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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Hard to Love by K. Bromberg Release Blitz and Review!!

Hard to Love by K. Bromberg is now live!

New York Times bestselling author, K. Bromberg, is back with a heartfelt, enemies to lovers romance and a hero who redeems himself to steal your heart . . .

He was the one-night stand that didn't exactly go as planned. Now he's standing before me as if he's never seen me naked, telling my manager he'll take the job. Reluctantly.

Finn Sanderson.

Sports agent extraordinaire. Handsome as hell. The man who just signed on to control my every move.

Sure, I'm to blame for my recent bad press, but when your whole life has been so regimented, isn't it normal to want to live it up a little?

But when the partying stops and the grief I'm running from has nowhere else to hide, reality sets in. Turns out, Finn's the only person I have left to help pick up the pieces. The only person to call.

Staying with him is a temporary thing. But when our fighting turns into laughter and our friendship turns into something more, will I fight for a man who swears he's hard to love? Or is it wiser to walk away? To follow the plan?

* * *
Offering to help with a client is a way to repay a long overdue IOU to my mentor. Little did I know she was the woman who left my hotel room at four in the morning.

Stevie Lancaster.

Top-seeded US tennis player. Good girl gone bad. The woman currently about to throw her career away. And now my problem.

The compensation to "babysit" her is great, but she isn't worth my trouble.

But when her world falls apart and she has no one else to turn to, I try to be a good guy by gathering her up and hiding her from the media's eye.

Now she's in my house, in my space, and even though I'm enjoying the side benefits of this unexpected arrangement, surely she's better to leave when the time comes and follow her destiny. Because I'm not the man she needs. Not the man she could love. Right?

 

Review:

I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review and I’m so glad I had the opportunity!

This is one of the quickest books I’ve read in a while. I’m usually a pretty quick read in general, but I blew through this one because it was just so good.

I was so invested in how both Stevie and Finn thought about things, felt about things, and just their character’s lives in general. It’s not often in a book I am as intrigued by both main characters. Don’t get me wrong, in books I really enjoy I usually love both the main characters, but most of the time I can predict or easily understand how one of them will act or respond early on in a book. In this book, there is so much back story about both characters’ formative years and how they were impacted as a child that shows up in their relationships as adults that I was constantly wanting to learn more and find additional puzzle pieces to both Finn and Stevie.

If you’ve read any other books in this series, specifically Chase’s story (Hard to Lose), you may think that you want to skip over this book because there’s no way you’re going to find Finn appealing or even redeemable. I’ll be honest, I was nervous about this too. I was so wrong, though. Finn really grows up in this story in my mind. I like to believe that everyone has redeeming qualities and if we learn more about a person as an individual, we can see and understand why they are the way they are. This is easily the case for me for Finn in this story. We learn so much more about him and I’ll be honest, I was rooting for him more than anyone by the time this story was over.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Stevie too! She has her own issues that she works through and grows through. One thing I love about her is that she gets herself through what she needs to get through. She’s strong and confident and a pull yourself up by the bootstraps kind of girl, when she sets her mind to it. I love that about her.

I love each of them, individually and otherwise. I’d love to hear more of their story. Oh, and if you’re familiar with K Bromberg’s writing, you’ll know the passion is there. You’ll feel it. The 🔥 and steam is strong in this one, but not over the top in my opinion.

Overall, I just really enjoyed this story! I don’t want to give too many details away because I want you to read it with a clear open mind, but I do hope you’ll take the time to read it! So good.

Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Audible, Google Play, Kobo, Barnes & Noble!

Amazon: https://geni.us/H2LoveAm

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Audible: Coming Soon!

 

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Meet Kristy

New York Times Bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary romance 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 but can't help 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 and her mind scattered in too many different directions.

