Tag Archives: 2 Hearts

Filthy Coach

By Amy Brent

Synopsis

What do you do when the sexiest bastard to walk on to a football field happens to need your personal services?

Sam Carson is a washed-up ex-quarterback who’s more famous for his drunken brawls and internet sex tapes than throwing touchdowns. So why did my father, the owner of the Atlanta Trojans, hire Sam to be the new head coach? And what part does he expect me to play in this dangerous game?

ALLIE WINSTON: I’m a tough chick playing in a tough man’s game. I’m a sports image consultant. It’s my job to make undisciplined football players and unfriendly coaches heroes in the public eye. But when I’m assigned to make Sam Carson look good, I know that I have my work cut out for me. Especially when he catches me in the shower diddling myself and moaning his name. I can’t deny my feelings for Sam, but I can’t deny that I’m also part of a game that’s using Sam as a pawn. I can only hope that he never discovers my treachery, because I can’t imagine my life without Sam in my bed.

SAM CARSON: I’ll be the first to admit it. I’m a baaaad boy. I drink hard, play hard, and screw hard. And when I drive my Lambo into the back of a truck, my career as one of the hottest quarterbacks in pro football comes to an end. For the last few years I’ve been a coach. When I get an offer to be the head coach of the Atlanta Trojans, I know something is fishy. Then I meet Allie Winston, the smoking hot daughter of the team owner. I want her and I know she wants me, but I get the feeling that there’s more than just sexual attraction at play. Allie seems to be playing a dangerous game, and I won’t stop until I find out exactly what – and who – is going down.

Review

FILTHY COACH is a very quick read, and the first I’ve read from Amy Brent. Unfortunately, it was a read that didn’t win me over.

Sam was extremely hard to like in the beginning. There are manwhores, and then there’s Sam, who really doesn’t seem to think very highly of women. Here are two examples of his thoughts:
1 – Hers was not the tightest twat I’d ever stuck it in, but it did the trick.
2 – I have noticed an increase in age and a degradation of hotness of the groupies who approach me now.
He certainly does not sound like a charmer. Women aside, he does seem to want to turn his life around, at least career wise. Did I feel bad for how he was played by Allie’s father? Yes, I did.

What can I say about Allie? Not much because compared to Sam, she was pretty forgettable.

In regards to the story and writing, I noticed a few spelling mistakes, and I didn’t like some of the words used for the sexual scenes (c*nt, squirting and oozing, for example). I wasn’t a fan of the short sentence clusters or the step-by-step descriptions of what the characters were doing. I was also deeply disturbed that condoms were non-existent, not only because they’ve only known each other for a day, but also because Sam has been a manwhore for almost thirty years. If these things don’t bother you, then I’m sure you’d enjoy this short story.

FILTHY COACH is told in dual POVs and appears to be a stand-alone insta-love novella.

Filthy Coach

My Rating:

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King’s Captive

By Amber Bardan

Synopsis

For three years, I’ve belonged to Julius King.

Some people would think being stuck on a private island is heaven, but this is my hell.

Because I’m not here as a guest. Not even close. I’m a prisoner. I’m his.

Julius King. Powerful. Wealthy. Dangerous.

There are parts of me he wants that I can’t give him. When he looks at me, there are times I swear he sees someone else. And the scary part is that sometimes, when he touches me, I think he may be someone else, too.

Though my body might be tempted, and he might control everything else, I can’t let him have any piece of my heart. I won’t. But every day, the fight gets harder, and Julius manages to slip past my defenses in the most unexpected ways.

I have to find out the truth about Julius King. Even if it destroys me.

Review

This is going to be a fairly short review, because KING’S CAPTIVE is practically one giant plot twist in the making, and to talk about any of it could be considered a spoiler.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t get this one. It is told mostly in the present, but also includes flashbacks to an event three years ago, aptly called Bloody Birthday. That is the day Julius arrived at Sarah’s family home and took her for himself. Each flashback is designed to give us a piece of the puzzle, but trying to keep track of those pieces was hard given that they were provided out of order. By that I mean the first flashback takes place at 3.00pm, then 3.15 pm, then 1.20 pm, then 1.40 pm, then 3.30 pm, then 1.56 pm, etc. Trying to keep track of what happened in the past, and how it related to what was happening in the present, became too much for me and ultimately affected my enjoyment of this story.

