretly imagines a future with his strong, smart “accidental girlfriend.” Until a surprise announcement and an on-ice accident threaten to derail everything…or cause Alex to finally ditch his old ways and become the man Claire needs him to be.

Review

OUT OF THE GAME has been my favourite in the series so far, just as I hoped it would be. There’s just something enjoyable about watching a bad boy fall and fall hard for the right woman.

Meet Alex, resident playboy on the Barracudas team. It’s a title he loves and works hard for each and every season. Until one night when he met Claire, Erin’s older sister. Fresh from her separation from her cheating husband, she got cold feet during a heavy make-out session and bolted. But not before making a very memorable impression on Alex.

Meeting up again for Tim and Erin’s wedding, both aren’t really surprised to feel that the sparks are still there. After convincing Claire she needs to run wild and have some fun, they hop on a plane for an impromptu holiday and hopefully a fling. But very quickly the fling becomes ‘more’, with both wanting to see exactly how far they could take the relationship. Not entirely sure of his feelings, their relationship is put to the test when an unexpected surprise and a career-threatening injury get thrown into the mix.

I loved Alex and his sense of humour. His filthy mouth and his dirty talk was hot. But I really felt for him after his injury, and his resulting anger and actions were believable. I hated that he hurt Claire, but I understood his anger and his desire for self-destruction and why he lashed out the way he did.

“I need you, Claire. I want us to be together again. I thought my life was in the crapper when I got hurt, but really that was nothing, nothing compared to when you walked out.”

I liked how Claire became her own person after her divorce from Vic. She became a woman more interested in being herself than what she thought she needed to be for others. I liked that she started making a name for herself in the hockey league with her art events, and how she stood up for herself after Alex treated her like crap for so long.

Again, the team camaraderie is really enjoyable to read and the prank they pulled on Alex was priceless. That scene had me laughing out loud. Now I’m left trying to figure out who could get the next story.