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

With her imagination always in overdrive, she is currently scheming, plotting, and swooning over her latest hero. You can find out more about him or chat with Kristy on any of her social media accounts. The easiest way to stay up to date on new releases and upcoming novels is to sign up for her newsletter http://bit.ly/254MWtI or follow her on Bookbub http://smarturl.it/KBrombergBB

Connect with Kristy

Website: www.kbromberg.com

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

The Rulebreaker by Claire Contreras Review and Release Blitz!

He's a player. I'm a virgin. Yet, I can't seem to stop myself.

The Rulebreaker by Claire Contreras is now live!

Maverick Cruz and I started off as pen pals and became besties when we went to the same sports camp at age twelve.

He rooted for me at my soccer games.
I cheered for him at his hockey tournaments.

Through heartbreaks, new relationships, and failed friendships, we knew we could always count on each other.

That's why no one is more surprised--or panicked-- than I am when I start to develop different feelings for him. But Instead of telling him the truth, I agree to help him find a girlfriend.

Someone who is not me.

Someone who is so opposite of me that I have to make a list for the charade. The problem is, he wants to practice his dating skills with me. The corny pickup lines, the hand-holding, the door opening, the staring.

Before this, I thought sharing a house with him was an excellent idea. Who wouldn't want to room with their best friend? Now, the close proximity is killing me. What's worse is that I can't stop looking at him like he's a Greek god, and he can't stop seeing me as his virginal little sister. Still, I push it aside, until one night, when he's lying beside me in bed and I'm the one who forgets the rules and crosses the line between friends and something more.

It's a horrible idea. He's a player. I'm a virgin. Yet, I can't seem to stop myself.

New item on my list: DO NOT FALL FOR YOUR BEST FRIEND.

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3fSYUEE

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Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3wWdDUF

 

 

REVIEW:

I feel like I'm always starting my reviews on Claire's books with comments like, "She did it again," or "What can I say? Another incredible story." But you know what? She did do it again, she did give us another incredible story! This is why Claire Contreras is one of my favorite authors- it doesn't matter if she's writing sports romance (which this one is- hockey and soccer to be specific), or a sexy, intriguing goth romance or a book filled with so much angst that'll make you want to throw your book from time to time, but she always writes an incredible story. This book is no different. The Rulebreaker is a complete stand alone, friends to lovers romance with some college sports mixed in. It follows The Heartbreaker which focuses on Jagger Cruz (one of the delightful Cruz brothers), but The Heartbreaker does not have to be read first. Do I recommend it? Of course, because I also loved it, but again- you don't have to. 

Without going into too much detail so I can keep this review spoiler free, The Rulebreaker is just what I needed to read. It's light, filled with familiar characters I love from The Heartbreaker and just had me rooting and cheering for the two main characters, Rocky and Maverick, the whole time. There are plenty of times I want to smack Maverick over the head for dumb comments and there are other times I want to shake Rocky to ask her what she's doing, but overall I just really loved both their characters. I also loved the overall theme of family in this book. These two characters basically grew up together so they are close to the others' parents and vice versa and I just loved the relationships these families had. I love that the Cruz brothers are so close and that they look out for one another. I love that they include those who aren't blood relatives as if they were. I love the sage advice both sets of parents seem to give and that Rocky and Mav both love and respect and listen to their parents. I also love that this is a fun, college romance. Both Rocky and Maverick have goals they are determined to accomplish, but they still enjoy their lives as their story is unfolding and it was just...fun to read. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I hope you'll take a chance on it too! 

Meet Claire

Claire Contreras is a New York Times Best Selling Author. Her books range from romantic suspense to contemporary romance and are currently translated in seven different languages.

She was born in the Dominican Republic, raised in Miami, and now lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband, two adorable boys, and French Bulldog. When she's not writing, she's usually lost in a book.

Connect with Claire

Website: http://www.clairecontrerasbooks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClaireContrerasBooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClaireCon_
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ClaireContreras/
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Amazon: http://amzn.to/2BgzLQ0

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/ClaireContrerasBB