You know how you sometimes watch a movie, but when you watch it a second time and know how it ends, everything suddenly makes sense? I think this is one of those books that would make more sense the second time around. Maybe then I wouldn’t be left with so many questions.

KING’S CAPTIVE is told in dual POVs, but mostly in Sarah’s. It is a stand-alone and it comes with a HEA. While I didn’t enjoy it, I’m sure there are plenty of others who will love it.

King’s Captive

My Rating:

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With A Twist (Last Call # 4)

By Sawyer Bennett

Synopsis

Wyatt Banks is ready to give one woman the world. Unfortunately, his job as a cop tends to interfere with other goals. When Wyatt is sent deep undercover to investigate a sex slave ring, he doesn’t have time to do anything but focus on staying alive in a dark and dangerous underworld.

Wyatt isn’t alone though in his quest to save the women that are being sold into sexual slavery.

His partner, FBI Agent Andrea Somerville, is immersed just as deeply as he is, and she’s the bait to lure the sex slavers out into the open, as she poses as an erotic dancer in an attempt to snare the enemy. But danger runs as high as the sparks between them, and now Wyatt is caught between the job he loves and the woman he wants.

Review

WITH A TWIST is the fourth book in the Last Call series and is about Wyatt (Hunter’s best friend) and Andrea.

As I write this review, I realise that I can’t remember much about Wyatt or Andrea, and I find that interesting given I only finished their story less than a week ago. The only thing that stands out is that it was Andrea who had the courage to track Wyatt down to see if they could forge a relationship. I liked that she wasn’t afraid to go after what she wanted, but I was disappointed that Wyatt was. They’re both in law enforcement and they’re both nice, but other than that, I’m drawing a blank.

Sadly, WITH A TWIST is my least favourite book in this series. Not only were the characters unmemorable, but there was no conflict between them and the conclusion of the undercover assignment seemed unrealistic. I could be wrong but I don’t think undercover agents would blow their cover when it wasn’t a matter of life or death, especially when they’ve got a whole FBI team waiting just down the road. I would think the team would come in and arrest everyone⎯including Wyatt and Andrea to keep their cover safe⎯and that by blowing their cover, the criminals would know exactly who put them in prison and would most likely organise to have them killed as payback. In fact, that’s what I kept expecting to happen as the story progressed, but as it turns out, when the bad guys were arrested, that part of the story was put to bed.

WITH A TWIST is told in dual POVs and while it’s part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone.

With A Twist (Last Call # 4)

My Rating:

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Last Call Series

Dirty Score (Rough Riders Hockey # 3)

By Skye Jordan

Synopsis

Rafe “Savage” lives up to his name on the ice and in the bedroom. Forging a legacy as the Rough Riders’ most notorious playboy is easy when the woman he really wants is off limits. Mia’s brother isn’t just Rafe’s best friend, he’s also a teammate. With the Cup in site, Rafe won’t screw with anything that threatens the team’s winning streak. But when Mia comes to town on a mission of her own, one little woman may turn out to be the toughest opponent Rafe’s ever faced.

When it comes to men, Mia is everyone’s best friend. But when it comes to romance, her relationships are destined for failure. With a new job awaiting her on the other side of the country, she’s determined to start fresh. To do that, she needs to let go of this stupid crush once and for all.

Seducing Rafe isn’t just the best option; it’s her only option. Until she discovers he’s been harboring the same feelings. And with his team weeks away from the biggest game of their career, and Mia’s new life waiting, their no strings affair threatens to tear both their worlds apart.

Review

DIRTY SCORE is the third book in the Rough Riders Hockey series and while I enjoyed the first two books in the series, this one was quite the letdown.

As I write this review, I’m trying to think of something nice to say, especially about the characters, but I’m coming up blank. Rafe and Mia spend almost the entire book pushing and pulling against each other, and it got old real fast. Tate (Mia’s half-brother and Rafe’s best friend) was bossy, domineering, disrespectful and ultimately unlikeable. Kilbourne (Rafe’s teammate) was a total dick to everyone and I’m still trying to figure out why he was even in the story or why his teammates never sorted him out. In regards to the family ties, spending 40% of the story confused as to who Rafe, Mia, Tate and Joe were to each other made my head hurt, until the family tree was finally explained at the 42% mark.

