REVIEW: SANTINO HASSELL ✮ DOWN BY CONTACT

DOWN BY CONTACT

The Barons #2

by

SANTINO HASSELL

✮✮✮ 4.5 STARS ✮✮✮

Two rival football players begin a game with higher stakes than the Super Bowl in this steamy romance from the author of Illegal Contact. 

Simeon Boudreaux, the New York Barons’ golden-armed quarterback, is blessed with irresistible New Orleans charm and a face to melt your mama’s heart. He’s universally adored by fans and the media. Coming out as gay in solidarity with his teammate hasn’t harmed his reputation in the least—except for some social media taunting from rival linebacker Adrián Bravo.

Though they were once teammates, Adrián views Simeon as a traitor and the number-one name on the New Jersey Predators’ shit list. When animosity between the two NFL players reaches a boiling point on the field, culminating in a dirty fist fight, they’re both benched for six games and sentenced to joint community service teaching sullen, Brooklyn teens how to play ball.

At first, they can barely stand to be in the same room, but running the camp forces them to shape up. With no choice but to work together, Simeon realizes Adrián is more than his alpha-jerk persona, and Adrián begins to question why he’s always had such strong feelings for the gorgeous QB…

Homophobia is vile, there is no whitewashing it. It attacks a person's choice of who they love and that in itself is evil. Most of the MM books make it a theme one way or another but Santino Hassell  always puts his own stamp on it. Just take the setting of the book: two players in one of the most hypermasculine sports and let them butt heads on a football field.

On one side there is Adrián Bravo, who slams homophobic comments towards Simeon Boudreaux, who is the guy playing for the other team, in more than one sense - Simeon is Adrian's rival on the football field. After an altercation between the former-friends-turned-enemies that turned violent they are forced together, working at a Community Center for the length of their suspension.

Simeon is out and proud and completely unapologetic about his sexuality. His charm and easy-going, laid-back manners make him a favorite of the press, and me. Simeon is kind, affectionate and totally lovable. He's also very observant and calls Adrián out when he messes up but that mostly comes from a good place. I fell in love with him in the first book in this series and nothing has changed. Especially thesweet affectionate little gestures which he bestowed on Adrián made me break out in a smile repeatedly. He is an endearing, sweet character with his heart in the right place.

“I need you to tell me I won’t ruin your career by being in your life. Because no matter how hard I try to be discreet, I know somehow . . . I’ll screw it up. ’Cause that’s me, boo. I’m a mess. A loveable mess, but still a goddamn mess.”

Adrián seems shallow in the beginning. His behavior toward Simeon is more the one of a grade school boy pulling pigtails, seemingly unrepentant about his actions. It takes a while until he can admit to himself where his hostility towards Simeon stems from and until then he acts a lot like a brat.

From the moment he has his come-to-Jesus-moment Adrián pulls out all the stops to make it up to Simeon. I loved how he fought for their relationship, how once he realized that he was falling in love he was all in. Adrián is a complex character, adorkable, hilarious, with a too-smart-for-his-own-good mouth, but his devil-may-care attitude is only for show. Underneath there is an insecurity, a vulnerability and a sensitive soul that surfaces the more time he spends with Simeon.

Simeon touched my hand, fingers so tentative and so light it broke my heart. He shouldn’t be afraid to touch me.

I adored them together. They are playful, cheeky, their dynamic is sizzling and totally engrossing because both of them are dominant characters but with Simeon being the more relaxed one of the duo they find common ground. He lets Adrián set the pace of their developing relationship. When they get dirty it's downright combustible, their chemistry is insane.

That Santino Hassell chose people of color doesn't go unappreciated. It's s rare to find in MF books, even less in MM. The way the two main characters talk feels entirely natural, authentic, which made their interaction even better. The dialogues are full of wit and banter and their exchanges made the book lighter than I thought it would be.

“Motherfucker, I do not have no small dick.”

“If you say so, partner. No judgment here in the land of seven inches.”

“And ain’t no need to front over here in the land of eight.”

Adrián leaned farther across the table. “Wanna check?”

This enemy-to-lovers story is powerful, has enough grit to make it not too sweet and has an important message. The writing is top-notch, gripping and keeps you invested in Adrian and Simeon's journey. Santino Hassell is quickly becoming a favorite. I am super curious who the next book will be about. I'll definitely pick it up!

