{Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway} The Player's Game by Alice Gaines

THE PLAYER’S GAME

by Alice Gaines
A Players’ Pact Novel
Publication Date: July 13, 2020
Genres: Adult, Entangled: Indulgence, Contemporary, Romance, Second Chance, Reunited Lovers

The Player's Game by Alice Gaines
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
GENRE: Contemporary Ramance
THEME: Second Chances

The Player's Game

by Alice Gaines

3.66 · 50 Ratings · 49 Reviews

BLURB:

I’ve got to admit, life is sweet these days. As a starting NFL quarterback, I do okay, and I haven’t been lacking for female companionship. But I’d give it all up in a heartbeat if I could get back the woman I loved and lost—my ex-wife, Katy.

Now I’m at a wedding, watching one of my best friends tie the knot. I’m happy for him—really. I just wish things had turned out better when I’d taken that walk down the aisle. Still, those days are over.

I’m on my way up to my room when I run into my ex in the elevator. It’s like karma. Has to be. Only she’s with some random guy, who’s getting a little too handsy for my liking. I can’t help myself—I have to say something. Something that ruins her night…and mine, too.

Now, I’m sitting alone in my hotel room, when suddenly, Katy’s at my door, complaining that I ruined her 30th birthday. Her solution—that I give her the night of sexual adventure I’d derailed in the elevator.

I never was very good at saying no to her…

REVIEW:

I love second chance stories and even more so with a sports theme. I've been really diving into the sports romances lately and this one caught my attention and also I love finding new to me authors.

The Player's Game follows Grant, who comes face to face with his ex wife Katy in an elevator at a hotel. Both have dates but Grant being the protective alpha male and still having a soft spot for his ex ruins the night for both of them. Katy takes it upon herself to make her birthday night, which Gran ruined, into something. She asks him for one night together, like old times, but neither are prepared for their reconnection and what follows.

I really enjoy reading about two people who should never of broken up come to terms with the fact they parted way half hartedly. They loved each other and this was their chance to mend the wounds. But the old wounds have a lot of healing and this is what I loved about this story, was watching them hash through them.

The hardest part for me was character development. I love smoking hot sex scenes and this book hands down has some fantastic fan yourself scenes. But for me I needed more backstory, I needed more insight on who they were as people. I couldnt connect to either fully and Katy to me was hard to like, to me she felt selfish. Grant was a big winner for me in the sense I felt he was sadly the one who was hurt the most from their divorce, he has a soft protective heart and I felt for him through the book. In the end Grant was who I rooted for a happy ending for, he wanted family and he loved children, overall he won me over.

In the end I enjoyed this story, it was a quick read and as I mentioned I love seeing two people truely meant for each other try and fix what broke. I look forward to reading more from this author and glad I found her stories.

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ABOUT ALICE GAINES

Alice Gaines lives in the San Francisco Bay Area in a fixer-upper house she never fixed up. Aside from writing and reading hot, hot romance, she loves cooking, knitting and crocheting, and her church. She has a pet corn snake named Casper. She’s insanely passionate about the funky soul band, Tower of Power.

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{Release Blitz} Broken Knight by L.J. Shen

"Everyone needs to read this book. "

- Harloe Rae, USA Today bestselling author.

Broken Knight, an all new standalone about first loves, betrayal and loss from USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen, is available now!

Not all love stories are written the same way. Ours had torn chapters, missing paragraphs, and a bittersweet ending.

Luna Rexroth is everyone’s favorite wallflower.

Sweet.

Caring.

Charitable.

Quiet.

Fake.

Underneath the meek, tomboy exterior everyone loves (yet pities) is a girl who knows exactly what, and who, she wants—namely, the boy from the treehouse who taught her how to curse in sign language.

Who taught her how to laugh.

To live.

To love.

Knight Cole is everyone’s favorite football hero.

Gorgeous.

Athletic.

Rugged.

Popular.

Liar.

This daredevil hell-raiser could knock you up with his gaze alone, but he only has eyes for the girl across the street: Luna.

But Luna is not who she used to be. She doesn’t need his protection anymore.

When life throws a curveball at All Saints’ golden boy, he’s forced to realize not all knights are heroes.

