Release Day Review:The Best Man Plan (Boots & Bouquets #1) by Jaci Burton

Things are finally looking up for Jason Callum. When Erin Bellini‘s wedding is called off a month before the ceremony, Jason is willing and eager to play the rebound guy…for now. Erin is the one woman he’s wanted for years, and he’s not about to blow this chance to make her his.

Revenge has never tasted so sweet―or been so confusing. What started out as a fun fling with her ex-fiancé’s best friend is quickly turning into something more. But Erin’s done being burned by love and not about to lose herself a second time. No matter how tempting…

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 What I thought about The Best Man Plan

Just days before her wedding, Erin Bellini's upcoming marriage is called off, and she tumbles into confusion and sadness over why her ex had to call it off in the way he did.  As she decides to have a reception party for a wedding she didn't have, Jason Callum steps up to help her. He's always been there for Erin, and he isn't about to change.  He's loved her from afar and this is his chance to get her to see how good they could be together even if the timing is not ideal.

There's just one problem -- Erin isn't looking for anything permanent or a relationship -- she just wants to have a revenge affair on her ex, and decides that Jason is just the guy to do it.  He's got the good sense to know that he wants more from her than just a quick fling without feelings. 

There's some nice back-and-forth between these two as Jason helps Erin find the good in life again and he begins to show her how he feels about her.  Everyone else can see that he's in love with her but Erin, and that turns into a problem when Erin's ex returns on the scene.

I have to say I wasn't expecting to like the ex (even though I didn't like how he did what he did) but his circumstances were a surprise that I wasn't expecting.  I love how this provided the conflict that forces Erin and Jason to look at what they want and to make some decisions on what their future would look like. I also thought that Erin's work as a wedding planner for their family business added a nice twist to the story.

The Best Man Plan was a quick, easy, light story that I devoured in a day or two. I liked Erin and Jason together, and the hints about what might be in store for Erin's sisters has me interested in what is to come. It was great to revisit with Alice and Clay from the previous novella in the series.  Overall, The Best Man Plan is an enjoyable story with two sweet characters set in a world that is ripe for additional stories. Great start to the series. 

An ARC was provided. This is my honest review.

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Review: Hot to the Touch (Brotherhood by Fire #1) by Jaci Burton

OLD FLAMES BURN WHITE-HOT

Firefighter Jackson Donovan doesn’t look back—as a rule. So when his past comes roaring back to life in the form of not-so-damsel-in-distress Becks Benning, the last thing he wants to do is relive old times. No matter how tempting she makes it seem…

Now thanks to his two interfering brothers, Becks is living with him while she looks for a new place and tries to pick up the pieces of her tattoo business that went up in flames. Which means a grown up, smokin’ hot Becks is in his house, digging up old wounds. And despite his better judgement, the more time he spends with this smart, artistic, incredible woman the more he wants her in his bed—and his future.

Becks always had it bad for Jackson. Unfortunately for her, not much has changed—he’s still honorable, hard-working, sexy as sin—and closed off. But there’s more than one way to get to a man’s heart and if Jackson doesn’t want to recall old memories, she’ll just have to help him make new ones. Because now that she’s found Jackson again, she’s not letting him go.

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What I thought about Hot to the Touch

The book starts with a fire and the rescue of three young boys before it flashes forward to their lives as adults.  All three of them have become firefighters after that harrowing night.

 

Jackson is the leader, both when they were younger,homeless, and living on the street and now when they are adults. He's always been the one to take care of them.  He's a natural born protector. When a fire at a tattoo shop unexpectedly turns up one of the friends from their homeless days, all three of them welcome the female tattoo artist into their home.

 

Becks has always had a crush on Jackson.  Seeing him again as an adult just reignites her feelings for him.  And now that they are all living together in the same house, those feelings really are front-and-center for both Becks and Jackson.  Only one problem -- Jackson wants to keep the past in the past and doesn't like Becks continual questions about his feelings about their former lives.

 

In spite of their communications issues, they engage in a steamy physical relationship after some coaxing from his brothers who see just how much Becks and Jackson are right for each other.  But Jackson's inability to share his thoughts and feelings may just kill their relationship.