REVIEW: RONI LOREN ✮ THE ONES WHO GOT AWAY

THE ONES WHO GOT AWAY

The Ones Who Got Away #1

by

RONI LOREN

✮✮✮ 4 STARS ✮✮✮

Liv's words cut off as Finn got closer. The man approaching was nothing like the boy she'd known. The bulky football muscles had streamlined into a harder, leaner package and the look in his deep green eyes held no trace of boyish innocence.

It's been twelve years since tragedy struck the senior class of Long Acre High School. Only a few students survived that fateful night—a group the media dubbed The Ones Who Got Away.

Liv Arias thought she'd never return to Long Acre—until a documentary brings her and the other survivors back home. Suddenly her old flame, Finn Dorsey, is closer than ever, and their attraction is still white-hot. When a searing kiss reignites their passion, Liv realizes this rough-around-the-edges cop might be exactly what she needs...

Doesn't this blurb sound like a super angsty story? Yeah? Wanna know if it was? Read on!

I'll tell you right away, this is my first Roni Loren book, another one of those authors I have been meaning to read but never gotten around until The Who Got Away. It was the blurb that I found so intriguing that I wanted to jump in and give this author a chance. Not regretting it. Nope. So let me tell you a little bit about it. 

Olivia is one of the survivors of a vicious attack against high school kids on their prom. Not all of the teenagers, who lived to tell the story, processed what happened completely and moved on. Both Liv and Finn live with hangups from that night that cripples their quality of life in some way, both of them fear something. 

It’s like it’s all just sitting there, waiting to remind me how we can never really escape it. How the ones who got away never really get away.

Finn left a deep scar when his actions endangered Olivia, his then-girlfriend and dirty secret. When they meet again twelve years after the tragedy that changed all of their lives there is a little bit of resentment on Liv's behalf left.They work pretty fast through that which I appreciated. 

Liv is a woman who forgot, who she used to be. With the help of her friends and Finn she ventures on a journey of re-discovering her own self under the armor she built around herself. She does so with courage and resilience, is genuine, funny and gives it to you straight. When she faced her fears, moved past them I felt pride for her. After all she'd been through she still had spunk left in her and it came out exactly at the right time. In the end Liv honored the victims of the tragedy and it was respectful, sweet and touching. 

Finn...ah...what a wonderful man. He is sweet, sensual, through and through decent and so, so guilt-ridden. He left his hometown as a hero, having saved one of his friends during the shooting but he never felt like one. Now he is on a mission to rid the world of everything that's evil and of course he does at the expense of his own happiness and that of Liv. I thought he was a little bit I think he got a little too stuck in his guilt and towards the end I was a leeeettle peeved at him. Good thing he made it up to Olivia.

For the first time, it hit her that Finn was going through this, too. 

The rekindling of their relationship is beautiful. They both think they don't have the capacity for more than a casual relationship but their connection is strong, intense and undeniable, the feelings they have for one another so obvious. A connection like that doesn't just break, no matter how much time passes, and Finn and Olivia never got over each other. 

She’d been pretty in high school. Quirky cool. But now she was just flat-out beautiful. And successful. And hella smart. And off-fucking-limits.

Both of them have a playful side and lots of humor which contributed to this story being a lot less angsty than I thought it would be. As heart-breaking some parts are it's generally an uplifting story about friendship and healing.

Liv's friends, a group of women who formed a bond after the tragedy, are phenomenal. Especially Kincaid is best-friend-material. I hope Roni Loren writes a book about her. I was so on the fence about Rebecca in the beginning, I expected drama and ugly scenes but she turned out to be amazing, a wonderful friend to both Finn and Liv. 

I see at least three more books in the future of this series. The Ones Who Got Away was a well-written, captivating introduction to this series and for me to Roni Loren's stories. I enjoyed it immensely, it had passion, romance, an intriguing story line and characters you cheer on and want to be friends with. I realized that Rebecca's story will be next and guess who's going to read that one? Yeah. That would be me!

Broken glass still made art. Sometimes, the most beautiful kind.