Sometimes, the greatest love stories flourish in tragedy.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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About LJ Shen

L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post and Amazon #1 Best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult and YA romance. Her books have been sold to nineteen different countries.

She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.

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{Release Blitz: Review + Promo} Defying Gravity by K.K. Allen

Their greatest risk was the one they never took …

Defying Gravity, an all-new emotional standalone sports romance from USA Today bestselling author K.K. Allen is available now!

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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Defying Gravity by K.K. Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENRE: Contemporary Romance
THEME: Sports

BLURB:

It was an accidental spring fling three years ago—one week spent in the mountains of Big Sur and no one was the wiser. Ignore the fact that Tobias James was my neighbor and my best friend’s older brother. Or that upon our return his hoop dreams were waiting for him, robbing us of any potential future we could have shared.

Now, I’m fulfilling my own dreams in L.A. and my biggest dream of all is about to come true. The last thing I expected was for my past and my present to collide.

Not now. Not here. Not him.

But he struts back into my life like he never even left. Unfortunately, I’ll never forget what happened after he did.

The ball is in my court, but Tobias isn’t below stealing—my power, my resolve, my heart… When he wants a second chance to reignite our connection, my answer is simple. We can’t.

Not unless we defy the rules our dreams were built on and risk everything.

REVIEW:

This was my first introduction to K.K Allen and I'm happy to say she just earned another fan. This was a sweet, emotional and tug and pull at the heart story. I loved the sweet childhood romance that grew over years of obstacles. It was a quick read but a good read.

Defying Gravity follows Amelia and Toby through the years of following their passions into the NBA. Both have huge dreams and many things make their goals fluctuate and their friendship and romance have a ton of highs and lows.

Amelia is a strong and sweet woman, she dreams of being a dancer but not just any dancer one the NBA lioness'. During her journey she see's the reality of the world she wanted so badly to be apart of. I really felt for her, the ups and downs but she was so strong and made the right decision about her career.

Toby is as sweet as can be, he wears his heart on his shoulder and has so many awakenings in his personal life that I wanted to give him a bog hug. His family problems weigh heavily on him through out the book and Amelia is the one person who just gets him and is there for him. His career is the one thing besides Amelia that he knows is right and hes great at it. I loved seeing his growth.

Overall this is a great story, sweet and sexy romance, lots of depth into the world of dancing for the NBA. I have heard the stories and seen shows about it, its a grueling world and those dancers work their butts off. I also loved that my hometown was mentioned in the book, the descriptions, even minimal reminded me of home. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

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Meet K.K. Allen

K.K. Allen is a USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author and interdisciplinary arts and sciences graduate from the University of Washington who writes heartfelt contemporary romance stories that are as real as they are inspiring. K.K. is a Hawaiian girl who was raised in Seattle, and currently resides in central Florida. She works full time as a digital producer for a leading online educational institution and is the mother to a ridiculously handsome little dude who owns her heart.

K.K.'s publishing journey began in June 2014 with the YA Contemporary Fantasy trilogy, The Summer Solstice. In 2016, K.K. published her first Contemporary Romance, Up in the Treehouse, which went on to win the Romantic Times 2016 Reviewers' Choice Award for Best New Adult Book of the Year. With K.K.'s love for inspirational and coming-of-age stories involving heartfelt narratives and honest emotions, you can be assured to always be surprised by what K.K. releases next.

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{Review} My Life in Shambles by Karina Halle

My Life in Shambles by Karina Halle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
THEME: Life

My Life in Shambles

by Karina Halle

4.22 · 673 Ratings · 182 Reviews

BLURB:

When Valerie Stephens made the resolution to say yes to new adventures, she never thought she’d end up in the tiny town of Shambles, fake engaged to one of Ireland’s top rugby players. But there’s a first time for everything.

They say bad things happen in threes.

After my boyfriend broke off our engagement, I lost my apartment, and was laid off from my job, I can definitely attest to that.

They also say life is what happens when you say yes to new adventures.

So when my two sisters invited me to ring in the new year in Ireland, I decided to throw all caution to the wind and go for it. I was going to let “saying yes” be my new resolution.