DIRTY SCORE does come with a HEA, but even with an epilogue, I was left without any real resolution as to how Rafe and Mia ended. Did Mia stay in LA for her job or did she move to DC to be with Rafe? Did she do the jersey designs on the side of her LA job, or is the jersey gig her sole source of income? I’m assuming she gave up her LA job to live with Rafe and design her jerseys, but it’s not clarified. DIRTY SCORE is told in dual POVs and while it’s part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone. Will I read the fourth book in the series? That will depend on who it’s about. If it’s about Tate or Kilbourne, I’ll probably end up skipping it.

Dirty Score (Rough Riders Hockey # 3)

My Rating:

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Rough Riders Hockey Series

Rush (Austin Arrows # 1)

By Nicole Edwards

Synopsis

Kingston Rush
Becoming a goaltender in the NHL is the only thing I ever wanted for myself.
Goal accomplished.
Two years ago, I was the best goalie in the league, for the third time. With our Stanley Cup win, the Austin Arrows were on top of the world. Nothing could possibly bring us down.
Wrong.

Turns out, even when you’re at the top, you can find yourself back at rock bottom.
But it gets worse.
Not only did the team fall from grace, then I did too. I was accused of something I didn’t do. And now I’m being forced to repair my tarnished reputation.
Only I don’t know how to do that.

When the suggestion is made for me to pull off this ruse for the media, I know what I’m getting into. I also know there’s only one right answer.
But it’s complicated, and I’m not the only one who could get hurt.
There’s only one major problem.
I can’t say no.

Review

RUSH is the first book in the Austin Arrows series, and the first book I’ve read by Nicole Edwards. Unfortunately, I found myself struggling to get through this one. I usually like to read a book fast, but this one took me about three days because it wasn’t keeping my attention and I kept putting it down. There was a lot of repetition throughout the entire book, which was frustrating. I also felt the way the characters behaved was not appropriate for their age. Most of the characters are in their mid-thirties, but the sometimes childish, petty and bitchy way they acted was what I’d expect to see in a YA or NA novel. Overall, there just seemed to be too much drama.

There were times I liked Kingston and Ellie, and there were times I didn’t. My favourite parts of the entire story are when Kingston and Ellie text each other. It was cute, flirty, a little sexy, and most of all, no overthinking. Just simple conversation. I think what got me frustrated the most was that they were so afraid to tell the other how they really felt. Ellie never believed any of the nice things Kingston said about her and thought he was just sleeping with her to kill time. No way would he risk his friendship with her or her brother just to get some action, but she never thought of it that way. In regards to Kingston, I thought it was a little creepy that he kept calling Ellie a little girl, especially when they were having sex. There’s also a good portion of the story dedicated to Ellie’s twelve year old daughter, Bianca, as she searches for her father. As with Kingston and Ellie, there were times I liked her and times I didn’t.

RUSH is told mostly in Kingston and Ellie’s POV, with a few chapters being told in other characters POVs. It is a series, but I’m assuming each book could be read as a stand-alone. Sadly, this one didn’t win me over enough to give the rest of the series a try.

Rush (Austin Arrows # 1)

My Rating:

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Austin Arrows Series

Hope Flames (Hope # 1)

By Jaci Burton

Synopsis

When it comes to love, they already know the rules…by heart.

Thirty-two and finally setting up her veterinary practice in the town she once called home, Emma Burnett is on her own and loving it. Independent and driven, she’s not letting any man get in the way of her dreams. Not again.

That’s fine with Luke McCormack. Divorced and hardly lacking in female company when he needs it, he’s devoted to the only faithful companion in his life—his police dog. Still, there’s something about Emma he can’t shake.

When a series of local break-ins leaves Emma vulnerable, she seeks help from the first man to spark her desire in years. And now they’re giving each other something they thought they’d lost forever…hope.

Review

Both Emma and Luke haven’t had successful relationships, so neither of them is looking for a partner when they meet for the first time. It’s not long until Luke is suggesting a friends-with-benefits arrangement. Their dogs get on really well together, so why can’t they?

