Release Day Review: Roughing the Kicker (Saints and Sinners #1) by Eden Butler

Title: ROUGHING THE KICKER, SAINTS & SINNERS, BOOK ONE
Author: EDEN BUTLER
Genre: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Release Date: JULY 31, 2018

Summary:
Reese Noble chased this dream for a decade.

Now it was here.

The NFL.

A pro career.

All eyes on the league’s new kicker.

Millions of people expecting her to fail.

But Reese wasn’t a novelty and the spot she landed on the New Orleans Steamers was one she planned to keep.

With her teammates giving her hell and the world doubting her every move, Reese will have to fight harder than anyone else to make her dream a reality.

Even if that means following the lead of Quarterback Ryder Glenn —the only man who brought her to the edge of ecstasy and the depths of heartbreak. The same man who broke her heart ten years before.

In this city, there is a thin line between sin and sainthood and only the strongest can walk it.

The Sinners and Saints series is a spin-off from the Thin Love series and in the same universe. 

BUY LINKS:

 AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2N7Sy3H

AMAZON UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DT3J36F

AMAZON CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07DT3J36F

AMAZON AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07DT3J36F

What I thought about Roughing the Kicker 

Reese Noble is the first female kicker in the NFL and she's earned her right to be there.  There's only one problem.  The man she fell in love with ten years ago, who then left her under some fairly serious circumstances is the quarterback of the team.

Reese has to contend with her teammates acceptance, fan support, and all the extra work that goes into being good enough for the NFL.  It's not an easy situation for her to be playing on the same team as her ex. And Ryder really isn't all that happy to see Reese.  There's a lot these two need to work out just to be civil to each other.

The beginning of this enemies-back-to-lovers book really doesn't sugar coat just how much animosity there is between Reese and Ryder.  I liked that about it, but it did make for some tough reading.  They really don't like each other very much at the start and rightly so. Ten years is a long time to hold a grudge against someone you love, and Ryder takes his time getting to the resolution point.

I adored the amount of football action in this and the interactions between the players, coaches and manager.  It felt authentic to me.  And I loved that it took almost most of the book for Ryder and Reese to reconnect in a loving manner.  But my favorite scene was one between Ryder and Reese's father, their coach from their college days. It's what I've come to love from Eden Butler -- a great heart-to-heart that puts it all in perspective.  

Overall, I really liked this and I'm looking forward to more in the series. And a big thumbs up for the cameo appearances and mentions from the Thin Love series.

An ARC was provided for review.

 

Author Bio

Eden Butler is an editor and writer of Mystery, Suspense and Contemporary Romance novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum.

When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden patiently waits for her Hogwarts letter, edits, reads and spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints football.

She is currently living under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast Louisiana.

Please send help.

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Cover Reveal - Until We’re More by Cindi Madsen

About the Book:

Chelsea is smart, funny, gorgeous, and the best friend I’ve ever had. Ever since she left, I’ve been a wreck. I’ve been focused on keeping my family’s MMA gym afloat while I train and coach fighters, anything to not miss her more. But now she's finally back, along with her grumpy, possessive cat, and things are weird between us.

By weird, I mean I can’t stop thinking about her in that way. She’s in the room next door, and it takes all my control not to storm in there, sweep her up, and bring her back to my bed. Even stranger, I’m pretty sure she’d be into it.

And this time, I’m not going to stop fighting until we’re more. 

Goodreads Link: 

 
 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40954477-until-we-re-more

  About Cindi Madsen

Cindi Madsen is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance and young adult novels. She sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children. 

Cindi’s Media Links:

Author Website: http://cindimadsen.com 

Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/CindiMadsen

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Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1029223.Cindi_Madsen

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Cover Reveal: Fighting the Fire (Warrior Fight Club #3) by Laura Kaye

From New York Times
bestselling author Laura Kaye,
comes the next standalone title in her
Warrior Fight Club series,
FIGHTING THE FIRE.

Check out Laura’s note below and the beautiful cover! Then join the Warrior Fight Club world today!