 

I went into this expecting a firefighter story and after a promising start the firefighter part of this story was pretty much non-existent.  The story really swirls around Jackson's inability to share with Becks, and that is the entire crux of their conflict.  There was a lot of potential in this story, but sadly, the story was fairly tame and not a whole lot happens, making for a slow read.  I'm hoping for more in the next installment in the series. 

 

An ARC was provided for review. 

  

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Review, Excerpt and Extras: Shot On Gold (a Play by Play Novel) by Jaci Burton

In the new Play-by-Play novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Final Score, opposites attract when a figure skater and hockey player lace up their skates--and go for the gold...

Will "Mad Dog" Madigan is making his second trip to the Winter Games, and he couldn't be happier. Hockey is his life and playing for the U.S. team is a privilege. Then he meets U.S. figure skater Amber Sloane. She's beautiful, ambitious and driven--everything Will desires in a woman. He would love to show Amber how hot life off the ice can be.

Amber has skated her entire life, sacrificing everything in the hopes of one day winning gold. Now she's competing for the third and final time. She intends to win, and nothing's going to get in her way--until she meets Will. He's an irresistible charmer, and before long Amber is wondering if this sexy hockey player is the perfect guy to show her some moves outside the rink.

But after all the medals have been awarded, Will and Amber will have to decide if what they have together is just a fling or a real shot at true love.

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Excerpt

“Yeah? What are your cravings?”

“Hmm, let’s see. Thick crust pizza with sausage and extra cheese. Lasagna. Chocolate chip cookies. Brownies. Oh, and cheeseburgers. I really love cheeseburgers. With onion rings.”

He laughed. “That’s a damn fine menu, Amber. Surely you can have some of those things at least once a week, right?”

“I get healthy proteins, like lean chicken and fish. Only when I finish a competition am I allowed to indulge.”

“Allowed? Come on, honey, you’re a grown-ass woman. You can make your own decisions.”

She looked down at her ice cream, suddenly losing her appetite for its creamy sinfulness. She pushed it aside. “I do make my own decisions. Like now. I’m full.”

Will looked over at her cup. “You barely ate two bites.”

“It doesn’t take much to fill me up.” Which was her mother’s mantra.

Eat half of what’s on your plate, Amber. You’re thin anyway, so you don’t need a lot of food.

Except she was always hungry, and drinking more water never filled her up.

“Yeah? Well I’m eating this entire cone and two scoops, which I know I’ll burn up on the ice. You should do the same.”

Will didn’t understand how hard it was for her to maintain the balance between strength and figure. But she did. She’d worked so hard, and nothing was going to derail her.

Not even the tempting chocolate raspberry ice cream that sat in front of her.

This had been a mistake. She should have never come here with Will. But since she had, she’d politely wait until he finished his ice cream and then she’d make her way back to her apartment.

“Would you like to taste mine?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, I’m good.”

“So’s this mint chocolate chip. And I promise I don’t have germs.”

Oh, she’d love to put her mouth where he’d had his mouth. That wasn’t the issue at all. Just the thought of swirling her tongue where his tongue had been caused flames to lick along her nerve endings, making her wish they were outside where it was cooler.

“Do you like mint, Amber?” he asked.

“I do.”

He leaned forward, offering the cone. “Take a lick.”

She was going to self-combust if he kept talking to her that way.

“Okay.” She started to take the cone from him, but instead he wrapped his hand around hers and held the cone steady. She leaned forward and flicked her tongue over the top of the cone, watching the way his gaze was glued to her mouth, which only made her previous heated state grow more incendiary.

She sat back and pulled her hand from his. “It’s really good.”

“Yeah, it is really good,” he said, and Amber was certain he hadn’t been talking about the ice cream.

She’d been hit on by a lot of guys over the years, mainly at skating competitions, and especially at the international games. She’d ignored them all to focus only on her goal of winning. Never before had she been affected by flirting or guys coming on to her. She knew she’d be nothing more than a one-night stand, and she wasn’t much interested in being some guy’s forgettable bang.

