Charmed by the Player by Carina Rose Review and Release Blitz!

 Release Date: August 30

Things I hadn’t expected to happen on my birthday . . .

1. To go from brunette to orange when I was aiming for blonde.

2. To run into my ex and his new girlfriend, who happened to be sweeter than my favorite candy bar.

3. To literally collide with a wall of muscle belonging to Lucas Donovan, the extremely sexy cornerback on the Virginia Thunder. 

Did I say collide? No, I didn’t just collide, I lingered. How could I not? The man smelled like a dream, felt like heaven, and looked like a Greek god. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought my best friend wished him for me when she helped me blow out my candles. She was all about me finding Mr. Right, except I’d never been lucky in love . . . nor was I looking. 

And despite all of his wonderful attributes, Lucas wasn’t my type. So when he asked for my number, I declined. Why? Because I knew he had cleat chasers and numerous athletic supporters at his beck and call. Totally not my scene. Instead, I decided to chalk our encounter up to a perfect ending to a perfectly messed-up day.

Thinking I’d never see him again, I was shocked when he popped into my store to ask me out on a date. To say I was thrown a bit off - kilter would be an understatement. Maybe that was why I eventually accepted. Or it could be because I knew my best friend would disown me if I kept turning him down. Not to mention, the man had enough charm to fill my boutique and then some. 

Finally happy, I figured my luck had changed. Maybe Lucas Donovan was my Mr. Right. But then my past slammed into my present. And all I wondered was what that meant for our future.

Review:

What a cute read!! I have loved this world of sports romance that Carina Rose has created since the very first chapter of the first book in this series! There’s just something fun and lighthearted, but also full of emotion and love (and a little drama) in each of these books! Lucas and Harley’s story was no different! I usually gush about the male lead in my reviews, first at least, because who doesn’t like it when the guy is exactly the type of guy we want to read about?? But- for this book, most of my gushing is going to Harley! I just love everything about her. She has this sense of strength about her, this fierce independence and this strong ability of knowing her worth and sticking up for herself that I so adore. She goes through difficult times and allows herself to feel them, but she also looks at things logically and emotionally, not one or the other. She is clearly fashionable based on her outfit and hat choices (in my imagination at least) and seems to be a great friend to Sophie as well. She’s kind when she doesn’t have to be (above and beyond with how she treated Cami) and fair. She’s willing to sacrifice for the people she cares about, whether she’s known them a week, months, or years. I just love the woman that Harley represents.

Lucas, on the other hand, I had mixed feelings for! He started off SO strong. I love his heart. I love his relationship with his sister. I love his focus, his determination, his work ethic. I love how he pursues Harley. I don’t love the lack of fight at some points. I don’t love that a certain someone didn’t get at least a nice talking to. I don’t love that he was willing to just let some things be. I know  there were some tough things that happened in this book and tough places to be and to know what to do, but he did not respond the way I wanted dang it lol!! The good news is he eventually had a lightbulb moment and began to show me the things I so wanted to see and reminded me why I loved him so much in the beginning!

The end of the book was wonderful. I loved everything about it. I am so excited to read Collin’s book. I’m also desperately hoping Sophie gets her story told too. Overall, I am just head over heels for this football team and it’s family and want to read all about them, every one! Keep these stories coming, please!! I always look forward to them!! 

Grab Your Copy Here:

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Meet Carina Rose

Carina loves everything about romance. To her, it’s the little things that matter. 

She also believes in insta-love, since she knew her husband was the one the first day she met him.

When it comes to books, she uses them as an escape from reality. . . . to get swept away. Carina hopes her words do the same for her readers.

She’s a mother and wife and loves spending time with her family. She enjoys meeting new people, traveling, reading, watching sports, and, of course, relaxing on a beach.

Carina looks forward to sharing more love stories in her future novels.

Connect with Carina Rose 

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The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan - Review

I have quickly become a HUGE fan of Kristen Callihan's! The Friend Zone is the 2nd book in the Game On series and it doesn't disappoint. We first meet Gray Grayson aka Cupcake in the first book, The Hook Up and all you can think about is him being this major manwhore who just loves women but never settles down. Well that all changes when he meets, or shall I say, receives a text from Ivy Mackenzie aka Special Sauce.

The banter between these two was awesome. The texting was probably my favorite part of these two. You honestly felt like you were invading a private conversation, that's how "real life" the texts were. I know some people criticized about how you can become so connected to someone through a text before you've even met them, apparently those folks have never experienced it. I have and let me tell you, it's an amazing thing. You truly learn who that person is by just letters on a screen. You learn their personality before your eyes can make a judgement. And the fact that Gray and Ivy both were friends before realizing their attraction to each other was a beautiful thing. You really felt their connection and their friendship, which made their relationship that much stronger.

The pink Fiat just cracked me up and I can only imagine what Gray looked like climbing in and out of that thing! It cracks me just thinking about it! This story has it all, witty banter, drama, intensity and of course super duper sexiness!

The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan - Review

I am now an addict of Kristen Callihan's books! I one clicked this bad boy after another author kept going on and on about it. So I dove in and I loved every.single.second.I'm not usually into football type stories but this one just grabbed me and sucked me in for the entire ride.

Anna Jones is a college student who has issues with relationships, love and kissing on the lips! She likes her men as hook ups and nothing more. No attachments, no relationship drama and no worries of getting your heartbroken. Her whole world is turned upside down when she meets star Quarterback, Drew Baylor, who just so happens to be sitting right next to her in Lit class. I have to give it to Drew, the boy was persistent! Even after Anna told him she did not "date" he was totally okay with having her as a "booty call", which is what they refer to each other as.

I loved every word, every sentence, every paragraph of this book! Right when I thought I had everything figured out with Anna and Drew, a big old fat wrench is thrown into the mix just to stir shit up! The two of them are hot as hell together and God have mercy can Kristen Callihan write a sex scene! Call the fire department cause I'm on fire!!!!!!!!!

I laughed so many times in this book I honestly felt like when I was reading Anna's POV, I was in my head! Her thoughts and reactions to situations were exactly how I'd react. I think my favorite was:

         "Never mind the fact that we have virtually no examples of a utopian society thriving in a real
          world situation," I say. One of the girls who has been mooning over Baylor since the beginning
          of the semester raises her hand, as if she needs permission to speak, "What about Atlantis?"

          Oh, Jesus Christ in a peach tree.

I laughed so hard at that one simple sentence I had tears in my eyes! This is only one of many of Anna's quirky thoughts. I loved everything about Anna. Some reviews said she was naive and let her "daddy issues" get in the way but honestly, I felt like Anna reacted to things as most girls who have issues with relationships would.

 I loved her will to fight as well as her weakness to struggle with her emotions. By the end she fought for what she wanted and that was Drew, even when he tried his damndest to push her away after his injury, she stayed. The scene where they have their epic fight, after his injury, and they start throwing each others clothes outside, was so intense yet it kind of brought everything together. It's hard to explain so just red the damn book!