A note from Laura Kaye:

I love enemies-to-lovers stories because they’re so much fun to write and absolutely delicious to read! And Sean Riddick and Dani England from my upcoming Fighting the Fire are absolutely incendiary together! They’re both bad asses in their own right—both veterans, both fighters, both stubborn as hell. And boy does this cover art capture them so well—the intensity, the passion, the push and pull. Gah, I hope you love it as much as I do!

If you haven’t started my wounded Warrior Fight Club series yet, you can jump in anywhere because they’re all sexy standalone romances! So start at the beginning with Fighting for Everything or grab the about-to-release Fighting for What’s His. And here’s where you reserve your copy of Sean and Dani’s hot, hot story:

PRE-ORDER on Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Add to your Goodreads

Coming in ebook, paperback, and audiobook

 

About FIGHTING THE FIRE (Warrior Fight Club #3, 10/16/18):

 The more they fight, the more desire consumes them…

There’s only one thing firefighter Sean Riddick doesn’t like about Warrior Fight Club, and that’s Daniela England, the sexiest, snarkiest, most irritating woman he’s ever known. But MMA training keeps the Navy vet grounded, so Sean’s not about to give it up, no matter how many times he goes toe to toe with Dani—or how bad he wants to take her to the mats.

A former Army nurse and the widow of a fallen soldier, Dani is done with the military and with military men. Fight club is the only thing that eases her nightmares, which means she has to put up with Riddick. He might be sex on a stick, but he’s infuriating and everything she’s vowed to avoid.
But when an accident throws Sean and Dani together, all that fight bursts into a night of red-hot passion. Now they’re addicted to the heat and must decide if the one person they’ve most resisted might be exactly what they’ve both been looking for.

PRE-ORDER on

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Check out the whole Warrior Fight Club Series:
Fighting for Everything – Available now!
Fighting for What’s His –
August 7, 2018 – Preorder!
Fighting the Fire –
October 16, 2018
Worth Fighting For –
March 12, 2019

  About Laura Kaye: Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty-five books in contemporary and erotic romance and romantic suspense, including the Blasphemy, Hard Ink, and Raven Riders series. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. Laura also writes historical fiction as the NYT bestselling author, Laura Kamoie. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.      

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Review: Saving Beck by Courtney Cole

   

SAVING BECK Synopsis:

There comes a time when offering your life for your child’s doesn’t work, when you realize that it’ll never be enough.

The cold needle in his warm vein was a welcome comfort to my son at first. But then it became the monster that kept us apart.

Heroin lied, and my son believed. It took him to a world where the last year didn’t happen, to a place where his father was still alive. What Beck didn’t understand was that it couldn’t bring his father back from the dead. It couldn’t take away his pain, not permanently.

You think it can’t happen to you, that your kids, your family, will never be in this situation. I thought that too. But you’re wrong.

Step into our world, and see for yourself. Watch my golden boy become a slave to this raging epidemic. Watch me try and save him.

Drug addiction comes with a price. Trust me, you’re not equipped to pay it.

Don’t miss this heart wrenching, evocative, yet hopeful novel—it will leave you forever changed.

 

Amazon Hardcover | Kindle | Nook | Barnes & Noble Hardcover

iBooks | B-A-M | Kobo | IndieBound | Audible

         

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

What I thought about Saving Beck

In Courtney Cole's Saving Beck, the dangerous path to addiction and the emotions of drug abuse take center stage with a gut-wrenching story of loss and grief and pain. Whew, I'm exhausted just writing that sentence.

I have to be honest, this was a difficult story to read for me. I love an emotional story, but when it hits too close to home, the reading experience becomes less of an escape. That being said, Saving Beck is an emotional tale that will help anyone understand the "why" and the "how" of addiction. I was glad there was a hopeful element to it, that balances it all out.

We need more stories like this. 

 

About Courtney Cole:

 Courtney Cole grew up in rural Kansas and now lives with her husband and kids in Florida, where she writes beneath palm trees and is still in love with the idea of magic and happily-ever-after. She is the author of Saving Beck.        

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Release Day Review: Playing Hurt (Aces Hockey #6) by Kelly Jamieson

He’s playing hurt. She’s laying low. And they’re both flirting with disaster.