4 STARS ✮ KATE MEADER ✮ SO OVER YOU

SO OVER YOU

Chicago Rebels #2

by 

Kate Meader

✮ ✮ ✮ 4 STARS ✮ ✮ ✮

Three estranged sisters struggle to sustain their late father’s failing hockey franchise in Kate Meader’s sizzling Chicago Rebels series. In this second entry, middle sister Isobel is at a crossroads in her personal and professional lives. But both are about to get a significant boost with the addition of a domineering Russian powerhouse to the Rebels....

Isobel Chase knows hockey. She played NCAA, won Olympic silver, and made it thirty-seven minutes into the new National Women’s Hockey League before an injury sidelined her dreams. Those who can’t, coach, and a position as a skating consultant to her late father’s hockey franchise, the Chicago Rebels, seems like a perfect fit. Until she’s assigned her first job: the man who skated into her heart as a teen and relieved her of her pesky virginity. These days, left-winger Vadim Petrov is known as the Czar of Pleasure, a magnet for puck bunnies and the tabloids alike. But back then... let’s just say his inability to sink the puck left Isobel frustratingly scoreless.

Vadim has a first name that means “ruler,” and it doesn’t stop at his birth certificate. He dominates on the ice, the practice rink, and in the backseat of a limo. But a knee injury has produced a bad year, and bad years in the NHL don’t go unrewarded. His penance? To be traded to a troubled team where his personal coach is Isobel Chase, the woman who drove him wild years ago when they were hormonal teens. But apparently the feeling was not entirely mutual.

That Vadim might have failed to give Isobel the pleasure that was her right is intolerable, and he plans to make it up to her—one bone-melting orgasm at a time. After all, no player can perfect his game without a helluva lot of practice... 

After a minor book hangover from another hockey story I was looking forward to reading "So Over You." I knew Kate Meader would deliver and boy, did she.

In a world dominated by alpha males like ice hockey it's hard for a woman to be heard. When you make your three daughters co-owners of the team with the least prospects of winning a game and least of all making the play-offs AND making this a condition of the inheritance you deserve a special place in hell. Make those three sisters estranged and you have a recipe for disaster. Right? Wrong.

Ice Hockey is in Isobel's blood. It's the one thing that she always wanted to do and the career-ending injury she had still hurts on a soul-deep level. Then there is the issue of having to prove her position as a coach on the team and having to deal with the man who popped her cherry when she was a teenager and forgot to rock her world.

“The Russian was a . . . cock-a-doodle-dud?” “Right. Bad in bed. Terrible, actually.”

Isobel loves hockey so much, having her dream ripped away from her leaves her a bit like a fish out of water. The next best thing is coaching but it's always been hockey for her. While I loved Isobel's drive, her ambition, I was on the fence about her true feelings  and wondering if Vadim really meant more to her than hockey or if he really was only the next best thing, too. However, she did convince me in the end. But: Isobel comes with a load of daddy issues. Her womanizing father did a number on her but her issues were quickly forgotten in the end, so that was an inconsistency that I couldn't look past.

Vadim, the big, grumpy Russian, was simply adorable and personally my highlight. He is this seemingly entitled, arrogant man so when he learns that he left young Isobel wanting all those years ago he is indignant...and then a little insecure. He is melodramatic, often unintentionally funny, and high-handed and has a serious alpha-vibe about him. All this together though is a weirdly endearing package. His speech without contractions becomes more pronounced the more time you spend with him.

The sisters relationship is so obviously improving and I was happy to see that the youngest of them didn't let Isobel get away with her issues. All the sisters interactions show me that there is real bonding happening.

Harper’s head was cocked as she blatantly ogled their GM. Stop it, Isobel frowned. You stop it, Harper frowned right back. That made them both giggle, which drew Dante’s querying look.

Of course Kate lets  us spend time with Remy (yay!), Cade (who I'm tickled silly about), Dante (OMG!) and Bren (Scottish brooding deliciousness!). I love their dynamics. I adored Vadim's relationship with his sister.

A moment of silence was offered for the female tragedy that was Dante Moretti's homosexuality.

Kate Meader's writing is like water. It flows effortlessly, pleasantly and is full with her own personal wit and humor. She really has that down pat. I have come to appreciate her books so much. So Over You was a wonderful addition to this series and I'm really sad that there are only two more installments. Even with the minor issues I was supremely entertained. I can't wait to get Dante and Cade, and Violet and Bren in my hands!

