Taming of the Crew by Xavier Neal {a review}

Today is the day that TAMING OF THE CREW by Xavier Neal is officially available! This is the fifth book in the Hockey Gods series that is set in Vlasta University in Vlasta, Wisconsin. This new adult/college romance tells the story of Patrick Peck- the captain of the Vipers hockey team, and Nyeena Stiles- the niece of Coach Stiles. This opposite attracts story will hit you in the feels, and have you falling hard for the couple. Now TECHNICALLY this is a standalone, and you can read it as such. That being said, you miss out on the knowledge of the other couples, and may not fully understand the banter or nicknames. So if you were me, start from the beginning with Can't Block My Love.

Friends, you are going to love Peck! This man is 100% dedicated to hockey. It is essentially his everything. His parents have made sure of that. This is his senior year at Vlasta University, and once again he's been chosen to be the Captain of the hockey team. This year though, Peck's brother is joining the team, and this could go either way. The Peck family is not close. Not at all. There are major issues that are brought on by the parents. You'll learn about those as the story progresses. Peck (Patrick) is ready for a fantastic final season. That is until Nyeena Stiles makes her appearance. Nyeena knocks him off balance, and he is immediately taken by her. Meanwhile Nyeena has just moved to Vlasta so that she could receive treatment for a disease that really one has one cure. Meeting Peck, and falling for him was the last thing on her mind. Yet her she is, living her life to the best of her ability with Peck and his crew by her side. All is going amazing, until the moment it's not.

I was not prepared for the emotional scenes in this book. Yes, Xavier Neal warned me that tissues would be needed, but I wasn't expecting the story to go the route it did. So please have tissues ready for when you read Taming of the Crew. Everything about this story drew me in. Peck was a familiar face and I had been waiting for the day he found his person. I enjoyed getting to catch up with the crew, and witness how they added Nyeena into the fold so easily. I enjoyed how finding a passion aside from hockey altered Peck's life. He found something else to bring him joy, and to focus a bit on. Yes he wasn't 100% focused on hockey, but that was a good thing. It allowed him to be a better player, because he finally knew what a life off the ice could be like. Nyeena is a fiery, passionate, independent, intelligent woman, and I loved it. She is a fantastic character who is dealing with some major health issues. Yet she didn't let that really slow her down. She was determined to live the best life she could with the time she's been given. The relationship between Peck and Nyeena had a bit of the instalove elements, but this was most definitely a slow burn.  And oh what a slow burn it was. SO GOOD!

I want to bring up the big moment that happens...don't worry I'm not going to say what it was because spoilers. I do want to say that it was intense. It was emotional. It truly showed a found family relationship, and how those who love you will be by your side. Also, my gut totally called the resolution. From the moment things were set into place, and little tidbits of info were dropped, in my mind I was thinking "hmmm I wonder". This big moment though, I'm going to be thinking about it for a while. Peck and Nyeena's story is definitely my favorite of the series. If there is another addition to the Hockey God's series, I'm not certain it could top Taming of the Crew.

If you enjoy a good slow burn, then please read this book. If you enjoy sports romance, read this book. If you enjoy new adult romances set at college, read this book. If you are a person who lives in Wisconsin, and you like to see your state represented in a book, read this book. Basically just read this book! I honestly think you'll love it. Just have those tissues close by.

Thank you for taking time to read my thoughts on Taming of the Crew. I love the folks from Vlasta University, and I hope you'll read their stories and fall for them too.

Laura

 

Once upon a time, the Vlasta Vipers hockey team was so incredible — on and off the ice — they were almost mythical.

All the other college athletes across the country wanted to be them.

All the chicks who glided into their gazes were excited to bang them.

Their reputation was that of Gods who wore skates instead of sandals.

And thanks to a certain center's constant leadership on the ice, they are true champions once again.

Captain Patrick Peck lives and breathes hockey, yet one glimpse at his head coach's loud-mouth, full of life niece who has just moved to Vlasta, and suddenly, he wants more.

More days of watching old TV shows and less days of listening to hockey podcasts.

More nights of hearing her scream his name and less nights of scheduling extra practices.

More memories out of the rink and less memories of only being loved in it.

Will this overly focused center be able to balance hockey and love, or will he be forced to abandon one for the other?

Go One Click this book now! 

Add Taming of the Crew to your Goodreads TBR!