Little did I know I’d spend New Year’s Eve having a hot and dirty one-night stand with Padraig McCarthy, one hell of a sexy Irishman. I also didn’t know that the brooding and intense sex god was one of Ireland’s top rugby players.

A rugby player with a proposition for me:

Come with him to his tiny hometown of Shambles and pretend to be his fiancé for a few days, just so that his ailing father can have some peace of mind.

It sounded simple enough.

It was anything but.

Not when a town gets up in your business, not when the media hunts you down, not when your past comes back in the picture, not when there are real hearts and feelings at stake.

Not when there are secrets that could break you.

They say life is what happens when you say yes to new adventures.

This is my life in Shambles.

REVIEW:

This was such a beautifully written story, very emotional and really takes a deep look in someones life with disabilities and someones life with a serious medical condition. Both characters a beautifully raw and I felt for them in their own right.

My Life in Shambles follows Valarie, who has just cut lies with her fiance after he cancelled their engagement. She also has just lost her dream job due to cut backs, so she's at a really low point in her life. Her sisters are going off to Ireland and convince her to go with them to just breath a little and forget the pains of what just happened. There Valarie meets a brooding but lovable man, Padraig. He is going through a life change as well, his whole career and way of living is about to change, along with sad news about his fathers health. Together these two embark on a journey, trying to find their place with what life has handed them as well as in each other.

Valarie is a woman who at a young age was injured and has dealt with the disability her whole life. Her family, though they love her, has not been easy on her. Especially her mother. I had a really hard time with her mother, she was cruel, unloving to me, and I wanted to smack her across the face with how awful she was to everyone. Her daughters all live very different lives but she has these crazy expectations that she pushes them towards, not considering how much her daughters are hurting. But Val is tough, she's use to her mothers belittling, she takes this trip as a next step and after meeting Padraig, she really opens up and becomes her true self.

Padraig is like a big teddy bear, you just can't help but love him and feel for him. He's a rugby star and has been diagnosed with a medical condition that changes. Meeting Val gives him a chance at changing his relationship with his father who is dying, as well as meeting someone who just gets him and not the rugby star. He has a lot of ups and downs, he goes through so many emotions dealing with his father and his condition, while also pulling Val along, who seriously is his angel through it all.

Overall I was a hot mess reading this book, it really pulled at every emotional heart string I have and then some. Halle put so much depth, love and soul into these characters, it wasn't just about the beautiful romance that evolved but about the journey these characters had to face when reality hit. I loved every flaw they had, every smoking hot scene, every spoken word. It was such a fantastic story and one I didn't know I needed.

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{Blog Tour: Review + Excerpt} Two For Holding by Kay Gordon

RELEASE TOUR FOR TWO FOR HOLDING by Kay Gordon

Two For Holding by Kay Gordon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

THEME: Sports

Two For Holding (A 425 Madison Novel, #4)

by Kay Gordon

4.69 · 87 Ratings · 58 Reviews

BLURB:

Savannah

I didn’t think I was missing anything. I had my son, a great career, and a home that I’d made for both of us. One puck over the glass at a hockey game made me realize I wanted more. The larger-than-life hockey player inserted himself into our world and I never wanted to let him go.

The thing is, I don’t know if I’m strong enough to keep him.

Porter

My home was on the ice, with a stick in my hand and a puck on my tape. It took one little boy with a toothless smile and his spitfire mother to change all that. I wanted them to be my home and I was willing to take all the penalties necessary to make it happen.

Now I just have to convince her that we can handle it all together.

Melding three lives into one isn’t as easy as it seems, especially with the traveling, the media, and the insecurities. Savannah and Porter have to decide whether to use the breakaway to head to the goal or take a seat on the bench.

After all, 425 Madison Avenue is the perfect place to fall in love.

*Each story is completely standalone.

REVIEW:

This was such a great story! My second in the 425 Madison series, as well as new to me author Kay Gordon, who just earned a new fan. I love sports romance, but even more so when little kiddos are involved and can turned a big alpha male into mush.