Chase: The last thing I’d ever want to do is let my team down. After overcoming my bad-boy reputation, I was dominating on the ice. But things aren’t going so well this season, and even my parents think I’m partying again. Now I’m really worried about my career. The only bright spot in my life is the Twitter flirtation I’ve struck up with pop princess Jordyn Banks. Turns out she’s a huge hockey fan—and she’s willing to wager a date on her favorite team. . . .

Jordyn: Even though I’m an L.A. fan now, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Aces, since I grew up in Chicago. Then I lose a bet to Chase Hartman, and suddenly I’m up close and personal with a pro athlete who’s anything but soft. Not only is Chase the hottest guy I’ve ever met, he’s secretly super sweet. As if I had time for a relationship . . . yeah, right. But when I suddenly have nothing but time on my hands, he’s the only one who understands. Now, with both of our careers at stake, Chase is tempting me to put my heart on the line too.  

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Add to Goodreads 

What I thought about Playing Hurt

With a nagging injury taking its toll on Chase's play on the ice, he finds a distraction in Jordyn Banks, a pop star he's connected with on social media over a shared love of hockey.

One bet between them leads to a first date, and circumstances throw them together even though it would seem that starting a long distance relationship was impossible. Kelly Jamieson does a great job of making this improbable relationship work, and Chase is so dang cute.  He's a bit star struck and very sincere and adorable as he melts Jordyn's pragmatic heart.  

The conflict level here is low but there are some nice parallels in Jordyn's and Chase's lives regarding "playing hurt" that make the story interesting.  I found myself really enjoying this story.  It was light and sweet and easy-to-read.  I liked Chase and Jordyn together. Jordyn's maturity through the rough spots was also a bonus.  

If you are looking for a hockey romance that is light on conflict and big on romance, you might enjoy Playing Hurt.

An Arc was provided for review.

About the Author

Kelly Jamieson is a USA Today bestselling author of over 40 romance novels and novellas.

Her writing has been described as “emotionally complex”, “sweet and satisfying” and “blisteringly sexy”. She likes black coffee, white wine and high heels…and of course cheering on her Winnipeg Jets during hockey season!

Visit her website at www.kellyjamieson.com or contact her at info@kellyjamieson.com.  

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https://twitter.com/KellyJamieson

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5 Stars for Tight Quarters (Out of Uniform #6) by Annabeth Albert

“Sexy, sweet and heartfelt, Annabeth Albert's Out of Uniform series is a fresh take on Navy SEALs that will delight and entertain romance readers.”
--Layla Reyne, author of the Agents Irish and Whisky series.

 Title: Tight Quarters

Series: Out of Uniform #6

Publisher: Carina Press

Release Date: ebook: July 9, 2018 | print: July 31, 2018

Subgenre: M/M Contemporary Military Romance

 Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo

Book Synopsis: 

Petty Officer Bacon, a navy SEAL and ace sharpshooter, has been on the front lines of more than his fair share of dangerous ops. Yet when a minor injury relegates him to the beta team, he’s tasked with what may be his riskiest assignment yet: the silver fox journalist he’s babysitting is the hottest, most charismatic man he’s ever encountered.

Award-winning journalist Spencer Bryant may have been named one of Pride magazine’s most eligible bachelors of the year, but he’s not looking to change his relationship status. He’s a consummate professional who won’t risk his ethics or impeccable reputation by getting involved with a source. Even a sexy-as-hell military man. But while Spencer can resist his physical attraction to Bacon, he has less control over his emotions—especially when the mission goes sideways and the two men are trapped alone.

Getting out of the jungle alive turns out to be easy compared to facing the truth about their feelings for one another back in the real world. And whether or not they can build a future is a different story altogether.

This book is approximately 82,000 words 
 
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
 

Teaser excerpt

"Meet Spencer the Silverfox Reporter Hero"

As he followed Bacon out of the dining facility, he didn’t regret being open about Greg to the team. He’d never really been in the closet, but he’d spent too many years when he was younger watching his words, worrying about what others might think. Screw that. Life was far too short to hide, and besides, it was bound to come up at some point the next few weeks. Better to just get it out in the open now.

But Petty Officer Bacon did not seem to agree, all but glowering as he stomped ahead.

“You okay with walking or should I get a Jeep?” he barked at Spencer. Damn. He’d thought Bacon was the open-minded one of the group, but he was sure as hell acting put out.