Are you new to the Hockey Gods and Vlasta University? Start here↓

Can't Block My Love

Amazon | Goodreads

My Fair Puck Bunny

Amazon | Goodreads

The Forward Must Cry

Amazon | Goodreads

Defenseman No.9

Amazon | Goodreads

About the Author

Xavier Neal is a best-selling romance author who enjoys hopping from sub genre to sub genre like a game of Hopscotch she can't resist.

In between writing, she loves to read (everything from romance to self improvement books), watch movies (old and new), eat too much Tex-Mex (her Chuy's t-shirt collection is out of control), and watch AHL hockey games LIVE (preferably against the glass whenever possible). 

She currently resides happily in Texas with her bearded husband "Lumberjack" and their two fur babies.

Connect with Xavier

Website | Newsletter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | BookBub | Amazon | Goodreads | Twitter | Pinterest | TikTok | Spotify | Merch Shop

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Thank you to Xavier Neal, and Candi Kane PR, for providing me with an advanced copy of Taming of the Crew.

   

Sever by Caitlyn Dare {a review}

I have been anticipating this book release like you would not believe. Ever since finishing Sacred, I had to know what happened next with Dane, Rhett, Wes, and Sadie. Sever could not be released soon enough!

Well wait no longer. Sever by Caitlyn Dare is officially available!

That's right, the fourth and final installment of the Savage Falls Sinners Motorcycle Club series is out, and if you've read the previous books, you are probably eagerly anticipating this book! Friends, it was worth the wait.

Everything with the storyline was wrapped up nicely. We know how everything played out. From the big dramatic scene with a certain villainous character, to the rescue, to all the steamy moments in between, everything was fantastic. The MC storyline was a bit intense, and I loved every moment of it. While I KNEW I was going to get a HEA, I had my doubts once or twice. Then there was the RH storyline. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I wasn't reading for that part, but I still enjoyed it. And OH MY STEAM. DAMN. Sadie and her men had to work for that HEA, but it happened. And now those four can ride off into the sunset and live their lives.

So, all throughout the book I was wondering about River and Quinn. Would they end up with their guys? Or would someone else come along? Well...I can't really answer about Quinn yet, but there's a definite hookup happening. As for River...She has a series coming. YEP! And I am here for it. I'm thinking that too is going to be an RH. Don't care. I'm reading it. Plus I'm hoping to see more of Sadie and her guys as background characters.

I absolutely loved this series. Loved the characters. Loved the storyline. Loved the setting. It is quite steamy, so be prepared for that. The MC storyline is a wild ride, and I could not get enough. Highly recommend the Savage Falls Sinners MC series.

Thank you for taking time to read my thoughts,
Laura

Loving one guy is hard.

Loving three… well, it should be more than a girl like Sadie Ray Dalton can handle.

But Sadie knows where she belongs, and it’s right beside her guys.

Life in Savage Falls is finally calming down. Dane is preparing to step up and take over the Red Ridge Sinners, Rhett is accepting an unconventional life with his princess, and Wes is adapting to his new role within the club.

But another enemy is circling—one who’s closer than they realize.

One who won’t stop until the Sinners MC are on their knees.

Sadie and her guys all want their happily-ever-after, but they should know by now, nothing in life comes easy.

One last time, they’re going to have to fight for it.

And hope everyone makes it out alive.

This is a why choose novel, meaning the main character has more than one love interest. It is book four in the series and must be read after SAVAGE, SACRIFICE, and SACRED. It contains mature content that some readers may find distressing.

PREORDER SEVER, Book #4!!!

Add to your Goodreads TBR!

New to the Savage Falls Sinners MC Club?

Start with Savage!

Amazon | Goodreads | My Review
Available on Audible starting Dec 7!
Narrated by Kendall Taylor and Jeremy York 

Next read Sacrifice!

Amazon | Goodreads | My Review

Then move on to Sacred!

Amazon | Goodreads | My Review

Meet

Two angsty romance lovers writing dark heroes and the feisty girls who bring them to their knees.

   

Author Links

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Thank you to Caitlyn Dare, and Candi Kane PR, for providing me with an advanced copy of Sever.

  

  

A New Norcross Book! {cover reveal}

 

Vander's story is coming November 9!

Cover Designer: Lana Pecherczyk

Photographer: Wander Aguiar

She’s undercover in a dangerous motorcycle club, and her unwanted protector is the city’s most lethal man.

 

Police Detective Brynn Sullivan is dedicated to her job and living up to the memory of her cop father. She’s out to prove herself on her biggest case yet—stopping a dangerous drug from flooding the streets of San Francisco. She needs to go undercover with the city’s wildest, most dangerous motorcycle club, and that means using any contact she can to get in there.