Two for Holding follows Savannah, a single mom who absolutely adores her son Logan, who is a big fan of Hockey and the captain of the local team Porter. While watching a game, Savannah meets Porter by chance, immediate sparks happen when he gives her son a kind gift, after another fan steal her sons gift from Porter. Both Savannah and Porter's life changes when the single mother is shown what it means to be with someone famous and what it means to have to choose love of protecting your family.

Porter is highlighted as a man-whore, but frankly I didn't really get that vibe from him. He had a tough divorce, in a sense, as his ex couldn't handle his schedule and traveling. Luckily he and his ex are on good terms and they grew up, but Porter hasn't found that happiness yet, until he meets Savannah and her cute and smart son Logan. I really liked Porter, I didnt get the full of himself, jokey appeal that most authors shoot for when it comes to athletes. He loves his job, his friends and Savannah and Logan become this light that he didnt know he was missing.

Savannah is a tough as nails and dedicated momma bear, she lives and breathes for her son, who in turn is the best kid around. Logan 's father is still in the picture but only a little, he has personal issues and gambling, even if he loves his son, his first priority isn't him. Savannah is not ready for what it means to date a well known athlete. She is pushed into the limelight along with her son, which adds a lot of challenges.

Overall I liked the simplicity of the story, it may be predictable for some, but for me it was something I really needed. I've been stuck in a rut and finally found a book that I really enjoyed and characters who were sweet, had some smoking hot romance and had the most adorable kid ever.

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Only on Amazon + Read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited

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Excerpt

Copyright @ 2019 Kay Gordon

Hamilton was spelled out across the back, right above his number. A grey C was on the front, right above the left breast, and I knew right away it would fit me. Also in the bag was a matching jersey, although quite a bit smaller, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest.

Porter Hamilton was surprising me at every turn.

Moving to my feet, I tugged off the sweatshirt I had on and pulled the jersey over my head. A slight thrill went up my spine at the thought of wearing his name on my back. I turned to look at my friends and held my arms out.

“How does it look?”

Holly gave me a thumb’s up while John nodded his head in approval.

“You’re a real hockey girlfriend now.”

I rolled my eyes and took my seat when our food and drinks showed up. I’d just finished off a hotdog when a slew of skaters hit the ice for warm-ups. The crowd cheered like crazy and people pushed towards the glass, trying to get the attention of their favorite players.

My eyes found number twenty-two almost immediately. He wasn’t wearing a helmet and his eyes were laser focused on the ice as he took several laps around the net. I watched his tall, powerful frame as he skated with purpose.

That man was sexy as hell.

Porter finally looked up from the ice and glanced over to where we were. A smile hit his face instantly and he skated until he was standing at the glass in front of us, tapping on it with his stick. He pulled a glove off one hand and crooked a finger at me.

I cleared my throat and stood from my seat. He flicked his fingers again, indicating I should turn, so I did, allowing him to see his name and number on my back. When I faced him again, a look a pride had overtaken his features.

He said something but it was so loud that I couldn’t hear what it was. I shook my head and gestured to my ear, causing his grin to widen. He pointed to me and said it again, slower that time, making it easy for me to read his lips.

“You’re so beautiful.”

My cheeks immediately blazed and I fought to keep from averting my eyes. “Thank you.”

Porter just grinned again and glanced behind me to where John was standing with a look of boyish excitement on his face. The hockey player jerked his chin at him in greeting before giving me another grin. He held his hand up in a wave, shoved the glove back on, and turned to skate back to his team.

“Wow.” Holly looked at me with wide eyes as I sat back down. “That boy has it bad.”

He wasn’t the only one.

Author Info:

Kay Gordon is a married, mother of two living near the west coast. She spends her days teaching young, impressionable minds in public school and evenings typing away furiously once her children are in bed. Her favorite genres to read are Contemporary Romance and New Adult/College romance, although she rarely denies a good paranormal or dystopian! When she's not teaching or writing, Kay loves to spend time with her family. They're all a bunch of nerds who can quote Disney movies and Star Wars quickly!

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About the 425 Madison Series

Welcome to 425 Madison Ave the perfect place to fall in love. Nine delicious romances set in fast-paced & sexy NYC just waiting for you to read.

The series features stories from some of your favorite romance authors: Leigh Lennon, MK Moore, Allie York, Aubree Valentine, Kay Gordon, Lauren Helms, Sylvia Kane, Katy Ames, and C. Lesbirel.