"My woman is the North Star in my night sky, but also in her own. If she is not there to guide me, there is only darkness. For us both.”

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4.5 STARS ✮ SAWYER BENNETT ✮ VAN

VAN

Cold Fury #9

by

Sawyer Bennett

✮ ✮ ✮ 4.5 STARS ✮ ✮ ✮

Score one for the Carolina Cold Fury hockey team as a stone-cold badass melts for a woman who makes his blood run hot.

As one of the league’s toughest enforcers, Van Turner is ruthless on the ice. He plays hard because it’s the only way to channel the rage boiling inside, and a reputation as an A-hole is better than everyone knowing the truth. Van has spent his entire life running from a secret that’s kept him from getting involved in relationships—or accepting lucrative deals with East Coast teams. Then the Carolina Cold Fury makes him an offer he can’t refuse . . . and Van meets a woman he can’t resist.

Simone Fournier is the stubborn one in her family—and that’s saying something, considering her brothers are two of the Cold Fury’s biggest stars. Simone gets what she wants, and what she wants is Van. Still, there’s a part of him Simone can’t reach, no matter how hard she tries. In private, he’s all fire and passion. In public, he freezes her out. Van may want to push her away, but Simone won’t let him go that easily. Because this time, she’s playing for keeps.

The Cold Fury series keeps getting better! I loved most of them, three of them were outstanding for me, those being Alex, Max and *drum roll*, now VAN! Yes. I would even argue that this new installment in the series is the best of yet.

I had crazy fun with the main characters of the book. We met Van and Simone in Lucas, which was Simone and Max Fournier's brother. It was obvious that there was something going on between the vivacious Simone and the taciturn Van.

Simone was a hoot. She is sexually very forward, has no issue saying what she wants and is relentless in pursuing it. She has a thick skin and doesn't take it personally when Van keeps saying no to her, no, it spurs her on. Simone isn't a doormat or easy, when she draws a line she won't cross it. As stubborn as she is in her pursuit of Van, she doesn't let him walk all over her. And then we get the side of her with the big heart, the depth that shows the love for her family, the compassion she feels for Van's past, her sorrow for having disappointed her family and her own confusion about her future.

Van?” I whisper. “Am I still shiny?”
He chuckles, pulls me in tighter, and squeezes the breath out of me.
“Yes, Simone. So fucking shiny you make everything else in the world seem a little dull by comparison.”

Van is one cranky dude. His walls are miles high and in the beginning Simone is nothing else but a pebble in his shoe. She annoys the hell out of him but the girl has a way of getting under  his skin and soon he finds himself doing and thinking uncharacteristic things. Simone comes into his life with a wrecking ball and tears down his walls. Little by little he lets her in. Van isn't easy to love in the beginning but gradually with each comical exchange between those two and his obvious confusion about Simone you can't help but fall in love with him.

He gives a ragged moan that sounds fulfilled and defeated all at the same time.

There is a fine line when it comes to cranky alphaholes. It's hard to not overdo the crankiness and a-holery and make the hero redeemable, even lovable. Sawyer Bennett's Van is perfection. She really nailed him. Even when Simone has his love he is still himself. He isn't a soft and sweet pussycat, at least not for everyone else but Simone in the end.

And can I say that they were really hot in bed? I know that this author writes some of the hottest sexy times but damn. DAMN!
Simone's sass is a special kind, it's the self-assured one we usually see in cocky heroes. She was hilarious!

Van’s lips press tight and anger flashes in his eyes. He enunciates his words clearly, leaning slightly toward me. “I’m. Not. Interested. In. You. Simone.”
I wrinkle my nose and shake my head. “Nah . . . you see, that wasn’t really convincing. But I do love the way my name sounds coming out of your mouth. Try it again, though, if you want.” For a brief moment, I’m afraid Van might stroke out.

I loved Van's background story, it was unusual and captivating and a little bit heartbreaking. I also love that Sawyer Bennett never drags out the angst, the drama is never over the top and quickly resolved.

Well, you were my first everything, Simone. My first love. First devotion. My first heartbreak. My one and only relationship with a woman. You were my first confidant and companion. Simone . . . you were my first friend ever. My first . . . everything.”