I found it extremely difficult to like Emma, who seems to spend most of the book thinking about Vaughn⎯her dangerous ex-boyfriend⎯and then comparing him to Luke, trying to find reasons to keep him at arms length. She thinks about Vaughn several times just in the first 25% of the story, before we finally hear exactly what he did to her at the 54% mark. Given that Vaughn was mentioned so many times, I predicted that he would make an appearance at some point, even though it wouldn’t fit with the story. When Luke comes in to save the day, Emma gets upset because she wanted to save herself…so she dumps him. Apart from her love of animals, I can’t think of anything else I liked about her. To be honest, I can’t say a lot about Luke because I didn’t find him memorable. Unfortunately, my dislike of Emma overshadowed his character.

HOPE FLAMES is told in dual POVs, but sometimes the POV would change in the middle of a chapter without any notice, so I’d suddenly find myself confused before I realised the POV had changed. There is no epilogue, and the HEA comes in the form of a two-page conflict resolution, which was a let down. When I started reading HOPE FLAMES, I was really into it, but at some point the story slowed down and really started to drag. For a book that stated out so well, I was left so disappointed by the end that I don’t think I’ll continue on with the series.

Hope Flames (Hope # 1)

My Rating:

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Hope Series

The Sapphire Heist (Jewel # 2)

By Lauren Blakely

Synopsis

Keep your lover close and your enemy closer…

After giving in to a fiery night of passion, island adventurer Steph Anderson and bounty hunter Jake Harlowe are back to square one. With millions in stolen jewels at stake, it’s hard for Steph not to question her new partner’s true motives—no matter how sexy he might be. Jake is hungry for more of Steph, but he can sense her growing mistrust, which only fuels his own doubts. Worse, there’s undeniable evidence that someone else is now after the jewels—and that they are both in real danger.

Fighting against their magnetic attraction is a distraction these two can’t afford. In order to survive, they’ll have to pull off one more heist—and trust each other with something even more precious than jewels: their hearts.

Review

THE SAPPHIRE HEIST continues on from where THE SAPPHIRE AFFAIR finished, with Steph believing Jake stole from her after they spent the night together. As with the first book, a lot of the story revolves around their trust issues; Steph doesn’t trust Jake, which upsets him and then Jake doesn’t trust Steph, which upsets her. It’s hard to connect with characters or believe their chemistry when they’re always doubting each other. Steph is still struggling to accept that her stepfather could be a criminal, despite all the evidence that’s right in front of her. Ultimately, this book was pretty much the same as the first book, just with a bit more mystery, a few more bad guys and some scuba tours thrown in.

THE SAPPHIRE HEIST is told in dual POVs and cannot be read as a stand-alone; if you’re going to read this book, you need to read THE SAPPHIRE AFFAIR first. As with book 1, I wouldn’t call this a novella, but it is a fairly quick read and again I found myself skipping sections of the inner monologue. As I got towards the end, I was worried that we’d be going into a third book because the end was rapidly approaching and we didn’t have a conclusion yet. But the stolen jewels were recovered and the ending moves extremely quick after that. Overall, I thought these two stories were ok, but not great, and I probably won’t be reading any more of this series, should there end up being more books.

The Sapphire Heist (Jewel # 2)

My Rating: 1/2

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Jewel Series

Happy Pants Cafe (Happy Pants # 0.5)

By Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Synopsis

The Happy Pants Café has no public information—no website, no address, no phone number—and it doesn’t show up on any map, either. Yet, there’s a line of single women around the block, waiting to get inside. And when they come out, their smiling faces don’t look like coffee buzzes. (Or afterglows.)

So what could they possibly be doing inside?

Harper Branton thinks she knows their dirty little secret, and it’s just the story to save her mess of a journalistic career. There’s just one problem: her competition. He’s sexy, he’s arrogant, and he’s about turn Harper’s life upside down with a few secrets of his own.

Review

HAPPY PANTS CAFE was an OK read, but at times I found it to be a little too much, like it was trying too hard to be funny. I don’t remember much about Austin or Harper, other than they spent most of the book behaving like children and trying to one-up the other. Harper doesn’t believe in love because Austin broke her heart when she was nine and she’s carried around that thinking for the past nineteen years. Harper broke Austin’s heart when he was eleven, but he still believes in love and marriage and thinks that Harper is the one he’s been waiting for, despite the fact that all they’ve done since they were reunited is fight. Throw in some humour, misunderstandings, meddling friends and potential love rivals, and you have yourself a story that’s cute and quirky, but also cheesy and over-the-top.