Join these authors as they come together, each with a standalone romance for you to enjoy.

Featuring some of readers' favorite tropes: second-chance romance, best friends sibling romance to a good ol' enemies to lovers romance. We've got you covered with a sports romance, a fake relationship and even an ugly duckling or two. Don't forget a brother's best friend and falling for your soul mate. Maybe a little love triangle as well. Each tale offers you something new, something different. After all, 425

For more information, visit the series website ➝ www.425madisonseries.com
Follow the series on Facebook ➝ https://www.facebook.com/425MadisonSeries

Did you miss MUST LOVE COFFEE, LET ME LOVE YOU, JUST SWIPE RIGHT? You can read them here:

Book #1 - https://rebrand.ly/MLC_425Madison

Book #2 - https://rebrand.ly/LMLY_425Madison

Book #3 - https://rebrand.ly/JSR_425Madison

Books five and six in the series are coming soon! Add them to your Goodreads shelf today!

Boyfriend Maintenance by Lauren Helms, Book #5

A Fake Relationship Romance

Goodreads ➝ https://rebrand.ly/BF_425Madison

Love Under Construction by Aubree Valentrine, Book #6

An Enemies to Lovers Romance

Release: 5/16/19

Goodreads ➝ https://rebrand.ly/LUC_425Madison

This release event is brought to you by Forever Write PR - Forever your source for all your writing needs. https://www.facebook.com/ForeverWritePR/

{Blog Tour & Release Day: Review + Giveaway} Ruthless King by Maya Hughes

Ruthless King by Maya Hughes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
THEME: Second Change / Sports

Ruthless King (Kings of Rittenhouse, #3)

by Maya Hughes

4.59 · 195 Ratings · 159 Reviews

BLURB:

My dick never got me in half as much trouble as my heart..

We were high school sweethearts. I was head over heels for
her and no one could tell me we weren’t going to last forever. College? Going
pro? My family’s money? None of it mattered. She was all I needed.

Then she ripped my heart out. But I’m not going to let that
happen again.

She’s back. Invading my life and acting like she was the
wronged one. The pain is still there, but I can’t keep my eyes off her. I can’t
stop thinking about her and how much was left unsaid between us. Being this
close is making me question everything I thought I knew about her.

This time everything will be on my terms. Everything…

REVIEW:

This was my first introduction to Maya Hughes and her Kings of Rittenhouse, I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed her writing and the emotional roller coaster she created for her characters that was both tear jerking and beautiful when it came down to how much these two people went through.

There is a lot of angst and anger in the beginning of this story, mostly coming from Emmett. His heart was broken by Avery who four years ago was his everything, until their relationship turn a bad turn. Now four years and Emmet is a professional hockey player and his relationship with his parents is starting to looking better with them actually putting in the effort of contacting him. Even with all the positives the past of what happened between Avery and him is still bitter inside him. Where Avery who is now happy to see her little sister graduate from high school is now at the point in her life where she can concentrate on what shes going to do. Her friends invite her on a trip that ends of bringing her face to face with her past and Emmett.

This story is all about second chances, about two people who needed to open about about what happened, but both kept things locked away that it hurt them both. I wanted to shake them both awake at times because if Avery would of just told Emmett about everything or if Emmett would of asked question, maybe these two would of had so much heartache. But as I got to know these characters I understood why, especially Emmett with his insecurities. Avery had so much strength especially with what she would do for her family.

Overall this was a great emotional story for me, I loved the side characters and really feel I need to read the first two to get more in depth with what happened in this book and to know more about how it all began. Other than that this was a great introduction to a new author and a series I'm definitely going to read more of.

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Author Bio

Maya Hughes has always loved romance novels. One look at her Kindle is confirmation. She started writing her first romance novel while pregnant with her third child and she hasn’t looked back. Now, her romance writing addiction has replaced her romance reading addiction.

You can find her writing on her foldable keyboard and phone anytime inspiration strikes. Her sweet and steamy stories range from rockstars to small towns and everything in between. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her three kids, running errands or vegging on the couch with the love of her life and biggest fan, her husband.

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