Swoon!

Sawyer Bennett knocked Van out of the park and of all the Cold Fury books VAN has become my favorite in the series. Next up is REED and you bet your ass that I'll be reading it.

Teasers courtesy of the author

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5 STARS ✮ RACHEL HIGGINSON ✮ CONSTANT

CONSTANT

The Confidence Game #1

by

Rachel Higginson

✮ ✮ ✮ 5 STARS ✮ ✮ ✮

Fifteen years ago I met Sayer Wesley. I fell in love with him. I promised I would never leave him. I swore nothing could break us apart. 

Five years ago I broke my promise. I ran away. I took the one secret that could destroy us both and disappeared. 

Five days ago I thought I saw him. 

I knew it was impossible. Sayer was locked away, serving a deserved sentence in federal prison. He couldn’t find me. 

He wouldn’t find me. I was too good at hiding. Too good at surviving. 

Because if Sayer ever found me, there would be hell to pay for a plethora of sins. The worst of which, he didn’t even know about. 

Five hours ago, I told myself I was crazy. 

Five minutes ago, I saw him again. 

Five seconds ago, I was too late. 

Confession: This is my first book by Rachel Higginson. Put those tomatoes and eggs away, I'll fix it, I swear.

The love for your child is all consuming. A good mother is like a bear, there is nothing she wouldn't do to protect her children. She also makes enormous sacrifices to give her kids the best life they can have at the expense of her own happiness. This, in a nutshell, is Caro, the heroine of Constant.

Caro ran away from her old life that was full of deceit, lies, danger and a beautiful man who had been the love of her life for 15 years. The courage it must take to cut ties with everything your life used to be has to be breathtaking but there is a very valid reason for her to break her promise to the man she swore she would stand with through it all. Caro is as resilient as they come, tough as steel, cunning, and can lie and manipulate like the best of them. Now she's living always with one eye over her shoulder, and although paranoid she's trying to live a normal and inconspicuous life, always expecting for her old life to catch up. And it does.

Past meet present. Life meet death.

This story is cleverly written with flashbacks into Sayer and Caro's past so that we understand that Caro really didn't have a choice than to up and leave. It also shows us that their love is the once-in-a-lifetime-kind so to cut the ties, on both accounts, must have been harrowing.
When Sayer is back in her life he is understandably angry. And who wouldn't be? He doesn't have the whole picture.

He was at once utterly beautiful and every nightmare I had ever had come to life.

Although the book is told only from Caro's point of view I could still see how Sayer has become the man he is now, the changes between the Sayer of then and now are notable. Where the boy was reverent and enraptured in his love for Caro, the man is hardened, often cruel with his words and they didn't only hurt Caro, they hurt me too. So bad that the knots in my stomach had knots.
Sayer is Caro's Archilles heel so he figures out fast where the chinks in her armor are. But despite the (really huge) chip on his shoulder there is a sense of longing. The feeling of Sayer's hurt is just as visceral as Caro's guilt. Neither of them has gotten over the other.

I had never had a choice in loving Sayer. I just had. Always. Since the day I met him, he had been it for me. 

The book ends on a brutal cliffhanger and I wanted to throw things. Yes, it wasn't pretty. While the author did a fantastic job letting us see Sayer through Caro's eyes I would have loved his point of view, only because I didn't want his words to hurt so bad. But that's entirely selfish. I also enjoyed getting to know the secondary characters. Juliet was cute as a button and Francesca and Gus not just accessories, their voices were complex for the side-cast.

If there is one thing that I would like to point out it's that the first 25-30% are a little slower than the rest of the book. However, this is a complex plot and there is no way around taking the time to establish the background and setup for the events that follow. And she really digs deep into it. Once that's out of the way the story notably picks up and then it's angst galore. As for the author's writing style, she made an amazing first impression. I love how it flows so easily.

So now I start waiting for book 2. I hate Rachel Higginson a little for making me wait but I also love her because she asked me to read and review Constant. This epic love story goes right on my favorite-shelf - it's brilliantly told and will have you biting your finger nails. I loved every suspenseful second of it!

Tonight had been a fiery culmination of everything between us. Fireworks and explosions and the melding of two hearts that formerly belonged in two different bodies. Now I held his within me. And he owned every inch of mine.

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