But there was something about Will Madigan that intrigued her. He was hot, and had a magnificent body. She liked that they were compatible from a skating point of view, but she’d had attractive male figure skaters hit on her before and they had certainly been more compatible than Will, so what was the deal with this guy? Why him, other than she’d madly crushed on him four years ago when he’d never once even looked in her direction.

That was probably it. He’d noticed her tonight, and she felt vindicated. Plus, she was determined to live it up these games.

Though she was going to do it on her terms. She was going to be the one doing the choosing, and it was going to be on her timeline. When she was ready.

She wasn’t going to jump in the sack with the first guy on the first night.

Even if said guy was hot and sexy and had eyes that made her melt.

 

Extras!  

Cosmo.com’s behind-the-scenes feature from the cover shoot with Jaci: http://bit.ly/2EgJEjE

And the book trailer!

 What I thought about Shot On Gold

Amber has dedicated her life to figure skating and winning a gold medal, and it's her last Olympics. She's ready to win having worked the last four years to achieve her goal, so she decided she's going to enjoy the games. She's no longer willing to sacrifice friends and fun for competition sake. When she meets Will, a super hot and sweet member of the USA hockey team, everything clicks for the two of them and what might have been a brief fling turns into something much more.

Both Will and Amber are at the games to win a gold medal, but they may have found more than gold with each other. The conflicts here are light, and the very best part of this story is not the romance, but how Jaci Burton expertly captures the heart of an athletic champion and the joy that comes from doing your best and winning. I loved this aspect of the book. Amber's self confidence was a little off putting at first, especially when it came to her experience with sex, but I really ended up liking her. I liked Will's attitude too, towards sports and toward Amber. He really was quite sweet.

This book chased away my blues from the 2018 Olympics being over. I loved the camaraderie, the athleticism and thought there was a lot of joy to be found in this book. It's not my favorite book in this series, but I did enjoy it very much. It's fluff... fun fluff. An Olympic fairy tale and just what I needed now that the games are over!

An ARC was provided for review.

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Review & Giveaway: The Final Score (Play-by-Play #13) by Jaci Burton

In the new Play-by-Play novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Contact, a star quarterback is torn between his love of the game—and the woman who may be the love of his life.Nathan Riley is ready to follow in the footsteps of his famous football player father. He’s been drafted as quarterback for his dad’s former team, and his sports future is bright. When his friend Mia Cassidy moves to the same city, their years-long friendship suddenly sparks hot, reminding him of the one night they had together in college that he can never forget.

Like Nathan, Mia is from a sports dynasty family and embarking on an incredible new career—as founder of her own sports management company. Her friendship with Nathan means everything to her, and tossing sex into the mix again could jeopardize it all. But the chemistry between them has always sizzled, and it isn’t long before Mia realizes she wants more with Nathan than just late-night talks and pizza.

Passion has a funny way of changing the rules, and soon Nathan and Mia realize that to win it all, they’ll have to make an unexpected play for love.

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What I thought about The Final Score

The first book in the Play-by-Play series was probably my first sport romance series and I loved the early books. But I had gotten away from this series for a while, and when I had the opportunity to read and review the latest book I had to take it.

The Final Score revolves around a second generation of characters in this series. Nathan Riley of Riley family fame is the son of Mick Riley from the very first Play-by-Play book. He's following his father's footsteps as quarterback. Mia Cassidy, his friend from college is also related to previous characters in the series.

Nathan and Mia are good friends from college, although they did have one special night together that neither one can forget. But getting involved in a relationship at this stage in their career isn't going to work. Nathan wants a friends-with-benefits situation, where they can scratch their itch without it messing up with their friendship. Seriously, does that ever work out like that?

Mia's struggles with her changing relationship with Nathan provides the light angst and conflict in this book and it does take a bit for Mia to see what's right in front of her face.

I love the family atmosphere in this series, and The Final Score did not disappoint when it came to that.

Overall, I enjoyed this return to the Play-By-Play series and I'm thinking of catching up on the installments I've missed. Jaci Burton knows how to write a heart-warming sport romance that will have you coming back for more.

ARC was provided for review.

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