There were times I did laugh, but after a while the jokes stopped being funny and instead became silly, or in the case of the sexist farmhands, just plain gross. Sometimes I was distracted by the huge amount of inner monologue in the middle of conversations that, by the time a question was answered, I’d forgotten that a question had even been asked. HAPPY PANTS CAFE is the prequel to the Happy Pants series and is told in dual POVs, with a few sections told in the cafe owner’s POV. Sadly, this one didn’t win me over and ultimately didn’t make me want to read the next book in the series.

Happy Pants Cafe (Happy Pants # 0.5)

My Rating:

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Happy Pants Series

Rounding Third

By Michelle Lynn

Synopsis

I was destined for stardom.
From the age of seven, I was an all-star.
Parents praised me, coaches worshipped me.
As I got older, girls begged for me.
I was Beltline’s baseball God, guaranteed to put this small town on the map.

Then, after one night, that future vanished.

The legend was laid to rest.
I gave up my scholarship.
I fled from Beltline.
I left the girl behind.

Now, I’m back.

Review

ROUNDING THIRD was the first novel I’ve read from Michelle Lynn, and I’m sad to say I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t realise this was going to be a college/young adult romance when I read the synopsis, and for me, college romances can be really hit and miss. I did finish the story, but I struggled to get into it for a few reasons. I often found the behaviour of the characters to be a bit childish and petty; there was a lot of drama, a lot of pushing and pulling, catfights over boys, bitchiness between teammates, and games played by Crosby and Ella to make the other jealous. Sometimes I couldn’t make sense of the conversations and sometimes I felt the conversations were choppy. The details about “that night” aren’t explained until the 44% mark, but up until then it felt like it was alluded to in every second thought Crosby and Ella had, and that became annoying pretty fast. Finally, I was quite disturbed by the scene where the baseball team uses a cutout of a naked woman, throwing balls at her breasts and vagina to settle bets. I could be wrong, but I just can’t see a coach or team getting away with that kind of thing in this day and age.

ROUNDING THIRD is told in dual POVs and appears to be a stand-alone, although I do feel that the story was left open for some of Crosby’s teammates to get their own stories. The story is a second-chance romance that finished with forgiveness and a HEA for Crosby and Ella.

Rounding Third

My Rating:

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Private Practice (Private Pleasures # 1)

By Samanthe Beck

Synopsis

He’ll teach her how to bring a man to his knees…

Dr. Ellie Swan has a plan: open her practice in tiny Bluelick, Kentucky, so she can keep an eye on her diabetic father, and make hometown golden-boy Roger Reynolds fall in love with her. But Ellie has a problem. Roger seeks a skilled, sexually adventurous partner, and bookish Ellie doesn’t qualify.

Tyler Longfoot only cares about three things: shaking his bad boy image, qualifying for the loan his company needs to rehab a piece of Bluelick’s history, and convincing Ellie to keep quiet about the “incident” that lands him on her doorstep at two a.m. with a bullet in his behind.

The adorable Dr. Swan drives a mean bargain, though. If sex-on-a-stick Tyler will teach Ellie how to bring a man to his knees, she’ll forget about the bullet. Armed with The Wild Woman’s Guide to Sex and Tyler’s lessons, Ellie is confident she can become what Roger needs…if she doesn’t fall for Tyler first.

Review

I’m going to start by saying that for a novella, this one took me a long time to finish. I had trouble engaging with the story and while I liked Tyler, I couldn’t connect with Ellie, who I found to be too clinical and naive. I was confused as to why I wasn’t enjoying this book because I’ve read books from this author before and loved them. My confusion lifted when I read the acknowledgment at the end which states that this was the author’s debut novel. Because this debut novel dates back to 2013, I’m not going to go into great detail with my review. I will say that PRIVATE PRACTICE is told in dual POVs and is the first book in the Private Pleasures series. I will also say that despite not enjoying this book, I know for a fact that her stories have improved, so I would gladly read from this author again.