“Totally fine with walking. Listen, if you have a problem with me—”

“I don’t.” A muscle worked in his jaw.

“You don’t like me,” Spencer said bluntly. Speaking of getting things out in the open, they needed to address this now. If Bacon was to be his handler, it benefited them both to not have an actively hostile relationship.

“I’d like you a lot better on any team other than mine,” Bacon shot back as he sped up his walking pace. “And at the risk of inflating what has to be a Super Duty size ego, I’m a fan of your writing stuff. But you’re the last thing my team needs.”

“You’re a fan?” Spencer couldn’t help but smile.

“Knew that would be the part you focused on,” Bacon grumbled. “You’re not a bad writer, okay? But we don’t need a reporter—any reporter—potentially fucking up our mission. And if you tell the LT I said that—”

“I won’t,” Spencer promised before Bacon could finish his threat. “I get your reservations, I do. But just give me a chance, okay? I’m not out to make you or your buddies look bad.”

“Why do you want this assignment anyway?” Bacon demanded. They were passing nondescript buildings and carefully manicured grounds, but Bacon didn’t slow down and point out the sights to Spencer, instead marching on.

“My book about injured vets sold well. My publisher would like to see more like that from me, and this was an easy freelance pitch to my old paper for the feature piece, so there’s that.” Spencer tried for light, which only made Bacon glower more. He was going to just leave it at that, let Bacon frown himself into next week, but then some of the truth spilled out. “I saw a number of spec ops guys in my research at Walter Reed. It got me intrigued about how modern warfare operates out in the field. And then one of them died last year. Felt like maybe I owed it to him to pursue this story, jump through all the PR hoops to make it happen.”

“He died in the line of duty?” Bacon sounded marginally less combative.

“No. Suicide.” The word hurt, almost like it scraped his throat on the way out, and his voice was unnaturally rough. Bacon went pale and slowed his pace.

“Fucking sucks,” he said with far more feeling than Spencer would have expected.

“Yeah, it does,” Spencer agreed. It did fucking suck, no two ways about it. Even now, his back went slick with sweat, stomach full of guilt and dread, as he remembered that awful phone call from Harry’s wife. But nothing would be served by telling Bacon how Harry’s death had utterly gutted him, so he kept his voice even. “But he saw things that few people ever do. And those stories, they feel…significant.”

Bacon was silent a long time, plodding along, looking down at his feet.

“I get it,” he said at last. “But not gonna lie, wish they’d assigned you elsewhere. Rangers, maybe.” 

What I thought about Tight Quarters

Many times when a series gets to the sixth book, the thrill is gone, so be speak, but not so with the Out of Uniform series. Annabeth Albert consistently delivers a great M/M romance that is entertaining and a whole of fun to read.

In Tight Quarters, Bacon is temporarily off the alpha team due to a minor injury and as such he gets assigned to keep tabs on the embedded reporter the team is about to take on. Bacon is not happy about it, even though Spencer Bryant is one of his favorite authors. Spencer is determined to write a book that highlights the stories of these men, and everyone on the team is nervous about what he might reveal. No one is happy about having a reporter watching over their shoulders, least of all Bacon.

But their time together develops into a friendship and possibly more, in spite of how much both men want to resist it. And complicating things for both parties is Spencer's insistence on everything being above board and Bacon's commitment to keeping his teammates lives private. When they realize they can't have it all, there's a lot of heartbreak involved for Bacon and Spencer. And you know what that means.... making up, which is the best part of the story.

I really liked this. I love this series hard. If you like M/M romance, you should be reading it.

An ARC was provided for review.  

Reader’s Choice of any Out of Uniform book in paper + surprise swag pack!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.  The #OutOfUniform series joins her critically acclaimed and fan-favorite LGBTQ  romance #Gaymers, #PortlandHeat and #PerfectHarmony series.

To find out what she’s working on next and other fun extras, check out her website: www.annabethalbert.com or connect with Annabeth on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify! Also, be sure to sign up for her newsletter for free ficlets, bonus reads, and contests. The fan group, Annabeth’s Angels, on Facebook is also a great place for bonus content and exclusive contests.

Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter.  In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two active children.

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