 

Even the dark, powerful ex-military man who rules the city’s streets from the shadows—Vander Norcross.

 

After years fighting for his country as commander of a covert Ghost Ops team, Vander Norcross has built Norcross Security into a thriving business to keep his family and friends safe. He’s a powerbroker in San Francisco, with his finger on the pulse of what’s happening—both legal and not so legal. When his friend asks a favor putting a detective—a female one—undercover with the Iron Wanderers MC, Vander is not on board. 

It goes against every protective instinct he has, but Brynn proves to be tenacious, annoying, smart, and far too tempting.

 

Brynn and Vander strike enough sparks to start an inferno, but when dangerous players up the stakes, they find themselves with a bounty on their heads. On the run, with only each other to depend on, Brynn discovers she has an even bigger battle on her hands—capturing the heart of a man who thinks he’s too dangerous to ever fall in love.

Add to your Goodreads TBR List!

Meet Anna Hackett

Anna Hackett is a USA Today bestselling romance author who’s passionate about fast-paced, emotion-filled contemporary and science-fiction romance.

She loves writing about people overcoming unbeatable odds and achieving seemingly impossible goals.

Some of her bestselling series include Galactic Gladiators, Eon Warriors, Treasure Hunter Security, and Team 52.

Anna lives in Australia with her real-life hero and their two little boys. 

For more information on Anna and her books visit: www.annahackett.com.

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The Boy Upstairs by Amanda Shelley {a review}

 

Amanda Shelley's latest release, The Boy Upstairs, is NOW AVAILABLE! If you have fallen for the Fallon family, then you are not going to want to miss Derek's story! Also, I suppose I should mention that The Boy Upstairs is part of the All American Boys multi-author series. There are a variety of authors included, and so you should definitely check that out. You might just find some new favorites!

Derek has just started his own company, and has arrived in Bear Creek where he is working with a client. He has found an apartment, and his next door neighbor is quite loud. So needless to say, Derek is looking for a place to escape, and hopefully wherever he ends up, there is coffee available. It is after leaving his apartment that Derek meets Tessa. Tessa owns her own microbrewery, and is one busy lady. Yet there is something about Derek that keeps drawing her in, and these two find themselves having a lot of fun together on various outings. From the moment they met a friendship was formed, and shortly there after a summer fling was about to begin. Can these two keep it as just a fling, or is this going to turn into a full blown relationship?

As soon as Amanda Shelley mentioned Dani and Damien, I KNEW this book was about a Fallon sibling, and I was oh so giddy. I fell head over heals for Damien, and so I knew I would probably feel the same way about Derek. And I was right. There is just something about the Fallon family that draws you in. They feel like a family that you just want in your life. They are good people. Then there's Tessa. She just seems like a bad ass woman. She's a business owner. She is smart. She is hardworking. She is passionate. She is dedicated. She wears her heart on her sleeve. She's just an all around fantastic woman. So seeing these two together was just so good. The passion, the fun, the emotions, the memories being made, it all made for one heck of a summer. You can call it instalove, but really sometimes you just know you're in love with the person even if it seems quick.

If you're looking for a quick, easy read that has romance, and some steam, then go grab The Boy Upstairs. If you're not familiar with the Fallon family, and want to know them, go read Making the Call and Damien. You won't regret it. It sounds like Davis is going to have his story told soon, and I am looking forward to it.

Thank you for taking time to read my thoughts,
Laura

I ran into Derek while trying to escape the neighbor from hell.⁣

Instantly, we hit it off. Since he’s only here for three months and the microbrewery leaves me little time for commitments, it’s the perfect setup for a fling.⁣

He’s adventurous, challenges me, and he just gets me from the inside out.⁣ 

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳… 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴?⁣ ⁣

One click now on Amazon!

Kindle | Paperback

Audible
US | UK | FR | DE

Audio is narrated by Conner Crais and Vanessa Edwin!

The Boy Upstairs is coming soon to iTunes!

Add The Boy Upstairs to your Goodreads TBR!

⁣More info about the All American Boy Series can be found on this page!

Making the Call | Damien

⁣Meet Amanda Shelley

Amanda Shelley writes romantic stories you can escape into. Some are steamy, others are sweet, but all have strong characters with a little bit of sass.

When not writing, Amanda enjoys time with her family, playing chauffeur, chef, and being an enthusiastic fan for her children. Keeping up with them keeps her alert and grounded in reality. She enjoys long car rides, chai lattes, and popping her SUV into four-wheel drive for adventures anywhere.

Amanda loves hearing from readers. Be sure to sign up for her newsletter, and follow her on social media. Join her reader's group: Amanda's Army of Readers, to stay up to date on her latest information. You can find everything you need to know on her website.

Where to find Amanda Shelley

Website | Reader's Group | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Goodreads | BookBub | Newsletter

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Thank you to Amanda Shelley, and Literary Designs, for providing me with an advanced copy of The Boy Upstairs.

Wild Love by Rebecca Jenshak {a review}

Wild Love by Rebecca Jenshak is now available! Reader friends, this was my favorite of the Campus Nights series! SERIOUSLY! And no it isn't JUST because the book was primarily set in Minnesota. That was just a bonus.

If you've read the previous books in the Campus Nights series, then you are familiar with Johnny and Dakota. You also know that these two have been around each other for two years, and during that time Johnny (aka Maverick) has been flirting with Dakota. She just blows it off because Johnny isn't her type. Or so she has led herself to believe. Well now Johnny is headed to Minnesota to play for the Wildcats. He's leaving Valley U, and is going pro. Things are changing for the friends, and this is a major change for all of them. Dakota has been searching for an internship, but keeps coming up empty. Her plan now is to stay on campus and keep working at the Hall of Fame. Johnny ends up hearing about an internship with the Wildcats, and a plan is set in motion. Johnny and Dakota will go to Minnesota together, and it will be awesome. Neither is planning on starting a summer/internship fling, but that's what happens. Never mind the fact that a fling goes against the contract that Dakota signed. She's supposed to be steering clear of a relationship with a Wildcat. Now what?

Full disclosure: I teared up numerous times at the beginning of the book. It's the change that this book represents. This group of friends is having their lives altered as a few move away, a couple graduate, and the others move into a new apartment. It's a lot of change, and shows that our characters are growing up. Their college years are almost over. Then you add in everything that Dakota is dealing with regarding finding a paid internship, and worrying about finances, and dang if that isn't real life. I love how once they arrived in Minnesota, Johnny showed Dakota the real version of himself, and not the curated version he had on campus. The "real" Johnny is a lover, he is passionate, he is caring, he is protective, and he is a giver. He's just an amazing man who takes care of those he loves. As for Dakota, she is a strong independent woman who doesn't take help easily. She wants to do things on her own and not depend on others. She also loves her friends as though they are family, and being away from her girls for the summer is rough. When things start to heat up with Johnny, you can practically feel her pulling away, and wanting to run. Yet at the same time the curiosity is there. The passion is there. The desire is there. I love how their relationship played out. From friends to lovers with the help of forced proximity. Everything about their relationship just felt right. These two opposites work well together. 

I loved the characters. The setting was fantastic because Minnesota and hockey. The story was also wonderful. Everything about it made me happy, even through the tear filled eyes. I also love that this was essentially the set up for the Wildcats series. And oh how I am here for it. Also, I want to mention the rating that I put on Goodreads. I gave Wild Love five stars. FIVE STARS! If you know me, you know that I am extremely stingy with that rating, and the book has to meet a high expectation. Well, Wild Love did. It was just absolutely fabulous. So OBVIOUSLY I think you should go read it. Now you don't need to read the other books in the series, but it will help you understand the friendship that these characters have.

Thank you for reading my thoughts on Wild Love,
Laura

He's a wild ride I have no intention of riding.

Johnny Maverick is a lot of things.
Great hockey player
Loyal friend
Always up for a good time

And now, he's my new roommate.

It's only for a few weeks while I intern for the Wildcats - his new NHL team.

And there are some pros to living with my hot and ridiculous friend (or is that ridiculously hot?). He's fun and unexpectedly sweet, and he reminds me not to take myself too seriously.

I had no intention of breaking the one rule given to me on my first day on the job: no sleeping with the players.

And if I had, I never dreamed that player would be Johnny Maverick.

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

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Add Wild Love to your Goodreads TBR!

Meet Rebecca

Rebecca is a new adult romance author, caffeine-addict, and lover of all sports. She's a Midwest girl at heart, but currently resides in Arizona.

Connect with Rebecca

Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Twitter | BookBub

Thank you to Rebecca Jenshak, and Valentine PR, for providing me with an advanced copy of Wild Love.